Patrick-isms

While we were in Disney, the conversation turned to swimming, and Patrick asked Mani if she would come swimming with us. Mani said, "Well, I don't have a swimming suit."

Patrick: "Oh, so you swim without any clothes on?" (so sweetly and innocently asked, but of course, reduced us to giggles.)

One of the things we neglected to do was bring a double stroller to Disney. We only brought a single, thinking just William would need a spot to sit. Patrick is always the one who is asking to sit, or be carried, especially so he can view a map more easily. We had a friend walking around the park with us, and Patrick had decided he had enough walking. Patrick, in his logic says to my friend who is holding his hand: "You know, a 45 year old can carry a 5 year old."
(I missed this conversation, but was told it after I turned and saw him in her arms.)

Had to add one more: Talking to my cousin's wife yesterday, about Disney. She mentioned the rides she rode while 6 months pregnant, including Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. My reader hears the conversation and says, "That ride isn't for pregnant mommies. You have to be as tall as me to ride it, but you can't be an 'expectant mother' riding it."

Tricks by William

William is getting SO BIG!

Memorable Memorial Day

I love to entertain. I mean, I REALLY love it when people come over to my house and I can feed them (read: stuff them) and enjoy their company. I get even more excited when the day just goes on and on, and nobody leaves. Memorial Day this year was just that, and I am so happy it was!

We had the Ivey family (Mr. Mike, Miss Susan and Lauren) and (Mr.) Matt at our house. Tommy grilled (his favorite thing to do!) and I was in the kitchen, making too much food, as I always do. William and Lauren were crawling everywhere and putting everything in their mouths, the men were out grilling, and Patrick and Emma asked questions and played with whomever would be with them.

Patrick stuck around Mr. Mike and his Iphone so he could play games (one of which was Simon! I really miss that game) and Mr. Matt and his videos from his trip. Patrick just wanted to have more videos taken and eventually had his own Iphone to use. It did some pretty amazing things.

We are so happy it was such a great day, and we can't wait to do it again.

One of the recipes I made was a salad that went over BIG:

The Pampered Chef ®

Strawberry Spinach Salad:

Dressing

1 lemon

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

1/3 cup sugar

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tsp poppy seeds (I forgot, er, omitted)

Salad

1/4 cup sliced almonds

8 ounces (1 1/2 cups) strawberries, hulled and quartered

1/2 medium cucumber, sliced and cut in half

1/4 small red onion, sliced into thin wedges

1 pkg baby spinach

1. Dressing: zest lemon to measure 1/2 tsp zest; juice lemon to measure 2 tbsp juice. Combine juice, zest, sugar, white wine vinegar, oil and seeds. Whisk. Refrigerate until ready to use.

2. Preheat oven to 350. Spread almonds on Small bar pan and toast for 10-12 minutes. Cool.

3. Hull strawberries, and cut into quarters

4. Score cucumber, remove seeds, and slice cucumber. Cut slices in half. Slice onion into thin wedges.

5. Place spinach into large serving bowl, add strawberries, cucumber, and onion. Whisk dressing and pour over salad. Toss gently, and add almonds. Serve immediately.

Yield: 10 servings. Pampered Chef Casual Cooking cookbook.

My ideal superhero: Elastigirl

When I got pregnant with Emma, Patrick was only 6 months old. We needed a second crib to put the next baby in, and it was a "grow with me" kind of crib. We thought it would last us quite a while, converting to a bigger bed as she grew. Last year, this "long-lasting" crib was recalled. We literally had to take everything apart and send in the pieces. The company gave us a voucher for a new crib, and we were excited with the new purchase for William. He is a great sleeper, and does really well in his crib.

William is almost 10 months old. He is pulling up on everything. Time to move the crib down. Only problem with that? I can't slide the side of the crib down to get him out. The new crib does not allow the side to slide once it reaches the lowest setting. I am just too short for this crib, and in the middle of the night he sometimes scoots over to the far edge. I'm sure if anyone could see me, it would look a little like I'm trapped, arms draped over the edge of the crib, my legs dangling on one side, reaching and trying to pull the baby closer to me. I am just hanging there, trying to get him closer. He doesn't understand, so he is crying and flapping his arms, sitting in the corner and trying to figure out why mommy won't pick him up. I just wish at those 2 AM feedings that my arms could just extend a little bit to reach him. I think I would even just send my arms in to get him one of these nights.

Perhaps I need a stool? Sigh.

Disneyworld!

Our month of May was filled with wonderful things, but the highlight was definitely our trip to Walt Disney World with my Mom. 8 days of so much fun, love, laughter and joy was just perfect.

This was our first experience with staying at a Disney Resort with the Magical Express and buses every 15 minutes to all the parks. Port Orleans, Riverside was our hotel, and it was lovely. We also did the meal plan for all of us, and I KNOW we wouldn't have eaten as well as we did without it. We got to visit all the parks and hit all the important rides/shows. My favorite is always Magic Kingdom, and Small World, but really I enjoy whatever my makes my kids happy. Tommy did all the planning, and often asked me for my input, but since I am so indecisive, he made most all of the plans and reservations. He did an amazing job!

Patrick's favorite was meeting Buzz Lightyear, Emma loved our breakfast with the princesses IN the castle, and William loved meeting all the characters. He just wanted to eat their noses!

What a wonderful family vacation we had! How soon can we go back?!?!

Here I am!

Here I am! I have finally started a blog! I am so excited to get started, but get so nervous: what do I write about? LOL I'm sure I'll find SOMEthing.

I need to thank Katie Condon for the blog name, and Mike Ivey for setting it up. Thanks for helping me find another reason to be online!