Mother’s Day 2011

Dear Mom,

When you take on as many things as you have – the busy days and sleepless nights, the comings and the goings, the learning and the accepting, and you do them all with love, you are not just pretty amazing, you are the perfect definition of what a Mother should be. I hope to be as wonderful of a mother to my children as you have been to me.

All my love,
Kenny Kay

________________________

This year Mother's Day takes on a whole new meaning, but I'm not going to write about being a new mother. I'm going to keep this special day all to myself. I'll just say this, my heart runneth over with love.

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mothers out there.   

City Girl

I am a City Girl.  That's all there is to it.  Not necessarily by choice, rather it's all I've ever known.  I've only swam in a pond a couple of times, I'm not a fan of bugs, I've never been camping.

Easter weekend we loaded up the car and headed south on I-35 to Marietta, Oklahoma.  We stayed at the home of our good friends that we've referred to as "The Farm" since I was a child.  Not really sure why we call it The Farm since nothing is "farmed" there.  While on our get-a-way, we did and saw things we wouldn't normally in Suburbia, America.

#1 - My cousin's son, Blue (who is 8) shot a snake and brought it to us to see.  It was huge!  When I asked what happened to the belly of the snake he replied "well, I shot it" as if saying, what else do you think happened to it. 

#2 - Aunt Lenora has a couple of chicken coops and we ate fresh eggs in the best chicken salad ever!

#3 - Trent and I hiked to the creek at The Farm with ear protection, eye protection, lots of ammunition and a hand gun.  Yep, it's time I learned to shoot a gun.  I'll admit, I've been a little anxious about it (ok, a lot anxious) and finally overcame my fear.  Here are a few photos of me and Trent in action.  Blue shot the snake at age 8, like no big deal, and here I was (at a much more mature age) a little nervous. 

  

I couldn't stop laughing while Trent was taking my picture. 
By the way, the gun was not loaded at this time.

  

Finally, a serious face.  Hand guns really aren't a joking matter.

 

Doesn't he look tough!

  

He's a much better shot than I am.



Easter Weekend

We traveled to Marietta, Oklahoma for Easter weekend.  I can't believe how much stuff we took.  Just take a look at the back of our car. 

 

You would think we were going to be gone for a week, nope just two nights.    

Bottles, diapers (lots of diapers), wipes, formula, baby food, several changes of clothes for each kiddo for each day, jammies, blankets, toys, etc.  Then stuff for me and stuff for Trent.  We considered taking Bailey, but so glad we didn't because she and her stuff (toys and dog food) wouldn't fit in the car.  I'm pretty sure I over packed, but better to have too much then not enough. 

  

The Boys did pretty well in the car considering the 2 hour trip took us 3.5 hours with construction and we got stuck in a hail storm.  Luckily no hail damage to the car.  I'm so glad we have a big vehicle because I was able to crawl in the back and feed them during the ride. 

It was great to get away for the weekend and to spend time with family and friends.  It was a lot of work getting us all packed up, but well worth it. 

More posts to come on our weekend adventures.

Travel Tip:  Fill extra bottles with water for the car ride so if they get hungry or just need some comfort all you have to do is add powdered formula.  I only packed two bottles for the car ride down, but wished I would have packed extra, if for nothing else, just peace of mind. 

My handsome Boys on Easter Sunday. 
Brooks is on the left and Jackson on the right.

How To: Baby Food - Carrots, Applesauce and Green Beans

I've been eager to make baby food, but haven't had the time or ingredients when I did have the time.  Luckily, one day last week I came home to two super happy babies so I jumped at my chance to do a little cooking/experimenting and here is how it went down.

I started with fresh baby carrots. 

Steamed until fork tender.

 

Chopped

Added water to get desired consistency.

  

Finished product

 I repeated the same process for applesauce.

Cored and pealed two apples.

Steamed

Pureed

Next up was green beans; I didn't have fresh so I used frozen.

Microwaved for 6 minutes in the steamer bag.

Chopped

I later realized I should have used the blender on the green beans to get a smoother texture.

I poured the carrots, apples and green beans in ice trays to freeze.  This way I can thaw what I need each day or every couple of days.  There are all kinds of products on the market to streamline this process, but I wanted to try it first with what I had before spending $200 on the cooking gadget and individual storage containers.

All-in-all, it was relatively easy and didn't take that much time to make.  Cost wise, it's a lot cheaper to make fresh then to purchase pre-made baby food. 

Since I enjoyed making it so much, I think I will treat myself to one of these cook books.

The Boys chillin in the kitchen while I cooked.

Working the Vocal Cords

Jackson's new thing is to squeal.  Have a listen. 



I have a few more videos to post.  Hopefully, I'll get to them tomorrow.

Let's Go Thunder - Playoffs 2011

The Thunder made it to the Playoffs again! 

First round is against Denver.

This sign is hanging between the buildings Trent and I work in.
I love working downtown!

Yummy Yummy

According to Doctor V, it will take the Boys about 2 weeks to master the art of eating from a spoon, therefore we started the Boys on rice cereal so they'll have the hang of it by the time they get to the 6 month mark. Then they'll start on veggies and fruit.

Speaking of veggies and fruit, every time I flip through the William Sonoma catalogue the Beaba Baby Food Maker jumps out at me. It's calling my name. It says buy me, use me, I will make your life so much easier, then I think about all the free time I have (zilch) and realize it probably isn't that great of an idea.  Gerber Baby Food it is.

When I feed Jackson, he makes funny faces and pushes most of the cereal out of his mouth.  Brooks acts a little confused, but eats it anyways.  


Brooks

 

Jackson

I feed them in the kitchen sink sitting in their bathseat so I can just hose them off after the whole feeding expereince.  I need to start putting a bib on them so they can get used to it.  Matter of fact, I should probably wear one too, since some of it always ends up on me.  As you can tell from these pictures, they need more practice so more stays in their mouth and less on their face!