Home Sweet Home

As we have been cooped up for the last day, it has made me think about home. Its funny how the word home can mean so many different things to so many different people. There are just a handful of people that consider the same house, home, yet there are a million homes in the world. Isn't it funny that I can love my house and feel so comfortable, but no matter how hard I try, how comfortable I make my house to guests, its still not home to them. You can visit some of the nastiest houses and feel like your skin is going to crawl just being there, yet that is what someone calls home. You can feel more comfortable in some houses more so than others, i.e. parents houses, or close friends, but there is still something different.
I know they say, "home is where the heart is", but sometimes it also means, its where YOUR bed is, YOUR couch is, YOUR TV is, that makes us feel so comfortable. So although I hate being cooped up, there's no where else I would rather be.

"Sleed" Boarding

Well, we FINALLY got our snow. They had called for 6"-12" for today but it didn't start until around 5am this morning, it was suppose to start last night. Anyway, I would say we are sitting at 7"-8" so far. Going to measure it tomorrow, after the snow is finished falling. Ryan couldn't work again today, due to the weather, so he took full advantage of the snow. Adriana didn't want to go out and play, but that didn't stop Ryan. He got out his sled and had a grand ol' time. Here are some videos of him trying to Snow Board on his sled. He actually did pretty good. Look out 2014 Winter Olympics!

Front Porch Gift

I've been wanting to write for a few days. I have a couple of blogs in my head, but don't ever seem to find the time to write about what I'm thinking. The big news of the day is a winter storm that is suppose to be coming tonight into tomorrow. We may be snowed in again, so hang around, for more stories about that.
I've been wanting to write about a little gift that a stray neighborhood cat has left at the foot of the stairs going up to our front door. He has actually brought us 2 gifts in a couple days span. I guess the cat really likes us, to bring us such fine gifts. One is a mangled bird and the other one, my favorite, a dead mouse. Some of you may not know the ultimate fear I have of mice. I am so scared of the little varmints. I know, it's so silly to be so scared of a little mouse, which I'm 1000 times larger than, and I know they are more scared of me than I am of them (I doubt that) and I know they can't hurt me (except from the diseases they like to carry), I know all these things, let me tell you, it DOESN'T help!
I have to share the story about my apartment in Nashville. I was fresh out of college (by 2 days) and had planned on moving to Nashville, in hope of a career in my field of study. I had gotten a cute little apartment, that I was SO proud of. I felt like Mary Tyler Moore, I was going to make it on my own. The whole experience made me grow up. I had never been fully on my own before, and with friends and family 5-8 hours away, I didn't have a choice. Well, one night after work, I got home into my apartment. It was almost 11pm and I had come in and started reading my mail, when I heard something in the kitchen. I froze, I was scared someone was in there. I didn't know what to do, so I did the only logical thing...I took off my shoe, ready to attack someone or something with force. I went around the corner and saw nothing. I was standing there dumbfounded, knowing that I had heard SOMETHING. As I stood there, I all of a sudden see the empty pizza box that was on my counter, start to move. I about flipped out! I thought it was a big roach or something (which wouldn't have bothered me), then all of a sudden a mouse shot out of the box and ran behind my refrigerator. I wouldn't have been at all surprised if I would have wet myself, right then and there. (The shear thought about the mice are making me shiver, while I'm writing this!) Anyway, I didn't know what I should do. So I took my parents up on their offer, they had told me my whole life. "if you ever need ANYTHING, don't hesitate to call". This is probably not what they had in mind, but I didn't know what else to do. I knew they would be in bed and I didn't want to alarm them, so I tried to stay cool and collected. As soon as my dad answered the phone, I saw the mouse run across the floor and I screamed. Now, knowing my parents, I knew they would be thinking something awful had happened to me, like a car wreck or something. After my scream, I tried to calmly tell my dad, that I was okay. I told him about the mouse and asked what I should do. The only thing close by that open that late was Walgreens. I went there, all the while on the phone with my dad, and got some mouse traps. Let me tell you, if I could have afforded, I would have stayed in hotel that night. I got home, barricaded myself in my room, waited till morning. I called Ryan to come and look for the mice. I answered the door in t-shirt, shorts, hiking boots and a broom in my hand. It wasn't a pretty site. Of course, he couldn't find it, so I was stuck there with this new roommate that scared me to death. Overtime, my apartment and the girls apartment next to mine got so infested with mice, they ended up moving her to a different unit and I just found a whole new apartment building several miles away.
I hate mice. I hate how they make me feel. I love our house, but I can tell you, if I ever see a mouse in here, I will no longer like my house. So this all brings me to my dead friend on the sidewalk. It makes me feel awful and almost sick feeling that there is a mouse, dead or alive, that close to my house.

Pictures of Paxton

I know I have said several times, that I am bound and determined to get as many pictures of Paxton as Adriana has, so here are some more of Paxton.

On the verge of smiling, which he does a lot

when talked to.

(Don't mind the spots on the couch. I wouldn't

recommend Microfiber as a fabric with children,

it shows every little thing. Good thing I'm married

to someone who repairs/cleans fabric for a living.)

There's the smile, with those soft, chubby cheeks.

This was taken tonight. I was holding Paxton

and Zoe felt the need to snuggle up with us.

I'm surprised Paxton can still breath with her laying

on him. They both weigh 13 pounds.

A Day at Home

Today my plans fell through. I had a play date set up with a friend of mine. Adriana loves playing with her girls, so we were both looking forward to getting out of the house and seeing them again, but they called and cancelled last night. I thought about going and doing something today, but just couldn't think of anything. I took Adriana to a MOPS play date yesterday, so we at least got to go and do something fun then. I just HATE being cooped up at home all day. I don't know why, I just do. I decided just to deal with it and stay in and clean. There is NEVER a shortage of things to do around the house, so that's what I did.

I got some cleaning done, although never got to finish any one project. I have a mound of laundry that needs to be folded sitting on the couch, only half of my dusting done, need to clean the bathrooms and so on. Anyway, we have had fun just staying in today. Here are some pictures of all of my children....

Paxton and Zoe taking a nap, I wish I could

join them!

I had laid Paxton in on my bed, since I was washing

his bed sheets, and I went in to check on him and

found Zoe cuddling with him. I thought it was

so sweet.

Adriana busting out the Play-Doh.

Making "Basegetti" (Spaghetti)

Eating her Basegetti.

Here are some Random Shots I have gotten over the last few days...


Paxton, Not a happy camper. I think this was

after a bath. The boy HATES baths!


Showing off how strong he is.


Me and Paxton playing around with our new web cam....

The winning shot

Alright, I better stop goofing around. I need to go mail off our Christmas gifts to Ryan's family. Yeah, I know Christmas was almost a month ago, I'm a slacker, but I'm bound and determined to get it in the mail today.

Have a good weekend!

2 months old

65+ mid-night feedings, couple hundred diapers, 15+ cans of formula, 3 trips to the hospital (birth, ER, surgery), countless loads of laundry, spending $2000.00 + on hospital bills....
having a sweet, wonderful baby boy.....PRICELESS!

Happy 2 month Birthday Paxton!

Home At Last

Today has been a LONG day! We are going on being up for 18 hours and we just now put Adriana to bed, so we have to wait for her to fall asleep (could take at least an hour). Everything went so good today. I'm so glad to have it over with and look forward to him being completely healed. We got to the hospital about 5:30am and he was out of surgery a little before 9am, we left the hospital about 11am. He is a little groggy still and sore, but has been such a big boy through the whole thing. Thanks again to everyone for their thoughts and prayers through the whole process.

Here are some pictures from today's adventure.

Here's our little man, with his gown on, before surgery.

Here he is afterwards, really sleepy.

His little hand with the IV in it.

Mama holding her baby while he rested.

In Surgery

Well its 7:25am and they took Paxton back to surgery about 15 minutes ago. We are very thankful that he slept through his 3am feeding, but woke up at 4am wanting some food. I gave him some water, which he was fine with, he just wanted more. He did really good this morning considering he is tired and hungry.
I know this surgery is minor but its still something that pulls on your heartstrings as a parent. Stupid shots are bad enough and something you hate to do to your child, but when your baby, no matter what age, is going through something that would inflict pain, it tears you apart. I can't imagine how parents deal with kids that have cancer or some other life threatening disease. To see your helpless little kid going through something dramatic is just more than a parent can take. I am thankful for healthy kids and thankful that God is always with us, holding us as we go through the good times and the bad times that life brings our way.
Thank you all for your prayers. I will try to update either today or tomorrow.

Paxton's Surgery

I met with the surgeon today to get a date set up for his hernia surgery. Well, be careful for what you wish for. He has surgery tomorrow morning, Wed. Jan 20. We have to be at the hospital by 5:30am. Don't know all the details right now. I have to go to Pre-Admissions today and get all the details. The surgery is set for around 7:30am and should take about an hour. We can take our new computer with us and update as we know. Please pray for us as we go through the next 24 hours. One of the hardest parts is going to be not being able to feed him when he wakes for his 3am feeding. Pray that he sleeps through that feeding.
We'll keep you posted.

Feeling Rushed

Sorry I have completely slacked off on my blogging duties lately. I am amazed with how much busier life is with 2 kids. I know I should be use to it by now, Paxton is 8 weeks old, but man, its hard to get anything done (except laundry, dishes, cleaning and paying bills, somehow all those things find time in my life). I feel so rushed doing EVERYTHING. I don't feel like I can kick back and relax, ever. Someone or something is always fighting for my attention, so anything fun that I want to do, I don't do because I feel guilty, the blog being one of those things. I absolutely HATE the feeling of being rushed. I feel like I have a small amount of time to do anything. Dishes, shopping, taking naps, blogging or facebook, getting ready or even going to the bathroom, is never done when I want or at a leisurely pace. I feel like I'm just chasing my tail. I know, there are many of you out there with 2 or more kids, so I'm sure your thinking, "suck it up, Lori and deal with it", I'm trying, I'm just ready for life to slow down.
On a more happier note, life has been good around here. It dawned on me the other day, that I need to be getting some plans together for Adriana's birthday party next month. I think we are going to have it at the club house where my parents live and have games and crafts for the kids. We are having a "Toy Story" themed party. Adriana wanted that over Cinderella, so I'm looking forward to decorating for that.
Paxton is growing like a weed. I took him today to get his 2 month shots and hated it. He cried, but not too long at all, which I am thankful for. He is weighing in at 13lbs 7oz, so he's doing good. He's still getting up once a night to eat, but hopefully in the next few weeks, he'll start sleeping through the night. He slept through the night 1 time, it was enough to get our hopes up, but obviously short lived.
Ryan is doing good. He's back to work and working hard. Last week was his first full week back, due to the holidays and bad weather, he hadn't worked a full week in 3 weeks. It was nice to have him at home, just not good on the wallet, but God always takes care of us.
We have gotten a couple of new toys. I got a new phone (which was free) and I'm loving it. Nothing fancy, but it has a full keyboard for texting, which is so nice. (FYI, I'm feeling rushed right now, because Paxton is waking up). Also, we got a new net book for our upstairs. A net book is a small laptop and we have WiFi in our house now, so we got one for upstairs to check mail, etc.
Well, I have a little one hungry and mad, so I better go. Bye for now....

Hang On...

I'm still here but you can see why I haven't been able to update, hopefully soon. I'm sitting here holding my little man and typing with one hand which I hate doing, so I'm going to go. Just hang in there with me, I hope to update soon.

Lemon Chicken and Spinach Pasta

I have come across a great new recipe that I would like to share. Its easy, healthy and great to make for company. I have made it a few times and everyone I've made it for really likes it.

Ingredients:

• 12oz Penne or Bow Tie pasta (I use the bow tie)
• 2 cups of cooked chicken or turkey
• 2-3 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 lbs spinach-stems removed
• 4 garlic cloves-cut up
• 6 scallions
• 1/2 lemon, thinly sliced
• 1 can of chicken broth
• 2-3 Tablespoons of butter
• 1 Tablespoon of lemon zest
• Romano or Parmesan Cheese to garnish
• 1 cup of mushrooms (if desired)

All my ingredients, I'm ready to go!

Precook pasta in salted water, drain and spray with Pam or stir in a little olive oil.

In large skillet heat the olive oil with the garlic, scallions, and lemon slices. Stir in the precooked meat of your choice. After all ingredients are heated thoroughly, bring in the chicken broth and cook until it is evaporated. (there will be some juice left) Remove the lemon slices. Add the butter and spinach until wilted. Lastly add as much pasta to your dish as you desire and gently stir.

My scallions, lemons, garlic, lemon zest, and

in the shot glass is my olive oil, not my whisky!

My chicken after being cooked, being cut up.

When I add the spinach.

After the spinach cooks down, just need to add

the pasta.

And Done!

Complete the creation by sprinkling the lemon zest across the top of the dish along with Romano or Parmesan cheese. (I've never used the cheese or mushrooms, so don't know what flavor that brings to it). Serves 4-6 people. Enjoy!

I like this recipe because it uses very common ingredients, which I love to cook recipes that are "down to earth" when it comes to the ingredients. Some advice. I get chicken tenders and season them with salt and pepper and cook for about 20 minutes. By the time you get the garlic, lemon and scallions cut up, and in the pan, the chicken is done and ready to be cut up and added to the mixture. Also, I don't use a pound of spinach, that seems like a lot. I use about 2 cups or so. It takes a little time taking off the stems, so pretty much when I get tired of doing that, I just put in whatever I have. Also, don't forget to zest your lemon before you cut it up. Its a lot easier to do, when your lemon is whole and not in little pieces. :)

I hope you try this dish. Its a light and healthy meal with lots of flavor. Let me know what you think!

A side note. Adriana loves to walk around and take pictures with our camera. While I had the camera in the kitchen for this meal, she grabbed it and took a picture of Paxton. I thought it was cute. From her point of view this is all she can see. Look at the rolls on his legs. I love it!

Bedtime Nightmare

For some reason, ever since we have brought Paxton home, Adriana has been staying up until at least 10:30pm and a lot of times its well past 11pm, until she goes to sleep. I don't know what her deal is. She has always gone to bed so good and normally asleep at 9:30pm or so. This new phase is wearing me out! If its not Paxton keeping me up, its her. Its gotten where I will just go to bed with her still being up in her room. I don't like to go to bed with my kids awake, but I'm so pooped by the end of the day, I can't help it. I'm trying to adjust nap time to see if that will help her go to sleep earlier. I know what you may be thinking, just cut out her nap, not going to happen, not right now at least. I need that break and if the stars are in align, and they both are asleep, I can get a nap in during that time. She still needs a nap too. She is a bear if she doesn't get a little rest in. Lets hope this new night owl phase will pass. SOON!

Snowed In

Well we finally got snow! We didn't even know it was coming, and next thing you know, we had white stuff floating in the air. It started on Saturday night and snowed pretty much all night. We got out and braved the weather to go to church, it was slick. Ryan wanted to stay home, but I was needing to get out of the house. I'm have a bad case of cabin fever. Anyway, on the way to church we saw a car in the ditch, with the driver still in it and then a big Suburban fishtailed right in front of us and about hit a concrete barrier. Okay, so maybe Ryan was right, maybe we didn't need to get out and go to church, but we did and we made it home okay. If you know where we live, it is super hilly. There isn't a way to our house that isn't going down a huge hill or going up one, or both. I was nervous about getting up the huge hill to our house, but we did pretty good. We couldn't get up our driveway, but that was no big deal. Ryan later went out and shoveled it and got the van inside.

Ryan was in hog heaven with all the snow. I think we got around 4 inches or so. It is bitterly cold out there and its not suppose to warm up at all. In fact, they are calling for the high on Friday to be only 5 degrees (that's not even the windchill). I think on Thursday night its suppose to be -10 degrees. Its an Arctic blast for sure.

Adriana and Ryan went outside today to play, but it was so cold, that Adriana asked to come in because she was cold. They tried to build a snowman, but had no luck. The snow is too light and fluffy. They went sledding yesterday and had fun. Here are pictures from our winter wonderland.

The trees behind our house.

Our backyard. You can tell by the snow on the

banister, as to how deep it is.

Adriana getting bundled up. She

put her overalls by herself and was

so proud.

Okay! She thinks she's all ready.

Do you think she might get a little

chilled without a shirt on?

A little side note: I can't leave out my little man. He didn't get to go outside, so me and him snuggled on the couch and sang songs. He is starting to coo and smile more and more. I tried my hardest to get a picture of him smiling, but as we all know, kids want to be rebellious, even at a young age. Here's a shot of him. Not the best angle, but you can still see how he's changing more and more everyday.

Its a New Year!

Hello 2010, what will you bring to us this year? Will you treat us good, or wish we would have never seen you?
With a new year, comes new resolutions. Its a fresh start for our lives. Its like when you move into a new place or get a new car, you vow that you will take care of it and keep it clean. You and might, for a while, but as time goes on, life happens and things start piling up and getting messy again. Maybe not as bad as it use to, but not as clean as you wanted to keep it. If your like me, you get down on yourself for not keeping it as you had told yourself you were going to do.
That's what a new year is. A new beginning, of sorts for our lives. Maybe you resolve to lose weight, learn how to cook, catch up on your scrapbooking, stay better connected to long distance friends, keep up on chores around the house or little things like learning how to operate a DVD player (you know who you are, mom and dad!). Whatever is on your list this year, whatever great expectations you may have, this is the one I would say put at the top of your list. Resolve to Start Fresh Each day.
If we tell ourselves we are going to eat better, and we start out good, then find ourselves eating junk food a lot. Start fresh the next day. I think, for me, if I fail at a goal I have set for myself, then I pretty much give up on achieving it. If I keep the mind set that tomorrow is a fresh day, a fresh start to my goals, then I can go one day at a time.
No matter your goal for 2010, how big or small, keep in mind your will and determination to get it done. If you mess up or slack off, start new the next day, and stay the course.
Good luck to all who have set goals for the next year. We all will need it, as life will happen and things might get tough. Hang in there!