e-whitleys

Mae Day!

2011-09-18T17:54:00.002-04:00

Being green in a virtual way

2010-09-17T20:58:00.001-04:00

I do remember how to get here! Thought I would recycle an old post.

Banff Wildlife

2010-06-18T10:14:00.008-04:00

The animals were a blast to photograph. Our daily outings became a scavenger hunt of sorts to see how many animals we could collect on the camera.

Mule Deer - very plentiful and willing to let tourists take pictures.

Columbian Ground Squirrel (looks like a prairie dog to me) in his hole. I spotted him in one hole then he disappeared and popped up from another hole further up the hill. I heard lots of noise and thought it was birds until I saw all his buddies -

There were at least 10 or 12 standing alert and barking a warning about my presence.

Elk were everywhere too.

There must have been 100 Elk on the golf course.

This little marmet was spotted on the trail thru Johnston Canyon. He was very cooperative and didn't seem to mind me being inches away with my camera.

I saw a pika on this trail too but that little critter was much too fast to get a picture. He looked like a little reddish rock with tiny legs running around like mad.

The ever elusive Mountain Goats. Look closely they are there on the grassy spot up the mountain (just below the single tree in the center of the photo). Those little white spots - that's the goats!

Bear! We saw lots of bears on the Icefields Parkway. If ever you make it to Banff, you really must take a day to drive the Icefields Parkway. There is lots of wildlife and the scenery is simply breathtaking!

Another bear - we saw enough bears to get tired of it and stopped taking pictures of them all.

Big Horned Sheep - another somewhat elusive creature to capture. The guy up top was keeping watch so his heard could graze.

Tunnel Mountain Trail

2010-06-06T20:15:00.006-04:00

elk on the trail

snow coming into the valley

switchback trail

growth in the rocks

incredible views

Banff - a 10th anniversary trip

2010-05-26T11:22:00.004-04:00

My mother took care of Emma and Jack while we were out of town. She and the children have some very deep and interesting conversations when they are together. Although completely sincere, this conversation was not one of them.

J: “Nana. Are boogers a fruit or vegetable?”

E: “Ooooo! Jack! That is disgusting! Groooooss!!”

J: “Emma! I’m asking Nana! I know they are not a meat. So, are they a fruit or a vegetable?”

N: “I don’t think they are either, Jack. Maybe they are a mineral.”

J: “Oh, ok.”

First T-ball game

2010-05-12T09:25:00.002-04:00

Nathan has been waiting for this day since we found out Jack was a boy.

pre-game snack

the t-ball swarm

batting left handed

(because,according to Nathan,

"He'll be more valuable when he goes pro!" )

you aren't supposed to sit on third base

heading home
- he has his daddy's stride

Spring

2010-05-09T09:22:00.000-04:00

Wisteria over our backyard swing.

Flying Pig Marathon Weekend in Cincinnati

2010-05-07T09:15:00.007-04:00

26.2 mile finish line

Jack hamming it up

J.J. and Virginia the great with their great-grandchildren.

2010 Flying Pig Marathon

2010-05-05T20:35:00.000-04:00

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/32356641

2010 Derby Mini Marathon

2010-05-05T20:32:00.000-04:00

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/32356596: "Share"

2010-02-15T13:06:00.005-05:00

I just swept the sidewalk...

(sigh)

Our walkway now has a two foot snow bank on each side.

Our igloo from last week!

Well 3/4 of an igloo - we got tired then the temperatures dropped back into the 20s and the snow quit packing. Maybe we will finish it this week since it is still standing. Do you see it in the top photo. It has a fresh coating of snow.

Snow Day '10

2010-01-31T14:45:00.003-05:00

fight!

snow in face

payback time

Emma's Kirigami

2010-01-10T13:53:00.001-05:00

Christmas 2009

2009-12-26T12:35:00.008-05:00

While we missed being with family in Western Kentucky, we had a lovely quiet Christmas at home with Nana.

Emma is still wearing her princess getup today.

The only thing more difficult that assembing that bicycle on Christmas Eve when you are missing parts, is transforming these guys. It took Nathan and I

3 hours!!!

to get Optimus Prime and Megatron into vehicle mode yesterday.

It was worth it.

Then Jack wanted them back into robot mode.

Remember when you got your first video game system. We used to call it Nintendo thumb because your thumbs would hurt from pressing the buttons. Well I've got some sort of Transformer injury - carpel tunnel or something. My fingers are sore from the transforming. We may have to set a one transformation per day limit!

Thanksgiving in Paducah

2009-12-04T10:38:00.000-05:00

Jack building stuff with Katheren the Great.

The kids with Aubert and Katheren the Great.

Downtown with Addie, Emma, and Jack.

Running amuck.

How thankful we are to have family we can't wait to see on holidays!

Moosie ate a shoe

2009-12-03T10:20:00.003-05:00

I came home from taking Emma to school this morning and found this spread out in the kitchen while Nathan was drinking his coffee. According to Jack: "Moosie ate a shoe and needed a confusion"

The red sticker/band-aid means Moosie is in a lot of pain. Jack's poor animals are always in a "lot of pain Mom!" when he infuses them.

Moosie also hangs from his own IV pole. How convenient!

Party Pizza Night

2009-11-23T19:12:00.014-05:00

So we had some leftover party pizza - what's the harm? right?

You know Nathan and I had rented a movie to watch but did this all night instead.

How old are we?!

First this guy came up - happily munching. We have noticed that we have several opossums and are beginning to notice the differences in each. One has some scars, one is really small, and the other is good size but apparently better at out-running any attackers. Yeah - we do this a lot.

Look who is coming around the corner.

Mr. Opossum is not too happy about having to share his find of the night. I mean really who does want to share a party pizza? So the opossum hisses and snarls a bit but soon gives in.

The raccoon prefers to take and go. He will munch on his pizza around the corner and come back as needed. Notice the opossum holding his piece of pizza like he knows what he is doing. Maybe he does. They probably do this every night out in the alley.

They start getting along and eat off the same plate.

Licked clean

So we figured we had better not encourage this behavior too much. We went out to the shed and evicted the raccoon about a week ago and have not seen him since. So we figure it was safe to refill the bird feeders.

Nope!

Within about an hour the raccoon was back for more. He let me stand outside on the deck and take photos of him tonight while he raided my bird feeder.

It was in fact very dark outside with only our 40 watt porch light on. This was about a 10 second exposure. I guess that is just how involved Mr. Raccoon is with our black sunflower seed.

Baby Tray

2009-11-18T09:57:00.008-05:00

Born to Abbie and Todd and big sister Tristan.

Oct 21, 2009 5lbs 15 oz 20 in.

We have been waiting for this little boy cousin for over 4 years now! Jack has been needing a boy to run amuck with and terrorize the girls and a buddy to help ward off playing princess dress up. We went for a visit a couple of weeks ago and I just haven't posted about it. (smacking myself on hand "bad aunt!")

Jack is concentrating on being very careful and smiling at the same time.

In a couple of years these guys will be tearing the place up! I can't wait!

More Wildlife Adventures in the Backyard

2009-11-06T20:58:00.005-05:00

You may remember some of our other wildlife adventures since we have moved to our new home right here within walking distance of downtown. We have learned so many interesting things - such as snakes can slither up basement steps quite well, lightening bugs are not well contained by our bug catcher for a lovely indoor all natural nigh-light in Jack's room, snails can be made into pets, and a particular squirrel (known to us as Mr. Nuttyhead) can be eaisly trained to eat from your hand with a large bag of pecans.

The other morning I was up well before the sun and caught a raccoon on the back porch nosing around. I decided to throw out a half rotten baby pumpkin just to see what would happen, thinking perhaps the raccoon might just want it. Instead this guy came up late one night and snatched the pumpkin while Nathan and I watched.

So tonight I caught him in the act! I must apologise for the picture quality. I hate a flash and didn't want to scare our opossum friend away and yes, the glass is filthy with greasy little hand prints which doesn't help either.

After his tasty snack of leftover fried plantain, he took a quick opossum bath and headed back to the alley to do opossum things all night, I guess.

Trick or Treat 2009

2009-10-24T22:11:00.005-04:00

Brown Park had a great little Trick or Treat fest for the kiddies today. Our day fun, filled with candy and very long. Code has a headache and is very sleepy so enjoy the pics!

Can't miss a photo op with the Big Boy himself!

Or Geoffery.

(here goes Ariel growing those feet)

They had a petting zoo with a cow, donkey, and rabbit. My kids were totally unimpressed with the typical farm animals. I guess they spend enough time on actual farms around actual farm animals.

They were very excited to be able to ride a horse!

Quiz: What did Jack pick this weekend?

2009-10-12T09:12:00.009-04:00

A: his nose
B: his butt
C: apples and pumpkins
D: all of the above

A: D all of the above BUT for our purposes today we will consider answer C:

APPLES AND PUMPKINS!

Everyone here has been telling us about a family friendly pick your own produce type of place called Huber Farm in Indiana. Fall is full of fun activities so we packed up yesterday and headed north to check it out.

The apple ninja pose!

Emma was feeling frisky and very cooperative with my camera.

So I actually have Emma pics today!

The pumpkin pickin' pose.

Hey Jack, please smile at Mommy - never mind the sun in your eyes.

When Jack takes/I take a bad photo it is a fabulously bad photo!

(This pic is especially for Grandpa)

The 40' slide for kids and adults!

We ended the day with dinner outside next to the fire pit. Nathan and the kids have been collecting sticks all summer from all over the neighborhood and piling them in our yard. I'm pretty sure the neighbors think we are crazy as most of them are hauling storm debris to the curb in hopes the city will pick it up. Do they notice as my husband and kids drag it all away to our yard? (he he) Just consider us a little urban clean up crew.

There is something relaxing about watching fire.

if i could talk with the animals (recycled)

2009-10-07T10:21:00.002-04:00

I've been blogging for a long time now. Three years - that is a while. Anyway I have enough material to recycle old stuff at this point. I was looking back on my blog for something yesterday and saw this old post and thought it was worth re-posting. This little boy is now my big 4 year old. He has actually grown up right before our eyes right here on e-whitleys! Enjoy!

Originally posted 03.01.07

Dinner Conversations with the Whitley Children

2009-10-01T18:35:00.005-04:00

Emma and Jack sitting at the kitchen table eating dinner together while Mommy is on Facebook and Daddy is working late. I overhear the following conversation take place between my 6 and 4 year old.

Emma to Jack: "How do you feel about adopting kids?"

Jack: "But Emma! You don't need to adopt any kids you already have a kid - me!"

Emma: "I'm thinking of not having my own kids but adopting kids instead."

30K - that 18.6 miles to you and me

2009-09-20T19:19:00.010-04:00

Nathan and Ashley ran the Downtown Doubler today as preparation for the full marathon in December. Today's tuneup was 18.6 miles. I stood in the rain with my waterproof shoes and rain coat to document it. I even had a rain coat for my camera.

Nathan shedding his rain soaked shirt in the rain at mile 8. Looking good!

8 miles is barely a warm up.

Mile 9.5 and the boys are flexing some meat and feeling fine.

Mile 12.5 and they are getting a little winded but still smiling for the camera. Notice I am like a freakin' photo ninja showing up all along the route. Watch out! You don't know where I might show up next (in the rain I might add)!

Mile 15 after running past the water tower 4 times.

And the finish line at mile 18.6. Ashley finished with a time well under 8 minutes a mile.

Nathan came in about 5 minutes later and we estimate finished

well under the 8 minute mark as well.

18.6 miles just wasn't satisfying enough. The boys had run a warm up mile before the race and decided to run a cool down mile to make it an even 20. (well 19.97 miles but what 3 hundredths of mile between friends, right?!)

That makes it a personal record for both of them!

GOOD RACE!

Walking the Camera

2009-09-13T14:41:00.004-04:00

I was childless last week for the better part of three whole days. Jack was in Tennessee with his Nana and Emma was in school. I had to figure out what to do with myself for three whole days and I didn't want to waste them on normal old stuff. The mornings were covered in a thick blanket of fog so I took my camera for a walk. Here are some pictures of the neighborhood in the fog.

First Day of 1st Grade

2009-09-08T17:05:00.005-04:00

Our very nervous Emma on her first day at the Latin School.

She was not cooperating very well and didn't want to smile for her pictures -

thus the hands in the face pose.

Her first day went well I'm sure, although, she would have us to believe otherwise. The poor child was notified just last week that a spot had opened up. So, she really has to shift her brain from the comfortable notion of homeschooling to going to a new and unfamiliar school in a very short amount of time. We are confident she will do fine and she will grow more confident as she makes a few friends and gets accustomed to her new setting, teacher, and campus.

august and everything after (during)

2009-09-02T10:34:00.009-04:00

Since I have been such a bad blogger this summer, I thought I would give you a rapid fire summary in pictures to catch you up on what the e-whitleys have been up to. Our summer has been filled with lots of activity - fun and not so fun. Starting in May, my Dad lost his battle with prostate cancer. I was fortunate enough to be able to spend his final week with him and escort my Dad to the gates of heaven where he promised to meet me someday soon and be my escort on the other side. I look forward to that day! The rest of the summer was spend adjusting to a new life without my Dad being around and we are still getting used to that. I assume we will be adjusting to that for a long time to come.

Nothing more fun than throwing rocks or poking sticks in water!

The weather has been very mild and temperatures cool which has been very nice for me and my lungs! The air quality has been excellent for summertime which has allowed me to be outdoors walking and hiking and enjoying the summer. Usually I really struggle to breathe this time of year, so this has been a nice break. I needed a break! Maybe that is why I have been at my computer less to blog! We have made some great friends and have enjoyed setting up play dates, lunches and family dinners with our new friends.

Splash park!

We celebrated Jack's 4th birthday this month. My camera battery died during his party and I had to use Abbie's camera to take pictures so I don't have those yet. I do have our very small commemoration of the actual day. Jack doesn't quite understand the difference between his actual birthday and the day we plan his party. So, I told Nathan he had better come home from work with a balloon and cupcake so we could celebrate. Jack couldn't have been any happier. He does like to plug his ears when you sing "Happy Birthday" to him.

Emma, Mom and I enjoyed a trip to Memphis for Hannah Thomas' wedding where we 'did' the cake. Here are a couple pics of the flowers and cake. Emma and I were able to spend some quality time with Annie, Ashley, and Addie.

I love the flowers at this wedding!

Swim Class

2009-08-21T17:57:00.009-04:00

Somehow I managed to forget to take my camera to swim class this summer. Luckily, the kids and I made some great friends this summer at the aquatic center and another mother was kind enough to email some photos to me so I could share with you what my kids have been up to all summer.

Jack and his new friend Rithwick in their little floater backpacks. They look like windup toys tooling around the pool with their magic backpacks.

Wind 'em up and let 'em go!

After swim class snack with Alex - his mommy always brings sweets!

Actual swimming. When I signed the kids up initially, they asked me what level my children were. I had no idea what they were inquiring of me so I just told them my kids were sinkers. I said, "Put my kids in the sinker class!"
They are sinkers no more!!

Emma with her friends Ratika and Samatha doing little girl things.

Getting brave enough to jump onto a noodle!

Nathan earns his keep!

2009-07-25T09:51:00.014-04:00

I love nature. I love exposing my kids to nature. I let my kids get dirty, we like to grow things, we like to teach the children about animals and how they benefit the environment and us humans. BUT...

I like this picture just because it is already a confusing perspective, you can tell the child is studying something but can't tell exactly what

- then the shoes on the wrong feet just add to the chaos.

I have rules. Certain rules that are not negotiable. One one these rules is that uninvited critters that enter my home they will not be lovingly caught in gentle hands and released back into the wild where they will be afforded the opportunity to idiotically reenter my home. As far as I'm concerned, this is survival of the fittest. Critters that are stupid enough to cross the boundary which is my home get squashed, swatted, or in this case decapitated.

OK so you probably want the story. Nathan let Emma stay up late last night so they could sit on the back porch and watch the bats catch bugs outside. See! I told you. Nathan sat on the porch for over an hour talking about bats, how they fly, what they eat, where they live, how they help us humans, and what a neat creatures they are. These types of conversations develop an interest and appreciation for bats in our 6 year old little girl.

Around 10 or so I decided enough, signed sleep thru the glass door and Emma came inside with Nathan, kissed me goodnight where they walked thru the dimly lit kitchen where Nathan suddenly paused because something dark caught his attention. Thinking it was one of Jack's toys, he took a took a second look thinking he would pick it up and put it away like usual. That is when I heard his stern daddy voice tell Emma to stop and look at which point she began ever so quietly squeeeeeeeealing.

So Nathan calls to me to come look. Now I am somewhat immobile (my Friday night appointment) and did not wanting to bother with getting off the couch. Thinking at worst it was a large ugly bug, I just want him to squish it, be done with it, then come show me the aftermath. But no, Nathan is very insistent that I come look at whatever this is on the kitchen floor, Em is squealing, Nathan is truly concerned and I can see the wheels in his head were turning. So, begrudging I got up off the couch to come have a look at the whatever this tiny bother might be. All I could do when I saw it was try to catch my breath and get back to the couch as fast as my incapacitated self could possible go. "It" was a 4 foot + long Rat Snake!

I started yelling at Nathan, "I can't help you!", "I can't run right now!", "Go get the neighbor!", "Call the police!!!" Nathan just calmly responded with "I know you can't help, I just need some brain power to help me figure out how to do this by myself." Meanwhile the snake was making his way underneath Jack's bedroom door where Jack was sound asleep (at least the child was on his top bunk). So I told Nathan to get a trash can, he asked me to hobble over to the back door and get the broom off the back porch. He managed to coax the snake into the garbage can and hold it in there with the broom long enough to run out the back door where he turned the trash can upside down, trapping the snake inside excepting the head.

I hobbled inside and out up and down the back deck stairs bringing flashlights and large kitchen knives where the deed was done. I am sure all you snake lovers and naturalists probably hate me right about now. My sincerest apologies.

But there was a freakin' 4' long snake in my kitchen!

This is the aftermath of our late night adventure from Friday.

Jack main objective has been to reanimate the snake.

"When are we going to put the head back on?"

"What can we feed it?"

I think he is confused by the reflex action captured nicely in this photo.

It is still pretty active 12 hours later.

Nathan trying to convince Em that it is OK to touch the snake. You can read her body language so clearly here as she carefully considers the prospect of touching this creature.

Daddy's biology lesson.

Jack rubbing the snake to make him wriggle.

Em with her comfort lovey - Graph!

And then my son discovered that it was great fun to chase mommy with the dead snake.

Mommy thought it was much less fun!

In researching our snake 'friend' Nathan was telling me that Kentucky has a poisonous rattlesnake. Naturally, I didn't believe him so I googled it and sure enough KY does in fact have a rattlesnake. Here is a great website for snake identification.

So this morning I have totally decided Nathan is worth his keep and he has earned himself Bear Grylls status in our house!

Kookaburra Song

2009-06-20T09:22:00.003-04:00

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree
Merry, merry king of the bush is he
Laugh, Kookaburra! Laugh, Kookaburra!
Gay your life must be

While I was at my parents home a couple of weeks ago my mother-in-law, Esther, was gracious enough to come to keep my kids for the week. She taught them this song and they have sung it non stop. I just love it!

SIX

2009-06-15T11:31:00.006-04:00

Happy Birthday to Emma!

We have had a very busy year. Emma just finished her first year of Kindergarten where she graduated with Honors! She had a wonderful experience and a wonderful teacher at a wonderful school. She is now reading, writing and even doing 'rithmetic! We are so proud of our little girl and her accomplishments.

The past month has been very busy with various activities and I do plan to give updates soon but I can not let Emma's birthday pass us by. We planned a hurried party just last week and celebrated on Sunday with family.

Nana made it in to make cupcakes with Emma.

It was the first time Nana had been able to see our new home.

Those summer pregnancies are now paying off.

Summer babies mean pool parties!!!

Grandma got in on the fun with the spraying giraffe.

Baking cookies with a light bulb this morning in the Easy Bake Oven!

Forget the Spa

2009-05-11T09:34:00.009-04:00

I'm not the spa type. If you know me you know my finger nails are never painted, I don't fuss with my hair, and if I could get away with not wearing makeup, I would. Unfortunately, I can no longer get away with wearing no makeup without looking totally old and completely tired. I guess it happens to the best of us. For Mother's Day I wanted to be in the woods on a trail with my kids. So that is what we did and the day was perfect!

Please put your arm around your brother and pretend you love each other as we enjoy this beautiful overlook at the Ohio River.

OK - can you be a little more miserable - please.

The trail we picked was rated difficult, the path was very narrow and overgrown with weeds up the the children's faces but they foraged ahead anyway. The interesting thing about hiking with small children is, being low to the ground they tend to notice all sorts of things that we tall ones closer to the sky would otherwise miss. Jack comes in around 36" and worked really hard to keep his footing on this difficult trail so he often had his eyes on the forest floor where he discovered one of these guys about every 10 feet or so.

Which meant we had to stop about every 10 feet or so and visit with the snail.

Jack doesn't think twice about picking up things that creep, crawl, or slime.

Look Mom, I found another!

He started gathering his little snail friends in his hands thinking they would enjoy our hike too.

He soon ran out of room in his little hands.

What else are those nice zippered pockets gonna be used for?

At the end of the trail we made Jack empty his pockets for snail release. Apparently he was not expecting to have release the snails back to their forest home. Here they are all lined up on a log and Jack saying his tearful goodbye.

Yes - that is a goodbye kiss.

Notice the tears and the snotty nose from all the crying.

We did after leave his "pets" all alone on a log in the woods!

Well - not exactly. Parents caved, we made a quick run to Pet Smart and we now have snail pets. Now Emma squeeeeeled and squirmed all through the woods concerning the snails. According to her, they were disgusting and disturbing and the fact that they were in Jack's pocket!!!... well - we didn't hear the end of it until the snails were safely perched on the log and returning (we thought) to the forest. Now that the snails are tucked safely away in their new home she is happy to study them from the other side of the Plexiglas case.

On a side note: Have you notice there are fewer pictures of my first born on the blog these days? It is not because I love her any less. Yes, she is around a little less because she spends her days in school. Mostly it is because she has developed an aversion to the camera. I can't hardly get her to cooperate anymore when it come to my photography unless I catch her off guard or in just the right mood. Hopefully it is just a stage.

more more more

2009-05-02T08:57:00.002-04:00

I know you just haven't had enough of our big exciting weekend. We don't get much family action anymore and the kids really miss it. They are constantly asking when Aunt Annie, or Nana or Grandma or Aunt Abbie are coming to visit. Last weekend they got a good dose of family.

Annie, Ashley, and Addie

Roughhousing with Uncle Todd

Notice little Miss Independent Addie off in the distance toddling around.

The swing stayed swaying.

Annie stayed covered in children most of the weekend.

Miss Tristan had to sit back and study the action below for a while

before she was ready to give it a try.

Very Bad Things

2009-05-01T10:28:00.000-04:00

They happen. Bad things happen to all sorts of people. When bad things happen to bad people, it's really easy to sit back and exclaim, " Well, serves them right!" Religious people love to see the wicked get what is coming to them. After all, we humans do have a built in sense of justice. We want to see the bad punished and the innocent protected. We love it when the dog bites the foot that has kicked him for years.

But what about when bad things happen to regular people. Bad things do happen to regular people and not because of some sort of universal power sitting high on a starry throne handing out judgments to all the menial sinners. Sometimes bad stuff happens to ordinary people for reasons we don't understand. Then we sit back and examine the situation and try to figure out why. Why me? Why them? Why not that bad guy over there instead?

What would happen if instead of examining every last detail of our past looking for that one thing we did so we can explain away our current trial, we focused instead on what to do with the bad thing itself. Bad things aren't mere judgements handed down because we were looking to control our future or living a life that didn't please our Creator. Prostate cancer is not a judgement handed down because a couple wanted to control the size of their family. Heart disease is not a judgement because a man spent too many hours in the office and not at home. We often want to look at our current situations or trials and with that 20/20 hind sight say "Oh, I could have avoided all this trouble by doing "X" or not doing "X"." How very simple - if only.

What if we looked at our current bad thing and looked for a way to make it matter. I have lots of bad things in my life. Bad things that I could not possibly find a way to blame on my past failures. And believe me I've tried. This year, instead of focusing on why me I want to focus on how I can use my bad thing to make this world a little eaiser for someone else. Maybe that is why God allows bad things to happen. After all, who else would understand the pain of loosing a child but a mother who has lost a child? Who else could possibly understand the stress of not being able to take home a tiny infant except a parent who's child lived it's first months in a hospital NICU? Who else could understand how to overcome a serious drug addiction except one who has become clean? Who else could understand living with chronic pain and comfort someone living with chronic pain but those living in the same predicament?

Maybe this is why very bad things happen?

Derby Mini Marathon

2009-04-27T10:01:00.010-04:00

Derby month here in Louisville is sooooo much cooler than Memphis in May! The long awaited Derby Mini Marathon weekend finally arrived and all three of the guys made it with great time in spite of the fact they were forced to walk the first 20 minutes because of the massive numbers participating.

Early AM before the race.

And down the stretch they come!

I dropped the guys off near the starting line around 6:30 and raced back home to retrieve the girls and Jack to make it to the finish line just in time to watch the guys finish.

Crossing the finish line with the official time.

But remember the beginning of the race was so crowded they couldn't actually start running for the first 20 minutes or so.

Walking to meet up with the the runners.

Sara looks a little green here. We had just passed the intersection where all the runners were congregating and the body odor and sweaty smell was overwhelming even to those of us who weren't pregnant. It put poor Sara over the top and she started puking! But she pukes and smiles after. Jack kept asking if that baby was making her sick - blame it on the baby. He was also very persistent about wanting to see the baby's face.

Addie Addie Addie!

The after.

CONGRATULATIONS ON A GREAT RACE!

Wearing Orange

2009-04-21T10:17:00.003-04:00

Not for the usual reasons -

today we are praying for Stellan.

Easter Morning

2009-04-21T07:26:00.007-04:00

Jack got a giant Tarantula in his basket to torture Emma.

Since we church it on Saturday night, we get Sunday morning to linger at home. It is strange because it certainly bucks tradition of Easter Sunday morning and is not how I grew up. But I like it and whose to say our little tradition is any thing less that what I grew up with. So my kids get to leisurely go through their Easter baskets on Sunday morning and play with the goodies. We get to talk about what Easter means instead of hurrying off to church, and then spend then afternoon at an Easter Egg hunt (but I forgot to take my camera.)

Watching the bug capsules grow.

This time last year is when I finally started to figure out that something was wrong with Jack's tummy. Although looking back, once he was weaned off breast milk, he never was a good formula or milk drinker. Every time I gave him a piece of his milk chocolate bunny he started pooping like crazy! It took several months of dietary changes before we found a good balance and the right kind of milk and dairy products his little tummy could tolerate. Once we had the milk discovery under control, potty training came eaisly. Jack is now a SOY CHEESE eater and RICE MILK drinker. And his tummy behaves as long as he doesn't raid the fridge and get into things he isn't supposed to have. So no big chocolate bunnies in our Easter baskets. I guess we buck lots of traditions around here.

"The bunny, the bunny, oh I ate the bunny

and now I'm all sick in the the head from the bunny"

We Are TEA'd

2009-04-15T13:47:00.003-04:00

All across America today TEA parties are happening. We went to one here in downtown Louisville. As we were leaving, we heard them say they were hoping that maybe few hundred people would show up. My estimate is that maybe a couple thousand where there over the two hour period. That is pretty exciting.

We are doing it for this little guy. The decisions being made by our lying representatives today will be paid for by the little man in this photo. I'm pretty sure he will tell Emma about how she missed the TEA party and start a big fight this evening at home. Oh well - it will be worth it.

Worth Celebrating

2009-04-12T10:12:00.001-04:00

Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia!
Earth and heaven in chorus say, Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!
Sing, ye heavens, and earth reply, Alleluia!

Love's redeeming work is done, Alleluia!
Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids him rise, Alleluia!
Christ has opened paradise, Alleluia!

Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!
Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Once he died our souls to save, Alleluia!
Where's thy victory, boasting grave? Alleluia!

Soar we now where Christ has led, Alleluia!
Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like him, like him we rise, Alleluia!
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!

Hail the Lord of earth and heaven, Alleluia!
Praise to thee by both be given, Alleluia!
Thee we greet triumphant now, Alleluia!
Hail the Resurrection, thou, Alleluia!

King of glory, soul of bliss, Alleluia!
Everlasting life is this, Alleluia!
Thee to know, thy power to prove, Alleluia!
Thus to sing, and thus to love, Alleluia!

moved

2009-04-11T07:38:00.006-04:00

We are moved in, settled, and finally have our internet back up and running. I guess its time for a post about the move. Emma is a very agreeable child - about 90% of the time. What makes her disagreeable is not knowing the future. So when we propose something to her that she can't understand fully or comprehend the complete end result she really has a difficult time getting started. Moving poses a huge problem for a child like Emma. Moving is full of unknowns - and we have made her do it three times already in her 5 years here on this planet.

My (brilliant) mother in law moved quite a bit as a child and understands some of Emma's concerns. To keep Emma from fretting about all the 101 unknown things she can compose in her little head, we tried to distract her with happy things for Emma to look forward to and plan out. But it just wasn't enough. The poor child can't just turn her mind off - especially at night. So Esther told Emma that they needed to plan a moving party for the big moving day. They made signs for every one's rooms at the new house so we wouldn't get lost and made party hats, had pizza and cupcakes. It was a wonderful distraction for Emma during the weeks leading up to the big move. On moving day when day everything was hectic, beds were being broken down, bedrooms were packed away in boxes, and Mom and Dad were so busy, Esther kept the children very busy with constant "party" activities so they were happy and calm. I think Esther could start a new party service for moving parents because it worked like a charm!

Tim and Esther had to leave before the hat and cupcake portion of the moving party but my brother and his wife from Alaska came in just in time to celebrate - and put together a few beds!

This is Roy singing a happy new home song with a mouthful of cupcake. I took this picture and he said, "You're gonna put that on the internet - aren't you."

Araceli preferred just the icing.

As always, some of our boxes were mislabeled. At least this one isn't lost out in the shed!

Children coloring on the box train - another brilliant party activity.

Only three steps in our new home!!! compared to 14 steps just to get up the front door, and three floors once you were inside at the old place. I won't have to carry laundry from the third floor bedrooms to the basement laundry anymore (or convince Nathan to do it for me!) Araceli asked Emma to help her since Liz told me Araceli has recently decided that she is too big to slide or crawl up and down stairs anymore.

Araceli would instigate a little rough play with Jack - he has not had a cousin to play rough with up to this point. This little girl can dish it out! Jack needs her around more often.

Playing with Tio Roy - which made Araceli a little jealous. She has not seen her daddy give that much attention to other children before and wasn't quite sure what to make of it. He would play with my kids and then have to be sure to give her lots of extra hugs and kisses.

Word of warning: Don't mess with Araceli's Daddy!

a jpeg =1K words

2009-03-25T22:03:00.001-04:00

Well, we have been in the same place for a whole year - what do you expect. Actually, moving was not our intention when we moved in this place a year ago. We had just made the big move from Memphis (you may remember my moving haiku series) and thought we would stay here until we either moved away from Louisville or bought a house. As it turns out, we like Louisville a lot and think we may settle down here. We might even stay long enough to raise our kids here. It's a nice place. The town house we have been renting has a gracious floor plan that we have enjoyed over the past year and the location could not be any better. But the management is simply atrocious. We continue to call the LMPD about drug deals happening regularly right outside our front door. And the older buildings require quite a bit of maintenance and upkeep which our slumlords don't seem to care about. Here is a pictorial representation to explain why we are moving.

I just love it when Jack Frost pays a visit and leaves such beautiful artwork on my windows. But really - he should do it on the outside. Leaky windows which...

.....might be related to this crack in the corner of the upstairs bedroom wall. it is hard to tell from the picture but this crack has been 'mudded' over thickly as to hide the fact that there is a crack. a good indication that there might just be a foundation problem causing the front wall of this building for fail. This crack was not there a year ago when we moved in. I'm just glad I don't own the place because this is a BIG and $$$$$ problem to fix.

Ahhhh - the lovely gas fireplace which drew us into signing a lease here. It was shut off by the landlord back in October just as the weather was getting nippy and you might want to use it. Oh - did I mention that our water,sewage and gas were all rolled into our rent payment. How convenient!

You may remember these adorable little guys devoured our pumpkin last Halloween. Not only do they make for lots of fun action in the yard as they scurry about and play squirrel games in the yard. They make lots of noise when they frolic in your walls. They don't just sleep in in the walls either, they scurry and frolic and fight much like they do in the yard or trees - except you get to hear all the squabbling in graphic detail.

This is the toilet that was broken for 10 days when I finally got fed up with trying to get management here to fix it. Being the resourceful person that I am, I did a little digging and discovered who the owner of this property was and called him directly. My throne was fixed 20 minutes later. Thanks Mr. Owner Slumlord- you make things happen!

This is the miracle foam I squirted into any possible opening that might be causing me to share air with my neighbors. Anytime the HVAC kicks on or we run a bathroom exhaust fan it pulls air from in between the walls and floor space - air that is shared with our smoking neighbors. Really, I don't care if people smoke but unfortunately my fragile lungs do and they simply cannot tolerate even the smallest amount of smoke anymore without going into fits. If ever I am in charge of building code.....

This is one of about five electrical outlets that do not work and have not worked in out apartment since the day we moved in. We were told that management is no longer fixing or replacing electrical outlets.

This is just one of the many dripping faucets that we call about on a regular basis. I mean we are not interested in wasting water. And yes we do our own basic maintenance on these faucets to fix the leaks until they need new parts. Still, maintenance refuses to come out to fix them.

Then we get a letter in the first week on March telling us that the water and gas usage here is outrageous because of tenant usage and the tenants will now be responsible for paying a fee on top of their rent for water, sewage, and gas. The fee will be determined by the size of unit occupied and not by actual usage. It also states that tenants have until the 14Th of March to come sigh a new lease so that the changes can be implemented.

I don't think so.

The Kid Survey

2009-03-20T18:26:00.007-04:00

This has been going around on Facebook. I read Brandi's survey and it was so funny I decided to quiz my own kids.

1. What is something mom always says to you?

J - thank you

E - no

2. What makes mom happy?

J - serious

E - when go big orange wins

3. What makes mom sad?

J - indiscernible mumbling

E - when Jack goes outside with out a grown up (this happened recently and apparently made a big impression on big sister. we can only hope it made half as big an impression on the child upon which it was intended to make an impression on)

4. How does your mom make you laugh?

J - indecernable again

E - when Jack acts silly

5. What was your mom like as a child?

J - Huh?!

E - she had 2 brothers and 1 sister (very logical)

6. How old is your mom?

J - 4

E - 31

7. How tall is your mom?

J - widdle

E - taller than daddy

8. What is her favorite thing to do?

J - play a game

E - knit

9. What does your mom do when you are not around?

J - run

E - spends time with daddy

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?

J - the computer (do I spend that much time on the computer?!)

E - taking us to Disney World (in her mind this would be the ultimate)

11. What is your mom really good at?

J - points to the hard hat in my office (that's my boy!)

E - knitting (that's my girl!)

12. What is your mom not very good at?

J - exercise (despite the fact that he thinks I run when he is not around)

E - doing my hair ( we are having disagreements before school about how she should wear her hair)

13. What does your mom do for a job?

J - fixing the stupid house (stupid?)

E - goes to the hospital

14. What is your mom's favorite food?

J - oatmeal

E - sushi

15. What makes you proud of your mom?

J -nothing! >:( (he is mad at this point because he just bumped his shoulder on my desk because he is bouncing around because this survey is much too long for his three year old attention span)

E- when she lets me wear head bands (ah! the other side of the hair argument)

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?

J - Jack has checked out at this point

E - Sleeping Beauty (that's funny, Nathan calls me Medusa)

17. What do you and your mom do together?

J - still bouncing around and mad

E - go to the store

18. How are you and your mom alike?

J - has now left the room

E - same color hair (it's true! but Emma's is straight as a board and I can't straighten mine if my life depended on it)

19. How are you and your mom different?

J - gone

E - acne (thanks for the honesty sweetheart)

20. How do you know your mom loves you?

J -

E - takes me to school (even though she really, really wants to be a bus rider)

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?

J -

E - he is funny

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?

J -

E - Nana's house

23. What makes your mom laugh?

J - (oooo! he's back) cookies - your arm is full of air

E - when jack says silly stuff (see above)

24. What makes your mom feel like a kid?

J - nope, he's gone again

E - when daddy says lets go out to eat and kids eat free

Work in Progress

2009-02-23T16:16:00.005-05:00

This is a little nugget for my fellow knitter/bloggers out there. All it lacks is the toe shaping and I should finish it tomorrow night. I have a new addiction to feed my craving for all things woolly!

According to Jack (Vol. 2)

2009-02-21T17:04:00.004-05:00

"Emma!

you are workin' my patience."

According to Emma (Vol. 3)

2009-02-18T15:06:00.009-05:00

The kids were squabbling this morning as we were getting ready for school. Finally, I yelled up the stairs inquiring as to what the issue was.

Emma's response -

" Jackson is dressed inappropriately!"

He was wearing shorts - in February - and they were on backwards but that was an awful lot of hardship for a wardrobe dispute.

According to Jack

2009-02-13T17:04:00.005-05:00

Jack asks to have his favorite breakfast every morning:

"Awful Meal"

We really do love this stuff.

oh what fun!

2009-01-31T10:46:00.007-05:00

Fighting Off the Cabin Fever

2009-01-29T21:46:00.006-05:00

The ice storm has taken it's toll. We were without power for a day but we were very fortunate as the mayor is telling most people to expect to be without for 7 - 10 days. Yes, it is a mess. It is amazingly beautiful at the same time. I have taken tons of photos so the storm is well documented. We have also been warned that just because our power is on now doesn't mean we are in the clear as icy trees and limbs continue to fall. Our lights flicker during the day and I just hold my breath hoping it's just a flicker.

Yet another distraction I've discovered for two cabin fevered children

who can't go to school this week.

A pug sleep over!

My friend has recently rescued this adorable little pug

and is letting him stay with us for a night or two.

This is what the first 30 minutes looked like as pug and children were so excited.

Goodnight Pugsy.

Ice Storm

2009-01-27T18:58:00.004-05:00

It's pretty and all....

but I'm ready for it to stop NOW before the power lines start failing!

Fairy Godmothers: Second Edition

2009-01-24T09:19:00.001-05:00

A while back I wrote this post and then asked what you would “poof” if you could. The answer is sometimes blithe and amusing but the question can probe at something much deeper. My glib answer to what I would “poof” is of course my own magic wand so I could poof what ever I wanted from there. It's common sense really.

It’s real easy to say I would “poof” a large amount of money and never have another care in the world. But we all know that money does not solve all your problems. So, I could “poof” away all my problems. Sounds good. I have had my share of deep water. Maybe more than my share. Currently, I have so many quagmires my chest is actually heavy. I am exhausted. I can’t sleep.

But if I really had the choice to “poof” away my problems, I’m not sure I would do it.

I can see (even at the tender age of 34) how my problems have shaped me and dare I risk saying it - built character. This might be pompous of me to consider myself worthy of positive character qualities. Past adversity has had a profound affect on my life, influenced my decisions, and developed a compassion for others that I would not be capable of having were it not for my predicaments and hardships. After all, who will understand what the big issues in life are really like except someone who has experienced the ginormous problems in the first person. With out problems, I would be a shallow, petty, self-absorbed person who thinks the world is only as big as my own. My problems make my world a bigger place - sometimes a little bigger than I am comfortable with.

I am at a place where I can look back and be thankful for trials. I can see how God has given me the strength to overcome and live victoriously is spite of and through my problems. Right now my problems are so big and so many but I know that my God will once again give me the strength to live through them and I hope, make me a better person because of it.

I also see how my children are going to grow up with problems. I am thankful for the hardship my children will have to endure. It sounds strange to be grateful that your own precious and innocent children will endure difficulty but I can truly say that I know they were planned by a great God and He has great plans for them. I am so excited to see how the adversity they live with will make them into wise, faithful, compassionate human beings. I have the formidable responsibility to help them walk through these hardships while they are under my care. This is no small undertaking.

Hardship makes for an interesting people. Fairy tails might just be imaginary but the best fairy tails include incredible hardship! That is why we are drawn into the stories over and over. The hardship is what makes them interesting. The beautiful endings filled with rainbows, butterflies, and true love - well... that part of the story might not look exactly like we hope for or dream about. It is days like today that verses memorized in my childhood come to mind and I have choose to believe God’s promise even though I don’t always feel it.

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

No School + Snow Last Night =

2009-01-19T16:49:00.002-05:00

It's so blasted cold

2009-01-18T10:41:00.008-05:00

There is an upside and a downside to renting.

The UP SIDE is that I don't have to fix this problem.

The DOWN SIDE is that I can't fix this problem.

This is what our single pane, circa 1970's, leaky windows have looked like this week. The overnight temperatures have been below zero and apparently we are heating the neighborhood. I have caulked and re-caulked and now have towels rolled up and placed in the window sills to control the draft. Maybe the front wall is going to fall off our building.

Cake vs. Pie

2009-01-13T20:52:00.002-05:00

For Nathan's birthday, pie always wins!

Happy Birthday Babe!

Flu

2009-01-09T10:24:00.009-05:00

Nathan came home Monday afternoon from work feeling "not so good". An hour later, he was flat on his back when he wasn't dragging himself to the toilet to vomit. I started the rest of us on heavy doses of Elderberry Syrup. Later that day Jack started acting a little puny. So I just waited for the germs to unleash their fury. The next day Emma was acting normal and I saw no reason to keep her home from school. Nathan was confined to bed and struggling to keep sips of water down, aches, chills, fever, sore throat, and that awful fatigue. You know, the type of fatigue where you feel like you have been hit by a train? - that kind of sick! Jack followed me around the house whining and tugging at my legs. Just after lunch, Emma's teacher called me with the dreaded, "Mrs. Whitley, I have your daughter here in the office with a fever..."

So, this week we have been sharing a very bland diet of watered down apple juice and Tylenol. The children and I have been sick but have a mild version of what Nathan has. I am a firm believer in the Sambucus. We began taking it as soon as Nathan came home with symptoms. I must also thank one or more of my very generous plasma donors who must have had this particular strain of flu and given me some protection. (Yeah!) Unfortunately, Nathan was unable to keep anything down and was unable to take any of the Elderberry so he was hit very hard.

The other day, I came home from the store with sacks full of Gatorade, chicken soup, and white bread to make dry toast. Jack was going through my grocery sack examining the goodies and exclaimed, "Ooooo! Duck food!"

Now Abbie is thankful that Todd screwed up his back last weekend!

Marriage Vows

2009-01-04T17:20:00.006-05:00

I am contractually obligated to pull for the Big Blue unless they are playing Tennessee. It was in the small print. Up until the big move to Louisville, I have not been called upon to pledge my allegiance often and even when I was, no one cared - we lived in Memphis. Maybe pledging allegiance to the Crypts or Bloods would have elicited some emotion. Anyway - I digress. Here in Louisville, everyone asks where your allegiance lies and it matters. Today is the big rivalry game. Our little family caught everyone's eye and got a lot of remarks as we tooled around town today.

New Years Day

2009-01-02T16:26:00.005-05:00

We decided on a whim to drive to Ohio to the farm for the day. It is always so relaxing and we enjoy hanging out with JJ and Virginia the Great.

The dining room turned into wrestle mania.

I had no idea Nathan's grandfather was into photography. He let me bring home his lens collection (above) to play with for a while. Now, can I just bask in the greatness on Nikon/Nikkor for a minute? As you all know I am a fan of Nikon cameras. All these lenses are old as the hills, yet! they still work and they fit onto my brand new D40 allowing me to use the same lenses from ages ago. Granted, I will have to buff up my skill quite a bit since they are manual lenses but the satisfaction will be that much greater - right?!

There is a great little macro lens in the collection. This Hot Wheels Toy is just an excuse to play with the macro lens - look at the carpet fibers!

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T16:40:00.002-05:00

Here is something to do with your day off.

Christmas 2008

2008-12-28T10:52:00.000-05:00

We had a lovely quiet Christmas at home this year. Nana, Pops, Grammy, and my Great Aunt Gina stayed with us to celebrate. Here are a few pics.

Notice my new pictures on the wall over the couch?!
Jack is a snuggler and just loves his new pajamas Nana made.

Nana made matching pajamas for Emma and her doll.

Grammy and Aunt Gina working on a new afghan.

They promised to make me one in red next!

Nathan playing with Jack's toys.

Aunt Annie and Uncle Ashley gave Jack the Hot Wheels set

- he went wild!

Nathan had me open my present on Christmas Eve because we were

planning to cook jowl bacon and biscuits for breakfast.

That's cast iron by the way.

My gift to Fat Daddy ( I know what he likes!).

10 points for anyone who understands this shirt.

Looking at Christmas lights downtown on Christmas night.

Hanging Photos

2008-12-23T09:37:00.010-05:00

I have been a terrible mother. I have more pictures of my nieces in my house than of my own children. So, I have treated myself with the money I earned from a little side job and put together some of my best pics of my kids and framed them in my living room. It is nice to see my kids hanging quietly on the wall, especially since the reality is anything but quiet!

This is one of my all time favorite pictures of Emma.

running thru the hay fields

Emma's first Easter

one of my first knitting projects

I just love her big ears.

as always - in motion

babies don't like to play dress up

I plan to get photos to family who have been complaining that they don't have any pictures of Jack. He is hard to get good pictures because he moves so fast but my trusty new camera can actually keep up with him!

Wish List

2008-12-19T16:30:00.002-05:00

I really only want ONE THING for Christmas this year...

a bagel cutter!

According to Emma (Vol. 2)

2008-12-12T18:17:00.003-05:00

There are Christmas fairies living in our Christmas tree. When children lay under the tree and look up, the fairies glow pink and blue. BUT when adults lay under the tree, they hide and can't be seen since they are camouflaged in green and red.

So I looked up the tree,

and inside the tree.

I don't see them. Guess I'm too old.

13.1

2008-12-10T19:28:00.008-05:00

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is one of my favorite charities. I have enjoyed volunteering there many times and even worked for ALSAC, the fund raising arm of the hospital, when I was in college. Last weekend Nathan ran his first race. He started running several months ago to relieve some stress and as it turns out - he likes it! Joe, Ashley, and Nathan started training for the Half Marathon and not only completed it but made better time than any of them expected.

Here are the guys before the race.

It was painfully cold the morning of the race. Maybe 34 degrees?

The race was started in waves based on a runners assumed pace. Our boys guessed they would run at 8.41 - 9.00 minutes a mile.

The starting line.

And they're off!

Sara and I walked a couple of blocks down Beale Street and caught them making this turn just shy of the 3 mile mark. We were freezing so we ducked into a nearby Starbucks then took our coffee to the Peabody for a nice comfy chair and heat! That is my way to watch a race.

We managed to make it into AutoZone Park just as the boys sprinted across the finish line, giving them an official time of 1 hour 48 minutes and a pace of 8.21 minutes a mile.

Here they are shortly after the race.

Nathan wasn't any more worse for wear than the other long time runners.

Congratulations Guys!

3 wheeler on the 18 wheeler

2008-12-03T10:13:00.003-05:00

I took this picture a long time ago and was saving it for just an occation as this.

I have nothing else to blog about.

Idling But Not Idle

2008-11-19T13:23:00.006-05:00

I hate sitting and doing nothing. The carpool line takes about 15 minutes to get through no matter if you get there early or late and most of that time is spent just sitting and waiting. So I usually take along something to knit.

Emma needed a warm hat and scarf to match her school uniform. I fixed Jack's hat from a couple of years ago by adding a ribbing to the edge. Now it doesn't fall off his head.

Jess taught me how to cable last year but I never finished the project I was working on. I decided the doing the cable on a scarf would be good practice.

I like those really long scarves but they never seem to be long on me. I fixed that problem by knitting myself an extra long scarf with this funky green yarn in a checkerboard pattern as a salute to my Alma Mater.

Tricky Veggies

2008-11-12T11:13:00.000-05:00

I am surprised at how many e-mails I continue to get regarding my hidden veggie tricks. I am still up to my tricks too. So I thought I would share a couple of new recipes I have tried out lately. Last night I added sweet potatoes to our grilled cheese sandwiches. I added about a half a cup of sweet potato puree to a small bag of shredded Colby and Monterrey Jack cheese. It stirred up into a lovely orange cheese paste that I simply spread on the sandwich bread threw it on the griddle. Jack eats veggie slices as his cheese substitute and so I just spread the sweet potatoes on the inside of each slice bread like a condiment and added the "cheese" slices on top. There was a slight change in texture of the melty cheese but you could not taste sweet potatoes. Sorry I don't have pictures. The sandwiches didn't last that long.

This is my spaghetti sauce with 1/2 cup sweet potato and 1/2 cup spinach. The spinach looks like any other herb you would expect in spaghetti sauce. I made this sauce from scratch but you can save time by using jarred sauce and just adding the cubes while you warm it up.

My sauce was:

saute

3 cloves garlic minced

1 red onion diced

salt and fresh cracked pepper

2 tbs olive oil

1 large can crushed tomatoes

1 small can tomato paste

1/2 cup sweet potato

1/2 pureed spinach

lots of oregano

basil - if I had it :(

a dash of cayenne pepper

2 bay leaves

my garlic, onion, & olive oil saute mixture

let it simmer for a while - hour-ish or longer

In the same pan that I sauteed the garlic and onion, I add cubed chicken and cooked thoroughly. Toss about 3 tbs pesto on the chicken. Serve up your pasta with the red sauce and add the pesto chicken on top. Here are the results.

These are the Peanut Butter Banana Muffins with esoteric cauliflower and no one was the wiser. I took these to Paducah and fed them to a multitude of people who scarfed them down and were amazed that such a hideous vegetable was lying in wait.

According to Emma "x"

2008-11-01T19:43:00.002-05:00

Uncle Joe has an allergy eater in his fish tank.

It eats allergies and poop.

We need an allergy eater.

Ohh - all the candy

2008-11-01T09:40:00.009-05:00

We don't eat much candy around here. Never have. But we came home with loads of it last night. So any suggestions to find useful ways to get rid of it would be helpful. We went to a great party last night with lots of kids. Afterward the families all went Trick or Treating together. Nana has been anxiously awaiting the pictures. Here they are!

My mom made Emma's costume this year. Emma was so insistent that she be The Little Mermaid and was just thrilled when her Nana offered to make her into Ariel. And Nana was smart enough to make it about 2 sizes too large so next year all we have to do it let out the extra fabric so Emma can be Ariel again. Thanks Nana for the beautiful costume.

Emma asked us at the end of the night why every one kept talking about her costume. I think it made her a little insecure to have so much attention focused on her. She doesn't like being in the spotlight. Jack is breathing fire like a dragon here.

Jack wants to hang out with the big kids but they ran from house to house and he just couldn't keep up. He would walk into some one's front yard and announce "Here I am!" followed by "Trick or Treat!". Jack loves the spotlight and thinks every one is waiting for his appearance before the party starts.

This is from last weekend when all the cousins got dressed up for the photo op.

The Annual Fall Extravaganza in Paducah

2008-10-30T12:19:00.011-05:00

We had a blast last weekend in Paducah celebrating Tim's Birthday. The boys rolled the huge tree stump over to the fire pit this year. After two years of the boys begging to burn the stump and Tim resisting, Esther had resigned herself to the fact that the stump was a permanent lawn fixture and was making plans to landscape around it in the spring.

Here is Jack from earlier this year playing on the stump.

I stole this picture of Tristan playing

on the big stump from Abbie's blog .

On fire!

We then loaded it down with pecan bombs and stood back as they exploded from the heat.

Does it get any better than this? Our X-Terra is still covered with ash from the all night burning of the stump making it look even tougher than it is.

This is all that was left the next morning.

I got the money shot of Addie!

I could just eat her up!

The whole family (minus Ashley)

Woolly Worm

2008-10-22T17:35:00.004-04:00

Jack found a magnificent woolly worm and decided to keep him as a pet for a while. He just had to take him to his room for the night. Sleeping next to a woolly worm gives me the willies but Jack loved it! When I went in to check on him before I went to bed he was up starring at his worm and so excited that it was wriggling around. Boys.

The woolly worm has since been returned to the wild.

The Great Pumpkin Carving 2008

2008-10-19T17:22:00.004-04:00

It was about this time two years ago I started blogging. I am not one much celebrating for sappy anniversaries or sentiment but it seems that posting pictures in October of the family pumpkin has become a sort of tradition.

You may remember this post about our first family

carving with the kids of our sweet little pumpkins.

Or last year's pumpkin feeding on pumpkin post.

This year it seems our carving efforts are going to feed the neighborhood.

We will call this one squirrels

(who also happen to be living in my walls again - RENT FREE!)

feeding on pumpkin.

A Must Read Blog

2008-10-17T11:39:00.004-04:00

I have been meaning to share one of my favorite blogs with you for quite some time. I have been following the story of a family over on the East coast for nearly a year now. It has been such a blessing to see God work in some pretty miraculous ways. Once again, Nate and Tricia have been hit with what seems like an impossible situation, one that would make anyone of us crack under the pressure. BUT! God has sustained them for all this time and they absolutely recognize His grace. I think you will be blessed to follow their journey and pray for them with thousands of others as we see what God is going to do next.

Confessions Of A CF Husband

Tagged

2008-10-11T11:17:00.004-04:00

I have been tagged by Carrie over at Three Girl Circus for a very easy meme this week and the timing is perfect since I don't have much else to blog about. So here is the 6th folder in my photo file and the 6th pic in that folder.

This picture was taken this past summer when we visited Paducah. These are all the available great grand children (from left to right: Jack, Anna, Tristan, and Emma) sitting on the front porch swing at Aubert and Katheren the Great's home. Our kids are so fortunate to be blessed with great grand parents who have created a strong Christian heritage for us for build upon. We are so thankful for the time we get to spend with Aubert and Katheren the Great and the example they have set for the entire family.

So I am tagging Sara, Abbie, Fran, Brandi, and Amos over at Chronicles of Amos (Amos has been slacking on his posting lately and forcing Annie and Ashley to maintain his blog!) You just have to go to your photo file, find the sixth folder, and post the sixth picture in that folder.

Have fun!

Non-Political Hot Air

2008-09-27T08:24:00.011-04:00

There was plenty of both last night and I have yet to watch the political type. We DVRed the debate but by the time we got home last night and put the kids to bed I was so tired that I fell asleep on the couch before the first debate question was answered. We had more fun going to the Bluegrass Balloon Festival than watching play by play of the failure of capitalism anyway.

They had a balloon filled with air on the ground that they were letting people go inside. The kids thought it was pretty cool. This last picture is the kids standing at the very top of the balloon.

We arrived long before many of the balloon teams but there was plenty of kid entertainment available. This is the field as we were standing in line to put the kids on a giant inflatable slide.

The line moved fast and the kids were down the slide in less than 15 minutes

Once we got shoes back on, I turned to the field and discovered it coming alive.

The Meijer Birthday Cake balloon was huge. They couldn't keep it up for very long. As soon at the sun set, the evening wind kicked up and the teams had a hard time controlling their balloons.

The balloons were all tied to the bumper of these great big vans but the wind caused the balloons to try to escape and they were capable of lifting the back end of the vans.

This is Nathan explaining the physics of ballooning to Emma.

I haven't had much opportunity to use my new camera for nighttime photography. Until the past couple of weeks, the kids have been tucked into bed long before the sun went down.

Seriously, it was one of the coolest things I have seen.

The Saturn booth was giving away battery operated glow sticks to the kids. They have little LEDs inside and changed colors and blinking patterns. Naturally, the glow sticks turned into weapons for use against your sibling before the night was over. The kids were different Star Wars characters depending on what color the stick was glowing.

Pay Increase

2008-09-25T12:02:00.003-04:00

I, stay at home Mommy, am getting a pay raise. That's right, I can expect to see an additional $30 a month on my non-existent paycheck. I don't see income from my #1 job as a full time Mommy. I don't have a salary, benefits, or vacation time. There are no yearly or quarterly bonuses to look forward to. I also don't pay taxes on my non-existent income so I don't get any sort of tax refund, tax rebate checks, or deductions.

So, what have I done to deserve a pay raise when I don't get paid to begin with?

I have successfully potty trained my last child!

Yes! - we are officially pooping on the potty without assistance or coercion! (unless you count our little reward system known around here as the Poop Cookie) This means no more diapers, no more Pull Ups, and a significant reduction in the number of baby wipes consumed at the Whitley household. I have been daily changing diapers for 5 solid (no pun intended) years. And one year of that I had two children in diapers so technically that would equate to 6 years of changing diapers.

Yea! I feel the need to celebrate.

Pants On Fire

2008-09-14T10:31:00.004-04:00

the interrogation

the evidence

The Blue Sharks Win 6-2

2008-09-12T11:11:00.009-04:00

Emma's soccer team got a name, The Blue Sharks, last week at her first game of the season. She played well and had a great time.

warming up

the pack of kids chasing the ball

#5 mostly stood on his head during the game

or pouted.

This is Nathan trying to convince him to play.

snack time for the players

Jack was either running onto the field to play with the other kids

or having some conniption fit.

Yes, I am now the parent that all the other parents look at because my child is acting up.

If he could play in the dirt the whole time he would be plenty happy.

The Fossil Beds

2008-09-01T17:45:00.009-04:00

Where did we go this weekend?

a. the desert

nope but it was hot enough on those rocks to make you think we were in the desert

b. the moon

not until they get that space elevator built

c. Indiana??!

ding! ding! ding!

Just a short drive across the river from Louisville, you can visit The Falls of the Ohio State Park. This is the place where Lewis and Clark met and began their exploration of the wild west. The Ohio Falls used to reside here with a drop of 24 feet but it has since been dammed up by a bunch of engineers. Oh well, I'm sure it was beautiful back in the day. Lucky for us, the dammed waters have exposed a limestone cemetery where the public is now welcome to explore and discover fossils left from a coral reef which many years ago called southern Indiana home.

The kids are pointing west perched on the base of the Lewis and Clark statue.

Tube coral

I think this is a sea anemone.

Through the hazy August day you can see the skyline of Louisville.

Jack Turns 3!

2008-08-25T18:50:00.007-04:00

We celebrated Jack's birthday over the weekend. He really noticed Emma's party this year and has been anticipating his own. For weeks now, he has been asking if it's his birthday yet and what about his tractor party. He was not disappointed. Nana made him a tractor cake as promised with beets hidden inside. Jack enjoyed singing Happy Birthday to himself as he just loves to sing. He sings all the time and loves to sing to the radio in the car so I gave him a David Crowder CD. He yells at me if I change the radio station during David Crowder or Third Day songs.

Jack was able to blow out his candles this year.

Jack was very impressed with Emma's bike. He says," That's a cool bike. That bike is cool." I think he assumed that he would get a bike too but I just don't think he is quite ready for a bike just yet. I did manage to find a really cool (and very sturdy) big wheel.

His lips look funny in this picture because he is making tractor sound effects.

He took his tractors to bed with him last night.

Wrapping paper flying.

This was also the first year where he didn't require any assistance opening his gifts.

Pops and Grammy made the trip too with my Great-Aunt Gina (seen here wearing the hat).

Churning the chocolate ice cream.

We didn't grill pizza this year - it just too blasted hot!

Aunt Abbie and Tristan.

Whirrrrrrr....

2008-08-18T11:59:00.016-04:00

My mother took me to Nashville to celebrate my birthday over the weekend. Part of the package was not only staying in a fabulous room at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel but we also went to a cooking demo with Food Network celebrity chef Alton Brown. It was tons of fun and I am a better mommy here on Monday morning. Let's see how long it will last?! Thanks Mom.

I only thought I was done making pureed veggies but here I am once again cooking up large batches of vegetables, loading them into a food processor, and spooning the glop into ice cube trays for freezing. NO! - not for THAT reason! At the same time I am marveling at how Jessica Seinfeld is such a genius and wondering why I didn't think of this.

I wore out a very nice blender after making baby food for two children and I guess it gave out right about the time Jack started eating table foods so I didn't continue pureeing and learned to manage in my kitchen without a blender. I do remember taking the fruit cubes I had made for the baby and mixing them into our hot cereal. Pureed peaches made plain oatmeal super yummy and cooled it off at the same time. Recently I was given a gift card to Burlington Coat Factory where I found this nice food processor so I am back in business.

Over the weekend I bought a new cookbook I have been wanting for some time (thanks Grandma! I still like getting crisp greenbacks in birthday cards!) and am inspired to be in the kitchen once again. Now Emma eats lettuce buy the handful and veggies like they were candy. I couldn't ask for a better eater.

Let me translate.

me: What are you eating?

emma: I'm eating (indiscernible mumbling because she had a mouthful of lettuce). hahahaha.

Jack is all together a different eater. I have tried hiding one small sweet pea in a chicken pot pie all smothered with the pot pie gravy and that little guy still managed to find the pea and spit it out. My new cookbook is going to help me hide veggies in his favorite foods.

mwhahahaaaa...

Last night I hid chick peas and cauliflower in his mac and cheese. He scarfed it down and was never the wiser. He doesn't know it yet but his birthday cake will be smuggling beets past his palate.

Here are the beet cubes and sweet potato cubes I made yesterday

all while managing to keep my white t-shirt white!

Don't you just love these intense colors.

I think I might have to paint with some of my new food cubes.

My dishwater after cleaning the ice cube trays.

Visualize whirled spinach.

I wouldn't put anything funny in these brownies, would I?
Oh! yes I would and they are delicious!

Would you believe they contain 1/2 cup of pureed beets and 1/2 cup pureed spinach?

??? UPDATE

2008-08-15T12:06:00.007-04:00

I forgot to post the update to my query in this post.

I have done my research and the answer is - WIND TURBINES! Carrie and Karolee guessed it! There happens to be a Wind Energy Corporation in Elizabethtown, which is where I saw this thing get on the interstate. How cool is that?!

It looks as though this type of wind turbine might soon be obsolete. They have developed a new type of turbine which could be mounted atop a building. It is much smaller and quite graceful looking. But then I think wind turbines are beautiful anyway.

First Day of Kindergarten

2008-08-14T19:17:00.009-04:00

I know you have all been anxiously awaiting the first day pics. Emma had a great first day and was so excited to go back. Today she had library day and she has already made a friend. The first thing she reports to me when I pick her up is that her behavior was very good and in the green zone. Then she proceeds to tell me who was in the yellow or orange behavior zone and how they got there. We told her we expect green zone behavior every day and if she comes home with a yellow mark we will have a talk.

Her backpack is half as big as her!

Jack knows he is missing out on something and he wanted a picture taken of him too.

The weekend a weekend late.

2008-08-09T16:01:00.012-04:00

Aubert and Katheren the Great.

Pondering politics and peddling pancakes.

Emma isn't worried at all - Anna feeds herself.

Emma and Addie meet.

Cousins.

Hey cuz, what's the matter?

What?! - another one?

Please be happy.

A rare moment when both Jack and Tristan are cooperating simultaneously.

The private beach of Western Kentucky.

Aunt Sara is a nut!

Playing soccer with Aunt Sara, Uncle Joe, Daddy, and Jack

(although Jack was mostly mowing the grass)

Our "Backyard"

2008-07-18T10:40:00.008-04:00

We love our back yard here at our new home. Who would have thought you could rent a place like this and have all the comforts of the typical single family home with backyard. Emma is practicing with her new soccer shoes and shin guards. That should make all her Soccer Aunts (or this one, or this one)very happy. Nathan has her practice dribbling the ball up around big rock and back again.

This is Jack loosing his pants. Sometimes they just fall down.

Notice Emma in the background pointing and laughing.

Imaginary Friends

2008-07-18T09:21:00.012-04:00

HoHo the monkey is Jack's imaginary friend and is making appearances around our house again. HoHo sorta comes and goes but lately he is everywhere. Jack just loves the idea of having a tiny little monkey who fits in the palm of his hand. Anytime we get in the car, Jack starts screaming "HoHo!" at the top of his very powerful lungs and we have to roll the window down so Jack can grab HoHo and pull him into the car. HoHo goes to church with us and likes to ride in the grocery basket through the produce department at the store. Nick Jr. has a newer cartoon which is like a Chinese version of Dora the Explorer. Ni Hao, Kai-Lan is a nice show where the kiddies learn Mandarin Chinese and respect for their elders. I can't complain about that. So now I have to decipher when my kids are speaking Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, broken English, or just being silly.

Here is some HoHo in action.

While I have been trying to remember how to embed video on my blog, Jack invaded my make-up bag. Oooops! This is Jack posing with HoHo in his hand.

Food Challenge 2008

2008-07-16T14:36:00.003-04:00

We like to eat. We like to cook. We spent two years perfecting our hamburgers. Once we get a recipe perfected we move on to something new. A couple of weeks ago we accidentally thawed too many steaks and were forced to use them. It was a disappointment to us as steak is a special treat and not something we afford very often. Usually we find a really good deal and stock up on our meats. Since my parents gave us a deep freezer this has been a great way to buy in bulk and save lots of money. My parents also bought a pasture fed, no hormones, no antibiotics cow (Yes! they bought the cow) and had it slaughtered. They put one half of the cow in their freezer and split the other half with another family and have us a quarter of the cow. It is so tasty! So what do you do when you have too much steak and not enough stomach?

BBQ Burritos.

This was our Food Challenge 2006. Put the extra steaks in the fridge and slice them very thin across the grain. This is easy to do when the cooked steak is cold and makes the steak nice and tender so you don't have to wrestle with it in the burrito. Caramelized some onions. Next stuff burrito size tortillas with the thin strips of steak, onions, guacamole, salsa, and cheese. Roll them up tucking both ends and secure with toothpicks. Baste the out side of the burritos with your favorite BBQ sauce (we like Rendezvous) and place them on the grill that isn't too hot. Everything on the inside is cooked so all you want to do is warm them up and caramelize that BBQ sauce, and get some nice grill marks.

Last summer we created a Jamaican Jerk Chicken Pizza on the grill. It is a lot of trouble but well worth the effort. I'll post the recipe that next time we make it along with pictures.

This year we need a new challenge. Nathan has this dream of owning a meat shop someday in the future. It seems like a strange dream to me but hey - I like meat as much as anyone. His Grandfather in Ohio owned a meat shop back in the day. As a matter of fact, you can drive through Newtown, Ohio and still see the building standing with the name Whitley on it. I am slightly germophobic and the frequent recalls on meat, especially ground meat, make me a little nervous. So we bought our own meat grinder. This is the Porkart Deluxe complete with sausage making capabilities. So Food Challenge 2008 will be ... drum roll please....

Handmade Sausages!

Thank you Czech Republic!

We spent three days looking all over town for a meat grinder. Apparently no one grinds their own meat anymore.

Nathan - the crazy eyed butcher.

Coaxing the meat with a wooden spoon.

Do not insert fingers here.

This is venison that has been in our freezer for some time. Venison tends to be very lean so we ground a little bacon in with it to juice it up a bit.

Venison burgers on the grill. So the first meat grinding experience has been documented and the family fed. Next we conquer the exciting world of sausage. More to come.

Plug Fairy

2008-07-15T14:02:00.006-04:00

We have had a lot more activity around the house this past week. Jack is on a nap strike since the Plug Fairy made a visit over the Fourth of July weekend. I know, I know, plugs (or pacifiers as you might know them) are a sleep prop and and we aren't supposed to encourage sleep props but both of my kids would have been thumb suckers. My thought was that it is eaiser to take away a plug when the time comes than to get them to quit sucking a thumb. Besides, who ever heard of a Thumb Fairy? So Jack is doing well over all but having to learn how to fall asleep with the aid of a plug which has made naptime and bedtime a trying experience for us all.

The funny thing is we don't do Santa Clause or the Easter Bunny. We talk about how those are fun ideas or games people like to play but we don't really play those games. The Plug Fairy was a spur of the moment idea that came to me out of a sudden situation when I didn't have the time think things through.

When the Plug Fairy came to visit Emma she was two and a half. We had been out of town for Christmas where she busted her lip open while playing with one of her lovely Aunts. That night she went to put the plug in but it hurt her lip to suck on it. I knew it was the perfect opportunity to get rid of the plugs once and for all.

So we gathered up all the plugs around the house and put them on the front porch. We explained to Emma that the Plug Fairy would come take away the plugs and leave her a special gift. I put Emma down to bed where we both cried about being plug-less. It was a long night for both of us! Once she finally drifted off into a plug-less sleep late that night, I sent Nathan off to Kroger to find some sort of gift on the spur of the moment. Every thing was closed except for grocery or drug stores.

The next morning Emma opened the front door to discover the absence of plugs and the appearance of a large piggy bank. She was thrilled as we explained how she could earn money to put in her piggy bank and when she had enough she could spend the money on things she wanted. We suggested all her favorite things like carousel rides or a new toy - anything she wanted. Emma's eyes got real big and you could see that she was really grasping this concept. "OK", she said, "I will buy a pwug."

A Day Out with Thomas

2008-07-05T11:03:00.005-04:00

We are stuck at home this weekend for a variety of reasons. Nathan has to work today. The cat is still sick and I am shoving pills down her throat twice a day. And gas prices are outrageous ($4.30+/gallon here in Louisville!) which the governor's office and attorney general are now investigating. It's not a bad thing to be stuck at home. We tend to spend so much of our off time traveling, that we often miss out on local happenings.

We spent our 4th of July holiday with Thomas the Train. The Kentucky Railway Museum in NewHaven, Kentucky coordinated a day with Thomas as part of his 2008 A Great Discovery Tour Tour. Thomas is making stops all over the US and Canada with a fun fill event for families with young children. The ticket price includes a 25 minute train ride aboard Thomas, train tables and Lego's galore, art centers, miniature golf, blowup bouncy thing-a-majigs, a petting zoo, storytelling and much more. The nice thing is you pay one price and all the activities are open for participation allowing little attention span deprived children to bounce from activity to activity with out Mom and Dad having to dig for their wallet at every stop.

Picture opportunity with the "really useful engine" himself.

The kids got to meet with Sir Topham Hatt.

Temporary tattoos.

Here comes the cheeky little engine. Jack could hardly contain himself he was waving and yelling "Thomas, Thomas!"

Thomas' eyes eyes were animated so he could look all around and he puffed steam too.

Here we are riding on Thomas the Train.

Jack handing our tickets to the conductor.

The kids are pretending to be a train while blowing a train whistle.

Dress Up

2008-07-03T18:01:00.005-04:00

Playing dress up is a favorite pass-time at our house. Emma played dress up at Jack's expense today. Notice the Thomas the Train shirt and the one ballet slipper. The unclothed foot has a blackened toenail from some mysterious injury no one seems to remember. Jack told me he was a Fairy Godmother and poof-ed me with his magic wand. I took the poor child for a good haircut a couple of hours ago - although I think the blackened toenail helps to keep him all boy-ed up.

We may have to save this one for the wedding slideshow someday.

???

2008-07-03T10:53:00.006-04:00

I mentioned before about how I sometimes get distracted by unusual loads on the back of 18 wheelers. This might be the biggest load I have ever seen driving down the interstate. It was parked on an entrance ramp when I passed it. I was curious enough about it that I drove to the next exit and turned around so I could go back for a closer look. I still have no idea what it was.

Then it took off so I chased it down to get a picture of it on the road.

Any guesses as to what is was?

Boo

2008-06-17T14:54:00.009-04:00

You may remember my niece, Araceli.

She came to visit me.

What do you get when you cross my brother with a girl who is way too good for him?

Quite possibility the prettiest baby on the planet!

My sister-in-law, Liz, and her parents were passing through Louisville on the way to Dallas, Tucson, and then up the Pacific Coast to Seattle where they planned to ship some equipment up to Anchorage. All of this with an eight month old! It was a nice visit even if it was brief.

Boo with Pops.

I think Jack was jealous that Nana was giving attention to another baby.

Emma just loves babies. She wanted to crawl with Boo.

This is what happens when you try to get three children to cooperate simultaneously.

Well, at least they aren't screaming.

Sweet cousins.

And it's over in a flash.

Tia Liz and Emma having a butt race.

I remember when birthday cards came with money

2008-06-14T16:05:00.010-04:00

This is the first year Emma received money in her birthday cards. She was looking forward to getting things in the mail and was so excited as the cards trickled in this past week. And then they came with money! So we took her to ToysRus to spend her birthday money.

We passed isle after isle filled with princess stuff, sparkly horses, glittery princess dresses, and care bears. She picked up each package and told me that this was what she wanted to buy. I cringed at most of her choices and flat out said no to some like the Bratz dolls. ToysRus had an entire isle devoted to the Bratz line! The same amount of shelving space as for Barbies and Disney causing me to wonder if I am the only mother on the planet who despises this line of merchandise. Another mother was working to convince her little girl to choose the Easy Bake Oven or a nice baby doll while her daughter was clinging to a pink, feathery, glittery, package of girly bubble bath and perfume set. The mother overheard my comment to Emma about the Bratz dolls being off limits and completely shared my opinion. I think we were both relieved that we were not the only mothers struggling to raise sweet, modest, little girls with concern for more than heavy eye makeup and microscopic skirts. I just kept telling Emma that we would look at everything and then she could make a decision as to what she might really want.

As we neared the rear of the store we delved into the educational toys at last. Jack busied himself at the train table display, Emma discovered all the educational toys and I breathed a sigh of relief. When we found a terrarium, Emma went nuts. It was a terrarium where she could grow carnivorous plants. She has been enthralled with the Venus Fly Trap for some time now. Yea! My little princess decided that she preferred the carnivorous plants over all things pink and glittery. That's my girl!

Here it is with the dome. We have been talking about the water cycle of evaporation and condensation and oceans and rivers and tributaries and water vapor...

Here it is without the dome. It came with peat moss, river rocks, one package of tiny seeds to sow, another package of tiny seeds for stratification, and little bitty plastic lizards. I will try to take pictures of the plants as they grow.

Emma was having a little trouble understanding that her party and her actual birthday were going to happen on two separate days. When she woke up Friday morning, she was asking about another cake and candles. We had been discussing this for a couple of weeks but nevertheless it seemed to boggle her mind. So I told Nathan to being home a flower after work on Friday so she would feel special on her actual birthday. I was thinking a single stem Carnation, or Gerber Daisy, or maybe he would splurge and get her a rose. But no. He brought this home.

This is Emma standing on her tippy toes trying to be as tall as her flower.

You know you're a grown up -

2008-06-13T08:50:00.007-04:00

when you put down a plate of food anticipating an ugly mess just in time to get puked on by your toddler, get everyone cleaned up, and go right back to eating dinner.

when you aim your child's mouth toward yourself so your clothes can catch all the vomit so you don't spend the next hour cleaning the couch and carpet too.

when you stay up half the night taking temperatures and dosing Tylenol.

This has been quite the week. Starting with the dentist who complimented me on how my teeth were in such great shape just before he told me he wanted to drill 4(!) of them. (Brandi, I feel your pain.)

This was infusion week so we had Grandma and Grandpa here to help with the kids. Grandpa had Emma out every day teaching her how to ride her bike. She peddles around, up and down hills, and breaking at her discretion. She has made quite the improvement.

Then we took the cat to the vet because she has been having trouble finding her litter box. Annabelle has a urinary track infection. Have you ever tried to dose a cat with antibiotics? How is it the vet makes it look so easy?

After our vet trip, I ran to Costco to get the mega box of Pull-Ups and noticed the 100 count bag of no sugar added, 100% juice popsicles. I thought the kids would enjoy something cold in this heat. Little did I know that just a few hours later I would be using them to bring down a fever and hydrate a puking toddler.

Happy Birthday to Emma

2008-06-09T11:39:00.010-04:00

We celebrated Emma's 5th birthday over the weekend. Nana made her a custom designed pink and purple princess cake. I know, I know, we said we were encouraging play other than princess play but I thought the cake would be eaten and there would be no residual princess stuff left over. So no big deal having a princess cake. I mean you only turn 5 once!

She has been wanting a bike for a while and asking specifically for a Cinderella/princess bike. I thought, "No way am I getting her a bike with princess crap plastered all over it!" So I shopped all over town looking for a 16" bike that would be cool. No such luck. Unless we spent almost twice the money there were only princess bike or Bratz bike options. Bratz is downright abhorrent as far as I am concerned, so princess bike it is. You only turn 5 once!

The above picture is Emma pointing at the bright pink two wheeler, asking if she can touch it. She and Jack stumbled across the bike in hiding. She came to me excited that there was a bike in the storage room. About an hour later she came to be crying because she was disappointed that the surprise had been ruined. We all got over it and blamed Jack for discovering the hidden bike. The rest of the week she was looking forward to her party when she knew she would be able to ride her new bike. All week long we were reminding the children to stay out of the storage room and not peak at the bike anymore. When we finally gave it to her, she felt compelled to ask permission to touch it.

We missed having Annie and Ashley this year. Ashley is in all of our birthday pictures of the kids because he is usually on the floor with them opening gifts and blowing out candles. Maybe next year.

Katherine the Great made a beautiful little living room set for one of Emma's dolls. Last year K. the Great gave her a doll with a bedroom set and matching dresses for Emma and her doll. This is a living room set with a couch, chair, end tables, coffee table, ottoman, and entertainment center complete with a CD player, speakers, and books on the shelves. The detail in the set is just amazing. K. the Great must have been really busy because she also made two outfits for Emma.

I gave my high chair to Annie for Addie so Abbie had to make shift an eating situation for Tristan. I think Tristan liked it. That is Jack's booster chair and our naughty seat.

Emma has also been asking for a Care Bear for nearly a year. She was just delighted to get a purple Care Bear (named Share Bear) from Aunt Annie and Uncle Ashley. The funny thing is, Nana made three nightgowns for Emma and one of them has Share Bear featured on it.

All decked out with princess bike gear from head to knee.

You are only 5 once.

She seems so grown up.

Pizza Night

2008-06-01T10:04:00.000-04:00

Nathan has been wanting to re-create one of his childhood memories with the kids -

personal pizzas made from canned biscuits.

Flatten the biscuits out to make a kid sized pizza.

Add sauce.

Sprinkle with cheese.

Jack waiting patiently with Moosie.

Add the pepperoni and pineapple.

"Mommy, I getting hungry."

Into the oven pose.

I don't know where this new posing thing is coming from. Maybe she accidentally caught an episode of Hannah Montana or something.

Daddy let her celebrate with a sip of Coke.

Things to do while you wait.

Done waiting!

The finished product.

They tasted good!

At The Farm

2008-05-30T14:30:00.009-04:00

We have been looking forward to the day when the kids would be big enough to enjoy JJ and Virginia the Great's farm. The last time we were there, Jack was just a few months old. Memorial Day weekend we drove out to the Ohio countryside for a day filled with, great grandparents, cousins, tractors, and pictures.

Before the kids came along, Nathan and I would go out there regularly just to decompress for a few hours. But living in Memphis made it hard to go much and we have missed it. Now we are close enough to be able to decompress much more often.

So get ready - this is a picture intense post!

Ooooo - I found something! I should touch it to see what it is.

I love his chubby little fingers.

JJ the Great giving Jack his first ride of the day.

Once the tractors started up it was all over. Jack had tractor on the brain.

Off for a little hike down to the creek with Uncle Joe and Aunt Sara.

Then Uncle John showed up with the really nice air conditioned tractor

and took Jack to work with him.

I think they were sowing seed.

Every time they made a pass, Jack would wave with a huge grin on his face.

One last pass and it was time to go inside.

"Bye tractor!"

Sweet brother and sister.

Oh wait! It's leaving without me!

Come back Tractor!

This is Jack's power run thru the nice rows of raked hay.

Oh good - more tractors.

Virgina the Great helping hitch up the baler. JJ the Great let Jack take the little tractor and round baler home. He takes them every where - the porch, the backyard, the bath, bed...

Quality time with the girls.

Jenny started out a little shy but was generous with the kisses by the time we had to leave.

These were some of the beautiful peonies on the farm. I plan to get a root from them to start my own once I know I am going to "lite somewhere" for more than a year. What are the chances of that happening?

Look at how big David got compared to the picture below.

This is a picture from when Emma was a baby. Missy got in on this one.

What does this mean?

2008-05-23T19:36:00.012-04:00

Well, yeah, I took the kids to the park. Perhaps this and this will refresh your memory?

Look-a-like

2008-05-17T12:18:00.004-04:00

Usually newborn babies look like - well - newborn babies. Honestly, they all kinda look alike. Perhaps there is the rare exception.

This is my newest niece, Addie.

This is Ashley holding Jack.

Is it just me or does Addie look just like her Daddy?

Baby Addie

2008-05-14T09:18:00.006-04:00

Addison Elise Hook

7 lbs. 3 oz

20 3/4 in

May 9 @11:55pm

Go here for all the details and more pics.

Congratulations Annie and Ashley!

K'ville

2008-05-13T08:10:00.007-04:00

We had a lovely trip to Knoxville this weekend to see Joe, Sara, and Anna. I forgot to bring my camera so I snagged most of my pictures from by blog addicted sister-in-law. So if you go there, you will see the originals.

Emma loved helping Sara take care of Anna.

Jack liked to play with Anna's toys.

Uncle Dan came by on his new motorcycle all dressed in black leather with a black helmet and polarized sunglasses. He looked like the Terminator. Jack loves anything that goes.

Uncle Dan is Jack's new hero!

Like I said, Jack loves anything that has wheels. He goes nuts every time he sees and four wheeler or tractor. We had planned to go hiking but Friday night Jack was up half the night feeling under the weather. I figured he would not enjoy hiking after such a rough night so we took the kids to Bass Pro Shop to look at the animals, camping gear, and aquariums complete with waterfalls. This was Jack on the 'tractor' before we could even get inside the store.

This is Jack safely tucked away atop Nathan's shoulders. He has a moose he sleeps with and uses for comfort when he gets upset. So we enjoyed showing him the moose head.

As we neared the fish tank Nathan still had Jack on his shoulders. He put the Peawhacket down and we all looked at the fish for a moment then looked down to Jack who was no where to be seen. It happened so fast!

Nathan went one way, Joe went another, Sara went another, and I went to the entrance to see if Jack had run back to see the moose. I asked the lady at the turnstile if she had see a little boy run through and ask how many exits there were from the building. She immediately called over a security guard who called a Code Adam and radioed every employee in the store with a description of my little boy. We watched as every employee dropped what they were doing and began to look for the lost 2 year old. It was pretty much spectacular. Joe found Jack a couple minutes later sitting on a 'tractor' just as happy as he could be. The rest of the time we were in the store we were recognized by every employee who gave us a knowing grin.

Because one ice cream cone is just not enough, I had to share my milkshake.

Nana made these John Deer pajamas for our tractor obsessed boy!
Anna's personality is beginning to emerge from that newborn stage. She is so happy and content and is easy to make smile. Every time she heard her Mama's voice she smiled. She giggles when you make her fly.

The Big Weekend

2008-05-04T19:31:00.007-04:00

Big Brown is the big winner. Sadly, the place horse, a Philly named Eight Belles, collapsed just after crossing the wire with two broken ankles and was euthanized on the spot. Talk about a downer. It's no surprise that my long shot horse didn't win although they did improve his odds just before the race to 26:1.

We had a busy weekend full of stuff to do but never felt rushed, which is not usually the case. We joined a church last night. That's right! We were at church during the Derby but didn't miss a thing thanks to the DVR. (Take that Mr. Ragamuffinwriter/Worship Leader guy - you can't call me the heathen anymore!) We came home to the TV deliberately set to a channel we knew would not be talking Derby so we could watch the race minus all the commercials.

Did I mention that I really like that DVR? Nathan has also been recording the Star Wars movies and watching a portion of each movie most nights this week. Emma's favorite episode is the one where Anakin transforms into Darth Vader. We expected her to like the Ewoks or JarJar Banks but no, she likes the darkest of the series. I think it mostly because of the lava scene towards the end. She is fascinated by volcanoes.

We woke today to an absolute beautiful day - mid-60s, breezy and sunny! Perfect hiking weather. It was the first time we have taken the kids hiking. Last weekend I bought myself a new pair of Gortex hiking shoes. I had a lot of trouble getting around in the snow and ice this past winter with my tennis shoes. These will keep the water and wind out. The kids are getting big enough now to really get outdoors with them and play. We found this lovely private park about 30 minutes south of town and spent the day outdoors. Best of all, I was able to hike as far as my 2 year old. For those of you who know what the past couple of years have been for me you understand that it is actually a big accomplishment. Yea me!

This trail was only a half mile long and the elevation change was mild. It was just right for the kids. It followed a little creek through the woods where you had to navigate over the creek twice. The kids were nervous at first but soon discovered the fun of stepping into the cold water. So, they had cold feet. I just couldn't deprive them of all that fun. We did draw the line at total body wetness because of the air temperature.

We must have spent 20 minutes just throwing rocks in the water. Of course, Jack was not satisfied with tossing small pebbles. He had to find the biggest, heaviest rocks he could possibly lift and chunk them. I kept trying to get a picture of the heavy rocks but he was too fast and most of the photos just showed the blurry arms like above.

Please don't drop it on yourself!

Nathan had to play too! It is not mountainous here by any stretch but there were some nice hills and waterfalls.

What kid can resist climbing on some lovely concrete lawn sculpture?

We took our time and let the kids meander, giving them the opportunity to discover moss, violets, ferns, and baby trees. Every bug they found was just fascinating - caterpillars, butterflies, and beetles. Emma squeeeeeealed at what she thought was a worm but we discovered was a very cold and very sluggish salamander. A short time later, Nathan caught a little green snake. And yes, that is my squealer stepping in front of the camera to get a closer look at the snake. She even asked to touch it!