My Boys

Machu Picchu

2010-10-20T20:45:00.000-07:00

So I need to go to bed, but had to put a few of Machu Picchu on blog! I will post more this weekend!

This above picture was the view out of what they think was a home...how bout waking up to that view?

The mountain across is the sister mountain and I can't spell it off the top of my head right now. You can also hike up this one, but within a few hours vs days of hiking up Machu Picchu! This place was amazing!

One last post then I'm off to bed...this was the view we had for lunch! I could do that everyday and never get tired of what I was looking at. Kelly and I sat on a terrace, ate lunch and visited for about an hour while soaking in the view and the awe of Machu Picchu!

A few more random

2010-10-20T20:37:00.000-07:00

One thing with Kelly was...we got special treatment...she was a priority! :-)

The holes in the side of this mountain were tombs that were raided by the Spanish in hope to find more treasures of gold and silver. This is so far the largest cemetery found.

Here you can see the terraces going up the mountain, they reached the tops of some mountains. I found the criss cross really neat and intriguing.

Cusco, The Sacred Valley & Ollyantantambo

2010-10-20T20:16:00.000-07:00

So because of Nannie, Kelly and I were able to visit the amazing country Peru. Wow...it is beautiful there! The Incans were strong and industrious people! Here are a few pictures of our first 2 days there!

This was a center Plaza in Cusco were there was a cathedral and Government buildings. This is just one of the views with the water fountain in the middle. Balconies are everywhere!

The two above were at a roadside stop. They are a view of the Sacred Valley, beautiful wouldn't you say?

The streets have waterways going through them to get water to the people of the city.

These last two are one, a view looking up Ollyantantambo, the last city of the Incans and the last picture is of course of me & Kelly in one of the doorways!

There are a minimum of 50 per site so I've just posted a few to start so you can get a small taste test of what we saw! I will try to hit some highlights now and come back with more pics of each place for you to see with more explanation!

Cuties

2009-02-20T19:55:00.000-08:00

So here is the latest of the two! We actually took this picture at home, daddy-o behind the camera! I took individuals of both, but Big guy was a little tired and I have yet to retake his! They are so cute and we love having them around. Big guy is such a great brother. I was just telling daddy-o today that I feel bad for whoever may decide to be mean to Pork chop because his big bro will make sure it won't happen again!

Hum...maybe that will be his new nickname for the blog Big bro and lil bro! :-) We'll see...I'm still trying to get used to nicknaming them for this! :-)

little one's day

2008-12-30T13:22:00.000-08:00

Family

2008-12-30T12:42:00.000-08:00

We were lucky to have some family and friends join us for little one's day.

We wish more family could have made it for the blessing, but it was hard with the holidays and the miles between many of us. Also our home is not big enough to hold all of the friends that are special to us.

We were grateful to have been able to share this day with those that were able to make it and missed those unable to come.

2008-12-30T12:30:00.000-08:00

Busy Bathtime!

2008-12-30T12:26:00.000-08:00

The four bigger boys got a bath together!

Stinky boys no longer...for a short while... at least!

2008-12-30T12:22:00.000-08:00

First Christmas

2008-12-30T12:17:00.000-08:00

Here is "Pork chop" (daddy-o gave him this for a temporary nickname) on his first Christmas morning! My mom tried to get me to take some more pictures, and I can't remember if I did or not... hopefully I did and just can't remember! But here he is!

His Christmas present to me was sleeping 8 hours for a few days in a row! Wow...if Maddman hadn't woken up those nights it would have been great! :-)

Christmas Morning

2008-12-30T12:09:00.000-08:00

I wasn't sure who was the most excited to open this gift from Santa...but both boys played with the Hot Wheels track, once it was set up. Big guy and his cousin slept in their tents that night, getting up some...his cousin once hearing the reindeer! Big guy was so excited he couldn't wait any longer.

Here you can see Big guy becoming interested in the new toy from Santa! It was a ton of fun to watch him this year as he understood more and got excited as the countdown began!

NO MORE DIAPERS

2008-12-16T03:05:00.000-08:00

So even though I'm just now posting it, Big guy got his entire uniform within 1 1/2 wks. He worked first on the helmet, then the jersey, took a break to work on the hockey game, and then earned his football pants!

We are going on about a month now, maybe a little longer and he's had less than a dozen accidents and now wakes up dry from sleeping at night, most of the time! YEAH! I now also let him take a nap without "sleep underware" on, if he's gone recently! I'm so excited! He finally got it, as did I!

Pro Bowler right here! He loves working on drills with daddy-o in the backyard. We got these cones a while a go and daddy-o will use them for working out his knee and when Big guy started to follow him...they've been running football drills ever since!

(well as you might notice it's a little late...maybe early...that' I'm blogging...feeding the babe, but now need to return to my bed!)

Motivation Motivation Motivation

2008-11-16T11:53:00.000-08:00

We finally found something to motivate Big guy to use the potty! Oh what's that noise? Only the heavens opening and angels singing! Maybe I'm the only one that hears this particular verse though!

... and here's how he gets it! He has to get enough stickers on each page, to earn that particular item. The one picture you can't see is for a hockey game. We got to go to one for free through the department and Big guy can't stop talking about the bear that ice skates.

So thank you bear and thank you store at the mall that I usually try and keep Big guy from seeing! 1 1/2 successful days so far with only 1 accident that counts!!!

7 weeks

2008-11-16T11:45:00.000-08:00

"Pork chop" is 7 weeks old now and getting big. He has rolled over twice now and this morning at 4am he smiled a few times at me. Though I would have enjoyed it more a few hours later...it made getting up not so bad.

Too Big

2008-11-16T11:31:00.000-08:00

Big guy decided he would make use of Pork chop's carseat and bouncy seat.

I think Mickey was feeling a little squished! But nice of him to let Big guy sit in his lap!

Great Wheat Bread Recipe

2008-11-02T16:32:00.000-08:00

My sister-in-law tried out different wheat bread recipes and I benefited, so thought I would pass it along.

1/2 cup hot water

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/6 cup shortening

2 cups warm water

1 1/2 Tbsp yeast

2 Tbsp white sugar

2 tsp salt

3 cup white bread flour

3 cups wheat flour

1. Dissolve brown sugar in 1/2 c. hot water. Add shortening, stir until melted and then let cool.

2. In mixing bowl (bowl you plan on kneading bread in), dissolve yeast in 2 c warm water. Add white sugar, salt, and bread flour. Mix well. Stir in shortening mixture and then enough wheat flour to make dough stiff, but not dry.

3. Turn out onto lightly floured surface, kneed until smooth and elastic (or do this in mixer). Place in large, well oiled bowl (or back into the mixer bowl), cover, and allow to rise until double in bulk.

4. Divide dough into 2 equal parts and shape into loaves. Place into 2 greased 9 x 5 bread pans, greasing the top. Allow to rise until double in bulk.

5. Bake at 350 for 22-25 min, depending on pans. Let cool a few minutes and then turn over pans to get loaves out. Allow a few more minutes for them to cool before slicing.

Great with butter and honey!

Hope you enjoy! I'll post a picture later.

A Great Blog to Visit for creative cards

2008-11-02T16:26:00.001-08:00

Okay, so I'm lame and just barely visited Cathy's new blog. It's simplyhappydesigns.blogspot.com, I will add a link on my blog. Even though my blog is only accessed by invitation only, you may want to look at this and then spread the word. She's way creative and has some really cute cards you can have designed and ordered. Just visit her blog and you see what I'm talking about.

Cute cards Cathy...sorry it took me so long to visit your blog, I'm usually on in the middle of the night when I'm up with Jaxton and only have half a brain! :-)

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-01T16:42:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of the boys, before we went out for Halloween. Big guy is not dressed yet, and who knows why he was starting to through a fit...but here they are. Pork chop could almost fit into the Fat Bat costume Big guy wore for his first Halloween at almost 6 months old.

We went with our friends, the oldest dressing up as a Knight, and the boys had a ton of fun knocking on the doors, charming the people, and collecting the candy.

daddy-o and Spiderman.

And here's the goods from the night! Jackpot! I think he collected more than I ever got in one night...we appreciate all the candy...daddy-o made sure to tell Big guy that he needed to test all the pieces of candy, just make sure they are okay, since he's a cop and can do those kinds of things! :-) Thanks dad for keeping us safe! :-)

Everything I need to know...I'll learn from a 2 year old!

2008-10-30T09:33:00.000-07:00

A a mom I am learning new things all the time. I'm pretty sure that all mom's and dad's could say this. But last night Maddman taught me something I never thought I'd learn...maybe becuase I don't have his imagination!

He was going through everything in the diaper bag and asking what it was. But just after I thought he had found everything, he comes running over..."Mommy for foot!" He has me take his shoe off and here you have it! My mistake...or the stores for not putting these in the foot care isle!

Making a Mama proud!

2008-10-30T09:05:00.000-07:00

Maddman came over and said "share mom?" I wasn't sure if he was asking me if he could share, or was wanting me to share. So I watched him and found that he just asked me if he could share his toys with Pork Chop.

So here's the whole bucket of toys that he placed for Pork chop to play with, one by one, often telling him what they were.

Our Family Photo

2008-10-28T13:26:00.000-07:00

Here is the first picture of me and Pork chop, well that counts! :-) I atleast don't look like I'm on drugs in this photo, been trying to cut back! hahaha

Pork chop is now 1 month old! I can't believe I've survived a month of sleep deprivation already. I sat back the other day and thought, I can't believe I'm old enough to have a 2 1/2 yr old and a month old. And then I thought, I wonder what my parents think...I can't believe I'm old enough to have 4 girls, who are married, and now 7 grandsons!

Maddman wanted a picture of his pirate taken, so here it is! He is so cute and it's hard to think that my time has to be shared with another cutie. He is still being a great big brother, only few meltdowns, but those usually come when he's tired, hungry, or over stimulated, or if I really have neglected him. I try not to, but some days I feel as though it's a success if the boys have eaten and we haven't had any major accidents requiring the hospital. PJ's all day long are sometimes the best clothes to wear and PB&J sandwhiches, cut into the shape of Texas, a heart, rabbit, or chicken (thanks for the idea big sis) are the makings of a great day survived!

And here we all are. You'll probably need to click on the photo to really be able to see it. I haven't cropped yet and so it's a little far away for blogging. I think we've done pretty good so far and have a pretty good looking family. I guess it helps that I think my husband is good looking and my two boys are pretty much made from the same molding, except the ears (that's all he gives me so far) oh yeah...and toenails. (mine grow upwards and so if I let them go a little long without clipping them, become weapons in bed! hehehe) Maybe they will have more of my features as they grow, but I'm not holding my breath! :-)

Boo at the Zoo

2008-10-25T20:39:00.000-07:00

This year we went to Boo at the Zoo with Monica and Matt and some new friends of theirs. This picture was after the busy day so we may look a little tired. This was Pork chop's first big outing, to some place other than the grocery store or doctor.

Maddman had a Batman costume, but we had to compromise, as he refused to keep it on, and ended up as Spiderman! Thank goodness for those PJ's and daddy-o's mask that turned into the Spiderman mask! :-) Thankfully I only spent $.50 on that Batman costume!

I was so impressed with Maddman, he loved the characters that were all around the zoo that day. His meeting the bear went like this..."Trick or Treat Bear" "Hi Bear" "Thanks Bear" "See ya later Bear" "Bye bye Bear"! He did this all of the characters, giving them five and the rock and then of course getting some yummy candy.

The monkeys were Maddman's favorite, but that picture didn't turn out that great, so here he is in front of the bird exhibit. This is also our single stroller doubling as a double stroller! Now I know that if our double stroller doesn't fit in the back of the car, I have a backup!

We had a great time, but were tired after the day's events and though I told Monica I wouldn't be sore, well I found that my hips were very sore the next day! :-) That was the most exercise I've had since I tried to put myself into labor, well atleast enough to have the c-section a few days early! :-)

THANKS FOR THE INVITE MONICA! WE HAD FUN!

Nothing like the love of brothers

2008-10-14T22:15:00.000-07:00

We are often finding Maddman with Pork chop while we are busy getting food on the table or doing misc things around the house. He can be found talking to Jaxton in that "baby voice" and "baby talk" which is so cute! Maddman also rocks, hugs, kisses, holds hands, gives high-5's and the rock, along with other things with Pork chop. The other day daddy-o and I were in the kitchen and we looked over to find Maddman talking to Pork chop in his bouncy seat and trying to entertain him.

We caught Maddman with the camera this time playing with Pork chop and instead of stopping what he was doing to look at the camera, he kept playing so we got some way cute pics of him with his baby brother.

This is probably one of my favorite pictures. Maddman used to be so small...look at those big boy hands though!

Pork chop is sometimes referred to as "it", more so when Maddman wants something, but I'm finding him more often calling him either by his name, baby brother, or little guy. The other morning before he went to daycare he hopped up into the chair by me as I was feeding Pork chop and said (in that baby voice)...hello little guy. Mommy, he all done sleeping. Mommy, he hungie (hungry). And then proceeded to tell me about Pork chop's little ears and his big boy ears etc.

You often hear, some days are better than others, and we've for sure had some "other" days...but the better days make it all worth it!

2 weeks old

2008-10-14T22:02:00.000-07:00

Here is "Pork chop"! At 2 weeks old he had his first snow!

He is getting bigger and becoming more alert and stronger with those neck muscles. It's amazing as I look at him, the miracles God allows us to have in our lives. They start out so tiny and I think I take for granted what I am able to hold in my arms each day.

Snowman building

2008-10-11T21:54:00.000-07:00

I think this is Maddman's first Snowman, well atleast first to help build...a little!

Here he is eating snow while daddy-o puts on the finishing touches.

This is the after photo...after Maddman kicks over the snowman, like a big dinosaur, and the 2 are having a snow fight.