the Pié family

kids remember everything

2012-01-27T06:45:00.000-08:00

i used to have a pretty sharp memory. like remembering what shirt i wore on my first date with jesse, or what we ate on that date, or what he didn't eat because he was too nervous.

and then i had kids.

and now i forget to buy things at the grocery store that are written down on the list that i carry with me throughout the store.

but my kids remember everything. they have fresh, uncluttered minds, and it amazes me!

it was a pretty tragic event, when kate fell down the stairs with jackson last april, so i am not surprised that it sticks out in her memory. this morning she surprised me when she drew this, with no prompting:

"this is me crying when i fell down the stairs."

he's my boy

2012-01-20T07:09:00.000-08:00

just came across this picture from the beginning of this past fall. oh how it makes me smile.

happy 32nd birthday, babe

2011-12-31T06:58:00.000-08:00

if he could have it his way, jesse's birthday would come and go with no attention drawn to the occasion. and with his birthday being on new year's eve, it's kind of hard to avoid at least a party. this year was a low-key new year's eve for our family, but i had to do a little something special for jesse. waffles for breakfast and a cake for when he got home from work. (yellow with chocolate frosting per the birthday boy's request)

and moments before he walked through the door, i realized i did not have any birthday candles but these 6. (unfortunately, not 32 of them)

i am so thankful for my hardworking, self-less, loving, dedicated, handsome, funny, helpful, talented, kind husband. i love you jesse!

2011 in review

2011-12-31T06:57:00.000-08:00

we started off the year with a bang- Brian Regan show and Elk Creek Vineyard get-away.
Kate learned how to use the potty
we went to the circus
i stopped using non-dairy creamer (and it's flammable components)
we bought chickens
i started running (and still can't believe i enjoy it)
we travelled to Pittsburgh for Easter and surprised Gammie for her 60th birthday
we rescued a duck
we kept the duck and named her Lucky
Jacob turned 4
Lucky was taken by a raccoon :(
we celebrated 8 years of wedded bliss
i went blueberry pickin
we visited Colorado
Jacob learned to draw tractors, and lots of them
our chickens began to lay eggs
we lost 3 chickens and had to end the life of our rooster
Kate learned to use training wheels
i was privileged to have my first experience being a maid-of-honor
Kate turned 3
Jacob had his first visit to the ER and first ambulance ride
we said goodbye to our last 2 chickens as they went to go live with these ladies
we travelled to Pittsburgh for Christmas

pittsburgh christmas

2011-12-26T07:00:00.000-08:00

it's never a dull moment when we head to pittsburgh. there is always something to do or someone to see. this christmas did not fail us. we kept busy with lots of family and lots of visiting! i wasn't great with the camera, but here are a few photos from our christmas week:

playing with cousin easton

a short visit with grandpa dennis

making cookies with gammie

christmas with the mclanes, schneiders, and steckos

christmas eve

christmas with the piés

jesse's early birthday celebration

ray liotta

2011-12-17T06:58:00.000-08:00

it was a thursday afternoon and we were sitting down to lunch. the kids were having grilled cheese and tomato soup and raspberries. of course, they eat the raspberries first. :)

within 2 minutes, kate's face had broken out into a rash around her eyes and mouth. we thought maybe she had developed a sudden allergy to raspberries (she had just eaten them the week before-no problem). after 2 doses of benedryl, and 8 hours later, it wasn't looking better. we sent her to bed thinking it might clear up over night. it hadn't. she woke up the next morning "mommy, there's something wrong with my eyes!"

she did not even look like my daughter (unlce josh thought she looked like ray liotta, and i have to agree) - jesse and i tried not to show our true emotions when we saw her face in the light. poor baby! after a dr's visit and blood test, we concluded it was not the raspberries and are more clueless than before as to what it could have been. thankfully, she cleared up within 2 days with a steroid. the only hunch we have is that she could have possible touched some cleaning products right before lunch? but with a 3 year old, who knows! we are thankful she recovered quickly, and she is thankful that she can still eat raspberries! :)

gingerbread morning

2011-12-07T05:49:00.000-08:00

it was cookie-making morning at our house. it always seems like such a good idea... until we are done decorating and my kitchen floor is confettied with jimmies and sprinkles and the kids are all sugared up! but it was fun while it lasted :)

happy birthday to me

2011-12-02T06:57:00.000-08:00

i am thankful every year for my friends who are always so kind to make my birthday so special. this year was no different. some friends from church and i had a splendid night out- some of us got dressed up (ahem), we ate a delicious dinner at bonefish grill, laughed harder than i had in a long time, and ended the evening with coffee and yummy tiramisu. (thanks jen!) :)

a few weeks later, i got to celebrate again with some friends from work. we had a delicious taco dinner, i was treated to the most delicious homemade white chocolate raspberry cheesecake (thanks mandy -my new favorite dessert!) and watched one of the dumbest chick flicks ever (i won't mention any names) :)

thank you to my friends for making me feel special and loved, and for making 31 seem not-so-bad.

day 30

2011-11-30T07:14:00.000-08:00

thankful for my friends who remind me to update my blog.

day 29

2011-11-29T07:13:00.000-08:00

thankful for the home we are blessed to live in, and the beautiful land we get to look at and enjoy.

day 28

2011-11-28T19:43:00.000-08:00

thankful for my dad, who turns 61 today!

day 27

2011-11-27T19:43:00.000-08:00

thankful for the winter, as it makes me appreciate summer all the more!

day 26

2011-11-26T19:57:00.000-08:00

thankful for our jobs, and the opportunity to be a part of the ministry of AiG.

day 25

2011-11-25T19:50:00.000-08:00

thankful or God's protection over Jacob- what could have been a serious injury, is healing rather quickly!
while playing on thanksgiving evening, jacob managed to fall with a small dowel rod in his mouth, puncturing a hole in between the crotch of his upper and lower jaw. it was deep enough that we took him to the ER. an ambulance ride to children's hospital, and 5 dr's later, they ended up sending him home with just a prescription for some pain killers. no stitches and no permanent damage- thank the Lord!

day 24

2011-11-24T19:41:00.000-08:00

thankful for the friends and family we got to celebrate thanksgiving with this year!

day 23

2011-11-23T19:41:00.000-08:00

thankful for my mom- who slaved away in the kitchen so we could enjoy a delicious thanksgiving feast! (ok, i helped a little) and for all the helpful things she does when she comes to visit (like cleaning my junk "collection" in the kitchen and introducing me to trader joe's sipping chocolate!)

day 22

2011-11-22T19:40:00.000-08:00

thankful for some time to organize the basement and sort through lots and lots of stuff while revisiting great memories :)

day 21

2011-11-21T19:30:00.000-08:00

thankful for our vehicle- no car payments, no major car trouble or expenses, and that we continue to survive as a 1-car family.

day 20

2011-11-20T12:40:00.000-08:00

thankful, once again, for my husband! i could find a different reason every day to be thankful for him, but today i am most thankful for what God has done in his heart and in his life. and thankful that he was able to share that with our church body this morning and take the step of obedience to be baptized.

day 19

2011-11-19T12:40:00.000-08:00

today i am thankful for new jeans. ahhhhh!

day 18

2011-11-18T12:39:00.000-08:00

thankful for melissa and her domestic prowess, and the delicious recipes i have obtained from her. (which include, but is not limited to, chocolate cake, naan, and tomato/italian sausage/spinach/tortellini soup)

day 17

2011-11-17T07:37:00.000-08:00

thankful for these guys (or gals) and their mothers

day 16

2011-11-16T06:28:00.000-08:00

thankful for my adorable nieces and nephews. :)

day 15

2011-11-15T06:15:00.000-08:00

thankful for this face (and the little face next to her)

a dear friend who has a servant's heart and has taught me how to serve others.

day 14

2011-11-14T06:15:00.000-08:00

thankful for the privilege to work from home. sometimes i complain, but it is a huge blessing that i don't take for granted. i love being home with my 2 angels, even when they are not so angelic. :)

day 13

2011-11-13T06:42:00.000-08:00

thankful that my biggest problem has been taken care of!!!

day 12

2011-11-12T06:39:00.000-08:00

thankful for God's provision. there is never a day that we are without food, clothing or shelter.

matthew 6: 26 "Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?"

day 11

2011-11-11T06:38:00.000-08:00

thankful today for the opportunity i had to be a part of a dear friend's wedding, just a few weeks ago. it was an honor and a blessing to be a part of the celebration!

day 10

2011-11-10T05:28:00.000-08:00

(i forgot to mention that these are in random order)

today i am thankful for coffee, and all that comes with it. cream, sugar, pumpkin spice creamer, starbucks, trader joe's dark roast, and pumpkin spice lattes...i could really go on and on....

day 9

2011-11-09T05:08:00.000-08:00

she's mischievous and she pushes my buttons, but she's such a charmer and entertainer! i love Kate and i am so thankful for this talkative bundle of energy!

day 8

2011-11-08T06:14:00.000-08:00

thankful for my creative, inquisitive, handsome, healthy, smart, silly Jacob. i love that boy!

thankful, day 1-7

2011-11-07T04:26:00.000-08:00

i saw some friends on facebook have been doing a "month of thanks", writing about 1 thing they are thankful for each day for the month of November. i'd rather log it here, so i can easily go back and read it a year or 2, or 10, down the road.

so i am jumping into this a week late, i'll try to get caught up.

1. my husband, who loves me despite being totally baffled by the mind of a woman (you know, the hormonal part :) ) and despite the times when i am not so lovable. God has blessed me with a wonderful man!

2. how surprisingly well my kids adjusted to the daylight savings "fall back". 2nd day in, it's 7:30am (8:30) and they are still asleep!!

3. our rooster that was our dinner last night.

4. flannel sheets.

5. cooked sushi.

6. friends who are like family.

7. the beauty of God's creation that we are privileged to enjoy with the radiant colors of the changing leaves during these past few weeks.

kate is 3!

2011-10-31T06:03:00.000-07:00

we had fun celebrating the birthday girl. she chose to go to the pumpkin patch for her birthday. it was extra special to have pappy and gammie in town for the celebration, and her best friends were there too!

we jumped on hay bales

we went on a hayride

we fed the cows

the birthday girl rode a pony

we collected "mini" pumpkins (going to the pumpkin patch on october 30 doesn't leave you with much of a selection)

we ended the day with dewey's pizza and purple cupcakes!

happy 3rd birthday kate!

a special day

2011-10-29T06:41:00.000-07:00

i was shocked and honored to be asked to be the matron of honor for my friend katie's wedding. it was such a privilege to be a part of this special celebration.

if i could do it all over again (not planning on it) i would get married in the fall. not sure why we picked june, but we did. :) being a part of katie's day was extra fun for me because i got to experience a fall wedding firsthand. i especially loved helping her pick out the flowers :)

jesse said i was "bookin" down the aisle, so he didn't get a great picture.

one of my favorite parts of the day- the kids getting dressed up!

thank you jason and katie for letting me be a part of your special day!

and a special thanks to my husband who spent a lot of time with the kids while i was busy helping the bride.

i'm too tired to think of a good title for this post

2011-10-03T20:57:00.000-07:00

just a little update on the happenings on the farm.

kate got a new bike. an early birthday gift. i can't believe my baby is old enough to ride a bike. she looks like such a big girl sitting on that seat. time is flying by!!

if you can't tell by the look on her face, she loves her new wheels.

sadly, we lost one of our hens last week. we suspect it was a hawk. the worst part of this is, she was one of the 2 that were laying. so now we are left with one busy little hen -who averages one or two eggs a day, one mr. cranky pants rooster, and two dud hens who still haven't paid rent.

we have welcomed the cooler weather, and have already had several splendid campfires. (for some reason, i can't help but take a picture of the flames, pretty much every time we have a fire. jesse thinks i'm weird.)

speaking of fire...our local fire station hosted their annual fire safety open house event. the whole family was entertained by the horses, firetrucks, boats, and a blackhawk helicopter!

oh, colorado!

2011-09-25T18:47:00.000-07:00

so, it's been, um, 2 months since we took our family vacation to colorful colorado. but, you know, the whole blog thing hasn't been working out for me lately. as promised, here is a short (or not so short) summary. if you want the detailed version, come over for coffee and i will give you a slideshow.

it was a treat to be able to spend 9 days in colorado. we had a lot of places to go and a lot of people to see. i'll be honest, i could have spent a month there! we were joined by both of my sisters and their children, who made the trip from pennsylvania. :)

jacob and kate's first plane ride (since they were infants) was SO exciting!

on our 1st full day in colorado springs, my dad hosted an open house for friends and family to visit with us and meet our kiddos. it was great to see lots of scruggs family that we hadn't seen in years!

that evening, my dad took my sister and i to a bruce hornsby concert at the coolest outdoor concert location, the denver botanic gardens. it was a beautiful colorado evening, with great music!

monday, the kids and i had lunch with my childhood bff and her little boy. :)

tuesday we packed up the truck and headed into the mountains for 3 days. the 11 of us stayed in snowmass village, co, right outside of aspen. we spent lots of time in the pool, hiked up to crater lake at the maroon bells, bungee-bounced, rode a gondola, and played (ah-hem) several rounds of bananagrams. no need to mention who was champion. :)

(somehow kate slept the entire 2.1 mile hike back down. grandpa and i took turns carrying her)

friday we returned back to the springs and spent the reminder of our trip with the vollbracht family. saturday we met cousins and aunts and uncles for a picnic and hike in the garden of the gods. later that night, the grandparents babysat so the cousins could have a night out- definitely a highlight of the trip for me. it was great spending that time together! :)

sunday was a vollbracht reunion. we spent the afternoon out at the farm. jacob was in tractor heaven at uncle fred's house. he even got a ride on the bulldozer!

great trip. great memories. ready to go back for another visit. :)

wait. what?

2011-09-13T18:37:00.000-07:00

no, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. it's really me, updating the blog. i think this is the longest i've gone. and for the 3 of you that follow our goings-on, i do apologize. :)

so the past 2 months have been busy! there's been blueberry picking, a trip to colorado, new babies, wedding planning, eggs!, visitors, and now that fall is here- the start of another preschool year.

quick update on the family:
kate is quite the comedian. she is the wittiest almost-3-year-old i've ever met. she's always got something goofy or smart to say. she keeps us entertained and keeps us on our toes. we always need to keep an eye on her because she gets into things she shouldn't oh so quickly. her favorite things to do are change her clothes (we're up to about 3 outfits a day), walk around the house in her church shoes, help me bake, and lay her puppies down for nap (they take more naps than an infant). she talks about best friends all day long and her line at dinner every night is "i don't want to grow up and get big and strong." (we've told her to eat her food so she can be big and strong, so i guess this is her way of saying she doesn't want to eat :) )

jacob continues his tractor obsession. except he's kicked it up a notch and now he can draw them and build them with legos. he spends most of his time building with his legos or digging in the dirt outside. he loves making cars out of the couch cushions and making garages for his hot wheels out of his wood blocks. during the month of august, he received swim lessons from a college student at church. by the end of 8 lessons, he was floating on his back across the pool, jumping in all by himself, and staying under water long enough to search for pennies. this week we have started the 2nd half of our preschool curriculum, and it seems like he is pretty excited about it. let's hope that continues through may! :) also, in the last week, he just started riding his bike with no training wheels! proud moment for this mom and dad. :)

i wrote in one of my last posts about jacob and kate playing together more. they are best buds now, and pretty much every activity is done together. it's been so cute to see them pretend play with each other- things like restaurant and train station. :) it's also brought on a whole bunch of confrontation that i could do without, but how else are they going to learn, right? (keep telling myself this!)

jesse has been keeping busy with the chickens and his paintings. he has completed 2 paintings on commission that are now in colorado with their new owners. his artwork is updated on his blog. all of his hard work with the chickens is finally starting to pay off, as one of them finally gave us the first egg last week. now it appears that 2 out of the 4 hens are laying. boy are those birds filthy!

i have been busy keeping up with the house and the kids. (and in the midst of this post, am realizing i haven't been taking very many pictures!) i don't know how i would get it all done if i didn't work from home! i am daily reminded of what a blessing it is that i am able to do so. i have also been so thankful for the blessing of friends and community that God has given us here. it's been such a joy to share and do life with our friends here- from babies, to birthdays, to holidays, to weddings.

i love fall. i am SO looking forward to cooler temps, campfires, pumpkins, cooking dinner without sweating, more and more eggs, and all the things that fall has in store. so long, summer!

check back soon and hopefully i will have selected the best of the 200+ pics from our colorado trip and post them on here. :)

pictures now, words later

2011-07-19T13:00:00.000-07:00

it makes me sad that i have missed documenting the last month here on the blog. we've been busy doing nothing and yet i have no time to write. family, work, friends, tractors, chickens, and keeping cool have kept us very busy. life is good :)

the kids have been playing SO WELL together lately, which has been a joy to see but it has it's pros and cons. one of the pros being, they can entertain themselves. one of the cons being, lots of fights. i knew that was coming...

and right now they are making a mess of kate's room.... so i will end with some pics, and more words another day.

father's day

2011-06-21T06:51:00.000-07:00

jesse doesn't ever want any fuss on father's day, or his birthday for that matter. i guess that makes my job easy. there are no expectations to meet. no pressure. (yea right!) i still want to make the day special for him. i want him to know he is appreciated and loved very much. and i have to figure out a no-fuss way to celebrate him.
so we got him a little gift, and celebrated the day with rest. for dinner i prepared a meal that he's been asking me to make for as long as i can remember....gyros. my first time preparing lamb, and maybe only my second time ever eating it. it turned out delicious!
i was inspired by erin's recent post on her beef gyros. instead of pita bread i used this recipe for naan bread, which made it super yummy! for the lamb, i found a marinade recipe somewhere online, using herbs, lemon juice, olive oil, and garlic. at $10+ per steak, i think i will save the lamb for super special occasions. :)

she plays wipeout on the drums

2011-05-24T19:29:00.000-07:00

kate. she's a funny one. she definitely keeps us on our toes.
last month when we were preparing for our trip to pittsburgh, i was packing a few toys for the kids. for jacob it was easy- a truck, some legos, some tractors. for kate- i had no clue. at that moment i realized, kate doesn't ever play with just one toy. she's into everything, anything, and nothing. she plays with whatever. most of the time, for her, playing is getting into things she's not supposed to. :)

last night we sat down to dinner as the skies darkened. the storm had just begun and the tv was screaming it's tornado emergency sounds. so we picked up our plates and headed to the basement. jesse and i were pretty calm, so we continued to eat, hoping our non-panic would help the kids to be not so scared. jacob asked a billion questions with fear in his voice. "can't we just get some tape for the roof and tape it down so the boiling storm doesn't blow it off?"
kate just sat there frozen with her hands over her face. we headed back upstairs after the warning was over and parked the kids back at the table with their food. kate continued to sit there like this:

she ate her entire dinner, fed to her by dad, with her hands still on her eyes- hiding from the thunder and lightning. :)

and here's our other little ladies (and gentleman) getting bigger every day!

friends

2011-05-22T16:52:00.000-07:00

i am so thankful for the friends that God has put in our lives here in Kentucky. being away from family is tough, especially with little children (who drain you of all energy and sanity at times). i am especially thankful that we have been blessed with the friendship of the Nordine family. they are our "kentucky family". the ones we call when we need a date night, when i need a child-less trip to the grocery store, when we're celebrating a holiday, when we need some company, or when we have nothing better to do.
today was one such day. we made the most of the sunny afternoon and spent some time in the pool, running through the sprinkler, and looking for crickets.

our outside time ended abruptly as a storm rolled in, bringing along some crazy winds and hail. storms are much more fun with friends!

side note: i asked the kids to get their own jammies tonight, which is rare, and they actually obeyed. i was just as shocked that kate actually picked out a top and a bottom and not 2 bottoms or 2 tops. :) here is what they picked:

a saturday evening before the rain

2011-05-15T11:32:00.000-07:00

we were spoiled this week with straight days of sunshine and temperatures in the 80s. on saturday it finally rained again and cooled down. we were able to squeeze in some outside time in the cool evening just before the big rain.

jesse's been itchin to cook a fish over the fire. so he had some trout.

jacob and jesse dug in the garden looking for worms to feed to lucky duck.

kate posed for the camera with her "afraid of the thunder" face, as the storm started rolling in.

lucky duck awaited his worms.

jackson barked at the thunder for 15 minutes straight. i took a picture, but deleted it because he looked like a scary dog, and we all know he's not!

i worked on a little painting project. we got some new cheap bathroom rugs, that when we brought them home, didn't match like we wanted. so i painted the mirrors in the bathroom to tie in the colors. i think it turned out alright.

he's 4

2011-05-15T10:42:00.000-07:00

that's right. on thursday my firstborn turned 4.

jacob
is creative
is sweet
is innovative
is sensitive
is handsome
is clever
is interested in all things mechanical
loves all tractors
is loving
is smart
is a good sleeper
loves puppies (particularly his red spotted puppy and his big brown puppy)

it was fun to spend a day celebrating my sweet boy, taking a break from the same-old stuff, doing things that are special to him. he started out his birthday with a donut date with dad. the rest of the morning we stayed in the comfort of the air-conditioned house (80+ degree temps, almost record-breaking for this time of year) and just played. during lunch i said to jacob "what do you think if mom didn't work today during rest time and instead i just play with you?" his face lit up. "just me?!!" (this was my highlight of the day!).
so after kate went down for nap we filled up the pool and splashed around, we searched for bugs to put in his new bug box, we played cars on the porch (which i found out i am not so good at), and took a tiny nap in the sun.
after his requested birthday dinner of hot dogs, we had some special visitors. the kids' babysitter brought 3 of her 5-week-old bassett hound puppies for the kids to play with. they were a-dor-able. much to jacob's dismay, we did not keep any of them.

after the puppies left, jacob helped dad get started on the chicken coop. kate decided it was a resting area for her.

he also put himself to work mowing the lawn. very serious about it, you can tell.

we are so thankful for modern technology which allowed several of our family members to wish jacob a happy birthday via skype. here is jacob showing grandpa dennis his new harmonica, and grandpa dennis showing jacob his harmonica skilz.

we love you jacob! happy 4th birthday!

to the person who stole the hairdryer out of my car

2011-05-11T17:08:00.000-07:00

dear thief,

i feel silly even writing those words because it just sounds absurd to me that someone would steal something like a brand new hairdryer out of a person's car. i hadn't even used it yet. it was still in the box. it was also still in the bag from the store my husband purchased it from. and the receipt was in there too, so now you know how much he paid for it.

how did you even know what it was before you opened my car door? i know, i know. i did have it in plain sight, there on the floor of the front of my car. it was probably so tempting to you (well, obviously).

maybe you stole it because you heard i was having an ungrateful heart about it being a brand name i had never heard of. i really just wanted to spend the money on buying a brand name hairdryer that i knew (like the one that lasted me 8 great years!). but i was convicted of my bad attitude and i was thankfully taking it home to use it sometime this week (especially today, when i went to use it and noticed it was missing).

i wonder if you stole it because you were needing a mother's day present for your mom? in that case, i hope your mom enjoys it. i know i would have.

sincerely,
cydney

surprise!

2011-04-27T18:40:00.000-07:00

jesse's mom turned 60 on Good Friday this year. jesse's brother and sisters planned a surprise dinner party for her and we made a secret trip to pittsburgh for Easter weekend to join in (and add to) the surprise. she thought she was having dinner out with her husband. they walked into the restaurant and there we all were, her 2 sons, 2 daughters, 2 daughters-in-law, and 3 grandkids. her reaction was priceless!

it took 6 of us to light her 60 candles. :)

happy 60th mom, karen, gammie!

we spent the rest of the weekend with family.

playing with cousin Easton.

hanging out with grandma.

Easter at josh and heidi's.

bubbles with cousin Jezze.

highlight of the trip for jacob, a john deere on a big rig trailer on I-70. :)

and on his farm he had some chickens, e i e i o

2011-04-27T12:56:00.000-07:00

it's been an interesting couple of weeks for us, taking on our new role as chicken owners. it was something i've been wanting to do for a while, just never thought i could convince jesse to take the plunge. we visited our friends who recently bought chickens, we saw how simple it was to care for them, and less than a week later we had 6 little chickies of our own. and now we're washing our hands like crazy and anxiously waiting to see if we have hens or roosters.

the chicks at 1 week old

we've been shocked by how fast they grow. we got them at 1 week old, and after the 1st 4 days they had already doubled in size. we went out of town for Easter weekend, and another 4 days later they have doubled again. i guess it helps that all they do all day long is eat eat eat.

the chicks at 2 1/2 weeks old

a week after we got the chicks, we were in PA for Easter weekend. driving back to pittsburgh after spending Easter sunday in clarion, we spot a baby duck in the middle of the 2-lane country highway. we saw him and said to each other "oh how sad... that baby duck was so pathetic and little, looking for his mommy and now he's probably going to get hit by a car." (i know, i know. we have this new sympathy for feathered friends now that we are chicken farmers) :) so we turned the car around, going to rescue the duck if he hadn't already been hit. jesse found him off on the side of the road, alive and well. he chirped in a box the rest of the drive to pittsburgh. jesse's sister is a vet tech at the pittsburgh aviary, so she checked the ducky over, got us some duck food, and advised us on what to do with the little guy. so yes, he journeyed back to kentucky in our car and now he's in his new home, with us. :)

meet Lucky the duck.

jacob made Lucky a sign for his temporary dwelling.

and while we're on the subjuct of farm animals... last week i was able to get kate's hair into her first piggy tails. it was a happy day for me! and for her too, i suppose! :)

this and that

2011-04-11T19:08:00.000-07:00

just a pile of thoughts. a little bit of this and a little bit of that...

this morning i woke up to find that the dishwashing fairy had indeed not made a stop in my kitchen. i might have cried a little, maybe.
we're riding in the car today and jacob says "mom, that lady in that car had a stick in her mouth. (i'm thinking, where is he going with this?) and there was smoke coming out of it." ahhhhh! so i dove into my cigarette lecture. maybe a little too straightforward for an almost-4-year-old, but i wanted him to get the point.
jackson (our dog, 6 year old german shorthair pointer) had surgery 2 weeks ago. he had a torn cruciate ligament and torn meniscus in one of his hind legs. at the same time, we had the doc surgically remove 4 fatty tumors on his belly and thighs that had grown to be a little too large for our liking. he's healing well! he was putting weight on his leg just 5 or 6 days after surgery. he had his staples removed today and the doc was pleased with his progress. he's still pretty sore, and it's going to be a good 2 months before he will be allowed to run again. i sure hope he forgives us.
last week our car was in the shop for some new rear breaks. (it seems like we've purchased new breaks every year since we have lived in kentucky. is it us, or is it the roads?) while our car was in the shop, we told the kids our car was busted and it had to be fixed. now that it is fixed, kate reminds me daily that "our car's not busted anymore, mommy!"
tonight i baked some of my tried and true oatmeal wheat bread. yum! warm out of the oven with some butter on it....double yum! this kids enjoyed a slice before bed :) here's the recipe: 1/2 cup wheat flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 cup old fashioned oats, 2 tbsp butter, 1 tsp salt. combine ingredients in a large bowl. add 2 cups bowling water. stir well, let sit for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. in another bowl, combine 1 pkg of yeast (i use 2 1/2 tsp), with 1/2 cup warm water and a pinch of sugar. let set for 5 minutes until frothy. combine the yeast mixture with the oatmeal mixture and 1 cup white flour. mix well. gradually add 3 more cups of flour. turn onto floured surface and knead for 6-8 minutes, adding 1 more cup of flour as needed. cover with a little bit of oil and set in a covered bowl to rise for 1 hour. punch down and split dough in half. arrange in 2 greased loaf pans. cover and let rise for 30 minutes. bake at 325-350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. (this can also be made into dinner rolls, which would only bake for 12-15 minutes)
update on my creamer post: i have not had a drop of non-dairy creamer since the day i found out you can make bombs out of the stuff. i can't believe i consumed so much of it before finding out! i've just been using good ol' fashioned creamer. ya know...half and half. i tried the homemade vanilla caramel recipe for a couple weeks, but something about it just wasn't right. it got weird whenever i added it to the hot coffee, like clumpy kinda. eww. i've also been using blue agave syrup as my sweetener. thanks to my sister for introducing me.
speaking of coffee... yum!
we had a taste of summer this weekend as temperatures were above 80 degrees. it was wonderful. we soaked up some vitamin D and got some yard work done.
here's a shocker: i've been running. ok, maybe jogging is a better term to use. and ok, i've only gone twice. but you've got to start somewhere, right? i used to hate running. strongly dislike. in high school i was on the track team, just for one year, and that was all i needed to know i wasn't a runner. but i've been on the treadmill, just doing a walking/jogging combo during the last 3 months. and i guess that was enough to talk myself into going for a jog 2 weeks ago. and i ran for 25 minutes. i was shocked. i tried it again this weekend, and it happened again, 25 minutes. and i didn't hate it! now i just need to find the time do go more than 1 time a week. :)

march madness, round 4

2011-03-28T06:20:00.000-07:00

just as the final 4 for the real march madness was being determined, we had our final weekend of visitors for the month. whew! what a fun-filled busy 4 weeks it has been! we feel so blessed to have such a wonderful and loving family who travels across the miles to come see us.
this last weekend we were joined by pappy and gammie pié. in typical kentucky pié fashion, we spent the weekend hanging out, eating delicious food, going shopping, and watching movies together. jacob showed off his newly developed lego-building skills and kate graced us with her non-stop chatter.

pappy got a haircut, jesse got new glasses from the eye doctor, and i ran/walked a 5k with my good friend.

we were even surprised by an inch of snow on sunday morning!

it's been a joy to watch the kids interacting with their far-away family. we will treasure these last 4 weekends and look forward to when it will be our turn to make visits to pittsburgh and colorado.

march madness, round 3

2011-03-20T12:03:00.000-07:00

aunt joey was our visitor this weekend. it was very helpful to have her here on friday, as we ran some errands and went to several dr appointments. one of those appointments being for jackson, who we found out has a torn ligament in one of his hind legs. poor guy. he's been limping for several months now, and we thought it was arthritis (he is almost 7 years old, so it made sense). so we started him on some supplements that are supposed to help with arthritis...and it didn't get any better. thankfully the x-rays we got done on friday showed a healthy set of hips! but it also showed much swelling and signs of a torn ligament in his knee. surgery has been recommended. (once we win the lottery, of course.)

the rest of the weekend with aunt joey was relaxed and pleasant. we enjoyed a day of sunshine, making sidewalk chalk art and playing in the sandbox outside. we hit a couple stores that i had coupons to, to get some spring/summer clothes for the kids. we watched a couple of good movies. jacob begged his aunt, almost hourly, to play legos with him. kate showed off her dance moves, with much resistance, and entertained us with her "shake my booty".

we even got to see the supermoon on saturday night. that was cool!

a nice weekend.

one more weekend of madness to go, and then it's back to same-old-same-old for us....just in time for warmer weather! oh, and jackson's surgery.

school things

2011-03-13T16:11:00.000-07:00

we just made the decision to not put jacob in preschool this coming fall. we decided this the night before the registration day, and also found out that the class was full anyway. i was a little bummed at first because i was hoping jacob could have the experience. but the more i think about it, the more i am glad we didn't do it. one more year to have him home before he starts real school. i am also hoping this will give us some time to find a tumbling class or some activity to get him in a class setting.

in the meantime, we're keeping busy with the answers for preschoolers set at home. we've been taking it slow and are almost halfway through, just in time to break for the summer! jacob loves learning his letters. he can now write most of the letters A to X, and he can write his first and last name with no help from mom telling him which letter comes next.
a week or two ago he recognized the letters on the starbucks sign. "mommy, that sign says coffee!" that's my son! and just this week he asked me to tell him how to spell it. i love this boy.

grandma bought the kids a dry-erase board, and jacob has enjoyed practicing letters and drawing random things on there. here he is with his friend isabel and their joint-effort piece of art... a dry-erase tree. :)

march madness, round 2

2011-03-13T15:43:00.000-07:00

this weekend our family enjoyed a visit from grandpa dennis, fresh from colorful colorado. saturday morning he was kind enough to take us all to the circus- a once in a lifetime experience. "the greatest show on earth!" is what we heard over and over. it was pretty spectacular, well done, and loud! it took kate a while to warm up, but by the end of the show she was clapping and dancing. jacob started out loving it, but i think by intermission he was ready to leave. it was stimulation overload for him. :)

the weather was beautiful in kentucky this weekend, so we spent some time outside enjoying the fresh air and sunshine. and of course, dad's visit wouldn't be complete without a visit to trader joe's (which he sadly doesn't have the convenience of in colorado).

kate and i both have crummy colds, but other than that, it was all in all a lovely weekend with grandpa!

march madness, round 1

2011-03-10T06:03:00.000-08:00

i've deemed this month "march madness" at our house, and it has nothing to do with college basketball. it's a month with scheduled visits from out-of-town guests every weekend. this is a busy-ness that is very welcome at our house. :o) we love having visitors!

and to kick off the madness, a visit from grandma and grandpa mclane. we spent the weekend playing with new toys, shopping, and eating good food.

thank you grandma and grandpa for making the 6 hour drive, in the rain, in the dark, to visit us!

uh-oh, legos

2011-03-07T10:17:00.000-08:00

jacob recently was rewarded for keeping his pants dry for a week straight (a major accomplishment). saturday we took him to the toy store, where he was allowed to pick out the toy of his choice to buy with his leftover christmas money (shhh...he didn't know about the christmas money part :) ).
with my mother as my witness, i was doing everything i could to keep myself from screaming as we opened the packages of all the oh-so-tiny pieces. jacob loved it.
we've set some rules, so i am not picking up tiny lego pieces all over the house. he is allowed to play legos in his room, and only during his afternoon rest time (sans sister kate, aka babyzilla). and now jacob loves rest time and can't wait to go spend an hour in his room.
i guess these legos have their pros and cons. :o)

today is the day

2011-03-07T03:57:00.000-08:00

after months of thinking something must be wrong about non-dairy coffee creamer, and after having it confirmed for me last week as i came across this site, today is the day i have decided to start down a new path in my coffee drinking adventures....homemade (organic) vanilla caramel creamer (real dairy!). i am using this recipe here. i hope i notice a difference in my body, because i am certain that the amounts of non-dairy junk i was consuming was NOT healthy at all!

one thing you can be certain of, it's going to be a LONG time before i can get to the point where i am drinking my coffee black. yeck.

**sidenote: i wasn't able to find the La Creme creamer in my area, but my sister did, and she tried it, and verdict is that it is not good at all. "very watery" she said. so save your money.

well said

2011-03-01T06:01:00.001-08:00

jacob, while talking about how much he likes carrots, says:

"bunnies bring carrots to the grocery store. and then they sell them to our house. and then we eat them in our tummies."

my kids have stolen my brain

2011-02-16T11:18:00.000-08:00

it's settled. having kids has made me dumb. i was a "straight A" student in high school. graduated with a 3.98 gpa.

and then i had kids.

this morning, at 8:15am, as jesse was leaving for work, i asked him to stop and pick something up from the grocery store on his way home. something really important that we had run out of. by lunchtime, when i was texting him to remind him to stop at the store, i could not, for the life of me, remember what it was i had asked him to get.

it's a sad, sad thing to lose your mind.

i had to write this one down

2011-02-12T07:49:00.000-08:00

jacob's prayer at lunch today:

"dear jesus. thank you for this food. thank you for our toys and all the people outside. i pray for mommy and daddy so that they don't get lost. amen."

the kids

2011-01-21T03:38:00.000-08:00

since potty training kate, she has been waking up unusually early. she used to be a sleeper, but this last week she has been waking up at 6, 6:15, 6:30. not cool. yesterday morning, it was 5:40 "moooo-ooom. moooooooo-ooom. mooooooo-ooom. i have to go potty." on the positive side, dry diapers at night, which is something that her big brother has yet to accomplish. go kate!

speaking of which, yesterday was kate's second day completely accident-free! yes folks, that means we had poop in the potty. we celebrated with a family dance party the other night after dinner. exciting times here with the pié family!

also, since potty training started, i've noticed kate thinks she's now 13 and has started calling jesse and me "dad" and "mom". what?! you're 2! oh well, it's pretty darn cute to hear, so i'll let it slide. i've also noticed over the past few days, jacob has been calling her "katie". double cute. it's kind of nick-namey, and nick-names to me are a sign of affection, so i am gonna go out on a limb and say jacob likes his sister. they play well together for the most part, when jacob isn't taking a toy from her or closing the door on her. yesterday i found them up on her bed singing the little einsteins theme song as loud as they could. it was an adorable moment that i wish i had caught on camera.

big girl update

2011-01-16T12:10:00.000-08:00

i started potty training kate on monday morning. we didn't leave the house all week (well, i got to go to small group). so we had lots of time to practice. by wednesday i was ready to quit and try again in a couple months. but for some reason, i stuck with it. thursday was a little better. then on friday she only had one accident. talk about a confidence boost for this momma!
in the midst of potty training, i realized that it was time to upgrade kate to a big girl bed. i didn't want to put her in the situation where she would have to climb out of her crib to go potty. so saturday afternoon we ventured to ikea to get her new big girl mattress (her crib converted into a full/double size headboard and footboard). this was kate's 1st time away from the house without a diaper on. a BIG deal for me. she did amazing! no accidents!
on the way home, we stopped to get some materials from lowe's and our car battery died. a kind person helped us jumpstart the car and we headed down colrain ave (never been there before) in search of an auto parts store. of course it was dinner time, so we grabbed a quick bite at mcd's and headed over to wait for 45 minutes while they replaced the car battery. we made a quick stop at target to get a quilt for her bed. and while i was taking kate potty, at target, my cell phone dropped in the toilet. in the pee water. sweet. thank goodness my phone partially floated, and thank goodness for purell!!!
we got home after having been gone for 6 hours (quick trip to ikea- yeah right) and discovered our fridge is not functioning properly and all the items inside are slightly warm. oh yay. calling the repair man first thing on monday.
today at church kate had no accidents again. she is such a big girl and i am so proud of her!

"kate, make a happy face to show me how much you like your new big girl bed."

random thoughts for this monday morning

2011-01-10T06:02:00.000-08:00

jesse went back to work today, after being off for about 2 and a half weeks (with the exception of the ChristmasTown performance nights). i already miss him and it's only 9am.
we should find out today the results of jesse's bloodwork to see if he indeed has a gluten allergy/sensitivity.
kate swallowed "a money" last night, aka. a dime. so you know what i'll be doing for the next couple of days.
speaking of the bathroom, i am making a second attempt at potty training practice this morning. here's to dry pants!
it's going to snow tonight and tomorrow, 3-5 inches! and this makes me quite happy. :o) jacob's been asking to go sledding and now he'll maybe have an opportunity to! (and now i'll legitimately be able to wear my new boots).
we haven't "done school" for about 4 weeks now, and i am looking forward to getting back to business this week. (but maybe not such a good idea on potty training day?)
i had a wonderful weekend and am feeling so very blessed to have such a wonderful husband and very dear friends!
i have no idea what to cook for dinner. white chicken chili? hmmm... maybe.

weekend fun!

2011-01-09T11:26:00.000-08:00

jesse and candace were so kind as to plan a fun weekend in celebration of my 30th birthday. it all started with a night out with friends. we had planned to have dinner out before we headed to the brian regan show, but a burst of snow at rush hour on friday night caused traffic to be backed up all over the entire northern kentucky area. we sat in bumper-to-bumper traffic for over 2 hours, with a quick stop at mcd's for dinner(not the bonefish we had planned), but made it to the show with just a few minutes to spare! we laughed our faces off and all agreed that it was well worth the whole "sitting in traffic" thing. :o)

sitting in traffic

the gang

after the show, we left the guys, and the girls took me to a hotel for a girls night. saturday morning we had breakfast followed by manicures and pedicures. after a restful afternoon, jesse and i took the kids to candace's, who gave us the wonderful gift of a night away, kid-free. after dinner out, we headed to owenton, ky to stay the night at elk creek winery and hunt club. it was beautiful and restful!

i am so thankful and feel so blessed after this fun weekend! i enjoyed all the relaxing, but one thing is for certain, i sure did miss these little faces.

umm... gluten free

2011-01-04T12:32:00.000-08:00

this could possibly be the only time i will write about gluten free. but there's also a chance that my life will become consumed by it. time will tell. over a week ago my dearly beloved husband chose to try going gluten free in hopes of ridding himself of this skin irritation he's had for a long long time. it's brought him to the point of misery, and seeing him suffer, i am as eager as he is to figure out the cure. so 4 days ago the new eating style 2 week test run began. by day 2 at dinner time i was frustrated, maybe even crying. and then a good friend gave me some coaching, giving me a lot more confidence.
tonight we are having one of our family favorites, white chicken chili, which happens to be, you guessed it, gluten free!! i've made this recipe at least 15 times in the last 2 months, for company, for new moms, for us (almost weekly). i've made so many alterations to the original recipe that i decided to call this one my own. here it is:

white chicken chili
3 cups cooked and diced chicken breast
1/2 cup onion finely chopped
2 cans great northern beans, rinsed and drained (i've also used black, which was DE-licious, but kinda takes away from the "white chili" name. i guess you could call it "black and white chili", but that doesn't sound as appetizing)
2 cans chicken broth
1 can (7 oz) chopped green chilis
1 cup frozen corn *optional
2 tbsp corn starch
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic salt or regular salt
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup half & half
shredded cheese for topping

i cook the chicken, set it aside and let it cool, then cube it. in the same pan, i cook the onion until tender, then add 1 can of broth mixed with the corn starch to make a "gravy". in the crockpot goes the chicken, gravy, other can of broth, beans, chili, and seasonings. i cook this on low for 3-5 hours. just before serving i add the corn, sour cream, and half&half and make sure it's heated through before serving. yum! i top mine with shredded cheese and tortilla chips.

anyone who tries a lower fat version of this, let me know how it is.

and since no post is complete without a picture (right mom?), here is a picture i took today. it could have been kate or jacob, but whoever it was, it made me laugh.

joyful (and pictures)

2011-01-02T11:15:00.000-08:00

life is sure busy with a 2 and 3 year old! apologies to my mom for not updating my blog.

the month of december was sure busy for our family. but in the busyness, there was a lot of joy.

the first 2 weeks of the month had us at many holiday gatherings- work, small group, and friends. we also enjoyed a quick weekend visit from my dad. the kids had fun playing and hanging out with grandpa dennis. we left the house once, to make an important trip to trader joes. :o)
parties were followed by a few days of quarantine- trying to not catch the puke virus of 2010. :P we didn't want to be sick for our trip!
which brings me to the 2nd week of december when, after it was missing for almost exactly a month, my diamond re-appeared! the sparkle caught my eye as i was picking up one of kate's barrettes off the floor of the car. amazing thing is- jesse had just vacuumed out the car just 4 days earlier, but in his hurried-ness he had forgotten to vacuum the front. isn't God so good!? so while we were in pittsburgh for christmas, jesse and i were able to take the ring to the jeweler he had bought it from, and they were able to create a new setting and get the diamond back in it's place. it's just like new and i am so happy to have it back on my finger! :o)

this christmas was extra special because it was the first time our kids have really understood what's going on. they actually listened to, and were able to repeat some of the story back to us, as we told them about baby Jesus, mary and joseph, and the shepherds and the angels. christmas lights were SO exciting for them any time we were driving around at night. it's so fun seeing christmas through a child's eyes!

if there's anything as joyful as having your own children, it's getting to enjoy nieces and nephews! we were able to do just that as we spent time family over the holidays. we were able to be in pittsburgh for an entire week, visiting family and relaxing.

highlights of the week include getting to see great grandma vollbracht (who we don't get to see that often, but she was getting ready to return to CO from her 3 month visit to PA),seeing the kids' big cousins who stayed in town long enough to visit with us for a few hours,

a trip to visit aunt joey at the pittsburgh aviary (where she works in the hospital),

a trip downtown pittsburgh (just jesse and me, complete with a trip to starbucks, it felt like we were dating again!),

isn't he handsome?

i took a picture of my starbucks cup because i thought it was funny the barista spelled my name correctly and then must have second guessed herself and "corrected" it. ha ha ha!

holding and squeezing baby Easton and baby Jezze,
and for the kids- opening presents of course!

christmas with the mclane's

christmas with the pié's

it's always good to be back home after being on a trip. we've kept busy this past week. jesse's been finishing up his work at the museum as one of the soldiers in the annual ChristmasTown event. we're glad to have him back with us, and also glad to have his beard shaved off too. :)

we celebrated christmas with friends and jesse's birthday and new year's eve in the span of 36 hours.

jacob and kate's daddy was "a really big soldier". kate can't stop talking about it!

i am not one for new year's resolutions, probably because i can never keep them longer than a week or two, but this year i have several things i'd like to accomplish.
1. more time in the Word (keeping Christ as my priority)
2. more time with family (the dishes, laundry, and computer can wait!)
3. eat healthier (gotta lose the 10 lbs of holiday gain)
4. exercise regularly (gotta stay healthy so i can keep up with my kids!)

that's realistic, right? any suggestions on ways to achieve my goals are more than welcome.

merry christmas and happy 2011!

30

2010-12-02T10:58:00.000-08:00

today i was excited to finally have the afternoon off from work. i wanted to sit down and update the blog, because i have been slacking in that department for a few weeks now. i even had a couple drafts going of things i wanted to write about, but haven't had time.
and then sat down to my computer and i started reading my friends' blogs. there's steph, who makes me green with envy as she uses her amazing talent to do creative things and keep her house clean & beautiful and take care of her family while her husband travels. and there's katie, who is anxiously and prayfully going through the adoption process with her husband to bring adorable little georgina home from haiti. and there's erin, a college friend, who just recently had her 3rd child and turned 30 around the same time, and a week later was diagnosed with breast cancer- i've been following her story and cry every time i read a new blog post of her's because i am so touched by the way she is finding joy and peace despite her trial. (if you are ever feeling down in the dumps about anything, read her blog, it will bless you!)
and i sit here, wallowing in self-pity over the fact that today is the day i say goodbye to my 20's. so silly and insignificant compared to the happenings in the lives of friends and family. so, the one tear has been shed, and now i want to ramble on about how blessed i am!
at the beginning of october i was having health problems, which brought me to take myself to the dr. after a few weeks of feeling pretty crummy, some bloodwork, a visit to the endocrinologist, an iodine uptake and scan, there was a chance that i had a thyroid disease and i was a little scared. the Lord was gracious and it turns out that i just had a case of thyroiditis and hopefully my thyroid is working to regulate itself back to normal levels. this could take months or it could take years, but either way, it can be regulated with or without medication...most importantly, it CAN be regulated and i am thankful for that!
we celebrated kate's 2nd birthday the week after i found out about my thyroiditis, and then a week after that i was scheduled to have my wisdom teeth extracted. (found out our dog had ringworm 2 days before my surgery and spent the day bleaching and vacuuming every inch of the house). best advice i can give about wisdom teeth extractions, which probably won't apply to anyone who is reading my blog, have your wisdom teeth out BEFORE you become a parent. i was so blessed to have my in-laws come for the weekend of my surgery to help take care of the kiddos and prepare meals for the family. (thank you guys!!!)
and then monday came and thein-laws had gone back to pittsburgh, jesse went back to work, and... i was home with the kids. it doesn't get much worse than having to take care of a 2 and 3 year old while you are recovering from a sickness or a surgery. (ok, i am exaggerating) but when that vicoden runs out, it's probably not going to be a pretty sight. i mean, it wasn't a pretty sight here. 4 days after my surgery, the day i took my last pain killer, i got dry socket in one of my incisions. if you don't know what that is, google it. it's painful, i assure you. i was so thankful to have my amazing friend come to help me with the kids so i could get an appointment with the surgeon, who had medicine and dressings for the pain. (we also had a leak in the upstairs bathroom on the same morning, just to add to the chaos). i cried a lot that day. and then the next day, i cried as hard as i can remember in a long time, when i found the diamond missing from my engagement ring. a sentimental loss, but yet an earthly loss. it was a good (and tough) reminder that we should hold loosely to the things of the world, and hold tightly to the things of the Lord. i am so thankful that it was just a diamond that was lost, and not one of my children! and even more importantly... what Christ did for me on the Cross is so much bigger than any worldly treasure i am clinging to here on earth. i am so thankful for that reminder (as hard as it was to get to that point ! :) )
i did a lot of vacuuming the following day, thinking the diamond was lost somewhere in the house, but it hasn't turned up yet. i am content to have a temporary band on my ring finger for as long as i need to. jesse helped me pick it out on http://www.pandora.net/ (my wedding band and engagement ring are soddered together, so i can't wear either of them right now).
the drama has died down over the last week or 2 and we have spent a lot of time together as a family. i am so thankful that God has blessed me with 2 adorable children who are healthy and fed and clothed, and a husband who loves us all more than himself. i really don't deserve any of it.
so am i sad about turning 30? i do feel like i am falling apart a little bit, but i have so much to be thankful for!

the kids and their "thanksgiving tree", november 2010

exciting!

2010-11-09T07:42:00.000-08:00

maybe only exciting for me, because i am the mom, but regardless... jacob just wrote his name, all by himself.

ok, so i told him what letters to write (except for the "J" because he knows that one well) but i gave him no instruction on how to make the letters.(we're still working on the "c", half the time he likes to make it backwards) he's actually learning!!! yay for Answers for Preschoolers!

other exciting news- jacob and kate had a quick visit from their grandma and grandpa mclane, as they stayed the night on their way home from a missions conference in chattanooga, tn. we loved having them, for the 13 hours that they were here. it's always a delight to have the grandparents visit!

and speaking of grandparents visiting, jesse's parents are heading down here this weekend to take care of the kiddos while i am out of commision. having my wisdom teeth extracted this friday. :( boooo. i'd appreciate your prayers. so not looking forward to the needles, anesthesia, and recovery. so long, wisdom.

my kids are growing up too fast

2010-11-02T19:21:00.000-07:00

they're not babies any more.

parties and such

2010-11-02T11:26:00.000-07:00

my baby turned 2 this past week.

i've always loved the costume aspect of halloween, just hate the dark side of the "holiday". i never really participated in trick-or-treat growing up, and neither did jesse. we have made the decision to not have our kids participate, but i didn't want to let that stop us from enjoying the dress-up fun. so, i took advantage of kate's birthdate, being on october 30th, and decided to throw a costume birthday party. the guests' costumes were great, the weather was perfect, i think kate had fun, and jesse and i got to have blue hair. an all-around splendid evening with friends. kate did a costume change halfway through the party when she went from being a cupcake to being a kitty. :o)

fast forward a week. we made a trip to pittsburgh to meet my new nephew, and we also had a family gathering to celebrate kate's birthday. needless to say, we're partied out.

while in pittsburgh, we also got to spend time with cousin jezze (born july 2010). she's changed so much since we last saw her in august. it was a treat to see her!

and now we are ready for a crazy november and december. i get tired just thinking about it. i'm gonna go start a pot of coffee...

pumpkin patch

2010-10-22T05:59:00.001-07:00

i love fall! seems to be the sentiments of a lot of folks, as i have seen a handful of adorable fall and pumpkin patch pictures from various friends. my fall wouldn't ever be complete without a visit to the pumpkin patch, which is just what we did with friends last week.

jacob, of course, thoroughly enjoyed the tractors. and kate loved the pumpkin part.

quotable

2010-10-17T11:51:00.000-07:00

the kids are saying funny things all the time. i don't ever right them down, but i had the urge to note these few, since they happened on the same day...

me: "jacob, do you know your middle name?"
jacob: "pié."
me: "no, that's your last name. what's your middle name? jacob....?"
jacob: "pié don't touch the tv."

he was so confident in his answer, which made it all the funnier. :o)

jesse: "kate, did you poop your pants?"
kate: "not yeeeet!"

she cracked the biggest smile when she said it, like she knew she was being a smarty pants.

me: "jacob, don't touch those papers, those are for mommy's work." (referring to a stack i had set on the floor because i ran out of room on the desk)
jacob: "then what did you put them on the floor for?"

back-talking at age 3! this could get ugly.

oh boy!

2010-10-12T11:36:00.000-07:00

it's been way too long since my last post. i guess the end of september and beginning of october were busy times for this family, seeing as how i didn't have time to blog. anyhow...

the most exciting event that has taken place in these past few weeks... the arrival of my sister's baby boy, my nephew, Easton Michael Stecko.

born monday, october 4, 3:05 pm, 7 lbs 9 oz. 20 1/2 in. we are anxiously awaiting our upcoming trip to pittsburgh to meet him in person. but we have been able to see him via skype, which we are so thankful to have these modern methods of communication.

mid-september we enjoyed a visit from pappy and gammie. we spent the weekend playing, picnicking, star-gazing, and eating! gammie cooked us a delicious meal including brisket. it was nice to have a big sunday dinner. we usually fix sandwiches because we are so hungry when we get home from church.

the following weekend we enjoyed a relaxing weekend at home, complete with some kite flying. the weather has been unseasonably warm, and we have been trying to make the most of being able to play outside with flip flops on and no jacket.

we've been to the zoo twice this month, thanks to a nice friend who has kindly shared her passes. the kids loved both trips. 1st trip highlight was the train ride. 2nd trip highlight, the carousel ride.

i've been sick for the past 2 weeks, and am looking forward to feeling better. we've got a birthday party to plan for a very special 2 year old. and a trip to pittsburgh to visit little Easton!

a new bed, a haircut, visitors, and a campout

2010-09-13T18:27:00.000-07:00

september has been keeping us very busy. there's been a lot going on in just 2 short weeks.

at the end of august, jacob got a new bed. a bunk bed. oh boy oh boy! it was like christmas in august for him. he was thrilled, and it was so fun to see him so full of joy. unrelated, i have also stopped giving jacob an afternoon nap. after several months of naptime frustration, disobedience, etc, i realized that he was just ready. so now we have "rest time" instead. and he has been more than willing to be in his bed for an hour or so. it's almost like a treat. he's growing up!

jacob gave himself a haircut. i had only left him alone with the "youth" scissors (safely strapped into a booster chair, mind you) long enough to get kate out of her crib and get back downstairs. i guess he only had enough time to do on snip. glad i wasn't out of the room any longer! i thought about saving the chunk of hair for his baby book, but not until after i had thrown it in the trash in my frustrated rant. and i wasn't wanting to dig through the trash to save it.

my aunt vivian and uncle duane came to visit on their cross country drive to colorado. the kids loved having them and i told them they were welcome to visit ANY time they bring me a bushel of fresh ripe chambersburg peaches from york, PA. :o)

box was overflowing when i started slicing them to freeze them, but i had to stop to get a pic

grandma and grandpa mclane came to visit that same weekend, and we kept busy shopping and eating and playing. it was a fun, but exhausting, weekend. when they come to visit, we always seem to make a trip to the creation museum. and on this particular time, kate and i had the opportunity to ride gomer the camel. jacob declined.

kate and grandma, heading across the "bumpy bridge"

this past weekend, jesse and i got a last minute urge to go camping. after looking online for a good campground or state park area, and noticing most of the good ones were 2+ hours away, we decided to save the camping trip for another weekend and to camp out in the backyard instead. the kids had never been camping, so this was sort of a test-run, you know, to see if they could endure. and they did. they loved it. it was jesse who was ready to head inside at 4am. lets just say, he realized that shorts and a tshirt was not appropriate attire for the 50-ish degree temps. and the matresses were oh so uncomfortable. we carried the kids into their beds, managing to keep them asleep. both of us had back-aches for the next 48 hours. i guess we are getting older...how sad.

kate and jacob, marshmallows in hand, they would not stop moving!

today i started a very very casual (homeschool) preschool with jacob. kate tagged along and was a trooper. jacob was more interested than i thought he'd be. but i did learn that his attention span was very short. we will have a lot of practicing to do. i really have no clue what i am doing, but his little bit of interest did boost my confidence and i think this may just turn out to be a new exciting part of our day. at least for a few weeks, right?

married to an artist

2010-08-23T19:08:00.001-07:00

being married to such a talented man comes with a lot of perks, and here are just a couple of them:

the kitchen picture he painted for me last winter...

and the newest addition to my growing collection of all things sunflower (painted on old barn wood)...

i love them.
and i really love him.

kitchen pictures

2010-08-17T19:02:00.000-07:00

a few pictures i just downloaded from my camera from the past week, and i noticed that they all happened to be taken in the kitchen, on separate occasions.

kate's enjoyed playing with my pumpkins, aka the mystery squash that i planted in june.

i always thought that queen anne's lace looked like a weed, but for some reason, i have been noticing it more this year and appreciating it for the flower that it is. and then i got a close up look at it the other evening, and i think it has the most beautiful pattern of tiny flowers!

the kids enjoyed a messy ice cream treat earlier this week, while jesse considered the combination of a carrot and a grape eaten at the same time. his verdict: nasty texture with a mango flavor. he must have been bored.

i'm in shock

2010-08-17T14:55:00.001-07:00

i just wanted to mark this monumental day with a post.

both of my kids ate dinner tonight.

and if that isn't amazing enough, it was meatballs and green beans. (daddy and i had meatball subs, but i thought that was a little too advanced for the kids' little mouths, so i gave them the bread and the meatballs seperate).

we celebrated with [fruit juice] popsicles.

oh what a splendid evening this has turned out to be!!

our PA excursion

2010-08-12T11:08:00.000-07:00

my grandma, Lucy McLane, passed away last week and is now feasting in Paradise with her Savior. she was the sweetest woman i have ever met. she was kind, thoughtful, joyful, and always thought of others before herself. she was a woman who loved the Lord and it was evident in everything she did and said. she was married to pap-pap for almost 70 years! she will be dearly missed.

jesse and the kids and i travelled to pittsburgh for the weekend to attend the funeral service and we also had time to squeeze in some much-needed family visits.

our niece, Jezze Grace, was born on july 8, 2010, and jesse and i were anxiously awaiting a chance to meet her. we were able to spend an entire day of our trip visiting with josh and heidi and jezze in clarion, pa. she is more adorable than her pictures and has the cutest little ears and legs!

we spent time holding her and changing diapers and trying to get a good cousin picture for memories' sake. let's just say, jezze behaved the best, jacob did great doing the job he was given (sit there very still and hold jezze...do NOT drop her), and kate was a busy little beaver and would not sit still or look at the camera. typical.

friday night was the family visitation for grandma's funeral, and saturday afternoon was the service. it was good to see the mclane family, and also some old friends who came to visit. jesse was asked to be a pall bearer for grandma's casket, which presented him the opportunity to purchase his first suit jacket. yes, almost 31 years old and just now owning his first suit jacket. a monumental occasion, if you ask me. jesse seemed neither happy or sad. men!

sunday afternoon we spent at aunt brianne and uncle kevin's new pool. the kids loved it. we all had an enjoyable, restful afternoon.

uncle kevin offered tractor rides to the kids, which kate was happy to oblige, and jacob was quick to turn down. still waiting for him to get over this fear of tractors with their engine on. he much prefers tractors when they are turned off and sitting still.

monday we hung out with gammie. we took the kids to trinity christian school to play on the playground. not only is this the school where my mom and dale work, but it's also where jesse and i first met, and later started dating (on my 17th birthday, to be exact). it was weird to be on that playground and back in the school hallways (to see the new exercise facility).

the afternoon was spent playing in the pool and relaxing at pappy and gammie's house.

a visit from grandpa dennis

2010-08-12T10:38:00.000-07:00

we don't get to see grandpa dennis that often, so when he comes to town it is a special treat for everyone. he flew in from colorado earlier this month for a weekend trip. besides time spent playing, hugging, and visiting, this visit was busy with swing-set building. jesse and grandpa spent most of the day saturday and the evening on sunday constructing a home-made swing-set for the kids.
the look on the kids faces when they got to test the finished product= priceless!

highlight of my weekend? going to trader joe's with my dad and a very well-behaved jacob, and finishing off the afternoon with an iced caramel macchiato from starbucks. :o)

we also spent some time visiting with my aunt sarah, who had come from colorado and was taking a 5 week training course in dayton. she drove down for the day to visit the creation museum and was able to join us for dinner. it was nice to see her and catch up! and jacob LOVED her car. :o)

fun with photoshop

2010-07-25T20:00:00.001-07:00

we thought these 2 pictures belonged together:

kate's heat exhaustion

and jacob's "emergency potty"

and together, they make this:

for the books

2010-07-25T18:13:00.000-07:00

i can't tell you how many times i've referred back to my blog archives to find out important dates and milestones of my kids' first years. i've claimed many times that this blog is more of a record of these milestones than anything else. so here is what happened to kate this past week, as she is almost 21 months old.

last sunday after church jesse had to be around to help set up for VBS, so our family went and grabbed a quick lunch at wendy's. as we were cleaning up to leave, kate decided to throw a little tantrum and plopped herself to the ground just as someone was holding her hand. immediately she started to cry, and i assumed it was just the "nap-time" crankiness. trying not to make a scene, i thought i'd distract her by showing her the firetruck outside. when that didn't stop her crying, i took her outside and she only cried harder. this is when i figured there was something more wrong with her than just a tantrum. i noticed she was babying her arm, but couldn't see anything visibly wrong with it. we loaded up into the car and noticed an EMT getting into the ambulance parked next to us. kate still crying, and not letting us touch her arm, we asked the EMT to check her out, which he did, and told us he couldn't tell what could be hurting her but that we should "keep an eye on her". kate is screaming at this point. we stop at the store to buy a paci (i had forgotten to pack one and knew this would be the one thing that would calm her down) and i picked up a PEZ for her and jacob (he needed a distraction too). hello kitty for kate and thomas the train for jacob. :) PEZ wasn't working and paci wasn't helping much. kate wouldn't even move her arm and anytime you even mentioned it she would cry "no, mommy, no! no, daddy, no!" it was so pathetic and sad. :( we headed back to church and i took her straight to the nursery, where i knew her pediatrician was serving in the 2 year old room. he listened to my plea and right away said "she's dislocated her elbow". he took her in the other room, and while i held her he straightened it back out. kate cried really hard. she calmed down a few minutes later and i set her down at the toys to see if she would use her arm. sure enough, all was well, and dr. price was kate's hero.
later on that day she woke up from her nap and tried to re-hash the story for me: "owie ... arm ... fireman (EMT) .... dr. price ... all gone! (as in, owie all gone)". at least she ended on a positive note. :o)

oddly enough, after having just paid $5 for a new pack of pacifiers just last sunday, jesse decided this was the week to remove kate's paci. (this is a point where blog archives came in handy...i figured out we took jacob's paci away just around the same age). we made her quit cold turkey. she wasn't cool with it at first. night #1 she was up for 2 hours, crying off and on for the paci. we snipped the tip off and showed her it was broken. we told her she's a big girl now and doesn't need a paci anymore. jesse even had her repeat the words "i'm a big girl" and "no more paci!".
night #2 was a little easier, and so was night #3, and also night #4. nap times were a bit harder, but got a little better with each day. and now we are at night #5 and she didn't even ask for it tonight. i think she's figured it out. :o) we're in the process of trying to figure out a new bedtime routine that will hopefully keep her mind off of the paci. kissing her night-light flower, letting her have a book in bed with her, and of course cuddling puppy too.

catching up

2010-07-24T06:25:00.000-07:00

it's been a while since i posted anything, and since someone finally noticed, i've decided to honor that person with a big fat catch-up. so, here you go mom, a summary of what we've been doing since june 22, 2010 (aka my last post):

painting a road surface with daddy. jacob needed somewhere to drive all of his 20 million tractor and car toys.

a visit from aunt brianne and uncle kevin. i didn't get the camera out much, but we had fun hanging out with aunt brianne and uncle kevin. they took the kids to their first theater movie ever, toy story 3, and did some fishing at a local pond. kate loved her uncle kevin, but for some reason she kept calling him "josh". aunt brianne is carrying the kids' 4th cousin, due october 14, 2010. we can't wait to meet baby easton!

that same weekend i got to go blueberry picking and absolutely LOVED it. i picked 10 pounds in just 45 minutes and have been enjoying the fruits of my labor. the first recipe on my agenda, a blueberry pie for my friend's 28th birthday.

the highlight of july for us was a long weekend trip to ludington, mi, with our good friends to celebrate the 4th of july holiday. we went to the lake michigan beach, went to the town parade on the 4th, saw fireworks on the beach, rode go-carts, and played. a lot. here are some picture highlights:

after returning from our little vacation, jacob had the opportunity to take a ride on gomer the camel, a new attraction at the creation museum. he enjoyed the ride along side his buddy isabel.

last week the kids and i were invited to swim at a friend's house for the morning. this was kate's first time ever in a real swimming pool (not a baby pool) and only jacob's 2nd time (his first time was when he was 14 months old, which he doesn't even remember). we had a nice time enjoying her beautiful pool and the great company!

other highlights include a recent "smoothie night" when we had yogurt smoothies for dinner, made from local fresh-picked blueberries and blackberries, frozen strawberries from my garden, and some frozen bananas. it was delicious! (jacob took the picture of me, pretty good for a 3 year old!)

and now the kids are both sick with hand/foot/mouth and we are quarantining ourselves to the house. i like to look at it as forced relaxation. we needed a little slowing down after a busy month.

happy birthday to jackson

2010-07-24T06:08:00.000-07:00

jackson's 6th birthday was this week, and it was a day just like any other. the kids and i were gone for the morning, came home after lunch for naps and some lawn-mowing, and as soon as the kids were awake we left again for the evening. sadly, the birthday boy didn't get much attention on his own birthday. we were home by bed time and decided we needed to at least sing to the poor dog. i had brownies left over from our small group gathering, which coincidentally, with a little powdered sugar on top, very much resembled jackson's beautiful coat of spots. :)

jackson didn't realize we were singing for him, and kate was not happy that i gave the 1st piece of brownie to jackson. ooooh, so sad. nevermind that i am giving my dog chocolate, or that my kids are eating brownies at 8:30 pm. :P

random food thoughts

2010-06-22T19:25:00.000-07:00

i was just realizing that i blog a lot about the kids, and a lot about the goings on of our family, but i don't mention enough of one of my most favorite things that God gave us: food. so here are some random things i've been thinking about lately, all about food:

i think my kitchen would be most boring if it weren't for sugar and my trusty lawry's garlic salt. i use them both almost daily.
coffee is the best.
kate's been calling me "honey", which is a name i use when talking to her. she's just reciprocating. :o)
our new favorite dish, that we've been eating every other day, caprese. which is fresh mozzarella, sliced tomatoes, basil, salt n pepa, and e.v.o.o. YUM! makes a delicious lunch, or a dinner side dish.
for father's day, jesse didn't want breakfast in bed, didn't want to go out for lunch or dinner, and had absolutely no requests for a special dinner menu. for me, it's not a celebration without great food. i guess opposites attract.
my favorite recipe right now is my variation of giada's meatball recipe. i make a big batch and freeze them for easy meals like meatball subs and pasta & meatballs. here's the recipe: 1 lb ground turkey, 1/4 cup bread crumbs, 2 eggs (lightly beaten), 2 tbsp milk, 1/2 cup, grated romano or parmesan (i use parm), 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley (i use 1 tbsp dried parsley), 3/4 tsp salt (i use garlic salt, because meatballs need garlic, right?), 3/4 tsp pepper. combine ingredients, mix well. scoop mixture into 1 inch balls, and drop into preheated pan with 1/4 cup e.v. olive oil. cook 4-5 minutes on each side (i roll them around every 3 minutes or so, for about 10 minutes). cook through. i drain them on a paper towel when i take them out of the pan.
kate's new favorite thing to do at mealtime is to throw her food on the floor. we never had to deal with this with jacob. and i am not sure how to handle it, other than to say 'no'.
last week i got to teach my good friend how to make sweet tea, another staple in my kitchen. this hot weather is definitely sweet tea weather.
my strawberries are pretty much done for the summer. i see a straggler in the garden every now and then. i ended up with about a dozen 1 qt ziploc bags in the freezer. maybe next year will be a little better?
i love coffee.
about 2 years ago, jesse and i toyed around with the idea of me canning and selling my homemade pasta sauce. maybe some day.
jacob likes tuna. he's a slightly picky eater, so this strikes me as odd. yesterday he didn't even want it on a sandwich. just a big scoop of tuna salad, in a bowl, with a spoon. and he ate it like it was ice cream. weird!
jesse got a lot of compliments and a boost of confidence from the tractor birthday cakes he decorated for jacob's recent birthday. he will be filling his first decorated cake order this weekend, for a co-worker of mine. i love being married to an artist. his talent spills into so many different arenas.
jacob shared his John Deere fruit snacks with farmer gary, the farmer who was cutting the hay fields here at our house last week. he also asked me to bake cookies for him, and i did. he "loves farmer gary", and his tractors. :o)
coffee is so wonderful.
i took my trusty chocolate chip cookie recipe and experimented with it today. added some peanut butter and oatmeal, and adjusted some of the other ingredients. it made the perfect cookie. i ate 5 of them as i was transferring them to the cooling rack, and even considered hiding them from jesse and the kids. but don't worry, i shared.

ok, now i am hungry. but what i really need to do is go to bed.

bird is the word

2010-06-08T12:43:00.000-07:00

early in May, jesse and i noticed a blue bird making a nest in one of the bushes in our backyard. 3 weeks later, there were brand new baby birds in there, squawking for food.

the kids have really enjoyed watching the momma bird and the daddy bird bringing food to their babies, all day long. they sit up on the garage roof and wait till the coast is clear, then they dive towards the nest quite cautiously. it's been fun to watch.

the male is the prettiest color. jesse pointed out that it's funny the bird chose a home that matches the color scheme of his feathers, red and blue. :)

kate counting and other goings on

2010-06-08T04:52:00.000-07:00

kate surprised me the other day when i heard her counting to 10 with a nursery worker. what?! she doesn't do that at home! so that afternoon, i tried to get it on video. she needed a little assistance, but pretty i was impressed with what she could do.

not sure what the extra words are at the end?

jesse and i celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary yesterday. our day went on like normal, we didn't do anything special. we're celebrating later this week with a night away at a b & b. looking forward to some time spent with each other that is not consumed with minding to the children. yesterday was not one of jacob's better days... attitude issues all day long. so in the evening, right before bed, we witnessed a much needed, rare moment of tranquility:

watching lightning mcqueen together.

we've been spending most of our days outside, exploring,

gator ridin',
and playing with friends.

yesterday farmer Gary came to start working in the fields, cutting and bailing the hay. he wasn't here long, but long enough for him to offer a ride to jacob on the tractor. and jacob refused it. and thus displayed his love/hate relationship with tractors. loves to look at them and play with them and talk about them all day long, but you get him ANYWHERE near a tractor that is on and running... jacob will scream like it's the end of the world. we're going to work on his fears this week, and hopefully he'll be able to enjoy a ride with farmer Gary before the week is over. and hopefully he will not have to be held by his mother so i can have my hands free to take pictures to document this exciting occasion and share them with you all.

3

2010-05-13T10:11:00.000-07:00

i know it's cliche to say "wow, time flies!" or "can't believe he's already 3!" but really... it struck me when i was in the dr's office with jacob yesterday for his 3 year check-up, and Dr. P (jacob's pediatrician from birth and also friend of the family, who happened to be the person who told us about grace fellowship church, i digress) said to jacob something to the tune of "i remember checking you when you were brand new." and the more i thought about it when i was trying to fall asleep last night, it does seem like just yesterday that we were at the same office (Dr P) when i was 16 weeks pregnant with jacob, and we were trying to get an early guess at the gender on ultrasound. so... i'm just gonna say it...TIME FLIES!

so jacob is 3, if you didn't hear the announcement, or see his name on the birthday list this month at our local chick-fil-a.

we celebrated with friends this past weekend. jesse made a tractor cake for the occasion (per jacob's request). it was a fun, cold, evening with friends. :)

his birthday day was filled with lots of....sugar. a donut date with his friend in the morning, a trip to the playground at the mall (it was rainy and we couldnt go to the real playground), and a 25 cent deposit into the candy machine (conveniently located right next to the play area, smart guy who came up with that one), dinner at chick-fil-a after the dr's appointment, and cake and ice cream for dessert at home.

when jacob isn't playing with tractors, talking about tractors, or watching a tractor movie, he really loves riding his bike and scooter. he pretty much loves just about anything that has to do with the outdoors. more often than not, the first thing out of his mouth in the morning is "can we go outside?" he is starting to be very inquisitive. jesse and i feel like this is the beginning of the "why?" stage. not looking forward to that. he likes to color, and write on things, and is really good at puzzles. when he smiles, it is very contagious. he's 35 pounds and almost 40 inches tall, both in the higher percentiles for a 3 year old boy. doc says he is charting to be at least 6'1" at his adult height. he is completely potty trained (with an occasional accident that is usually mommy or daddy's fault). he LOVES his tractor underwear, obviously. the floor in our living room is most always covered with tractors and matchbox cars, which seem to be abundant in our house.

i am so thankful for this little boy. he is such a blessing to jesse and i. can't even imagine how boring our life would be without him. :o)

i love you jacob! HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY!!!

my little star

2010-05-03T16:13:00.000-07:00

kate singing twinkle, twinkle, little star.
finally captured it on camera:

my little boy is growing up

2010-04-15T05:14:00.000-07:00

i've been SO proud of jacob these past 2 weeks. last week's potty training was a complete success. only had accidents for a day and a half, and by the afternoon of day 3, he was going on his own. he still needs frequent reminders, but as long as i don't have to clean up accidents, then i am ok with the task of reminding.

since potty training began, i've noticed jacob maturing in other areas. seems like using the potty made him another year older, just in the span of a few days.

here are some photos from the past week:

riding the tractor with daddy

playing with Scoop, a new toy from his friend Gabe.

trying to be friendly with the neighbors, waving to our "grandma" neighbor across the street.

giving daddy a haircut, the only way we could make it through jacob's haircut was to torture someone else.

signs of spring

2010-04-06T12:33:00.000-07:00

it seems like it got very warm a little earlier than usual this spring....

but you won't hear any complaints from our family (ok, maybe just one- i could really do without the flies, bees, wasps, and spiders- but other than that, i'm content.)

we've been spending most of our waking moments outside, enjoying the sunshine and spring breezes.

my strawberry plants are starting to give flowers...which means another 2 weeks or less and there will be berries already!!

jacob, trying to see if the plants actually smell like strawberries, or maybe looking for bugs. :)

and these 2 little love-birds (or love-turkeys if you must) have been doing their dance of love. well, they were this morning, at least, in our back yard. they danced around each other at least 50 times, and then... we ate breakfast.

and today we played outside, soaked in the vitamin D to get us through the rest of the potty training week. (today is day #2).

oh happy day!

2010-04-04T17:36:00.000-07:00

a wonderful worship service this morning, followed by gorgeous weather and delicious dinner with good friends. what a great Easter day! (side note: jesse started an impromtu potty training session with jacob today- total of 7 hours in big boy pants with no accidents!! lots of candy, though.)

and now we're all exhausted, bellies full of food and Easter candy, not looking forward to starting another work week, but enjoying pictures from the day:
tried to get a picture of the kids together, and it ended up in a choke-hold. maybe next year...
not sure how we managed a family picture with everyone looking at the camera?

He is risen!!!

potty training- take 2

2010-03-29T07:29:00.000-07:00

are these not the cutest things you've ever seen? found them at gymboree, and thought i had died and gone to potty training heaven when i spotted them on the shelf (i have a witness- i really was ecstatic- other shoppers probably thought i was a little psycho).ok, maybe they're not the cutest thing ever, but these just might be the trick for potty training round 2. not quite sure when that will be, but the sooner the better, for all involved.

one of these things is not like the others

2010-03-16T12:13:00.000-07:00

can you guess which thing just doesn't belong? (remember the sesame street song?)

in a sea of trucks and tractors...

i think it's a "i'm going to wear it just so my sister can't wear it" thing. so don't worry, daddy, i don't think he is going to ask us for ballet classes or anything. :o)

these just may be the cutest dresses ever

2010-03-13T11:13:00.000-08:00

to all you mothers out there, who have adorable little girls... consider buying them a new dress, which just may be the cutest dress ever. feast your eyes on my cousin alyssa's etsy shop, Sun Tea dresses , where she sells the most adorable handmade girls dresses. she just started the shop, and i told her i would help spread the word, since i know so many moms with sweet little girls. :)

you'll see kate wearing one of these dresses this summer! (just trying to decide which one i like best.)

yummy smiles

2010-03-10T13:58:00.000-08:00

a couple weeks ago, the kids received eat'n park smiley cookies in the mail from grandma. we captured the cookie moments on camera.

what cute kids! maybe i am a bit biased?

this one's for you, mom.

2010-03-10T07:35:00.000-08:00

like i mentioned in my last post, my blogging dry spell has continued. call it laziness, or lack of exciting things going on, or not enough time in the day... pick one.

we're SO ready for spring and summer at the Pié home. we've really been enjoying the warmer weather over the last few days. even went out without jackets yesterday. hmmmmm.... summer, i can smell you!

yesterday we invited our friends over to play. isabel and jacob enjoyed a ride on the gator. perhaps an idea for when they head off on their honeymoon? no, not planning their wedding, or anything. but wouldn't it be cute?

the expression on isabel's face here is priceless. i think she's wondering why jacob's making such a big deal about the gator. she wasn't quite fond of it at first.

ob la di, ob la da, life goes on

2010-02-14T17:38:00.000-08:00

back from vacation, back to work, been sick with the stomach flu/migraine/more stomach flu for the past week, life goes on. :)

been going through a bit of a blogging dry spell. while i've enjoyed the frequent blog updates over the last several weeks from my fellow blogging friends, every time our blog appears on the screen i am notified by jesse that "our cozumel pictures have been on there way too long." and my excuse to him is either "i haven't had time" or "there's nothing exciting happening to write about."
and then i had to remind myself that not only do i blog to keep friends and family posted of the goings-on in our life, but also to have a place to write down memories before i forget them for the kids' baby books. so here is my quick little update, for my sake.

KATE is turning into a toddler right before our eyes. she keeps herself very busy during her play time, scurrying from room to room. she loves to open and close the cupboards, stack tupperware, and carry handfuls of alphabet magnets to and from the refrigerator. her favorite toys are her baby dolls and their accessories, her elmo book, and the purse that her friend isabel has let her borrow. she is constantly aware of where i set my cell phone and is always trying to figure out a way to get a hold of it. she loves loves loves music and loves to dance. she chatters all the time and can say a handful of words such as daddy, mommy, down, eye, nose, tractor, truck, happy, tu-tu, jackson, paci, no-no, and hat. she can say a, b, c, f, g and that's as far as she gets. she loves to watch and giggle at her big brother. she is a great sleeper- naps and nighttime. i often remind myself how blessed i am to have 2 children who are such good sleepers.

playing with isabel's purse- thank you, isabel, for letting us borrow it!

kissing one of daddy's dinosaurs on a recent visit to the creation museum

JACOB continues to amaze us with his growing vocabulary and grammar. he is learning lots of big new words and is putting together sentences so well. he daily makes us laugh with the hilarious things that come out of his mouth, such as "daddy, stop wiggling the car- i'm trying to pick my boogers." some of his favorite things to do include building tents, playing with cars, finger-painting, playing with play-doh, pretending to be a doggy, going to the library, and of course- playing with his always growing collection of tractors! we postponed our potty training initiative that was started in january, as jacob and mommy were both not ready for that big step. so to avoid frustration, and a lot of tears, we have decided to wait. maybe this summer. grandma? :)

kate recently spent some of her christmas money on a new table and chairs for jacob and her. (i love using "their" money to buy toys instead of our's- it takes away the guilt.) the new table has provided some precious brother/sister moments such as tent building, and this tea party...

there's no place like home

2010-01-29T09:11:00.000-08:00

as sad as it was to leave the beach, it really does feel good to be back home.

this past week, jesse and i were blessed by the generosity of friends and family (and candace's great planning skills) and were able to enjoy a 6 day child-free trip to cozumel, mexico. back in september, candace and i were trying to think of what to do for our husband's joint 30th birthdays. one thing led to another, and before we knew it we were on a plane headed to mexico, without our (combined) 4 children, to enjoy some precious r&r and fun with our husbands.

the weather was perfect. our travels were all smooth and timely. the beach was beautiful. and some wonderful memories were made. it's hard to pick a few pictures to sum up the week. so if you want to see the entire album, i have them posted on facebook, but here are some of my favorites

jesse and i are most grateful for my mom, who willingly agreed to watch and care for our family while we were away. taking care of 2 toddlers, the house, and our dog is a lot of work, and it meant a lot to us for her to bless us in this way. thank you mom (grandma)!

now back to life, back to reality.

on my mind

2010-01-10T17:41:00.000-08:00

the pié family has started out this new year in a quiet buzz. nothing terribly exciting happening, but seems like we're going a mile a minute, keeping up with our daily busy-ness. never a dull moment.
as we were loading the kids into the car for church this morning, i realized that poor kate didn't even leave the house once this week. last time i was putting her in her car seat was last sunday...heading to church. jacob only once- to the grocery store with mommy. and that would have been my only outing had i not scheduled myself a much needed haircut on saturday. and i gladly left the kids alone with daddy, some nice "alone" time for me.

because we weren't leaving the house this week (not planned) and we were running out of diapers, i placed an order on my trusty diapers.com. the order comes in a huge box (since i am ordering diapers for 2 bottoms- keep reading for more on that topic) which turned out to be a nice distraction for the kids. the box is big enough for both jacob and kate to fit in it at the same time. it provided hours of entertainment, which is just what we needed to help with our cabin fever.

since january 1st, jesse and i have started exercising , and even trying to eat a little healthier too. my newest snack craze has been popcorn- homemade, stove-top, kettle corn. a much healthier alternative to the potato chips, cookies, and christmas candy that had become the norm. (i know, it still has sugar, but a lot less than i was consuming with the mentioned "junk"). and since i recently read an article about the dangers of microwave popcorn (did you know there are harmful chemicals in the lining of the bag that are transferred to the butter or oil that is coating the kernels?) i decided to try the stove top method.
making it was so much easier than i thought, and i even asked myself "why didn't i think of this before?!" so in case anyone wants it, here is my made-up recipe:

Stove-top KettleCorn

1 tbsp olive oil
2-3 tbsp popcorn (enough to cover the bottom of a sauce pan)
2 tsp sugar
salt to taste

combine kernels, oil, and sugar in sauce pan. heat over medium-high, stirring constantly by gently shaking the pan. keep lid on and keep shaking until popping starts to slow down. i noticed it took 3 or 4 minutes for the kernels to start popping, but once they start popping, it goes fast. add salt and toss in a large bowl. let it cool before you eat it, the sugar gets really hot!

*note: i am not sure how this will work on an electric burner, so if you try it, consider yourself warned, it might burn!

we have been intending to potty train jacob this month, waiting for a chunk of days where we "have nothing going on". but we're almost halfway through the month, and it hasn't happened yet. i was hoping to have him completely trained for my mom when she comes to babysit at the end of the month, while jesse and i are away on our vacation.
so i have a week and a half, can i do it? he is SO ready. i am confident that he will catch on to going #1 very quickly. i am a little anxious about #2... maybe i have heard too many horror stories.
many thanks to candace who let me borrow her book "Toilet Training in Less Than a Day". i got a good laugh from this illustration on p.36 (as if i needed it to be illustrated for me).

merry christmas, happy birthday, and happy new year too.

2010-01-01T14:06:00.000-08:00

been a busy 10 days, but i think we've survived.

we traveled to pittsburgh to celebrate christmas with family. our first few days were spent with the pié family, where we not only celebrated christmas, but also had an early birthday party for jesse's 30th.

for the second half of our trip, we drove another 2+ hours to spend a few days with cydney's family in state college, pa. the kids enjoyed precious time spent with cousins, ryan and lindsey, who we see way too infrequently.

new year's eve always doubles as jesse's birthday party. this year was an extra special one, as he turned the big 3-0. jesse shares a birthday with our friend, lee nordine; so we spent the evening with the nordine family celebrating 30 years and 2010. candace and i attempted "copy-cat" Chipotle pork carnitas burritos, complete with the rice and beans, salsa and guacamole. a tasty dinner followed by an oh-so-delicious birthday flan.

as a side note, jesse has definitely turned 30- and is acting like it too. he spent his birthday, day off of work, rearranging the living room. oh boy.

i guess that's it for catching up the blog.
oh, and {belated} MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

friends

2009-12-20T11:02:00.000-08:00

we took a picture of jacob and isabel last year, in front of the tree at church. so we decided to try it again this year.

and add the siblings to the picture. this is the best one we got. poor Ana.:(

baby, it's cold outside

2009-12-17T06:34:00.000-08:00

but not cold enough that jacob can't go outside to ride his new toy (christmas present from grandpa scruggs).

and cold enough to have the oven on for baking cookies with friends.

some things i've recently learned about my son

2009-12-07T09:23:00.000-08:00

he under-estimates the power of scissors. this morning we woke up to a dusting of snow, which highly excited us. so for something fun to do, jacob and i made paper snowflakes. and for a few brief moments i let him do the cutting. and then he cut the snowflake in half. it was short-lived, but we ended up with a few pretty snowflakes, one for each member of the family. (jackson included)
in some clothes, he is wearing a 5T in shirts, but still a bit baggy in the 3T pants. long torso, tiny waste. what's a boy to do?
he can sing "pa-rump-pa-pum-pum" pretty well for a 2 year old. i didn't even think he heard the song playing in the background this morning as we played. but he must have, because he was singing "the little drummer boy" to himself after lunch. cuteness!
and while we're on the subject of singing, his new favorite song is "baby, it's cold outside". like mother, like son. it's sooo cute to hear him singing it.
another thing, just like his mother, he likes to eat chicken hearts. i roasted a chicken yesterday for dinner, and for some reason, this chicken had 4 or 5 hearts in the package of innards. (liking them myself, when i discovered this i was like "bonus!". for those of you that like them too, you know what i mean, right?) i usually roast them in the pan right along with the bird, for a little added flavor. jacob saw them in the pan and asked to have a bite. after trying one, he ended up asking for and eating 2 more. that's my boy.
he loves loves loves tractors. ok, i know, that's old news. but he still manages to change every conversation and educational experience to the subject of tractors.

i love you, jacob.