Home Sweet Home! by The Pioneer Woman
4 years ago
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Remind Me Who I Am
My new favorite song! What a message! Every single person must have a revelation of how God sees him. Satan tries to make us remember all the times we messed up and put condemnation on us. That's not how God sees us--even when we mess up big time! What image do you have of yourself today? When you look in the mirror, whose image are you seeing--the one satan conjures up or the one that knows God loves you no matter what you did or didn't do...?
On a side note, if you don't know much about Jason Gray, he's a chronic stutterer--except when he sings. I love that he hasn't let that interfere with his goals and dreams and walks in Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!" CAN'T is a bad word around our house anyway. "Mommy, I can't do...." Doug and I try to immediately ask our daughters as soon as those words come out of their little mouths, "What does Philippians 4 :13 say?" They say the verse. "Do you believe that?" They nod their heads. "Then let's rephrase that." They usually come up with something like, "Mommy, can you help me.....?"
Take 3 minutes and listen to this amazing song! :)
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Speech
(I know what you're thinking...so many posts! You once a week checkin' in people have some serious catching up to do! :) Remember, you're privileged to read a blog filled with exceptional education, gripping entertainment, AND delightful surprises! It about makes you want to walk around with your underwear handing out of your pants doesn't it?...I know.... Me too!)
Andrei's vocabulary has really taken off the last few weeks. He's now calling me "Momma." He calls Kennedi "Momma" too. She doesn't correct him which irks me a bit. I've been waiting for a long time for him to call me something besides "Daddy" and I don't want to share! He's learning his animals. He won't say the name of the animal, but he says their sounds. I've always found that to be so funny with babies. My girls would say the sounds the animals makes long before they named their names.
He loves to read. He always has. We tend to read the same books around here time and time and time again. I understand it is good for the little one's development of vocabulary. We read the same thing over and over until I can't stand it any more, and then we move on to something else. Right now we're on Good Night Moon. It was a fav of my girls, and Andrei likes it too. The girls loved looking for the little mouse when they got a bit older. I was concerned this winter about having the fireplace going with Andrei. Doug lit it once, told him it was hot, and we haven't had a problem with him going near it. For those of you not versed in Good Night Moon, it is a story about a little baby bunny who does not want to go to sleep and tells everything in his room good night. Every other page is a duplicate picture of his room. There is a fireplace in this picture with a roaring fire going. So, every other page Andrei points to it and say, "Hot! Hot!" Now he points to the Momma Bunny in the rocking chair and says, "Momma." He points to the oatmeal looking stuff and say, "Eat! Eat!"
Annsley had a gigantic vocabulary before she turned 2. HUGE! And she enunciated her words quite clearly. Andrei's isn't nearly as clear, but he's only been listening to English for a year now. However, compared to Kennedi, it's off the chart. She used about 5 words only until she was 2 1/2. I'm not kidding. He's WAY ahead of where she was. She didn't want to talk. I would try to get her to say a word. She'd just smile. I couldn't have bought a vowel if I had the money. I can remember being so frustrated with her. She didn't even try. When she was 15 months, we had her hearing checked to rule out that was the talking problem. Hearing was OK. It was her "wanna" that was in neutral. We had her tested at 3 for speech. Her poor daddy just knew that she was fine and wouldn't need services. I was thinking, "Are you serious??" Of course she qualified--like in the bottom 3% qualified. She W-A-A-A-Y qualified. But she's a talking machine now. Literally. She will talk your ear off. She has so much to say about everything. And to everyone. She knows not a stranger. Not a single one. She gets that from her father. Has to. It's not from me.
You know the teenagers who stayed on the phone for hours and hours? That wasn't me. I hated talking on the phone. I used the phone for a purpose. Got my information and hung up. I think I'm better now, but I am not one of these people who can talk to the same person every day. My life isn't that exciting. The closest I have ever come to having a daily phone conversation with the same person was when Annsley born and my sister was home with her son. That was just to keep my from going out of my flippin' mind back then. It was self preservation--not a social need. I remember when school started back that year, and I wasn't teaching for the first time in 14 years. I was sitting on the couch waiting for Annsley to wake up from her morning nap and watching Magnum PI reruns on tv and thinking, "This is what my life is going to be like from now on???!!!"
Now I wish I had a day like that. (sigh)
We also had our post placement #2 visit recently. It was such a blessing to talk to our social worker with respect to Andrei being a normal toddler. With the exception of a few things, you'd never know that he came from an institution. He's a blossoming little guy! We are so blessed!
Andrei's vocabulary has really taken off the last few weeks. He's now calling me "Momma." He calls Kennedi "Momma" too. She doesn't correct him which irks me a bit. I've been waiting for a long time for him to call me something besides "Daddy" and I don't want to share! He's learning his animals. He won't say the name of the animal, but he says their sounds. I've always found that to be so funny with babies. My girls would say the sounds the animals makes long before they named their names.
He loves to read. He always has. We tend to read the same books around here time and time and time again. I understand it is good for the little one's development of vocabulary. We read the same thing over and over until I can't stand it any more, and then we move on to something else. Right now we're on Good Night Moon. It was a fav of my girls, and Andrei likes it too. The girls loved looking for the little mouse when they got a bit older. I was concerned this winter about having the fireplace going with Andrei. Doug lit it once, told him it was hot, and we haven't had a problem with him going near it. For those of you not versed in Good Night Moon, it is a story about a little baby bunny who does not want to go to sleep and tells everything in his room good night. Every other page is a duplicate picture of his room. There is a fireplace in this picture with a roaring fire going. So, every other page Andrei points to it and say, "Hot! Hot!" Now he points to the Momma Bunny in the rocking chair and says, "Momma." He points to the oatmeal looking stuff and say, "Eat! Eat!"
Annsley had a gigantic vocabulary before she turned 2. HUGE! And she enunciated her words quite clearly. Andrei's isn't nearly as clear, but he's only been listening to English for a year now. However, compared to Kennedi, it's off the chart. She used about 5 words only until she was 2 1/2. I'm not kidding. He's WAY ahead of where she was. She didn't want to talk. I would try to get her to say a word. She'd just smile. I couldn't have bought a vowel if I had the money. I can remember being so frustrated with her. She didn't even try. When she was 15 months, we had her hearing checked to rule out that was the talking problem. Hearing was OK. It was her "wanna" that was in neutral. We had her tested at 3 for speech. Her poor daddy just knew that she was fine and wouldn't need services. I was thinking, "Are you serious??" Of course she qualified--like in the bottom 3% qualified. She W-A-A-A-Y qualified. But she's a talking machine now. Literally. She will talk your ear off. She has so much to say about everything. And to everyone. She knows not a stranger. Not a single one. She gets that from her father. Has to. It's not from me.
You know the teenagers who stayed on the phone for hours and hours? That wasn't me. I hated talking on the phone. I used the phone for a purpose. Got my information and hung up. I think I'm better now, but I am not one of these people who can talk to the same person every day. My life isn't that exciting. The closest I have ever come to having a daily phone conversation with the same person was when Annsley born and my sister was home with her son. That was just to keep my from going out of my flippin' mind back then. It was self preservation--not a social need. I remember when school started back that year, and I wasn't teaching for the first time in 14 years. I was sitting on the couch waiting for Annsley to wake up from her morning nap and watching Magnum PI reruns on tv and thinking, "This is what my life is going to be like from now on???!!!"
Now I wish I had a day like that. (sigh)
We also had our post placement #2 visit recently. It was such a blessing to talk to our social worker with respect to Andrei being a normal toddler. With the exception of a few things, you'd never know that he came from an institution. He's a blossoming little guy! We are so blessed!
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
10 Minute Din-Din
OK, so Rachel Ray has made a name sake for herself with her 30 minute meals. Some days, that's w-a-a-a--a-a-a-y too long. If you know me very well, I hate cooking, so if I have a post about cooking, you know it's beyond easy and good. I come from a long, long line of great cooks. I didn't develop that gene. I'm the culinary black sheep. I've made mashed potatoes three times in my life--and two of them my younger sister added all the ingredients; I just stirred and said, "Yes Ma'am." I've never ever fried a chicken. I buy the over priced already cut up and skinned chicken because it about grosses my out to "break" the leg apart from the thigh or wherever it is attached. I'm getting repulsed just thinking about it. Anyway.... this weekend I dusted off my 1982 recipe box from my sophomore home ec class and found this recipe. I hadn't made it in about 15 years. It's a 10 minute meal (well, plus however long it takes you to boil water...)
Pepperoni Alfredo
8 oz fettucini, uncooked
2 T. butter
1 C. half and half
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. black pepper
1/2-3/4 C. grated Parmesan cheese
3 1/2 oz. pepperoni slices cut in half (more if you like pepperoni)
Cook fettucini; keep warm. Melt butter in large skillet; stir in half and half, nutmeg, and pepper. Cook, stirring for 5 minutes untill mixture thickens slightly. Stir in cheese and cook over low heat until just melted. Immediately stir in pepperoni and fettucini. Toss to coat.
I doubled the recipe for our whole family. We didn't have any leftovers. I don't know how many this serves the normal people. My husband can eat his weight in pasta. I've never seen anything like it. I have never made enough that he gets full--EVER!
Big hit with all three of my children as well.
Pepperoni Alfredo
8 oz fettucini, uncooked
2 T. butter
1 C. half and half
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. black pepper
1/2-3/4 C. grated Parmesan cheese
3 1/2 oz. pepperoni slices cut in half (more if you like pepperoni)
Cook fettucini; keep warm. Melt butter in large skillet; stir in half and half, nutmeg, and pepper. Cook, stirring for 5 minutes untill mixture thickens slightly. Stir in cheese and cook over low heat until just melted. Immediately stir in pepperoni and fettucini. Toss to coat.
I doubled the recipe for our whole family. We didn't have any leftovers. I don't know how many this serves the normal people. My husband can eat his weight in pasta. I've never seen anything like it. I have never made enough that he gets full--EVER!
Big hit with all three of my children as well.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Playing Restaurant
Kennedi loves to play "Restaurant." She's the waitress/cook/owner of a restuarant, and you are her customer. Here's how "Restaurant" played out this morning:
Kennedi: (with her pencil, notebook pad, and a towel wrapped around her waist like a real waiter in a fancy restaurant wears) "Hello. I'm Jessie. What would you like to eat?"
Me: "I would like a bean burrito."
Kennedi: (She scrunches up her face and I can tell she's going through her mind the play food she has.)"OK, but do you care if it looks like a hamburger?
Me: "That's a funny looking burrito!"
Kennedi: (She shrugs) "That's all we have." (Take it or leave it Lady!)
Me: "All right."
Kennedi: (pointing to Andrei) "What does he want?"
Me: "I'll order a grilled cheese sandwich for him."
Kennedi: "Uhmmmm....we're out of cheese. How about taco soup?"
Me: "What do you put in your taco soup?"
Kennedi: "Corn. We also have chicken noodle soup. (Pressing in) Does he want taco soup?"
Me: "I think it would be too spicy for him. What else do you have?"
Kennedi: "Well, how about chicken nuggets?"
Me: "That would be great."
Kennedi: "How many? He can have two or four." (Obviously I won't be ordering seconds around here..)
Me: "Two would be great."
Kennedi: "What would he like to drink?"
Me: "Milk, but he needs a lid. Do you have a straw?"
Kennedi: "How old is he?" (What does that have to do with the price of eggs in China???)
Me: "He's one."
Kennedi: "Well, he looks like he's a zero. I'll bring him a bottle with milk in it. (Because Jessie the waitress knows better than Momma does...) What do you want?"
Me: "I'll have water."
Kenndi: "Uhmmmm...we're out of water. How about lemonade?"
Me: (Thinking, that's got to be some interesting lemonade) "No, I think it will have too much sugar."
Kennedi: (pinching her index and thumb together) "Well, I put just a little in it. That's all. Do you want it?"
Me: "OK."
Kennedi: "What do you want for diz-hert?"
Me: " How about a cherry pie?"
Kennedi: (now volunteering the sugar info) "OK. I put just a leeetle bit of sugar in it. (She's obviously spent a bit too much time reading Skippy Jon Jones.) Not very much. Is that OK?
Me: "OK."
Kennedi: Does Andrei want some pie?"
Me: "No thank you."
Kennedi: "OK, I'll be right back."
She brings the doll bottle and my drink back first. Then she heads off to the play kitchen to cook up her concoctions and usually brings back some odd looking dishes. Today she drops my "burrito" on the floor as she's cooking it.
ME: "You dropped it on the floor. That's kinda nasty don't you think? The kitchen floor is awfully dirty."
Kennedi: (obviously not as concerned as I am) "Well, I can rinse it off with water. Would that be OK?" And without me answering she rinses it off in her play sink.
When my food (and I say that lightly) was delivered, I said, "Ooooh. This is the best burrito I've ever had. How did you make it?"
Kennedi: "Well, (have you noticed there is a lot of "wells"??) I have a recipe. I used a leeetle bit of sugar, butter, and brown sugar. I fry it and then I toss it in the air. And that's how I make it."
Annsley over hears this and announces a bit too loudly, "That's not a recipe Mom. You don't make anything out of just sugar and butter."
Kennedi has learned not to be phased by her older sister's realism. She shrugs and proudly brings me the now spic and span freshly dampened with play water hamburger bun looking burrito. Once I got a head of lettuce for my chicken noodle soup. I asked her about the lettuce, and she said, "It's all we had." In other words, get over it. I was charged $2 for today's meal. Pretty cheap for lunch and darn cheap for making some memories with my precious daughter!
Kennedi: (with her pencil, notebook pad, and a towel wrapped around her waist like a real waiter in a fancy restaurant wears) "Hello. I'm Jessie. What would you like to eat?"
Me: "I would like a bean burrito."
Kennedi: (She scrunches up her face and I can tell she's going through her mind the play food she has.)"OK, but do you care if it looks like a hamburger?
Me: "That's a funny looking burrito!"
Kennedi: (She shrugs) "That's all we have." (Take it or leave it Lady!)
Me: "All right."
Kennedi: (pointing to Andrei) "What does he want?"
Me: "I'll order a grilled cheese sandwich for him."
Kennedi: "Uhmmmm....we're out of cheese. How about taco soup?"
Me: "What do you put in your taco soup?"
Kennedi: "Corn. We also have chicken noodle soup. (Pressing in) Does he want taco soup?"
Me: "I think it would be too spicy for him. What else do you have?"
Kennedi: "Well, how about chicken nuggets?"
Me: "That would be great."
Kennedi: "How many? He can have two or four." (Obviously I won't be ordering seconds around here..)
Me: "Two would be great."
Kennedi: "What would he like to drink?"
Me: "Milk, but he needs a lid. Do you have a straw?"
Kennedi: "How old is he?" (What does that have to do with the price of eggs in China???)
Me: "He's one."
Kennedi: "Well, he looks like he's a zero. I'll bring him a bottle with milk in it. (Because Jessie the waitress knows better than Momma does...) What do you want?"
Me: "I'll have water."
Kenndi: "Uhmmmm...we're out of water. How about lemonade?"
Me: (Thinking, that's got to be some interesting lemonade) "No, I think it will have too much sugar."
Kennedi: (pinching her index and thumb together) "Well, I put just a little in it. That's all. Do you want it?"
Me: "OK."
Kennedi: "What do you want for diz-hert?"
Me: " How about a cherry pie?"
Kennedi: (now volunteering the sugar info) "OK. I put just a leeetle bit of sugar in it. (She's obviously spent a bit too much time reading Skippy Jon Jones.) Not very much. Is that OK?
Me: "OK."
Kennedi: Does Andrei want some pie?"
Me: "No thank you."
Kennedi: "OK, I'll be right back."
She brings the doll bottle and my drink back first. Then she heads off to the play kitchen to cook up her concoctions and usually brings back some odd looking dishes. Today she drops my "burrito" on the floor as she's cooking it.
ME: "You dropped it on the floor. That's kinda nasty don't you think? The kitchen floor is awfully dirty."
Kennedi: (obviously not as concerned as I am) "Well, I can rinse it off with water. Would that be OK?" And without me answering she rinses it off in her play sink.
When my food (and I say that lightly) was delivered, I said, "Ooooh. This is the best burrito I've ever had. How did you make it?"
Kennedi: "Well, (have you noticed there is a lot of "wells"??) I have a recipe. I used a leeetle bit of sugar, butter, and brown sugar. I fry it and then I toss it in the air. And that's how I make it."
Annsley over hears this and announces a bit too loudly, "That's not a recipe Mom. You don't make anything out of just sugar and butter."
Kennedi has learned not to be phased by her older sister's realism. She shrugs and proudly brings me the now spic and span freshly dampened with play water hamburger bun looking burrito. Once I got a head of lettuce for my chicken noodle soup. I asked her about the lettuce, and she said, "It's all we had." In other words, get over it. I was charged $2 for today's meal. Pretty cheap for lunch and darn cheap for making some memories with my precious daughter!
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Courageous Movie Trailer
I mentioned a few posts back that Doug and I saw the movie Courageous over Christmas break. If you haven't heard of it or seen the previews, take 2 minutes and watch the trailer. (I have not been given nor promised any compensation for my promotion of this must see movie!! :)
Click here! to watch the trailer.
Click here! to watch the trailer.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Watch Out World...I'm Reading Now!
Annsley has been reading for quite a while now--seriously reading like books and everything!! (to borrow from my daughter's vocabulary), but it seems that she has recently realized that her reading skills serve her well outside a "school" setting. She is starting to take notice of billboards, a list of ingredients, signs, etc. She is truly starting to put her reading skills to work everywhere. The other day she and her father were in the car when she saw a sign that read "Free Kittens."
"Hey Daddy, those kittens are free. They don't cost anything. Can we get one?"
Or yesterday at the table. I am reading this book:
She looks at the title and says, "Mom, what's this book?" I said to her, "Read the title." She reads the title and says, "Why are you reading this book? Is it to get help with Kennedi???"
Uhmmm....yes Dear...and maybe you too! On a side note, Kevin Leman is a hilarious Christian speaker and writer/psychologist. Check out his materials when you have a chance.
"Hey Daddy, those kittens are free. They don't cost anything. Can we get one?"
Or yesterday at the table. I am reading this book:
She looks at the title and says, "Mom, what's this book?" I said to her, "Read the title." She reads the title and says, "Why are you reading this book? Is it to get help with Kennedi???"
Uhmmm....yes Dear...and maybe you too! On a side note, Kevin Leman is a hilarious Christian speaker and writer/psychologist. Check out his materials when you have a chance.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
I baked; I watched
Christmas has come and gone. New Years has come and gone. I'm behind on my blogging--I had really thought when I started this family blog that ideas daily would be pulsing through my blood just screaming to be released.
It hasn't happened.
But then, you already know that.
On Christmas morning I made cinnamon rolls. Not the kind from a can People! Homemade. And DEEEE-LISH! They were remarkably easy. I made the dough the night before, and I rolled them out Christmas morning, and we still managed to get to church on time! Try them one of these days! I used Pioneer Woman's recipe and halved it. I didn't need 720 rolls.
Doug and I ventured out to the movie theater over Christmas break as well. Yes, the movie theater--where they sell popcorn for $7 and water for a pint of your blood. I think that is the third time I've been in a theater since the children came. When childless, it was a weekly venture out for us. Now, it comes at a premium. Kinda like me deciding to clean out my refrigerator. We went to the $2 show because there wasn't anything at the nice theater I really wanted to see for $8 and ticket. We saw Courageous. Every father needs to sit down and watch this movie!!! When I told Doug that's what I wanted to see, he looked at me and said, "Well, I've heard it's good, but kinda sad. Are you sure you want to see it?" I could tell he was trying to nudge me into seeing that Zoo movie that came out. I didn't want to see the Zoo movie because I knew once we got to the theater, I'd end up choosing the Sherlock Holmes movie instead. You have to be in a certain mood for that kind of action. I wasn't. So Courageous it was. WARNING: BRING A CASE OF KLEENEX. A box won't cut it. Naturally sappy people will need to come dressed in a wet suit. Doug needed a mop before it was all over. It was an absolutely fabulous movie. But sad doesn't even begin to describe it. It started about 1/3 of the way through and never stopped. Javier provided the much needed comic relief. The part where he plays the gang leader of the Snake Kings is worth the entire movie!
The girls had their children's Christmas program at church a few weeks ago. It was called Camelot. It was pretty cute. The junior high and high school students do the play/speaking parts, but the elementary kids did the singing. Annsley wore a camel's head. She wasn't too happy about it not staying on her head. They asked Kennedi to be a sheep, but she said, "No way." Here's a short 2 minute clip of one of the songs. Kennedi made a name for herself during the program. I had so many people come up to me and say, "I couldn't even watch my own child I was so busy watching Kennedi." Vern, one of the older men who taught her in the preschool class last year said to me, "I hope I'm still alive when she is 16." You can't see Annsley in the video, but you can see the tip of the camel's nose sticking up out of the crowd behind Kennedi. Kennedi is on the front row with the white bow. She was like this during the ENTIRE program. I apologize in advance for the pitiful video. It was pretty hard trying to video, laugh, and hold the camera still. Enjoy!
It hasn't happened.
But then, you already know that.
On Christmas morning I made cinnamon rolls. Not the kind from a can People! Homemade. And DEEEE-LISH! They were remarkably easy. I made the dough the night before, and I rolled them out Christmas morning, and we still managed to get to church on time! Try them one of these days! I used Pioneer Woman's recipe and halved it. I didn't need 720 rolls.
Doug and I ventured out to the movie theater over Christmas break as well. Yes, the movie theater--where they sell popcorn for $7 and water for a pint of your blood. I think that is the third time I've been in a theater since the children came. When childless, it was a weekly venture out for us. Now, it comes at a premium. Kinda like me deciding to clean out my refrigerator. We went to the $2 show because there wasn't anything at the nice theater I really wanted to see for $8 and ticket. We saw Courageous. Every father needs to sit down and watch this movie!!! When I told Doug that's what I wanted to see, he looked at me and said, "Well, I've heard it's good, but kinda sad. Are you sure you want to see it?" I could tell he was trying to nudge me into seeing that Zoo movie that came out. I didn't want to see the Zoo movie because I knew once we got to the theater, I'd end up choosing the Sherlock Holmes movie instead. You have to be in a certain mood for that kind of action. I wasn't. So Courageous it was. WARNING: BRING A CASE OF KLEENEX. A box won't cut it. Naturally sappy people will need to come dressed in a wet suit. Doug needed a mop before it was all over. It was an absolutely fabulous movie. But sad doesn't even begin to describe it. It started about 1/3 of the way through and never stopped. Javier provided the much needed comic relief. The part where he plays the gang leader of the Snake Kings is worth the entire movie!
The girls had their children's Christmas program at church a few weeks ago. It was called Camelot. It was pretty cute. The junior high and high school students do the play/speaking parts, but the elementary kids did the singing. Annsley wore a camel's head. She wasn't too happy about it not staying on her head. They asked Kennedi to be a sheep, but she said, "No way." Here's a short 2 minute clip of one of the songs. Kennedi made a name for herself during the program. I had so many people come up to me and say, "I couldn't even watch my own child I was so busy watching Kennedi." Vern, one of the older men who taught her in the preschool class last year said to me, "I hope I'm still alive when she is 16." You can't see Annsley in the video, but you can see the tip of the camel's nose sticking up out of the crowd behind Kennedi. Kennedi is on the front row with the white bow. She was like this during the ENTIRE program. I apologize in advance for the pitiful video. It was pretty hard trying to video, laugh, and hold the camera still. Enjoy!
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