John 3:16

Cade is in AWANA again this year. I was working on his verse for the week yesterday. It's John 3:16, a familiar verse to many people. And Cade almost had it down. We were working on it in sections...

"For God so loved the world..."

Good Cade! That's it. Ok, now say the next part...

"that He gave His one and only Son...."

Yes! Good! And???

"that whoever believes in Him... will get a treat?"

Hmmm. Not quite, Cade.

To be fair, we hadn't gone over the last phrase of that verse yet. Cade was just guessing at the rest of the verse. So I told Cade that yes, it is a treat that you get. But not candy. Not candy, son. Something even better. I don't think Cade can imagine anything better.

Debut: Products & Businesses We Love

From time to time, I am going to highlight products or businesses that our family loves.

My first product is something near and dear to my heart. For all of you short people out there, I present leg and knee relief!



It is a folding foot rest for when you're sitting in a chair and your feet don't reach the floor. I use to be so incredibly uncomfortable at church. I would be so distracted by how uncomfortable I was (and constantly shifting in my seat, sitting criss-cross apple sauce, etc) that I had a hard time paying attention to the sermon! But not anymore!

I carry this puppy in my purse at all times so that I'm prepared to sit anywhere! This is one of the best investments I have made in a long time. It's right up there with having children. And honestly, on some days, it's even better than having children.

TMI: You've Been Warned

**UPDATE**
It was actually four of us! One of us was hiding while doing our stinky deed. I think this qualifies for a Guinness World Record. Anyone have that phone number?


The joy of having more than a couple of children is being able to brag about things such as the following: Three of us just got done simultaneously making deposits, if you will. Three of us. At the same time. Isn't that amazing? Just another reason for having more than one kiddo...

A quick update to let everyone know we're alive. Scott is coming off of two very crazy weeks at work. So it's nice to have him around the house! The kids were really starting to miss their Daddy!

We finally had our garage sale this past weekend, and it was a success! Got rid of some big stuff and made a little money at the same time! I know have a TON of stuff to bring to donate to the local resale shop that helps out area families. I miss going to garage sales. It's hard with two little ones -- getting in and out of the car quickly is not something that we do. So it's painful to garage sale with them! But when I had just Cade, and I could carry him in a Baby Bjorn, I would hit up the estate and garage sales on Friday mornings in the Highland Park area. Oh boy. So much fun! I don't think Scott can think of many other things that would be more excruciating than garage saling!

Everyone is healthy. Claire is trying to get 4 more teeth through her gums, so that's a bummer. Jack is still trying to wean from his nap. But somedays, it's just not happening. And Cade is doing great in school. He comes home everyday and writes notes and signs in phonetic spelling. He's so excited when he reads things at the grocery store (Mommy, that says "pop!"). It's a whole new world he's about to enter, and it's so exciting!

I'm doing OK. Trying to get to the gym, but it's too easy to find excuses not to go. Scott contines to run and train for a 10k. He's also doing push ups and sit-ups (which he absolutely hates) -- I'm proud of him for being disciplined!

Hurricane Ike

Last Saturday, it rained almost all day as the remnants of Ike came through the area. MawMaw went to the grocery store at one point, and Scott and the kids waited at the front window to watch for her arrival so they could help unload groceries. Cade insisted on getting all geared up for the event. Raincoat and galoshes.

After unloading the groceries, Scott took the boys for a stroll in the rain. There was no lightning, and the boys had a fantastic and wet time!

The Newest Blogger

Would You Be So Kind...

I don't know why I'm still amazed at some of the things that come out of Cade's mouth.

The latest from Cade is, "would you be so kind as to .... ?"

I don't think I talk like that. Where is he getting this stuff?

And the other day, when I picked him up from school, I was chatting with his teacher. During a pause in the conversation, Cade says, "Mommy? I don't mean to complain, but it is about to rain."

I looked at Cade's teacher quizzically, and she said, "He's a little Mr. Professor. And other times, he's Mr. Space Cadet." Amen, sister.

Zzzzzzzzz

I'm in the process of weaning Jack from his daily nap. It's not going to well...


I was trying to keep him awake so that we could go get Cade from school. My attempt stunk like our garbage can that smells of dirty diapers.

Ultimate Fighting Championship: Pillow Match

It was raining cat, dogs and cows yesterday. Not that the boys play outside much. But it was still a good excuse to have an ol' fashioned pillow fight. The pictures speak for themselves.











Jack giggles. Cade hits. Jack falls. Jack giggles. Jack stands. Repeat.

I love Meat!

I'm an unashamed carnivore. I love meat! My favorite dinner is an excellent bacon-wrapped filet with garlic mashed potatoes and a great Merlot. I wouldn't make it 24 hours as a vegetarian. I think I may even be allergic to vegetables.

A friend from work graciously gave Scott a gift certificate to Texas de Brazil (warning: cheezy club-type music will play if you go to their site) last week. Since my mom was in town this weekend (partly for a cancelled garage sale, partly because of Hurricane Ike), we had free babysitting to go take advantage of this gift. Oh my gosh. Texas de Brazil was a-m-a-z-i-n-g.

There is no menu. It's an all-you-can-eat-meat-fest. "Gauchos" walk around with different meats on huge skewers. If your little sign on your table is flipped over to green, then the gauchos come to your table and offer whatever is on their skewers. If your sign is flipped over to red, they leave you alone to gorge. Leg of lamb. Bacon-wrapped chicken breast. Parmesan-crusted chicken. Pork ribs. Beef ribs. Top sirloin steak. Bacon-wrapped filet. Brazilian sausage. Lamb chop. Flank steak. I'm probably leaving a few cuts out. Unbelievable stuff.

And then there's the delicious garlic mashed potatoes and fried bananas (two separate dishes, of course!) that they bring to your table to "cleanse your palate" between bites of meat.

And then there's the soup bar which also featured potatoes au gratin that was the best I have ever had (normally I don't even like this dish, but this was EXCELLENT!).

And then there's the salad bar which features, in addition to those things you would normally find at a salad bar, smoked salmon, some nasty sushi, talluleh, asparagus spears, exotic cheeses, and other things I can't remember due to my protein-induced-coma I'm about to fall into.

There were times when I looked at my plate and was confused by what to eat next. It was all so good; I couldn't decide what to take a bite of next. Such a wonderful, yummy problem to have.

I'm so thankful that Jeff gifted us with this experience. Scott and I rarely go out to eat (usually, it's a handful of times throughout the year, with our anniversary being the pinnacle). So this was such a treat.

Fast Facts

Jack had his 3-year check-up on Friday. Here is Big Boy's stats:

height: 37.25" (45th percentile of kids)
weight: 33 pounds (75%)
cuteness (on a scale of 1-10): 11

Claire had her 1-year check up this morning (we're only 2 months late this time!). Here are stats on our Claire Bear:

height: 30.5" (75%)
weight: 23 lb 4oz (70%)
cuteness: 11

It's time to start weaning Claire from the bottle. I've never had to do this before, and she seems completely uninterested in sippy cups. She's also completely uninterested in table food (in fact, she can be somewhat violent about it); we're still feeding her that nasty can't-believe-the-FDA-approves-of-this-and-how-are-we-going-to-pay-for-gas-while-buying-this baby food. We went through this difficulty with Jack at this age, so this is nothing new to us. But the doctor's advice was kind of new: essentially, starve her into drinking from the cup and eating regular food. Well, not literally starve. You know what I mean.

Fantasy

Ah. Football season. Can't you just smell Americans getting fatter?

We honestly don't get much done around here during football season. Football is on all day Saturday, Saturday night, all day Sunday, Sunday night, Monday night, and possibly Thursday night (if there's a game on NFL Network). We don't watch too much TV the rest of the year, but we make up for it between the months of September and January.

So for the 48th year, Scott and I are competing in a fantasy football league. No money on the line; just bragging rights. So much fun!

I took a couple of pics of Jack & Claire this afternoon while they were outside. The lighting was great, so enjoy the pics! Especially enjoy the drool hanging from Jack's little chin.

Life at our House

Lots of people have asked: how is Cade liking kindergarten? He loves it! He's having a good time and starting to make some new friends. Unfortunately the first friend he made, a boy who sits next to him, told Cade two days in a row that Cade's drawings were "really horrible." Ah, don't you love those teachable moments? I have a feeling those moments are going to start flying at us like we're in hyper-drive (shoutout Star Wars!)

Claire continues to be into everything. If there is a chair, she needs to climb into it. If there's a stool, she needs to stand on it. If there's a couch, she needs to sit on it. If there's a closet, she needs to open it and pull out everything her little grubby hands can touch. When Scott & I upgraded to lever door handles in our house (from traditional round knobs), we weren't thinking of the ease with which our toddlers would have in opening all the doors. So miraculously, items that I had put in the recycling bin (or the trash can right next to the recycling bin) manage to get themselves out of the bin and onto the floor in the living room. It's amazing. I didn't know plastic and glass had a life of its own. But they have meetings on the floor in the living room en masse.

The boys continue to be good friends. They play so well together, and it's a joy to watch and listen to them enjoy each others company.



Here is an example of Claire's climbing. I heard her whimpering in her room and wasn't sure what was going on. As I rounded the corner into her room, I saw Claire perched on her rocker like a little princess. Sadly, the princess could not dismount off of her throne. At least she had a bear to keep her company...




Having a little girl is such a different world than having a little boy. I'm guessing it's more than a personality difference that Claire loves to hug and kiss all of her stuffed animals. The boys never did such a thing. In fact, it wasn't until they were at least two years old (or older in Cade's case) that the boys had any interest in stuffed animals. But not Claire. She hugs them tightly and is so pleased to be cuddling with the animal du jour. Here she is with Tadd (he was a gift for Baby Cade from my good friend Candice)


Speaking of Cade, he likes nothing better than to chill out and sip on his gin & juice. Well, maybe not the latter, but definitely the former. Here he is, smushing my freshly cleaned clothes in the laundry basket. Guess that's what I deserve for leaving the laundry basket there for 4+ days. The basket was beginning to become decor in the living room. Not a good look. I've never seen it in Better Homes & Garden.