The Lentz Family

New crafting blog

2010-11-05T05:37:00.000-07:00

I've created a new blog to share my recent crafts :) It's called Little Hugs Crafting Blog

Crochet talk...

2010-08-15T15:34:00.000-07:00

I've been working on this play food for a couple of weeks now for a friend. She asked me to make some over a year ago and with everything going on I hadn't gotten a chance to just sit down and do it... plus I wanted to have my store first so I could list it in there when I was done. I will not be selling this in my store as you can only sell these items between friends, locally, or at craft fairs according to the designers copyright. Just wanted to show how cute it came out :) The bacon is my favorite - it even curls up like real bacon does! Here is a sneak peak below of a few items I will have in my shop... I'm going to add at least 4 more crocheted toys and then 5 sewn toys before I officially open. I have a lot of work ahead of me in the next few weeks! My plan is to open September 1st.

Next weekend is Wiley's birthday... I can't believe he'll be two! We are having a little playdate party on Thursday for him since some of his friends will be out of town his birthday weekend. He has all girlfriends but I don't think they'll mind coming to a Thomas the Train birthday party :) I'm hoping that while Liza is in school this year he'll be able to meet a few boys his age to play with. I'm going to take him to free play at the gym this year as something fun that is just for him. Looking forward to fall!

Playground and picnic fun!

2010-08-06T12:24:00.001-07:00

I took the kids to the playground today since we've spent most of this week inside because of rain and me needing to work on some orders for friends. I promised them we would go have a picnic at the playground and they got to choose which one they wanted to go to :) We all had a blast! Wiley loves riding the bouncy animals and Liza loves the slides and the bouncy horse. They got to say hello and pet a few dogs that were out for a walk. They played in the forest and sailed on a pirate ship :) Towards the end they were collecting acorns and pinecones. We have a bag full of both for their "collections". I just love how Liza pretends and how Wiley just follows along behind her repeating what she says and doing what she does. They sure are sweet and we are blessed to have them in our lives!

P.S. They both took naps today!!

Summer

2010-07-30T12:49:00.001-07:00

This summer has been great! We were able to make a trip down to OK and TX to see both of our families :) We had a really packed two week round trip and filled it all with lots of family fun! It was really great to see our families and a little sad too because the reality is there the whole time while visiting that we have to leave and be so far away again. I soaked in every moment and am still cherishing our time :)

I've been filling our time at home with playdates, playground adventures, shopping, cooking, gardening and crafting. Not a bad life ;o) I've also been trying to dedicate time to organizing... I'm a little bit of a packrat in drawers and closets! But hopefully a little after school has started up again for Liza I can be done with it all and we will have a nice organized and neat home - for the most part.

Little catch up and a little news

2010-06-07T07:32:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Ben's birthday in May... I think he had a nice one :) Ben and I went out to eat the weekend before and enjoyed our evening out with out kids! Then on his birthday I made his mom's lasagna and we had a cheese cake with cherry topping. The kids had fun when mommy sang Happy Birthday to daddy before he blew his candles out. Ben liked his gifts as well, even the post it notes that Liza carefully picked out! Wiley got him golf balls :)

Ben went on a work golfing trip in West Virginia last week and came home looking very red! He said he had a nice time and did better then he thought since he hadn't golfed in quite some time. Hopefully he will have the chance to go more often!

Liza's last day of school was this past friday... I'm going to really miss my three mornings a week of only having one child. But our summer will be full of play... and work hopefully! I've decided that after our vacation this summer I'm going to open my Etsy shop! I still have some details to work out on my site and with how I want to present my items when shipping... and on and on. But it will be fun to share handmade items I've made with others :) I will sell my crochet toys and some sewn toys. Who knows how this will do but at least I will have a place to sell my items to friends that have made special requests.

Tomorrow I will be getting my haircut... I have no idea what I'll do. Just a trim or maybe I'll go short again. I'm leaning towards short! I always do that - try to grow my hair out and then chop it off. It will be cooler for the summer though :)

I think we are all looking forward to our trip back home this summer! The drive will be something else with two kids who I'm sure will whine and fight a lot of the way - can't blame them though, who likes being stuck in a car for several days?! And we'll have the two dogs as well. I'm tired just thinking about it! But my heart is almost bursting out with how happy and excited I am to see our families!! And we'll have a new neice to meet!!!

Warm weather fun!

2010-05-21T13:47:00.000-07:00

Today was so warm that I decided to let the kids play in the sprinkler! They had a blast!! When I turned it on the kids were standing too close... I believe Wiley may have been down close looking into the tiny holes. I didn't think about what would happen when I turned it on... Wiley was so mad! But he got over it and enjoyed that sprinkler to the fullest!! Liza had a blast too :) I was soaked from running through it with them. They liked me to hold them and run right through the middle - I had a blast too! Nothing like little kid fun to make you feel young and care free again!! Their squeals of joy were really delightful to hear and I can't wait to have sprinkler fun with them again very soon!

Lots of crafts!

2010-05-18T12:04:00.000-07:00

I love our kids and the things they say and do! It's amazing how fast they change. We've been keeping busy with playdates and school and MOPs :) I've been planting in our garden and doing lots of crafts. My new favorite craft is sewing little stuffed bears and soon I'll try a doll. I found a woman who sells the cutest patterns! My favorite of her patterns is a fox that I'd like to try after I've practiced some more. This summer I have plans to take sewing lessons from one of Liza's teachers. I'm going to start with a pattern for a dress for Liza I think. I'm looking forward to them!

Here are a few of the projects I've been working on....

I made the kids names for their bedroom walls

I used wood letters, scrapbook paper, double sided tape and ribbon with a little hot glue.

I just finished this sock monkey for a friends little boy who won't let go of his bottle at night and she thought this might help. She couldn't find anything in the store that she liked so she asked me if I'd make him something :) We both agreed on this cute sock monkey and he is so adorable - the picture doesn't do him justice!

Liza with her bear. It is made from a Bit Of Whimsy Pattern.

Wiley wanted to show you his bear too ;o)

Rolling...

2010-04-23T16:42:00.000-07:00

First thing... Ben took these cute pictures of the kids the other day!

So cute!

Ok, on to the rolling part!

Wiley started rolling over a bunch tonight - he was very proud of himself :) Liza wanted to show off her handstand too!

My favorite drink recipe!

2010-04-21T09:41:00.000-07:00

It's so simple but so delicious! My friend introduced me to it and she says it's like dessert in a cup! I think she's right :)

Chai Tea Latte

2 chai tea bags (I used celestial seasonings India Spice - my friend says it's the best)
Vanilla soy milk (I just pour the milk in the large mug I'm using)
Honey to taste

Heat the soy milk on the stove and put the tea bags in. Squish the bags until the milk is a nice chocolate milk brown and you can't squish the bags anymore (don't over squish because you will have the tea leaves in your drink - yuck!). Then throw the tea bags away. Add honey to taste... I like mine with a lot. Stir it in and then pour it back into your mug and enjoy :)

I'm going to try a different brand tea this week since the store I went to didn't carry the one I know I like. There is only one brand of grocery stores in this town that carry the exact tea I mentioned above.

Anyways, if you try it, I hope you like it! I don't need Starbucks anymore when I can make this at home!

Update on our family!

2010-04-20T15:07:00.000-07:00

The kids are growing like weeds... mentally and physically. Wiley is starting the terrible twos early, but he's just so cute! I think it's different this time around. I didn't laugh with Liza as much as I do with Wiley when it comes to the things he gets into and his temper. (Like he took my yarn out twice the other day and wrapped it up so bad I had to cut it off of things because I couldn't find the end!) He's still a lot of fun and such a sweet kid! Liza too :) She is progressing in school really well. Her teacher told me that she is a wonderful role model for her peers - that made me beam inside out! Ben seems happy in his job and he is doing a great job. I think his employees all like him ( I hear good things from several of his employees wives). As for me, I'm enjoying the kids and crafting and a date here and there with Ben... I also have a few really good friends now that I am so thankful for. Working on making some more - can never have enough! One of my friends is really crafty and she crochets and sews and does all the stuff I like to do :)

I've been trying new meals - mostly ones by Pioneer Woman. She's pretty awesome. I've also been trying new craft projects! I'm starting to sew but I have a lot of work to do to be good at it. I have a huge project times 2 (since we have two children). I'm going to make them bean bag chairs for their rooms. This requires me to sew an inner bag to hold the beans and then the outer bag with Velcro so I can take it off to wash it. I just received the fabric I ordered for them today - super cute! I cannot wait to get started but am very nervous. I found a sewing teacher but she cannot start helping me until this summer.

I found a new use for kitchen tongs. The kids (esp. Wiley) keep losing things behind our monstrous couch. They cry and I grab the tongs!

Ben found out that we can use Netflix instant video through our Wii - awesome! When I need to keep the kids occupied I just turn on a movie or show that they haven't seen and I can go do a few things without them in my hair ;o) Ben and I have been catching up on old seasons of The Office.

I've also been crocheting still :) I have a few more things to finish and send to friends. I need to make a few baby gifts and then I can start working on those bean bag chairs!

We are trying to have a vegetable garden this year. I have a lot to learn... Just hoping that something grows!

I'll post some pictures later this week of finished projects and of that cute fabric! Oh and of course of the kiddos - they are cute too :)

Easter and a few other pics :)

2010-04-09T09:09:00.000-07:00

Beautiful day!

2010-03-19T11:49:00.001-07:00

My friend called last night to see if we'd like to go to the playground and have a picnic today since the weather is supposed to turn dreary again. Of course we were up for that!! The kids were so excited to have a picnic and to play on the awesome playground my friend knew about :) It was a little hectic because we had three 19 month olds to watch and then of course Caroline and Liza. Wiley was being a dare devil! I had to run several times to catch him before he fell to the bottom of the play set he was on. I kept seeing his little sneakers hanging out the side and took that as my key to run! I guess he thinks he can climb down huge ladders and go through openings with a big drop. So towards the end of our time at the playground I was glued to Wiley!

This is just a cute picture from lunch time - the only ones I was able to get ;o) Oh and it was a big day for me with Wiley... He can finally drink from a straw! Woo Hoo!! Now he won't get upset at restaurants because I pour his drink into a sippy - he can actually have it with the straw. Little things like that make a big difference to a little guy his age. Now he can do something else his big sister can do!

Spring Wreath

2010-03-18T12:47:00.001-07:00

I made this using a tutorial from Craftaholics Anonymous blog
She has some really neat ideas! I loved the look of the wreath on her blog so I decided to try it and add some cheer to our door :) I like hers better, but I think mine turned out pretty too! I was going to add ribbon by wrapping it around the bare part but it didn't look right. I think simple is a good thing with this project. Liza is a huge fan of it, especially the pink and purple flowers and buttons! Wiley had fun holding the buttons for me while we were in the store this morning :O)

C25K

2010-03-16T08:47:00.000-07:00

Couch to 5K. I just started this program today! This is a running program that I think I can keep up with while having my kids along for the ride. Today was W1D1 (week 1 day 1) and I did a warm up walk of 5 minutes and then alternated running for 60 seconds and walking for 90 seconds for 20 minutes. I will do this two more times this week before moving on to a little harder of a workout. We purchased a double jogging stroller that I found on BRU during their huge clearance sale! It was great... I could hardly tell (except on hills) that I was even pushing a stroller with two kids in it! The kids enjoyed it too! Wiley just sat quietly the whole time watching everything and everyone go by... Liza asked to go home a few times - hopefully she'll enjoy it more when we go again on Thursday :) I am really excited about this program! I think even more so after I had a pretty easy time with it today. I would really like to find a nice flat place to go and do this at but I think that is hard to come by in Pennsylvania ;o) I found a few parts of the neighborhood I will not go to next time because of the hills. Oh and to help with this program I got the app for my phone that keeps track of it all for you. You can listen to your music and it has a voice that tells you when to walk and run, when you are half way and when you only have one minute left - that helped a lot to not have to look at a watch or stop watch!

Looking forward to getting healthy and in shape and being a good example for our kids!! And just enjoying the great weather we have up here! Maybe I can even sign up for a 5K to run in sometime this summer or next fall.... I guess we'll see - it is only day one after all.

breakfast and cuddles

2010-02-28T09:34:00.000-08:00

Just a cute picture from this morning :) It's so fun to cuddle and watch cartoons with these two! I deffinetly take advantage when they actually sit for awhile since it doesn't happen often.

Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T11:43:00.000-08:00

This has been a fun Valentine's Day for the kids :) Wiley got a football and was VERY excited! In the picture he is saying cheese for the camera - too cute! Liza got her much wanted crocheted strawberry and a cute Hello Kitty Pez dispenser. She has been thanking us a ton for both things - I guess she REALLY likes them both!

This morning we had some french breakfast puffs from the Pioneer Woman's cookbook. They were very good I thought and the kids and Ben all seemed to enjoy them. Wiley was cute licking his lips which had sugar and cinnamon all over them :O) Tonight we'll have the hawiian pork roast I've posted on here and I'm trying out the Pioneer Woman's mac -n -cheese. I love homemade mac-n-cheese!

Snow!

2010-02-06T07:56:00.001-08:00

Playtime

2010-02-04T07:02:00.001-08:00

I found Wiley the other afternoon just lounging on Liza's couch with a cookie... he was so cute and so into the cartoon on tv and that cookie :) Wiley was mesmerized by his elmo slippers! Liza's just dancing - she's so full of energy!

Cute one of Wiley - I can't resist this little face!!

I came in to let Liza know that quiet time was over and she said look mommy! And it was so cute because she had lined up all her stuffed animals and little toys... I think she was putting on a puppet show for them or something!

She wanted her picture taken with them :)

Liza wanted her video taken!

2010-01-17T13:22:00.000-08:00

Liza wanted to do a little dance... this happens often :) She has music class at school and loves to sing the songs and do the little dance moves! This week is Dads are cool week at school and she came home singing a really cute song about how cool dads are. Wish I could remember it - she won't sing it for me anymore. Singing has to be on her own terms ;o) Some day I will catch her singing a song and dancing all together!

Wiley's words

2010-01-17T13:09:00.000-08:00

These are Wiley's most common words.... he can also say banana, car and ruff,ruff like a dog :O) He tries to quack like a duck too along with other words I can't think of right now. Oh! he can also say thank you, juice and binky which are all words he uses often :)

Great Carpet/upholstery cleaner

2010-01-05T14:49:00.000-08:00

This is the best cleaner I have found for stains on our carpets! It's like magic :) I've been using this for a little over a year now and there has only been one or two stains it couldn't get out completly. It works on older stains too. All you do is spray it on the stain, rub it in with your fingers or rubber gloves for those not so nice stains, blot it with a paper towel and it should be gone! If not then I'll do it again and the second time usually gets it out. But the part that works the best is rubbing it in with your fingers... you can really see the stain going away. I just used it today on a bunch of little stains from the dogs feet and the childrens juice or snacks that had spilled and the carpet in the playroom looks so much better! It is non-toxic, non-flammable, odor free and some other of that good stuff ;o) It is supposed to work really well on upholstered furniture as well but I haven't had to try that yet. My friends back in OK introduced me to it and many of them swear by it. I get it at Lowes and I think Home Depot has it too. A 32 OZ bottle is $4. Just wanted to share this great product and the success I've had with it!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T05:31:00.001-08:00

I am so excited to start a new year! It's never felt so refreshing before...

I am not really into New Year resolutions but here are some things I would like to change/accomplish this year:

Be a more patient mother (Ben being home more should help this!)
Keep my family healthy
Attend church every Sunday that is possible
Finally lose this baby weight
Get my house into great, organized shape and try to stay on top of the clean up
Make some more friends for our whole family
Continue my crafting :)

There is probably more but I cannot think of any right now.

Some fun things that will happen this year are:

My husband will finally be home!!!
We will have a new baby in the family
I'm pretty sure we'll have a wedding in the family
I will get to see family I haven't seen in several years
Ben and I will celebrate our 5 year wedding anniversary
My closest cousin is getting married the end of this month
We are taking the kids to a fun Nickelodeon storytime show

Again, there are probably more fun things that will happen but I cannot think of them ;o)

Crochet!

2009-12-31T20:14:00.000-08:00

Here are some of the things I have made in the past few months! I've had so much fun trying out new patterns and making toys for friends and family :) There just isn't enough time to make every thing I want and to make something for everyone! I have lots more planned to make this year! I have a long list that seems to get a little longer every other day or so...

I even did a little sewing! I knew my mom would appreciate that!

My favorite Chili

2009-12-30T17:06:00.000-08:00

This is the chili my mom made growing up. I didn't like chili much when I was younger and I definitely didn't like the beans in it so she always made one with no beans for those of us who were against them ;o) I like the beans in it now though and have been making this chili at least once a week since it's been cold here. It's simple and very budget friendly!Recipe

1 lb ground beef (sometimes I use ground turkey)

1 can stewed tomatoes

1 can Mexican stewed tomatoes

1 can pinto beans

Chili powder (heaping wooden spoonful)

Worcestershire sauce (to taste)

salt (to taste)

pepper (to taste)

Cook the meat and then add Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Drain meat. Set aside.

Put both cans of stewed tomatoes in blender and a little water (about a 1/4 cup is what I use) and blend lightly. Just enough to break up the tomatoes some. Add meat, tomatoes and beans to big pot and heat. Add the heaping spoon of chili powder.

To feed more people just double up on everything! I like to have cheese and sometimes chopped onions on the side depending on what people like in it :) I hope you try it out and enjoy it as much as we do!

New couch, kitchen stools, and some gift opening!

2009-12-30T16:10:00.000-08:00

We finally got our couch this week! We ordered it the first week of November. I love it! Can't wait for Ben to get home and try it out :) See if it's worthy of some football watching! Oh and it has a pull out bed for when we have lots of visitors! *hint, hint*

Liza layed down and told me, "I just want to relax mom". She's silly! Wiley likes to stand on the couch and place his binkys in the slats of the blinds when they are open. I found him doing that earlier today. They fit perfect ;o) It looked like he set up a little army of binkys! It's huge! And very comfy! I've been enjoying sitting and crocheting on my chaise lounge! Ben was so sweet and agreed we should have that added to it :) I think it just might be my favorite place in the house.

We also got new stools for the kitchen this week so that the kids can eat at the counter. We don't have any place without carpet for them to eat except at the counter in the kitchen. The kids love the stools and have eaten every snack and meal there since I put the stools together! They were a great price for the quality! The seats even swivel. I'm going to eventually make seat cushions for them I think.

We received a few more gifts in the mail this week and here are a few pictures of the kids opening there gifts :)

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T14:51:00.001-08:00

Picture overload - seriously! I have a ton more but these were my favorites :) Thanks to all our family for the wonderful gifts! The kids love every thing and have played with, are reading or have started wearing every thing! Ben and I enjoyed our gifts very much too! We've had a nice week considering we couldn't be with family. We've all been a bit sick which is never fun but hopefully it will come to an end soon and we can all stay healthy!

Don't miss the video of Wiley and his helicopter at the end!

Gingerbread House

2009-12-23T15:05:00.001-08:00

I found a gingerbread house kit at Michael's on sale for $6 while I was there picking up a few things. I got it thinking it would be so fun for Liza and I to do together! So making one of these is not as easy as I had thought... or I guess I hadn't put much thought into it. The icing was really hard to work with but we made it work. And all that matters is that Liza had SO much fun putting candy on and then eating the candy and icing as we worked :) As you can probably see in the background of the picture there was a lot of candy left. When we finished the house Liza excitedly told Daddy, "Mommy said I can have the rest of the candy"!

We put a candy cane on top for a nice added touch... we also put a little piece of candy for a door knob and added some bushes :) I was trying to make it look like a house instead of just a square with candy smooshed all over it. Liza thought the windows and door made it look like it had a face!

Next year I think we'll use milk cartons and graham crackers instead.... like what I made in preschool a long time ago! That seems easier and more fun to me - and a little bit tastier!

I also wanted to say Congratulations to Will (Ben's youngest brother) on his engagement to Katie! We are very excited for you guys!! So many exciting things during the holidays!! I just wish we could be there to celebrate with everyone.

Cake!

2009-12-21T07:07:00.000-08:00

Since we are stuck here for Christmas, Ben let Liza pick out a cake yesterday at Walmart. She picked a big cake with the princess and the frog on it :) Here are a few cute pictures of the kids enjoying their cake!

Videos from Christmas morning!

2009-12-21T06:40:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning!

2009-12-21T06:23:00.001-08:00

Santa came early to our house this year! The kids had so much fun and have been enjoying their new toys!
Eliza putting out cookies for Santa... Socks in the background eyeing them ;o)Liza when she realized Santa ate his special cookies!

Liza after opening her first gift

Wiley opening his first gift! Sorry some of the pictures are sideways... thought I fixed it.

Digging in her stocking

Wiley thought this cowboy was so fun!

Liza loved her tinkerbell too and has been sleeping with her ever since!

Wiley adores his dump truck! Daddy was helping to open the bag with blocks in it.

Wiley and his own chair!! He's a big boy now!

Wiley was bringing me another gift to help him open while showing he is so strong!

Liza showing us her dress up trunk!

Playing after all the gifts were opened :)

It was a great morning complete with lots of snow!

snowbibs!

2009-12-06T09:14:00.001-08:00

They just looked too adorable! These things are great too because they were completely dry when we came back inside... well other then Wiley's head. Poor guy face planted several times.

Walking in the snow

2009-12-05T17:20:00.000-08:00

If you listen closely you can hear Wiley say uh oh after he falls down :O)

Fun in the snow!

2009-12-05T14:36:00.000-08:00

We went to Denny's this afternoon to get Liza pancakes... I had planned to make them for her and it just didn't work out so I cleaned the snow off the car and off we went! The kids had a blast going out to eat. I never take them since it's just us. But since they were so good when we went out while Ben was home I figured we would be ok by ourselves and I was right :) They were great!

When we got back the kids wanted to play in the snow! It was getting dark so we only played for about 20 minutes with a promise that we will play again tomorrow. Wiley was not happy about going inside and screamed and kicked his legs while I carried him in... I'm sure all my neighbors were wondering what I was doing to my poor child ;o) More fun tomorrow!! hopefully all our snow stuff dries out... tomorrow they will wear thier snow bibs for the first time! We all broke in our snowboots tonight!

Checking out the snow

2009-12-05T07:52:00.001-08:00

I found Wiley in his room checking out the snow :) This is one of the kids favorite spots to watch cars and people go by and to watch the squirrels chase each other up our trees.

Christmas tree

2009-11-29T14:35:00.000-08:00

I went and bought a three foot tree this year. We had to throw out our old tree since mice had made a nest in it in the attic - yuck, gag! I wanted a big one, but this one is better for us since Wiley is into everything right now. He has already tried to get this one. But I think it's cute :) I will be on the look out after Christmas for a big tree that we can use next year! I'm not sure if we will ever get a live tree... but this is a great place to find them. We drove past a Christmas tree farm this morning on the way to the airport. I think we'll have to go at least once with the kids while we live up here to pick out a tree... maybe it will even be *lightly* snowing when we do - that would be perfect! Speaking of snow, we are supposed to get some later this week. I'm hoping it's not a lot. Well since Ben has gone, it's back to life on our own. We'll get to see him again around Christmas time when we make our trip south to see family. Then it will be one more month of him being gone and we'll have him home for good. I can't wait!

Thanksgiving

2009-11-29T14:21:00.001-08:00

Ben came home for Thanksgiving and we had a nice weekend. I made a pretty big Thanksgiving dinner which turned out great! The kids were thrilled that Daddy was home :) So was I! Another highlite of the weekend was a phone call from my brother saying that he and my sister in law are expecting a baby in June!! So exciting :)

Liza being cute one afternoon and snuggling on the couch with her pillow and blanket.

Wiley was having fun sitting in Liza's chair. They fight over the chair and couch all the time so Wiley will be getting his own chair for Christmas (I've almost brought it out early because the fighting gets hard to deal with). He is so cute! He will turn around and back into the chair to sit down... sometimes he misses and hits the floor!

Happy Veteran's Day!

2009-11-11T08:59:00.000-08:00

Thank you to all the brave men and women who serve and have served in the military! What a special day of the year to have! I never really gave this day much thought growing up. But now that I am older and have been a military wife and know many veterans this day means so much. I'm proud of my husband, father-in-law and many, many other relatives and friends who have and who are serving in our military!

To celebrate, Liza had a Veteran's Day parade at her school today! Wiley and I went to walk with her and several of the other parents did as well :) She got to wear a necklace with her Daddy's picture on it and she thought that was great! She also got to hold a flag.

Waving her flag after the parade

Brotherly, sisterly love ;o)

Wiley had fun waving the flag too!

Liza's classmates and one of her teachers. They were all very cute!

Halloween!

2009-10-31T17:00:00.001-07:00

I'll update more later... I just wanted to put a few things on tonight :) We had a great time trick or treating!!

It's been awhile!

2009-10-03T05:28:00.001-07:00

So it's been a long time since I last posted! Today I'm just posting a bunch of cute pictures :) Eventually I'll get around to taking pictures of our house with all our stuff in it. Ben has been gone alot and takes the computer with him so it's not as easy to update and when he is home there just doesn't seem to be much time to update. Luckily I have my iphone so I can check emails and my facebook - the most important ;o)
So, here we go... photos with some explanation! The tumblebus came to Liza's school! One of the parents owns his own tumblebus and brought it to the school for a free day of fun :) Liza had a blast and let him show her how to do rolls down the ramp and go across the monkey bars.

Just a cute one of Wiley! He is just adorable and is always crying for his mama :)

Wiley was sick and had a fever that I couldn't get to stay away so we made a trip to the ER. His temp was super high and with H1N1 going around I didn't want to risk him being really sick. But I caught this cute picture of them holding hands while watching some cartoons :)

Wiley is a very curious little boy!

This is his I'm still sleepy face one morning :)

I've been doing a lot of crocheting... This is a koala in pajamas I just finished for Wiley! Right now I'm working on special halloween gifts to send our nephews :)

Cupcakes for Liza's classmates. They are not aloud to bring food in because some of the kids have strong allergies so I made these for Liza to give in goodybags. The kids seemed to really like them and I got lots of thank yous from the moms :)

Liza had her "real" birthday last month and we got her a princess bike! She is very cute riding it... but she needs to practice looking up and steering! She is great at running into the grass and almost falling over before mommy catches her. Then she gets scared and we have to walk her bike home... but she'll get the hang of it!

Liza on her first day of school :) She was SO excited!

She is in a 2 1/2 year old class. She favors one of her teachers over the other. It's kind of funny! The husband of the teacher she really likes will be working with Ben and she tells Liza "Our daddys work together"! Liza fell in love of course! She is finally fully potty trained now as well!!

I will try and post more often... maybe I can do it easier then I think from my phone. We'll see! But that's a little update for now. So much more has happened in the past few months! I can't believe it's already October!

Birthday party!

2009-08-12T15:39:00.000-07:00

The kids had a blast at their birthday party! They had lots of friends come to help celebrate :) Wiley had fun seeing all his new toys!

Liza had fun opening them all!

Wiley thoroughly enjoying his first time eating cake!

Wiley was clapping - he was very excited!

Liza trying to blow out her candle... she got a little too close to the flame a few times! But she tried really hard to blow it out!

Birthday party and Eliza's doll

2009-08-11T06:59:00.001-07:00

We're having the kids birthday party tonight! Liza's been talking for months about having her friends come to her house for her birthday so we are having an early birthday for both her and Wiley :) We're just having a pizza dinner and letting the kids play. This will be our last time to see all our friends. I'm sad. We have a lot of people coming though so it will be a great time for the kids! It's going to be chaos I think. About 12 families are coming!

Just wanted to share some pics of Liza's doll I made her :) It's my favorite so far! I'm not too thrilled with the way the hair looks with the skin color but I like how everything else came out. Liza will have fun with her though! And she will be excited that she gets a doll because I've made them for other little girls but hadn't made her one yet ;o)

We're off to Walmart here in a little bit to get everything we need for the birthday party. And then tomorrow the packing of the house should start. We have a busy few weeks ahead of us... we pack the rest of this week, load the truck this weekend and then drive up to PA next week! I'm sad and nervous and excited all at the same time. I just hope everything continues going smoothly. We've been pretty lucky thus far!

Our new house

2009-08-11T06:53:00.001-07:00

It has a great yard in front and back! It's so weird to see plush green lawn again - it makes you want to take your shoes off :)

one of our two huge trees! We're going to see if we can hang a swing from this one :)

On the way back we got the kids sweatshirts!

There are a few bad things about the house. It doesn't have a garage, the bedrooms are small and there is no fence (we're going to put one in). But it has tons of storage, is in a great neighborhood that is just a few blocks from where Ben will be working and it has a great school just around the corner :) We chose this house over some bigger ones because of the area it is in. The bigger ones were farther out and I didn't want to be that far away... especially in the winter! We figure this house will be good for 3 or 4 years and then we can move on and hopefully sell or will have already sold our house in OK. Oh! the best part about this house is that the kids have a huge playroom!! No more toys in the grown ups area :) The kitchen is nice too.

Wiley walking

2009-08-11T06:32:00.000-07:00

I wanted to catch a video of him walking before he got really confident - babies are so cute in this early stage of walking :)

Time to play

2009-07-30T04:33:00.001-07:00

Things have been so busy around here with trying to get our house ready to sell/rent. The kids have been feeling the stress too. It will be nice once we move and get settled in and can relax again! Ben got a job up in PA and we should be moved up there by the end of the month if everything works out :) I'm excited to live somewhere new and up north! It will be nice to have seasons again and to get away from 100+ degree weather. Plus there is a lot more shopping there then we've had around for awhile! And I think Ben will really enjoy his job and be a great asset to his company! First thing after we get settled in is to find a church! I need to make friends for the kids and myself fast and we all need to get into a good church family :) The only thing I'm not looking forward to are the winters. I'm not a huge fan of snow... deffinetly not a huge fan of living in snow for month after month. But this will give me a reason to get some new pretty sweaters and winter wear ;o) Oh and of course I'm not looking forward to living so far from our immediate families! We love you all so much and will miss you tons!

I thought it was so cute when the kids were laying down sharing the princess couch! Wiley with his usual morning bottle and Liza not wanting to give up her binky for breakfast just yet. (She's becoming attached again and it's getting harder to get it away from her - after the move we'll work on it again). Just thought this was cute!

Liza taking a picture with her cinderella camera - she's so excited about it!

Wiley man playing with his train set he got for Christmas.

He loves it! When we put it up on the table and make it go he will grunt and scream and start trying to walk really fast around the table because he is just that excited about it!

Our cuties!

2009-07-23T07:13:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary!

2009-07-23T06:37:00.000-07:00

It's our four year anniversary today! It's been a wonderful four years and I'm so lucky to be married to such a sweet and loving man. Ben is a great husband and a wonderful father. Our wedding day is still one of my most favorite days!

We actually did gifts this year and purchased new cell phones. We got iphones. It was very scary to me at first because I had no clue how to use it but now it's so easy! I love that I can text and surf the internet whenever I'd like and play fun games! This phone will be great for Ben too as he enters the life of a businessman!

Snakes!

2009-07-18T07:17:00.001-07:00

I just spent the past week making all these snakes! I actually made 5 but liza claimed one for herself since our dog chew up her last one. I asked the woman who designed the pattern if I could sell what I make from it and she said yes as long as I sell locally (including at craft fairs and to boutiques!) So I asked my friends if anyone would be interested and some were so I made one in each color I have :) It's kind of neat to sell stuff I've made - it's neat people actually want to buy it! I love seeing all these different snakes together too :O)

Ben said I should start designing my own toys. I'm thinking about it. Maybe I'll start within this next year. I just need to find my creativity bug!

Playtime, dancing, and walking!

2009-07-16T07:10:00.005-07:00

Wiley took his first steps yesterday! I had him stand up and then I let go of his hands and he took 4 steps! He was very controlled while doing it too... but then when I would have him try it again he just kept falling forwards. But at least we know he can do it! I don't think he realized he was doing it on his own. I am one excited mommy!
Wiley loves playing with this barn! He puts the animals in and out and closes and opens the gates :) I think we're going to get him the little people plane for his birthday :)

Liza wanted her picture taken.... Look how big she is now! I can't believe she'll be 3 in just a few months. Or that Wiley will be one next month!

Wiley likes to dance when he hears music now :) The cutest is when Liza and Wiley are in the car and Liza starts moving her head back and forth and then Wiley does too with a HUGE grin on his face :) I just caught this little video yesterday and thought it was cute!

Mall play!

2009-07-16T07:03:00.000-07:00

We met my friend and her daughter for dinner and play at the mall this week while Ben was out of town at an interview. They had so much fun playing together! The girls used to play a lot but then my friend went back to work so they don't get to see each other much. They were so excited to see each other and to play! Wiley had fun too :) He was so tired though. He would crawl a little and then lay down and then get back up and stand up against something and then lay his head on it. He went to meet a little girl and was so tired he layed down at her feet - so cute!

Tools for Wiley :)

2009-07-11T07:03:00.001-07:00

These are tools I made for Wiley's first birthday! I can't believe he will be a year old next month!! I used a pattern from Anna Paula Rimoli's second book - aren't they cute!? It's a hammer, screwdriver, file, and pliers. I also found this tool box for under $4 at Walmart. It's all plastic with no little pieces... perfect for little ones :O) I couldn't wait to post the pics because I just think they are so cute! I have Liza's doll done for her birthday but I can't post pics until after we give it to her because she loves to look at our blog and it would ruin the surprise.

My new do

2009-07-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

I had about 6 inches cut off! I really like it :)

Going for a ride!

2009-07-07T11:18:00.000-07:00

Babysteals.com

2009-06-30T15:52:00.000-07:00

A friend just brought this website to my attention and I thought I would share with all my mommy friends and relatives :) Everyday they have one item that is usually half off of the original price. Today is a binky holder with a diaper and wipes holder along with a changing pad. It's a really cute design and I would totally get it but I don't really need it. It was tempting though :) yesterday or the day before they had hooter hiders (nursing coverups) for a great price and they were made from super cute fabric! So if you want, add it to your favorites or sign up for their emails and you could wind up getting some awesome deals on stuff you really need... and stuff you don't need but would be fun to have :)

Wiley "walking"

2009-06-25T07:20:00.000-07:00

Wiley has started walking with the walker :) he's not very steady yet that is why this is the best video I could get! Everytime we put him at the walker he would take off and walk into walls or try and follow Liza which got him into tight places. It's fun to see him walk with it but I think it will still be another month before he really tries walking on his own. He's so cute though when he walks with the walker or with one of us holding his hands because he just gets the BIGGEST grin :)

Father's Day

2009-06-22T11:38:00.000-07:00

We all had a nice day yesterday :) The kids and I were going to give Ben breakfast in bed but he woke up very early (probably because we had a little visitor in bed with us that night). So we didn't do breakfast in bed, but we all had a nice breakfast together and we gave Daddy his gift :) Then we just spent the day lounging around. Liza had fun helping to celebrate and sounded so cute when she told him happy father's day!

New carseat

2009-06-20T08:59:00.000-07:00

Well, we finally ordered a new carseat since Wiley will be out of his baby seat soon. We got the same seat as Liza except it is a little bigger and goes to 60 lbs. Liza's goes to 40. So Wiley will use Liza's seat. I'm sure Wiley will get to 60 lbs before Liza, but Liza is taller right now so she'll probably fit the new seat better then Wiley would :) We got the same design though so they match - this way Liza won't throw a fit hopefully about using the new carseat ;o) And the pattern is being discontinued so we got the seat for about $80 cheaper then the same ones with different fabric on them!! Oh and the carseat is a Britax Marathon... Liza has the roundabout and we have loved it so I'm sure we'll love the marathon too!! I deffinetly recommend Britax carseats - they seem to be comfortable, very safe, and are extremely easy to install!

FYI... Liza weighs 26 lbs while Wiley is already over 20 lbs! It will be interesting to see how soon Wiley outgrows Liza :)

A little pig and some random cute pics

2009-06-19T06:24:00.000-07:00

This is my latest project. It is another pattern by ana paula rimoli :) Isn't she such a cute little pig? Her little poncho and shorts can be removed!

Liza loves her! Ana just came up with a pattern for her little Boston terrior... I had to get that one too. He even has a little pillow and dog bed :O) I need to stop making all these extra toys and focus on Christmas... I have a lot I've planned to make! It's just hard to stop when they are so fun to make and when Liza begs me to make them ;o)

Wiley is so proud when he sits in his highchair and eats all by himself! He really enjoys eating a waffle in the mornings. I thought his little feet looked so cute in this picture too!

Socks is a strange dog... but very cute!

They are just so cute together!

2009-06-19T06:18:00.001-07:00

They were watching baby songs :) This didn't last long so I had to catch a few... Wiley is just on the move and doesn't stop! He's so cute... he's started dancing now. He'll stand up on the tv and just bounce to the music and try to grab whatever is on the tv. Liza loves having a playmate all the time :)

The Zoo

2009-06-19T06:08:00.001-07:00

The kids and I met some of Ben's family at the zoo last weekend while he was in Austin having lots and lots of interviews :) It was fun! Liza was afraid of a lot this time but I think maybe she just wasn't in the right mood or something. The zoo had a dinosaur exhibit which i really liked and thought Liza would too. She liked it until they started to move and roar at us very loudly ;o) I love that picture of Wiley and the T-rex! And this one of liza and her penguin is pretty cute too (that's Aunt Mary off to the side) ! She had to bring her penguin with us but was too scared to go into the buildings where we could see the real penguins. Uncle Will was Liza's hero because he held her and took her out of places when she was scared :)

9 Months

2009-06-09T06:16:00.001-07:00

Eating some bananas

His goofy toothy grin!

He's so cute! He just loves the pool and bath time!!

At his 9 month yesterday he weighed 20 1/2 lbs and was 28 1/4 inches long. We got the go ahead to let him eat table food now - he will be so happy :) He always watches us eat and will just smack his lips and look longingly at us while eating his cheerios - I think he's tired of cheerios ;o)

Beautiful!

2009-06-09T06:09:00.001-07:00

This was the other night as storm clouds were going by. This is just over our back fence - it was breathtaking! The rainbow was a full arch and the brightest I had ever seen! And the field of waving yellow flowers is just awesome to see! I got Liza out of bed to show her and she got so excited and said " oh! It's like Mickey Mouse's rainbow and they slide down it!!".

Bathtime fun!

2009-06-06T06:02:00.001-07:00

I put Liza and Wiley in the bath together for the first time last night! Wiley can finally sit up really well without falling over so I figured it was about time :) I probably could have done this awhile ago considering he is walking around while holding onto things... I think I'm babying him more then I did Eliza though. He's growing too fast! Anyways, they had a lot of fun playing together and were very cute!

Laughing!

2009-06-01T10:35:00.000-07:00

Eliza got her blocks out to play while I was feeding Wiley and when he was done I put him on the floor. He went over to the table and stood up and started playing. Then Liza's tower fell and he burst out laughing like crazy! Everytime her tower would fall he'd just laugh and laugh. I caught some on video, but this video doesn't even show how cute he was or how much he was laughing! It was a great moment!! I love hearing children's laughter :O) One of the best sounds in the world - especially when it's my own children!

A sweet doll

2009-05-28T10:31:00.001-07:00

This is one of my favorite patterns I've done! This doll went to New York to Eliza's best friend Eloise for her birthday :) I was sad we couldn't help celebrate with her but Liza and I both agreed that this was a really fun gift! Liza named her Eloise and informed me that she needs a Liza doll... little does she know hers is almost done ;O)

I bought the pattern for her here : anapaulaoli.etsy.com

I love Ana's patterns - I can't wait to get some more in the future :) She also has two books that I'd like to get. Her patterns are easy and the designs are very happy!

Pool time!

2009-05-28T07:32:00.000-07:00

First, here is a picture of Wiley enjoying some banana in his mesh feeder thing :) He loved it!

Liza picked out this pool with Ben since our other pool got a big hole in it. It's pretty cute and I like it better then having to blow one up. The kids both had fun but it was a bit chilly so Wiley didn't stay in long. He was splashing and having a good time though before I got him out! This was his first time in a pool!

Wiley is using everything to help him stand up! Later he used the pool and then let go and actually balanced himself! I was right there though because I didnt' want him falling and hitting his head on the hard concrete! He is a little dare devil now standing everywhere in our house and letting go. He's making me nervous since most of our floors are very hard. He's so proud of himself and just smiles :O)

Last night he was going to get in the dishwasher no matter what! He kept trying to climb in. I'd move him to another room and he would come right back - he was determined! He would also use it to stand up and then let go - very hard to do dishes and cook dinner while all this is going on! When I moved him he would have a fit so I'd just lay him on the floor and walk off while he was kicking and screaming at me. He's so cute! It just made me laugh. I didn't remember that babies did this at this age... But I'm sure Liza was having little fits at 9 months too.

Happy Birthday Ben!

2009-05-28T07:26:00.000-07:00

Ben turned the big 30 on Monday! I think he had a pretty nice birthday :) We spent a few days at his parents and then came home on his birthday. I didn't get to do a cake or anything since we'd been traveling but I did make some apple crisp with icecream! We went and rented a few movies as well. Ben's gift from the kids and I was a swedish massage that he will hopefully get to use this Saturday as long as work does not get in the way. And Liza picked out a silly card with a kissing monkey on it ;o)

Time in Enid

2009-05-28T07:07:00.001-07:00

Sleepover!

At the playground

Liza swinging with daddy :)

Wiley got in on the fun too!

Dirty from the water fight.... pictures are out of order. Cute cousins bath pic though ;O)

Liza looked so silly with her pink princess sunglasses and two water guns!

Sam looking pretty cool

Such a cutie!

Sam, Adam and Liza

Cajun Pork Tenderloin with Vegetables

2009-05-22T07:16:00.000-07:00

Another recipe I tried and really liked!

Cajun Pork Tenderloin with Vegetables (Betty Crocker)

2 tsp cajun or creole seasoning (I used cajun)
1 pound pork tenderloin
2 medium sweet potatoes or yams (3/4 lb)
4 small zuchinni (1 lb)
1 1/2 cups frozen small whole onions (I used fresh)
2 Tbs margarine, butter or spread, melted
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon salt (I forgot to use salt and it turned out fine!)

1. Heat oven to 425

2. Rub cajun seasoning into pork. Place in ungreased jelly roll pan, 15 1/2 x 10 1/2x 1 inches. Insert meat thermometer horizontally into center of thickest part of pork. ( I didn't have a thermometer so I just let it cook a little longer to make sure)

3. Cut sweet potatoes and zuchinni lengthwise into halves ( I did fourths because I wanted to make sure they were soft) . Place sweet potatoes, zuchinni and onions around pork. Drizzle margarine over vegetables. sprinkle with thyme and salt.

4. Roast uncovered about 35 minutes or until thermometer reads 160. Loosely cover pan with aluminum foil and let stand 10 minutes. Cut pork into thin slices Serve with veggies.

Eliza even ate the meat! I thought it tasted great! It was moist and tender :) and the vegetables were very flavorful!

some fun pictures!

2009-05-21T11:22:00.001-07:00

Liza's crazy hair after a nap yesterday!

Such a happy boy!

Crawling machine!

Fun with cousins!

First time swinging - he enjoyed it :)

Liza loves her Dora hat!

Graduation for Sabrina!

2009-05-21T11:00:00.000-07:00

Congratulations Sabrina! Finally done - you did it!! Sabrina is my SIL and she just graduated with her BA in Home Furnishings Merchandising. The kids and I were able to go down and spend the weekend with everyone... unfortunately Ben had to work so we missed him. Andrew and Sabrina had a nice lunch at their house afterwards with food from Johnny Carinos - it was very tasty! Several friends and family were able to come help celebrate her big day!

Had to put in some pics of the kids... they were so well behaved - I was amazed because that is a long time to sit!

Liza's monster/dragon?

2009-05-11T07:44:00.000-07:00

I forgot to post pictures of Liza's dragon (not really sure what it is). I finished it a few weeks ago. I wanted to put a snout on it but I couldn't come up with anything that looked cute so I left him as the pattern showed. I did change the colors some I used pink instead of blue. Liza likes him :) I'm working on a doll for her right now. She has no clue! It's going to be for her birthday. I've had to work on it at night after she goes to bed so it's going slowly. She doesn't always stay in her bed after she's gone to bed lately so I wait and make sure she's really asleep before working on it. I'm going to make Wiley a cute rocket from a free pattern I found. I have so much stuff I want to make!

Mother's Day

2009-05-11T07:21:00.000-07:00

I had fun putting together gifts to send our moms and Liza made some cute cards to send them earlier in the week :) We didn't do much yesterday. Just hung out, watched a movie we had rented and the kids and I went out and got a pizza - I really wanted pizza! I should have gone and gotten a pedicure or manicure but I didn't want to go by myself and my friends were busy celebrating with their families. I think next year will be better if Liza is in preschool and will maybe make me something and will tell me Happy Mother's Day. I tried to get her to tell me this year and she said she didn't want to - ah two year olds. Maybe she'll even want to go with me to get a pedicure next year...

Playing together

2009-05-11T07:12:00.000-07:00

Eliza and Wiley can finally play together some. It's really nice because I can put Wiley in their room and they will play contently for a little while. Liza loves to have him play with her doll house with her... she usually winds up getting mad and asking me to move him though cause he takes everything out that she just put in ;o) I thought this second picture was cute of Wiley in the doll house!

He can finally crawl on his hands and knees now! He still would rather army crawl though since he can go much faster that way. One of his favorite things to do (besides eating) is crawl to the dog bowls and splash in the water. Why does every child like water bowls so much? He's starting to learn the word no but tends to ignore it.

Playdough

2009-05-11T07:05:00.001-07:00

Eliza and I made some playdough a few weeks ago from a recipe Ben's mom uses. It turned out really great and has lasted well! It's supposed to last up to 6 months! We've had fun playing with it off and on. She helped me pour the ingredients in the pan and was very excited to do that! At first I didn't think it had turned out right but I kept adding flour until it was the right consistency and not sticky anymore. I'm glad it turned out after that because we would have had a very sad little girl ;o)

Bath time!

2009-04-25T07:16:00.001-07:00

If you make this picture bigger you may be able to see two of his teeth :)

Wiley LOVES bath time!

Cute!

2009-04-25T07:09:00.001-07:00

Wiley sleeps in the playpen in the office right now because when he's in their room Liza won't leave him alone.... Wiley likes to play and look out the side at daddy when he's on the computer. Liza got in on the fun one evening and Ben caught some of these pictures while I was taking a nice bath :)

Wiley's new toy

2009-04-20T12:42:00.001-07:00

Give my puppy back!!

I made Wiley a cute little crocheted puppy from a pattern book my mom had gotten me. I changed it a little by adding crocheted ears instead of felt ones - it turned out really cute and Wiley and liza both like it :) Now I'm working on another toy from that book. Liza asked for the dinosaur/dragon looking one (can't tell what it is). I'll post pics next week when I finally get it done!

some fun pics

2009-04-20T12:36:00.000-07:00

peek a boo!

Liza and her puppy dog Socks -she LOVES him!

Wiley making his cute old man smile - he's so cute!

Liza being silly

Wiley can get into so much trouble now that he's crawling (army crawling) everywhere!

Tumble time!

2009-04-20T12:29:00.000-07:00

Playing with one of the kids from our meetup group

She loved hanging from the bar and it was so cute to see her hang by herself when the woman let go - she was so proud of herself!

She loved jumping on the trampoline and running into the ball pit :)

Update on Wiley... he was sick with a fever for a few days last week and I took him into the Dr. because his fever wouldn't go away. He weighed 18lbs 12 ounces! Big boy! He is fine now. The Dr. gave him an anitbiotic which I dont' think he really needed but I gave it to him anyway. I think his fever was from his teeth - he has all 4 front teeth coming in at the same time!! OUCH :(

Happy Easter!

2009-04-13T11:08:00.000-07:00

When we got home Liza found that the Easter bunny had come to visit! She was so excited and wanted to show us everything he brought :) This is a pic of the kids with their stuffed toys. Liza also got a Mr. Potato Head and Wiley got an inflatable rolling toy. They both got PJs too... the Easter bunny must have known they needed another pair ;O)

Easter egg hunt!

2009-04-13T10:49:00.001-07:00

Uncle Dan filming the kids hunting :)

Liza and Aunt Karen

Liza and Grandma... still searching

Liza, Drew and Jay looking for some very well hidden eggs!

Had to stop and have a taste!

Liza, Drew and Jay waiting very patiently to start the hunt!

Liza was SO worn out after our long day! We started the morning out by taking Socks to get toys at the pet store. Liza had fun looking at all the fish and mice/guniea pigs and then the birds. She didn't want to leave! Socks didnt' have as much fun... he was a little nervous, but he loves his toys! Then we waited for everyone to show up! When her cousins got there they went and played soccer, flew kites and blew some bubbles. Then it was time for the egg hunt... after the egg hunt we had an awesome dinner! Then it was more soccer and down to the pond for some fishing... Liza got very muddy but had a blast. She started crying at one point and said I'm sad... I want to catch a fish (she was sobbing and this was all coming out between the sobs - she's very dramatic!) Then it started to rain so we went back in and had some homemade apple pie - my mom makes awesome pie!! We had a great weekend seeing everyone... it's not often we all get together. Wiley of course was great through everything... he's such a happy baby! He started getting up on his knees more and rocking back and forth. He will be crawling in no time!

Kites and Soccer

2009-04-13T10:41:00.000-07:00

Uncle Andrew and Aunt Sabrina... and their dogs

Daddy and Eliza flying a kite way out in the field

Wiley and his cute little hat (this is the only pic I got of him :(... terrible one of me but you know...)

Soccer!!!

Liza flying a kite for the first time! Thanks Aunt Karen and Uncle Dan!

Power out!

2009-04-08T13:26:00.000-07:00

The power went out this morning right after I left for the dentist. The dentist went great and hopefully has solved (finally) all my toothaches and headaches I've been having. My bite was off - and they didn't charge me :) Anyways, when I got home Ben and the kids were laying on the couch. Ben had to go to work so we broke out our little DVD player that we use for the car and we watched a scooby doo movie until the power came back on. I just thought these were some cute pictures :O)

Oh and Wiley cut his first tooth yesterday!!! I about cried - another milestone.

Easter Eggs!!

2009-04-08T13:18:00.001-07:00

Liza had fun drawing on every single egg!

YAY!! All the eggs are in the dye! Can you tell she was very excited?

All done!

Checking out her dirty fingers from the dye

Time to eat one!! She liked it :)

Playing with blocks

2009-04-08T13:07:00.000-07:00

Liza was building a castle... she's never built like this on the floor before.

Wiley LOVES dumping out the blocks! He army crawls over to the box and then pulls it over! I think it's a game to him :) So cute!

Meet Socks!

2009-04-05T15:25:00.001-07:00

This is Socks. He just became our newest family member as of this afternoon! A friend is moving the end of the summer and wanted to find a home for him and we decided that he would be perfect for our family :) He will be 2 this summer so he's still really young. He is also house trained although I just cleaned up a spot... I think it's from him but Lucy could have marked her territory too... Hopefully we won't have much of that going on! He is great with kids and loves to give kisses. He is a Boston Terrior for those who do not know ( I didn't know).

Just wanted everyone to meet our new little guy! I love how he is sitting - too funny!

Hansel and Gretel

2009-04-05T15:15:00.000-07:00

Hansel, Gretel and the witch

Liza and Aunt Mary

Liza, Adam, Grandma Patje, and Sam

Aunt Mary

Daddy and Liza before the play

Well Liza went to her first play this weekend! It also happened to be the first Children's play done in Enid, OK. Ben's sister directed it. It turned out great!! Although Liza was a little scared at first she warmed up with the second half of the show and decided that the witch was not scary at all ;o)

Poor Wiley

2009-03-31T15:04:00.001-07:00

Liza went sticker happy on him! He was very mad at this point.

Crazy OK weather...

2009-03-28T07:04:00.001-07:00

We woke up to snow on the ground this morning... not much, but a thin layer across the grass and rooftops. I think two or three days ago the temperature was in the 80's. Whatever. I know we didn't get hit as bad as other parts of OK. I'm not a fan. I wish OK could just pick a season and stick with it for awhile (Well it has no problem with summer of course). Ben wishes it would be winter for awhile. We were not given much of a winter this year.

haha! That all sounded king of angry - I'm not. Just tired of the weather changes :)

Finally and a love/hate relationship....

2009-03-26T06:29:00.001-07:00

with my teeth. I had to go to the dentist yesterday because a tooth was causing me some pain. I thought maybe a filling came out. Well I went and told him about the sharp pain in one tooth (I couldn't tell him which one because the pain hit and left so fast each time) when I would bite down on something hard. He took xrays and couldn't see anything. He found small cavity but didn't think that could be causing my pain. My pain was like a quick knife stab or something straight up my tooth but then would go away. So I told him to go ahead and fix the cavity since I was there. Well he fixed it and then after the numbness wore off I had the worst pain on that side of my mouth. I have too many problems with my teeth. When they hurt, it is one of the worst pains I've experienced. Luckily I had some heavy pain meds left over from my last toothache and that got me through the night. This morning I'm feeling better. I'm still achy, but not really in pain. I'm hoping I was just sore from the shot and holding my mouth open so big. I don't want to go in again. Last time they couldn't figure out what was wrong they went ahead and did a root canal. Grrrrrr to my teeth. So I hate my teeth, but I love them too because I can eat to stay healthy and I can eat tasty things... plus they are fairly pretty ones :) Hopefully as the day goes on my teeth and mouth get back to normal!

And on to the finally...

I finally have lost 25 lbs!!! Now this is probably due to the fact I couldn't eat much yesterday, but I'm down so I'm happy! Now to just not gain it back... And yes it took me almost a month longer then I had planned, but I'm there!! Now 23 more to go to my pre preggo weight and another 10 -15 beyond that to my goal. A long road, but I'll get there eventually.

Stawberry bread!

2009-03-23T08:09:00.000-07:00

Here is a recipe that I haven't tried but it sounds really yummy and I'd like to try it maybe next week... I figured since Strawberries are pretty nice right now this would be a good one to share :)

Strawberry Bread (this is a low fat creation but big taste)

2 cups sifted cake flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 eggs lightly beaten
1/4 cup fat free half and half
2 tbsps. vegetable oil
1 cup chopped fresh strawberries
1 tbsp cake flour
cooking spray

Combine first 5 ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Make a well in the center of the batter. Combine eggs half and half and oil in a seperate bowl and then add to flour mixture. Mix just until evenly moist. Dredge strawberries in tbsp of flour and gently fold into the batter. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes in a loaf pan. Serving size is 1/16 117 calories per slice, 2.5 grams of fat and 1 gram of fiber.

I got this recipe from one of the moms in my meetup group :)

A few more pictures!

2009-03-20T10:14:00.000-07:00

I felt bad that I made so many post and didn't have any pictures of Wiley on here! So I got a few of him this morning :) I love the pictures of kids and Daddy's boots!

He does this cute little grin a lot :O)

Do you think he looks like anyone? I've heard Ben and I've heard that he doesn't look like any of us.... I don't know. He has Ben's chin though - that cleft chin is SO cute!

And Liza wanted her picture taken too :)

Funny video of Liza

2009-03-20T07:11:00.000-07:00

Ben was pushing Liza on her car and she was actually steering the little thing ( I didn't know you could!) She wanted to do it over and over again. She would come back each time and turn the car around backwards and say "do it again daddy"!

An update on Wiley : he is not crawling yet but he sure is good at scootin around on his tummy backwards!! He is trying hard to get those knees up under him though so I think it will be within the month or so that he'll be taking off everywhere!

My newest project

2009-03-20T07:03:00.001-07:00

I found this cute bird in a hotair balloon pattern online. Here is the link:

http://crochetingcrab.blogspot.com/2009/03/little-birds-holiday-amigurumi.html

Eliza loves it! She sat next to me (or jumped on me) for a few hours last night waiting for me to finish it. I think it is really cute and would be great in a nursery for a newborn. I would use some more coordinating colors though... I mixed some of the stash yarn from Ben's Aunt Oleeva and then my own :) I've been making baby booties a lot and needed a break to make something else. Now back to baby booties... I know a lot of babies being born soon!!

I love shoes!

2009-03-20T06:57:00.001-07:00

I needed some more tennis shoes so Wiley and I went shopping yesterday! I found these cute pink and gray asics - I love asics! And the store (famous footwear) was having their buy one get the 2nd half off sale. Of course I had to take advantage... especially after I saw these cute sandals!

I love shoes and was just so excited to find these! I can't wait for it to get warmer so I can wear them :)

muffins

2009-03-20T06:55:00.001-07:00

These are the morning glory muffins that I posted about. I made them a few days ago and they were very tasty! To me they tasted better when they were room temperature then when they were warm. Just thought I'd share :)

Comfort meal!

2009-03-17T12:54:00.000-07:00

This is a recipe Ben's mom has given us. It's awesome! Deffinetly a heavy meal but oh so tasty :O) I have made this for friends after they've had babies or surgeries and need a prepared meal. I usually have rice and corn to go with it. I've been asked for the recipe by several people so I thought this would be a good meal to share!

Mexican Chicken Casserole

3-5 chicken breasts
1 onion sliced really thin ( I usually only use half an onion)
1 can rotel tomatoes & green chilies
1 can chicken broth (I usually use Campbells since it's a smaller can)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 package dorito chips (nacho flavor)
1 lb velveeta cheese (cut into small chunks)

Boil chicken in slightly salted water until well done. Cut into small pieces. In pan, combine: Rotel, cream of chicken soup, and chicken broth and warm enough to mix well.In a casserole dish place the cut-up chicken pieces, sliced onion, and enough chips to cover the chicken and onion. Pour on the soup, broth, and rotel mixture. Put cheese chunks on top and cover the dish.Bake at 350 degrees until the casserole is brown around the edges and bubbly. (approx 20 min)

enjoy :)

Wiley's appt.

2009-03-16T13:44:00.000-07:00

He weighed 17 lbs 3 ounces and was 26 1/4 inches. He is 50th for everything but height... he is 25th for that. The Dr's took forever today. She was so busy I guess because of spring break. I have never seen the waiting room that full - it was kind of crazy. Well Wiley's Dr. saw that Liza still has a binky and informed me very harshly that she needs to get rid of it. I know she does, but I can't just throw them away like she said to do. I would feel bad. But I guess maybe I need to toughen up about it. She got Liza to give her one today and trade for a balloon. It was great until we were in the car and Liza realized she wasn't getting her binky back. Oh man. The trip home was pretty awful. It wasn't the best time to do it either since it was after lunch and around the time Liza usually has a nap or quiet time. Of course when we got home she found another binky. I did throw another one out when she wasn't looking. I feel bad :( But I can't come up with anything she likes enough to give up her binkys... Her binkys are her favorite thing. The Dr. said that at this age binkys are bad for hearing and teeth. I knew about the teeth but not the hearing... We'll be getting rid of them soon. Just hope she doesn't start stealing Wileys. He has a different kind though since she stole his other ones that were like hers when he first started using them.

Well, that's it for now. I'm going to go lay down. We had to get groceries already this morning. That always wears me out - it's a great workout lugging a heavy cart with heavy groceries and a two year old around while wearing Wiley. I'm usually sweating at the end. And Wiley is kind of cranky now after his shots and doesn't want to be far away. Right now I got him to play on the floor for a little bit :)

Pictures!!

2009-03-13T14:16:00.000-07:00

Ok so I never wrote about last weekend. Ben's parents came down Saturday and we all went out to Olive Garden - yummy! Then they watched the kids so Ben and I could go see a movie! We have not been to a movie in about 3 years I think so it was awesome!!! We've had other chances but stuff always came up so it was nice to finally get to go! We saw Coraline. It was good. Ben and I like those claymation kind of movies :) Then Ben's parents tag teamed and watched Wiley all night so I finally got a full night's sleep - really awesome!! We had a fun visit and Liza LOVED having Grandma Patje and Papa here!

This is just a picture of some banana bread I made last week :) It was pretty tasty!

Do you think our dog is a big spoiled? The pillow is only on the floor like that cause Liza had been putting her teddy bear to bed :)

I took the kids to Nations of Fun today. It is kind of like Chuck E Cheese. fun place! Liza had a blast and told me that it was Chuck E Cheese - you know she likes it if she called it that! Wiley had a nice time too clinging to mommy all afternoon :O)

Liza LOVED the carousel! She rode it a bunch... luckily her friends mommy's and I took turns paying cause it cost a dollar to ride each time.

Wiley looking very handsome in his overalls. This was at a playgroup on post. He can actually play a little now and really enjoys watching the other kids!

Liza has been getting into dress up lately! She likes to try and dress me up too.

So, the kids are a blast!! I'm tired, but it's worth it when I see them having fun and growing so much! Liza just amazes us every day with everything she is learning and how well she is communicating! I love our little munchkins!

Wiley will have a well baby check up on monday and I'm excited to see how much he weighs and how long he is. We just met a two month old little girl last night that weighs 15.2! I'm still amazed...

Some sillyness :O)

2009-03-10T07:35:00.000-07:00

Last night we were all laying in bed watching tv together. I told Ben, "we sure do have kids who don't like to sleep much". And Liza said " YES, you sure do"! It was hilarious!!! We really did get kids who don't like to sleep much... Liza hardly ever takes a nap anymore. She has quiet time now. And Wiley only took one nap yesterday and was up until really late and then up a lot until midnight and then about every two hours. Liza used to sleep pretty well- wonder what happened.

This morning Liza told me " I'm sick mommy". I said ok then I guess we won't be going to play with your friends this morning. She said " yes I do. I want to go play with my friends and ride the roller coaster and say WEEEEEE"!!