Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Breakfast with Santa

Our friends the Fowlers and the Yenicheks have been hosting Breakfast with Santa for the past few years. This was the first year we have been able to attend and had a blast! I didn't have my camera for the kids sitting on Santa's lap but you can picture Parker sitting there saying "Cheese" and Maryn just holding onto me for dear life, crying. Parker simply told Santa that he wanted presents. Nothing specific. Which I suppose is a good thing since I have had his Thomas train table under my bed since May.


Yes, Maryn cried for this entire series of pictures. Luckily we weren't trying to get one for our Christmas card. I looked in her mouth after this picture was taken and discovered two large swollen bumps in her little mouth. Nothing a little ibuprofen wouldn't fix!


A better shot.


All the kids decorating Christmas cookies.


Maryn has inherited her mother's sweet tooth!

Monday, November 26, 2007

Parker's Thanksgiving Feast

Parker's class on their way to the feast. That's him in the blue stripe shirt almost in the center of the picture. The boys had pilgrim hats on and the girls wore pilgrim bonnets (?).


The Tuesday before Thanksgiving the kids had a feast at Parker's school, Sonshine Preschool. We LOVE Sonshine. He was on the wait list until August when we found out he had a spot for which we were and are very thankful. My mom teaches preschool in Nashville at St. B's and Sonshine reminded me so much of that so I really wanted him there. And God answered our prayers. So Parker dressed up in his pilgrim hat and ate his "feast" with his friends.

Parker and his friend Carter


Parker's "girlfriend" Lanigan.


I didn't want to have a post without at least one picture of Maryn. If you read my SIL Sarah's blog you will find out that we cheated a little and opened Christmas presents early. We won't see them in December and its always fun to let the kids get something new. So... I had suggested a baby stroller for Maryn and they also got her first Cabbage Patch kid, baby Allie. I love this picture of her in the high chair with Maryn. She can feed her a bottle too which is so cute! Parker got a "car bath" (which is really a car wash) for Thomas. He LOVES it and played with it nonstop the day he got it. Thomas is the cleanest train you have ever seen. Thanks Aunt Sarah, Uncle Joseph, and Ford!!

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Who do my kids look like?



Kind of surprising. Maybe its just the picture I chose because I have thought she favored Mark. Thanks to Sarah for finding the Look-alike Meter!!


Also not what I expected. I have always thought Parker looked more like me. What do you think?

Friday, November 9, 2007

Who's Who


I am sure you can tell that the picture on the bottom is Maryn. And the picture on the top is... ME! This was at my 1 year birthday party in the same dress and the same rocking chair that Maryn is in on her 1st birthday. I look a little like a deer in headlights don't you think?

My sweet aunt Margaret kept most of my baby and little girl dresses that my grandmother and mother smocked. Maryn has already been able to wear several. I hope to save them for her daughter to wear.





Thursday, November 8, 2007

Finally... Halloween


Curious George and a flower. I wanted Parker to be the man in the yellow hat and Maryn be George but of course he wanted George. Who can blame him?




Maryn and Cole. Cole is about three weeks younger than Maryn.


Elle, Lilli and Parker go trick or treating.

I barely even remember Halloween after our lovely car fire and trip to Auburn. I do remember that we had a great time at the Guthe's with great friends. Oh, my kids did look pretty cute too!

Friday, November 2, 2007

One Year Ago Today



Tell me he is not the cutest thing you've ever seen!!! (except for my kids of course!) Happy First Birthday Ford!!! He is exactly one week younger than Maryn, although he was supposed to be about a month younger. Ford is a great baby. His loudest crying sounds like Maryn at her quietest crying! He loves to swing, go on walks with his mom, play with his dogs, and watch his cousins play. He has the sweetest smile that just melts your heart. Can't wait to see you tomorrow, Ford!

Not a Halloween Post



So I was planning for my next post to be of pictures of the kids in their Halloween costumes... but we have had other eventful things happening. As many of you already know my car caught on fire last night. Thankfully no one was hurt and it didn't occur in our garage or anywhere else dangerous.

I was at Emily's at a Tupperware party (insert smile- so stereotypical for a suburban housewife!) and I had only been there for about 15 minutes when a girl who was leaving came back inside to say that someone's car was on fire. Everyone rushed outside except me. They thought it was my friend Lori's because she has had a car fire before so I sat inside watching her baby. Then they yelled in that it was my car! So I rushed outside (thanks to whomever came back in for Caroline!!) with Emily's husband Shaun who had a fire extinguisher. He was able to put out the fire which was on the back driver's side as you can see from the pictures. The fire department arrived shortly after that with many neighborhood children in pursuit. Cam and Parker had been upstairs playing and were very fascinated by the fire men, lights and sirens. Cam has been very upset about my car which is the sweetest thing. Parker, on the other hand, is his father's child and has been pretty laid back about the whole thing. He mostly thinks the smoke was pretty interesting and he did ask if the fireman was his friend. They must have said that at school when the firemen came to visit. They doused my car with the hose and then asked a lot of questions about the car. Mark arrived shortly after that to check out the damage and take me and Parker home. We just kept looking at each other the rest of the night saying "Our car was on fire." Such a weird thing to have happen, especially so suddenly.

They think from looking at the car that it could have started from the trailer hitch that we had put on the car in May. The car was filled with smoke so I am assuming that there is damage from that and some of the things we had in the car, car seats and strollers, smell pretty badly. But God really took care of us. The fire could have started while we were sleeping and it was in the garage. Or it could have happened on our way to Auburn tomorrow. Or any other time the kids and I were in it. If only it would result in a new minivan...

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Deceptively Delicious

When Mary Sue, aka Grandma, came to visit a couple of weeks ago she brought me a present. Yeah! It was Jessica Seinfeld's new cookbook, Deceptively Delicious. The premise behind the cookbook, if you haven't seen her recently on Regis and Kelly or Oprah, is that she hides vegetables in her cooking- so that her kids will get some vegetables. She purees them and adds the puree to macaroni and cheese, brownies and even pancakes. What a great idea! Parker is getting better at eating vegetables but not as much as I'd like. He will eat carrot sticks, cucumber, and broccoli and sometimes other veggies when they're in dishes like chicken pot pie. But this is a great way to get a vegetable in him more often. Right now Maryn loves vegetables, especially broccoli and peas.

Last night we tried the chicken nuggets. They were really good- and fairly easy! It was a little tough to do the breading part but that's how it is with any recipe with breading. If I had already had the puree done and just thawed from the freezer that would have made it easier too. Mark and I enjoyed them and Parker said he liked them too! Recipe as follows...

Chicken Nuggets
(with broccoli, spinach, sweet potato or beet puree)

1 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup flaxseed meal (I omitted this because I didn't have it.)
1 T grated Parm cheese
1/2 t paprika
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t onion powder
1 cup puree (I used spinach- to make steam spinach and then puree in food processor- like you're making home made baby food.)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 lb chicken tenders, rinsed, dried and cut into small chunks
1/2 t salt
Nonstick cooking spray
1 T olive oil

1. Combine breadcrumbs, flaxseed meal, Parm cheese, paprika, garlic, and onion powder in a shallow bowl (can also use a plate or a large sheet of foil) and mix well.

2. In another shallow bowl mix the puree and egg with a fork and set the bowl next to the breadcrumb mixture.

3. Sprinkle the chicken chunks with salt. Dip into egg mixture and then toss in the breadcrumbs until coated.

4. Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set over med-high heat. When the skillet is hot, add the oil. Place the chicken nuggets in the skillet inn a single layer, being careful not to crowd the pan and cook until crisp and golden on one side, 3 to 4 minutes. Then turn and cook kuntil the chicken is cooked through, golden brown and crisp all over, 4 to 5 minutes longer.

*This is not typed word for word from the cookbook.

Enjoy!

Monday, October 29, 2007

Maryn's Second First Birthday


So the morning of the birthday started out with a bang!! Ford had been up early, didn't want to eat his breakfast of banana and cereal so he decided to mash it in his hair. Then came the bath. Now neither or my children ever pooped in the bath tub until about a week ago when Maryn did. Gross. That is not a fun experience and it involves a lot of cleaning. Anyway Ford decides if Maryn did it then it must be a good idea. So when we are trying to get ready for this party with three kids and a dog running/crawling around poor Sarah is cleaning up the bath tub, the toys, and Ford. While all that is going on I decide to change Maryn's diaper. She escapes before I can get a clean one on her and stands up at the refrigerator to play with her magnets. I run to get my camera to take a picture of the birthday girl in her birthday suit. I go to put up the camera and just as I am coming back to put her diaper on she POOPS on the kitchen floor. AHHHH!! Of all times to do that! So appreciate the above picture!



Ford and Maryn playing while Sarah and I were working. It is so funny to watch them together. Maryn is a bit of a bully. I guess that comes from having a big brother.


Ah the cake fiasco. So I decided to make Maryn's cake myself. I wanted something two layers but small, about 5 inches in diameter. I made two layers of an 8" yellow cake with the intention of cutting it smaller. So I cut the two layers and then attempted to ice them. Well, the icing would NOT stick. The cake was too "crumby." Now maybe some of you bakers (Abby) know what would make it stick- or do they sell little layer pans that I could have used instead? So the MORNING of the actual party I am on the phone with Harris Teeter. And let me tell you, they really came through. They sell a "patti cake" (like the nursery rhyme!!!) for $7. It's 5" in diameter and you can get it decorated however you want!! And when I went to pick it up I found out that they actually make it for baby's first birthday for free!! (but you have to register in advance so I had to pay the $7- after my disaster I was willing to pay more!) And look how cute it was...


Obviously Maryn enjoyed it!!


Everyone else had these beautiful cupcakes Sarah decorated. Not only does she do beautiful calligraphy but she decorates cupcakes! What a talented girl!


Circle sandwiches for our polka dot party. Andrea made the little flags for me with about 30 minutes notice! What a great friend!!


Decorations


The birthday girl and aunt Em. Emily gave her a beautiful cross necklace for her birthday. I'll have to take another picture with it close up.


All in all it was a great party, chaotic, but great. I am so thankful to have such great friends to celebrate my little girl.

She got tons of cute stuff... a couple of things for her room (thanks Arin and Meg), books (Sarah and Ashley), clothes (Andrea- not to mention adorable thank you notes), a Fisher Price dollhouse (Sarah and Ford), cute Halloween stuff (Jodi), and

a kitchen (Emily, Lanie, Ann, Julie Y, Julie F and Lori). Couldn't resist a picture of the kitchen for the grandparents to see.

Thank you everyone for such a great birthday party for Maryn!!!!

Check out the rest of the pictures...
http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?&conn_speed=1&collid=708172090107.534972317207.1193798399744&mode=fromsite


Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Maryn's First First Birthday


So excited!!


She starts out very daintily (is that a word?)...






And ends up a mess! All done!!


Parker insisted on a hat too.

While Grandma was still here we had to have a little party to celebrate Maryn's birthday since she couldn't be here on Friday, Maryn's real birthday. We had cupcakes and a few presents. As you can see from the pictures Maryn made a huge mess while Parker ate his cupcake very carefully. Check back for pictures of her big party.

My sister-in-law, Sarah is a very special person. I am so thankful that my brother married someone that I absolutely adore. She is one of my best friends. Now how many girls can say that about their sister-in-law!! And she really loves my children. I think she loves them as much as you can love a child that is not biologically yours. Today she and her son, Ford, are making the five hour trip up here just so they can be here for her party. If it wasn't during the week I know my brother, Joseph, would be here too and he is very sad he is missing out. Ford is one week, to the day, younger than Maryn. So we will be travelling to Auburn next weekend to celebrate my favorite nephew's birthday!! (It's ok to say that now because he's my only nephew!)

Today was also a big day for Maryn because she was having her one year pictures done. For all the grandkids first birthdays my dad and Debbie give them a photo session with a small stipulation of a picture in return. Maryn did great! especially considering she had not had a nap. My friend Sharon took the pictures. She is an amazing photographer! One of my favorite things about Sharon is how excited she gets about the things she loves... her friend's kids, Jesus, a great pair of jeans! Don't you know someone that you can't wait to tell something to because they are going to be out of control excited for you? That's Sharon (and also my friend Emily). Sharon has a big heart and such a passion for life... and photography! She took an unbelieveable 400 pictures! Here's the link to her blog so you can see the great pictures she took. Contact her if you want some wonderful pictures!!

http://smittenphotography.typepad.com/smitten_photography/2007/10/year-one-maryn.html

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Hooray for Grandma!


Parker and I are sewing curtains for his room. Maybe now we can get the towel down that has been there for two years. Anything to make it darker and therefore get him to sleep longer!


Maryn and Grandma playing in the backyard.


Ready for the game!


On the phone to Grandpop who had to stay home and work. Hey, Grandpop!

Mark's mom has been here since Thursday evening. Not only have Parker and Maryn had a great time with Grandma but so have Mark and I. This was the weekend we were supposed to go out of town by ourselves to Charleston for my birthday but with his test only two weeks away we felt like that was not the best use of his time right now.

Mary Sue, aka Grandma, has been an enormous help to me with the kids and Mark and I have gotten to go on a couple of dates. Friday we took the kids to the mall for a little Chick-fil-a and play time on the playground. Then while they napped I got my hair highlighted, cut and my eyebrows done. A wonderful afternoon of beauty! If only it had included facial, mani/pedi, massage... but I am enjoying my new haircut and color. Friday night Mark and I went to dinner at Macaroni Grill, one of my favorites.

Saturday Mary Sue and I took Parker to Discovery Place (a hands-on museum for all ages) while Maryn napped at home with Mark. Now I went to Discovery Place when I was a kid with my dad, Debbie, and Joseph several times and when I taught 7th graders we took them on a field trip (walked from Piedmont, a couple of miles at least, with kids complaining the whole way and me scared to death they were going to run into the street and get hit by a car) there. I thought it might be a little too old for Parker but he had so much fun! There is a special place just for kids six and younger. It was like a giant preschool classroom. There was a really fun water table that he loved best of all. His other favorites were the snake and the air chair (it lifts you up somehow using air and then you sort of glide back down).

Today she helped me take the kids to the grocery store, a task I usually do by myself, which was such a treat! And tonight Mark and I went to see a movie!!! When was the last time we did that? Any other date night we want to go to dinner so we can have some adult conversation but since we were able to do that Friday... we went to see Rendition with Jake Gyllenhall (sp?) and Reese Witherspoon. Pretty good. A little serious for Reese but enjoyable. I had to close my eyes and ears for a few minutes during a torture scene but other than that it was good.

So... a great visit!! And we still have tomorrow!

Monday, October 15, 2007

Emily's Shower




Isn't she beautiful!!


For our "game" we had everyone put a tag on their gift that included a baby picture of themselves instead of signing it to say who it was from. Emily had to guess who the picture was. Thanks Sarah for that idea!


Flowers from the farmers market in Charlotte. What a well kept secret!! I got three beautiful arrangements for VERY little money!


The food was delicious if I do say so myself! Thanks to Emily's mom for taking care of the desserts!

I am so excited about this baby!! I love Cam so much and am excited to have another baby Fowler to love. The shower was at Emily's sister-in-law's house in downtown Concord. It was a perfect place! We sat outside to eat and open gifts. The day could not have been more beautiful. She got lots of great gifts- one of my favorites was painted hangers. One set was animals- each hanger was a different animal- and another was transportation. If I can get a picture I will post one. They were very cute!

Now the next party on the horizon is Maryn's birthday! I cannot believe she is turning one... but that's another post.


Friday, October 12, 2007

Busy...


Maryn in a dress that was mine when I was little. It was made by either my mom or grandmother. I have several and mom can never remember who made what.

A quick picture from Amanda's shower.

Two babies rocking.

So I am a little behind on my posts. I have been in the middle of baby shower heaven! I helped give one last Sunday and had one Saturday. Sunday's was for my friend, Amanda, from church. She and Juan are having a girl, Sofia, at the end of November and Saturday's shower was for one of my very best friends, Emily, is having a boy at the first of the year. I will post pictures soon.

What's going on with the kids... Maryn has another tooth. That's three in about 10 days. And she hasn't been extremely cranky and I have only gotten up with her once in the night through the whole thing. I am convinced that because she is older getting teeth that she can cope with it better. Please correct me if you have had a different experience. I'd hate to have another child who gets teeth late and then its murder!

Parker had a good week at school. Tuesday was school picture day so I can't wait to see how they turned out. He just told me that Miss Thomas took pictures and had a bear on her head. And that he didn't like taking pictures so I have very low expectations for how they will look. He also had fun this week because his best friend, Cam, spent Tuesday and Thursday with us. The boys had a great time playing on my bed in the pillows and doing their laps. They like to run around through the kitchen and den occasionally yelling something or falling over a toy.

We also got trees put in our backyard. We have one of those typical new development yards that is RIGHT next to another. And our neighbor is sooo sweet but she does have a rather unsightly backyard. So hopefully these trees will be a distraction and eventually give a little privacy. It took them two days to complete the job and I felt so bad for the guys doing it. It was still pretty hot and our hill is horrible.

More soon...

Friday, October 5, 2007

Teeth!


More driving the Gator. Yesterday when Maryn and I went to get the mail she noticed the Gator in the garage. We went inside and she started crying and reaching for the door. She didn't stop until I took her outside to sit on the Gator. She knows what she wants!


Parker is cleaning my bath tub with my shaving cream. He's obsessed with cleaning. Should I be excited or concerned?


We love bath time!!

These pictures are not related to this post but I couldn't resist. This past
weekend Maryn did not want to take her afternoon nap. I figured since she still, at 11 months old, had no teeth that perhaps she was teething. I was putting orajel on her bottom gums which were maybe just slightly swollen when I felt a tooth! On the top! Most babies get their first teeth on the bottom so I never expected it up top. The next morning, after waking up at 5:30, I found another one! So she has two top teeth and no bottom teeth yet. I am a little relieved that she will make it to her first birthday with a couple of teeth.

Parker is still a little apprehensive about preschool but overall is doing really well. I am very proud of him. A policeman came to visit yesterday and Miss Fran said he loved it and climbed over all the other kids to get into the police car. It was Dylan's birthday so they had cupcakes, and it was their first chapel. A very fun-filled day!! That was the most detail I've gotten all year.