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Better late than never…

March 31, 2011 in Brittany, Homeschooling, Justice by Petra | 6 comments

I just got home from dropping Brittany and Justice off at the local Christian high school (and by “just”, I mean “20 minutes ago”).  The state of North Carolina requires that all homeschoolers take annual tests, and one of the few choices is the Stanford Achievement Tests.  Our neighbors work at the Christian school – where they happen to take the SAT’s, so they helped us get the kids in for testing this year.  I have all sorts of questions like “why is it required to take these tests each year?” and “what could possibly be so special about the tests that they cost $100 per student to take them?”, but that’s not the point of this post. 

I set three alarms for this morning.  There were two other people in my room with me.  My alarm always goes off and it’s always loud, even if the volume is turned down.  This morning, I heard none of them, and neither did the two kids in my room with me.  Granted, I was awake until after 2:30 this morning, but still – I should have heard the alarms.  The only thing I heard was Justice yelling, “MOM! IT’S 7:53!!!”  Yes, we were supposed to BE there by 7:50.  *sigh*

I jumped out of bed, yelled to Justice to wake up Brittany and Jarvis (Jarvis was staying with the little kids while I took the older two to the school – Jarvis and Darby will join them for three more days of testing next week), and I went to call the school.  I couldn’t get in touch with the lady I had been dealing with when I registered the kids for testing, so I called my neighbor.  She, thankfully, answered her cell phone, and she was able to ask if we could even still come – they said come on.  So we threw clothes on and ran out the door with no breakfast (don’t the schools always emphasize eating a good breakfast on test day?). 

We got there at 8:10 and finally found the church office (my sweet neighbor had told me where it was, but alas, my brain wasn’t even turned on yet after being awake for only 17 minutes by this point). 

As we walked in, I looked at Brittany and realized she had grabbed some fitted skinny jeans and a t-shirt with a monkey band on them (not the band, The Monkees, from the days of yore, but a Paul Frank monkey band), but had a hoodie zipped up over the shirt, so at least there was that.  I’m pretty sure she wasn’t anywhere close to the school’s dress code for girls.  Justice had asked the neighbor what he should wear yesterday – he said the conversation went like this:

Justice – “what should I wear tomorrow?”
Neighbor – “just wear a nice shirt and some khakis” (note: the school kids wear uniforms of khaki pants and polos – plaid skirts for the girls)
Justice – “I don’t have any khakis”
Neighbor – “how do you not have khakis?!”
Justice – “I don’t like them”
Neighbor – “well, what kind of pants do you have?”
Justice – “um, jeans?”
Neighbor – “what else?”
Justice – “uhhh, that’s it?”
Neighbor – “ok, well, just wear your nicest jeans then”

The relay of this conversation tells me that Brittany’s outift was probably inappropriate for her environment today.  Oh well.  At least her hair isn’t pink anymore!  :)

the month of March

March 28, 2011 in Animals, Brittany, Children, Darby, Jacob, Jarvis, Justice, Lists, Paige, Pregnancy, sleep problems by Petra | 4 comments

I am aware that I haven’t blogged in over a month. I haven’t felt like it. Sue me. Or don’t. I don’t really care. :) To make up for it, this post is going to cover all the happenings of March. If you are my friend on Facebook, much of this will be a repeat, but as you know – part of the reason I blog is for the online-journal aspect of it. I am actually referencing Facebook (along with my calendar) to remind me of what actually did happen this month. :)
 
I will also note, before I get started on my review, that I have been incredibly aware of God’s incredible grace this month.  He is so amazing, and He loves us no matter how much we might fail.  I am just in awe of His goodness, His strength, His mercy, and as said already, His grace.  Awesome!

March:
1: Took Darby to gymnastics and Jarvis to soccer. Hung out on Facebook a lot.
2: Who knows? Took the kids to church in the evening.
3: Had an OB appointment. Everything looked good, until she went to listen for the baby’s heartbeat. Ended up getting an ultrasound, only to find out that little baby Mila had passed away. Sad day. I was 13 weeks, 2 days along, but she had not been alive for a few weeks. The reason my belly was growing and I was still feeling so many pregnancy symptoms is because my uterus and placenta were still thriving.
4: Brittany and I headed to the hospital at 10:30 for my D&C. I was really nervous, having never had surgery on anything before except getting my wisdom teeth cut out. All went well, though, and it was quick and smooth. Over the next few days, friends from church brought meals to us (so nice!). Marci drove up from Atlanta to help out. So good to see her!
5: Stayed drugged up and slept a lot! Karyn and Jess brought over tonight’s meal and stayed and hung out for a while. Marci took the kids out eating, shopping, and to see a movie. They LOVED having her here.  They bought green hats and wigs and came into my room with flowers – to make me laugh.  I was groggy and half-asleep and had no idea what was going on.  It was hilarious.  :)

Jacob in his funny hair and hat :)

Britta and Darby :)

Britta, Marci, and Darby :)

6: Marci took all six kiddos to church, then to eat and grocery shopping.  I slept so much in a very quiet house – it was nice!  Marci headed back to Georgia.  (soccer game was rained out today).
7: Still recovering. Out of bed today and feeling a lot better.  Talked to Andy on the phone a lot.  Had other things to deal with as well, but not blog fodder (sorry).  :-D
8: Took Darby to gymnastics.  Did lots of resting, as far as I can remember.
9: Had a small nervous breakdown (hormones changing, I’m sure) and couldn’t stop crying.  It finally passed though, thank goodness – because I HATE crying.  And I’m using the word “hate” here, in the strongest sense of the word.  So thankful for an ecouraging husband, who, even though he is on the other side of the world, called at just the right time and was such a comfort to me.  And also thankful for good friends (like Ali) who will yak on the phone with me for hours and who I can be completely open with.  :)   Bought Paige’s Easter dress while talking on the phone to Ali.  Took the kids to church (Paige and I don’t go to church on Wednesday nights – I drop the oldest 5 kids off for an hour and a half and Paige and I head home… why?  our church has Kids Klub for Jacob and Darby and youth group for Jarvis, Justice, and Brittany.  There is a ladies’ Bible study, and I have been to it, but it’s not really geared towards my age group [i.e. I'm the youngest woman in there by very far], and I have found that I love spending that one on one time with Paige without interruption.) :)
10: My new dishwasher was delivered.  It will sit in the front room while we wait for my neighbor to have time to install it (he’s busy).  Jarvis had an orthodontist consult.  Not quite time to start braces, but there is a plan in place, and we go back in 4 months to see if his mouth is ready.  Had some other things going on that aren’t blog-worthy (again, sorry).  Soccer practice got rained out, so I took Brittany and Jarvis to see The Adjustment Bureau.  It was good.
11: Rested in the morning.  My kids were all in desperate need of new shoes or clothes or a combination of the two, and I had some tax refund money, along with some other unexpected income, come in.  Jarvis was the first one to get to go shopping, since I owed him a birthday movie anyway.  We went to Jason’s Deli, Target, Marshall’s, and to see Unknown.  Loved it.
12: Dropped Justice off early at Molly’s yard sale to sell a few things.  Took Brittany and Darby shopping.  Ate at Jason’s Deli (again – ugh).  Shopped at Marshall’s, Old Navy, and Target.  Found lots of good deals!  And we all got new swimsuits (shopping for those is always a nightmare!  And why is the Target dressing room lighting the HARSHEST lighting in the world?!). 
13: Sunday School and church.  Brittany and Jacob went with Molly to a friend’s house to play (Britt went to help with the little kiddos).  I took Darby and Paige to Jarvis’ soccer game.  Didn’t get home in time for evening church. 

Paige at Jarvis' soccer game

Darby at Jarvis' soccer game

Jarvis playing soccer

Paige playing peekaboo with her sunglasses :)

14: Various errands, including getting my annual car inspection (and found out I’d been driving around with a giant screw stuck in my tire). 
15: Darby to gymnastics.  Got a ride for Jarvis to soccer so I could take Justice on his shopping trip.  We splurged and ate at Carrabba’s (so good! BUT I got glutened there and ended up feeling bad for the next few days - ugh!).  Shopped at Target, TJ Maxx, and Kohl’s – found everything he needed. 
16: Various errands and dropping kids off places (I have been leaving out a lot of things like this on this list).  Darby’s orthodontist consult.  She could really use ortho treatment now, probably make it a lot easier down the line, but alas – it turns out our insurance only covers ortho treatment ONCE per lifetime (and only a small percentage then), so we are waiting.  If Jarvis wasn’t about to get braces, we might go for it, but yeah – that’s a bit much.  Dropped off the kiddos at church in the evening. 

Jacob being a nut at Darby's ortho consult... Darby in the dental chair in the background :)

Paige with her "I don't feel good cause I'm teething and my nose is runny" look

17: Justice did yard work at someone’s house – he’s done a LOT of that this month.  He spends most of his money on Papa John’s ordering.  Dropped Jarvis off at soccer practice, and then headed out on the town with the Mollster.  Ate a yummy dinner at Bonefish Grill (love me some saucy shrimp! mmmmm!) and got some Starbucks and headed home. 

cell phone self-portraits are the best, no? lol. Ali will be shocked I was actually wearing a ruffled shirt!

my attempt at taking a self-portrait of Molly and me at Starbucks. Worked out well, don't you think?

18: Haven’t been getting much sleep – aside from not being able to fall asleep at a reasonable hour, Paige has been teething (2 year molars) and that’s been interrupting her sleep. Even with the sleep issues, my energy has been increasing, though.  Starting to get a LOT done around the house.  Had a couple months worth of deep cleaning to catch up on, we are rearranging some kids’ rooms, doing some construction, etc. 
19: Worked around the house.  Kids played outside.  Weather has been gorgeous!  Jarvis fell off the neighbor’s playground (er, JUMPED from the roof of the playground to a rope swing, which broke when he grabbed it so he hit the ground).  Dropped Justice off at the church for Winterjam.  They didn’t make it in though, it was sold out and many thousands of fans didn’t get in. 

Dance party!

pouty pajama time

20: Sunday School and Church.  Luncheon at church.  Got a ton of stuff done at the house.  The boys had a couple of friends over and played airsoft, etc.  Jarvis missed his soccer game because of his hurt foot, and it happened to be the first game they lost all season.  Justice and my very helpful neighbor installed my awesome new dishwasher!  It’s so so so nice to have a dishwasher after not having one for almost a year!!!

Paige the Mess. (photo by darby)

Cutie! (photo by darby)

Paige's first time with painted fingernails and toenails. She LOVED it! (photo by darby)

My attempt at photos of the kids after church - sun too bright, kids hungry, Jarvis missing (on the couch with a hurt foot), etc... not ideal photography conditions. lol

Jacob needs his sunglasses!

Paige insisted on being on the step with Jacob and Darby!

The expressions say everything!

Britt attempted to take a few photos of me (for the hubster, and also for the "before" hairdo)

another photo by Britt

21: Aside from some errands and cleaning, took some time to myself.  Went and got a real, actual haircut.  She ended up giving me too many layers, but that’s my own fault (I wasn’t specific enough).  My friend, Jess, came by for a few and chatted and dropped off some eggs (she’s been keeping us in stock since they have chickens and we love FRESH eggs).  :)   Went to a movie by myself, saw Limitless – loved it. 

Britt attempting to get a photo of my hairdo. It looks better in real life. Much.

Attempt #2

Attempt #3? :)

Our kitten - pretty sure it's current name is Ninja. I liked Odin better. But it's not my kitten.

My bathroom mirror attempts with my cell phone to get a pic of the new do...

Last attempt to show you people my new hairdo!

22: Darby to gymnastics.  Took Jacob with me and bought him some new tennis shoes, flip flops, and sunglasses – all things he desperately needed.  After we picked up Darby from gymnastics, I took the two of them through an automatic car wash.  Jacob had never known such a thing existed and I’m pretty sure it’s the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to him.  Best 9 bucks I’ve spent in a while!  (p.s.  When did it start costing NINE bucks for an automatic car wash?!?!).  Took Jarvis to the doctor to get an x-ray for his foot that was still bothering him.  No brake – just a sprain, thank goodness! 
(you only need to watch the first 4 seconds of the following video to see Darby’s cartwheel – I kept recording thinking something else would happen, lol…)

(apparently I’ve become retarded when it comes to embedding youtube videos – either that or WordPress has become more difficult – either way, you’ll have to click on the link: Darby\’s cartwheel)

23: Got stuff done around the house, ran errands, etc.  Got to church a little early to pick up the kids and it was a gorgeous evening, so Paige and I swung on the playground swings while we waited.  Paige LOVES the swings.  She’s too cute.  My cell phone takes horrible photos, especially at night:

Paige swinging

24: Took Justice and Jarvis to the dentist.  Justice had been hurting since his last filling – they made a small adjustment and the pain automatically went away – yay.  Jarvis had to get a filling.  Worked on kids’ bedrooms (a seemingly neverending project).
25: Clean, clean, clean.  (had to cancel/postpone our trip to Atlanta).
26: Dropped Justice off to do some yard work and then I went grocery shopping.  Felt pretty under the weather and didn’t get much done the rest of the day. 
27: Did nothing.  All day.  Felt ick.
28: Today – not much going on.  Going to try to get some major bedroom work done today, but still feeling pretty blah.
29: Tomorrow – the usual gymnastics and soccer practice. 
30: Kids will go to church.
31: No plans. 

And that concludes March in Review.  I hope you enjoyed the show.

Witty title?! You can’t *handle* the witty title!

February 17, 2011 in Celiac, Darby, Fibromyalgia, Jacob, Jarvis, Justice, Paige, Pregnancy, Random by Petra | 4 comments

I thought I’d blog more while Andrew was deployed, but so far, most of my online time has been spent chatting with him on the instant messenger.  It’s been really nice that we have been able to chat every day!

If only I could post on here by osmosis.  I think of posts all the time, especially when I’m falling asleep (those are the best ones, even though I rarely remember to actually ever post them), but I can’t be bothered to log on and type what I’m thinking most of the time.  Sorry.  :)   One day I will blog interesting things again.  One day.  For now, you’re stuck with my mundane update lists, which I add for posterity’s sake. 

  • The pregnancy is going well.  I’m not nearly as sick as the last time I posted, but have gotten glutened twice and caught a cold from a couple of the kiddos.  I’m starting to feel human again, though, and my nausea is down to a wave here and there throughout the day instead of constant 24/7.  Thank the Lord, because that was really starting to get old. 
  • Justice finished the basketball season, and Jarvis’ first spring soccer game is this Sunday afternoon. 
  • Paige just keeps getting cuter!  She repeats so much of what the other kids do (which they think is awesome), and she is talking more and more.  Her little voice and the way she says things is adorable.  And her outlook on life is hilarious.  She gets so serious sometimes and so silly at other times.  She’s cuddling more, which we LOVE, and she still thinks drawing is the best thing ever – on paper, on her legs, on the walls – anywhere… she’s not picky. 
  • Brittany and I tried Z Pizza yesterday, in Cary.  It was good – I loved that most of their ingredients are organic.  I did not love the price, but gluten-free pizza is never cheap.  Best of all – it did not make me sick!  Score!
  • We should, according to the IRS, have our tax refund a week from tomorrow.  Looking forward to paying some things, buying some things, and of course, looking forward to the shopping that goes along with “buying some things”.  I love to shop, but alas, with six children, most of my shopping usually consists of trying to find affordable shoes for them or trying to keep our pantry stocked.  It’s so fun when we get a chance to do a little ‘extra’.  :)
  • Not sure if I mentioned it here or not, but we finally seem to have figured out Darby’s digestion issues.  The culprit is dairy.  She seems to be able to handle small amounts in baked goods, but too much milk or cheese and she’s in major pain and having all sorts of stomach issues.  I’m glad for her sake it isn’t gluten – I think dairy is a little easier to avoid. 
  • The jury is still out on Paige… I think she has some food issues, unfortunately, but I’m not sure yet what they are.  She doesn’t eat gluten very often because I can’t have her contaminating me with her messy gluteny hands and face, but when she does have it, that’s not really when I notice any issues.  I may just have to wait until she is older.  She has some digestion problems sometimes, but not all the time like Jacob did when he was little, and she has some ‘patchy’ dry skin issues (which is almost always food related, though it could be environmental, but I use very pure detergents, etc., so probably some sort of food bothering her). 
  • Speaking of issues – I have read and heard in multiple locations that pregnancy is supposed to ease the symptoms of celiac disease, however, I seem to be MORE sensitive when pregnant.  Also, I have heard that fibromyalgia symptoms are supposed to ease up while pregnant as well – um, no – mine are MUCH worse.  Of course, my masseuse is in Iraq, so that might have a little to do with the fibro symptoms being worse.  Still… I really do hate the head fogs, and I’ve had a lot of them lately, whereas before the pregnancy, I was really having them less and less.  And the pain… don’t even get me started. 
  • Not to sound like a complainer – I really am very blessed, and so far, have not had to be on bed rest for this pregnancy.  With Jacob and Paige, I had to do some bed rest during the first trimesters for bleeding.  I did have some spotting last week, but I laid down for a full day and a half, and then everything was fine again with no issues since!  I’m hoping and praying that I won’t have to be on bed rest for the third trimester, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.  I try not to think about the third trimester too much, because it hasn’t been long enough for me to forget about the third trimester with Paige, which was absolutely the most brutal thing ever – well, aside from her delivery, but I’m pretty sure this baby can’t top that one!  At least I hope not!!  ;)   Too bad I can’t go back in time and appreciate my first four pregnancies more than I did – and I thought I had things to complain about THEN – ha!! haaaahhhaaaaahahahaaa!!!!!  :)
  • Speaking of trimesters, I’ve got about 5 days left of the first trimester.  I’m already starting to have a bit more energy – ya know, when I’m not glutened or down with a bad cold.  I’m hoping to get some projects around here done – hoping!  :)
  • We plan on taking a trip to Atlanta in a month or so.  Can’t wait to see everyone, and to do some shopping with Andrea at H&M Maternity and Buy Buy Baby! :)
  • I get to see my friend Ali tomorrow in Raleigh!  She’s coming to town for a wedding, so we’re going to meet up for lunch before the festivities start.  Can’t wait!  I wish we lived closer!
  • Then, we’re (me and the kiddos) going to hang out in Raleigh and let Jarvis pick the activity, since tomorrow is also his 12th birthday!
  • And I’ve zoned out – time for some netflix and snacks! :)

Well… I… walked around the corner, and I walked around the block…

January 29, 2011 in Jarvis, Justice, Paige, Pregnancy by Petra | 4 comments

Pregnancy…

  • Well, I’m currently wearing a pair of Andrew’s running pants, if that tells you anything about the state of how my clothes are fitting.  And, of course, they are enormous.  But, they are comfy on my belly, and that’s all I care about while lounging around the house.
  • I had an ultrasound on Thursday.  There is only one baby, and I’m so grateful, because if I’m already this uncomfortable with one at 8 1/2 weeks, I don’t even want to think about how two would feel in another 10 or 20 weeks!
  • The heart rate was 155.  I’m pretty positive the baby is a girl.  Faster heart rate, lots of nausea = girl.  For me anyway; I know some people who get super nauseous with the boys and not the girls. Funny how pregnancies affect different people so differently, huh?
  • And yeah, the nausea is out of control.  This baby does not like meat, eggs, zucchini, and a myriad of other things.  She does tolerate cashews, cheddar cheese, broccoli, peas, carrots, peanut butter, and several types of fruit, so that’s basically what I’ve been living on.  Also, snickerdoodles are okay – I think it’s to do with the cinnamon.  I drink fruit smoothies with strawberries, blueberries, milk, a bit of cinnamon and organic sugar, and those actually help the nausea for a bit.  The longer I go without eating, the worse the nausea is, but then it’s hard to eat because of the nausea.  It’s a vicious cycle.  And it doesn’t stop – I even wake up in the middle of the night feeling nauseous.  Thankfully, I’ve only thrown up a little bit a couple of times… trying to avoid that as much as possible!
  • A few people have already said things to me about how it was too bad I’d be hugely pregnant through the hot summer, but uh – I would MUCH rather be huge in the summer than the winter.  I’ve done both, and this baby is coming at the perfect time!!!  I can barely tolerate the cold, and I hate wearing frumpy clothes – especially when already uncomfortably pregnant – so sunshine and sundresses during pregnancy suit me perfectly.  I’m very thankful for the timing!  The only “too bad” about it is that I won’t be able to get out and about more during my favorite season!! ;)
  • I’m exhausted and I can tell my blood sugar is starting to act wonky.  Ah, the joys of pregnancy.  Is it September yet?? :)

The kiddos…

  • Justice has one more week of basketball left – two games next Saturday.  I love watching him play.  I’ll try to remember my camera next week since I have taken zero photos so far. 
  • Jarvis started soccer practice today.  His first game in the spring season is February 20th.  I hope it’s warm!! :)
  • The kids tried telling Paige there is a baby in my belly, and she looked at them like they were nuts. 

I had more to say, and I definitely have more topics to blog about, but I’m too tired to go on.  It’s been a really long day, and I think I am now out of order until Sunday morning.

“I like to get it all again and in the end you know you get what you got…”

January 26, 2011 in Animals, Being a military wife, Celiac, Darby, Jacob, Justice, Paige, Pregnancy by Petra | 3 comments

It dawned on my I haven’t been blogging for the last few weeks.  I guess all my internet typing time has been spent i.m.’ing with Andrew.  So… a quick update…

  • I got glutened the other day.  I haven’t had this bad of a gluten attack in a very long time.  I’m on my 3rd day of a migraine and major intestinal issues (among the other symptoms that go along with me consuming gluten).  I’m only blogging now because I finally gave in and took a Goody’s powder (it has aspirin, and I’m pregnant, so I had been avoiding it – even though it’s the only thing that’ll take any of the edge off a migraine like this… it was just too much though, so I decided to go ahead and take one today).  Hopefully tomorrow will be better…
  • My first OB appointment is at 9:00 tomorrow morning.  I’m not even sure which doctor I’m seeing.  I requested one, Tricare assigned another, and they weren’t clear who I was seeing when they called to tell me when my first appointment was.  I’ll just go to whomever they assigned, and if I don’t like them – I’ll be sure to switch.  I just hope it’s a woman!  I used to see male OB/Gyn’s, but it kind of creeps me out now, and I prefer to stick to women.  I’m also hoping for an ultrasound!
  • Andrew is alive and well on the other side of the world.  We have thankfully gotten to chat on the instant messenger pretty much every day, and have even gotten to have a few short phone calls.  Being able to communicate with him regularly helps us get through this time apart.  Continue to pray for him, please. 
  • Paige’s favorite show right now is The Backyardigans.  She copies their dance moves, and sings along with the theme song.  To ask to watch it, she will sing her version of the theme song, which sounds kind of like “yah-ah-gan” in her sweet little singing voice. 
  • Justice is halfway through his basketball season and he is doing great!  He started off his 2nd game this past Saturday with a 3-pointer.  Woo hoo!  I love watching him play!
  • I am 8 weeks, 1 day pregnant, assuming I have my due date correct, which I’m pretty sure I do.  I still have approximately one million weeks to go.  At least, that’s what it feels like.  :)   I’m still ridiculously nauseous and exhausted.  Hoping this passes with the first trimester – another month to go!  :)
  • Justice and Jarvis got all but two pieces of furniture moved out of the office/school room in the basement.  I’m hoping to feel good enough to get down there with the older kids and get some work done, eventually.  It would be SO nice to have a place for all our school stuff, a place for my bill stuff, a place to do scrapbooking and cards, etc.  I may let the older kids have at priming the walls themselves… we’ll see.  lol
  • We gave away one kitten (the orange one), and we are giving away the fluffy calico one this week.  That’ll just leave us with Chili (the mom), and Odin (the 3rd kitten).  Chili is actually in heat again so she is forbidden from going outside!  Pretty sure I’m going to work getting her fixed into the near-future budget!  ;)
  • I have so many photos to share – hoping to have the focus to be able to go through them and post them in the foreseeable future.  Stay tuned.  I’ll try to add at least one photo to this post. 
  • I’ve been watching more TV than usual since I got pregnant.  When I’m feeling awful, it helps to just zone out to senseless nonsense.  I enjoy the show Lie to Me and am nearly caught up to the current episodes.  I just started watching the first season of the Duggars, 17 and Counting, two days ago, and I’m already addicted.  I didn’t realize I would enjoy it so I never even gave it a try, but I saw it on netflix and clicked it, and ended up watching several episodes already.  I started watching Law & Order: Criminal Intent again too – I abandoned it in the middle of the 2nd season when I was pregnant with Paige and on bedrest, but it’s time to bring it back.  I don’t really love the show, but I love Vincent D’onofrio’s character. 
  • Jacob had a blast at his 5th birthday party last week!  It was his first “friend” birthday party, and he was definitely a fan.  I posted the photos on facebook already, but will try to add a few on here eventually too (so that they’re here when I print my blog into a ‘book’ for the kids).  :)
  • I’m pretty sure it’s nap time. 

Darby with her new bangs that she's so proud of

I try to think about rainbows…

January 5, 2011 in Brittany, Paige by Petra | 5 comments

I have lots to say, but am busy this week.  I shall leave you with two photos and then I’ll be back hopefully on Saturday…

Paige with her bcf, Gideon, and their sock monkeys.  Paige was looking pretty rough – all scratched up with dry skin and out of sorts from traveling and seeing so many new people and not getting enough sleep for a week.  Gideon was recovering from being ill.  She really does love him though.  She points at his picture and laughs and grins all the time.  Oh, and she said his name a couple of times while we were in Knoxville.  Many more photos to come from our trip to Nashville and Knoxville over Christmas. 

Britta colored her hair purple and teal (the faded pink is still there from her last dye job).  She’s very colorful.  It matches her personality.  :)

Oh, and p.s. I had my confirmation pregnancy test today (because they have to do one in order to give me the insurance referral to see an OB), and sure enough, I’m pregnant.  As though we didn’t know.  It’ll take a couple of weeks to go through and then I’ll be able to see the OB.  I should be approximately 5 weeks, 1 day today… according to the 40 week schedule.  Which means I’ve actually only been pregnant for 3 weeks, 1 day, but we’ll discuss how much that whole thing confuses me at a later date.

Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow…

December 21, 2010 in Andrew, Animals, Being a military wife, Brittany, Christianity, Christmas, Darby, Food, Home & Garden, Justice, Lists, Paige by Petra | 2 comments

An update (with photos, of course)…

  • Andrew and I decided to try Carrabba’s on a date last week.  I had heard they had a gluten-free menu, but hadn’t tried it since Italian food mostly consists of wheat-filled pasta.  I figured they wouldn’t have anything good.  While their gluten-free menu isn’t extremely long, the Chicken Bryan is AWESOME.  And it didn’t make me sick at all!  Oh yum, so good.  Also, the garlic mashed potatoes are delicious.  We went there for our next date too.  But we can’t afford to go back for a while (Christmas kind of puts a dent in the ‘date’ budget – ha!).  Man oh man – I am craving it though!  :)
  • We had our Sunday School Christmas party at our house.  My friend, Karyn, and I made the invitations (which reminded me how much I miss scrapbooking!), and the party was tons of fun.  Andrew ended up missing most of it (he was stuck at work – :-P ), but he joined in on the fun game at the end. 
  • Justice started basketball practices.  His games will start towards the end of January.  He likes his coach and his team so far.  I like watching him play!
  • Darby has been loving her gymnastics classes!  I think she’d like to do them every day instead of once a week!
  • The kittens are SO adorable right now.  Here are a few photos that were taken on December 10th.  I am amazed at how much they have grown since then!!!  They are running around getting into things now.  Between 4 and 10 weeks is the CUTEST age. 



  • God has really been working in our family.  It’s exciting to see how He makes us learn and grow and how His Holy Spirit becomes more and more evident in our lives as we turn more and more over to Him.  I’m just in awe of His grace and love.  He is amazing.
  • I actually ate a piece of candy with corn syrup in it earlier today.  What is wrong with me?  That is SO unlike me.  I can actually handle very SMALL amounts of corn and chemicals, but I usually avoid them altogether.  But for some reason that york peppermint patty was just staring at me and I HAD to eat it.  It’s been a long time since I have craved a non-food item.  lol. 
  • Andrew and I have had so much fun doing all our Christmas shopping this year.  We have turned our shopping trips into dates.  We have so much fun together.  I’m so thankful for our marriage!

  • We are getting closer to Andrew’s deployment.  It hasn’t really sunk in yet that he’s leaving, but I’m sure I’ll cry when it does.  At least it isn’t a year this time!
  • Speaking of crying, I really hate crying in front of people.  If you have ever seen me cry, congratulations!  You must be special, because I will normally go WAY out of my way to NOT cry.  I have cried a couple of times in the last few days though – I am just so thrilled about some things that God is doing… it’s a little emotional sometimes. 
  • I love my family.  I love my husband. I love my kids. I love my life.  I am just so blessed. 
  • Question: Do any of you want to come to my house and do some construction/decorating work?  I have a big long list of things that need doing and not enough time/energy/money to get it all done.  I think time is the biggest hindrance to the progress.  First up: cleaning up all the dust in the basement (from the sanding) and putting the primer on the walls (I haven’t bought the colored paint yet, but I’ve got a huge tub of primer sitting down there waiting).  Any takers?  Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?  ;)
  • Paige thinks she’s a big girl because she can now eat things like cereal-with-milk or soup out of a bowl with a spoon without making a huge mess.  She’s adorable. 
  • I think I might work on one of my books tonight.  I’m pretty sure I’ll be an old lady before any of the books I’ve been working on are done, but hey – someone can read them in 50 years. 
  • I’m pretty sure I need to ask Andrew to go buy me some dark chocolate, because I’m very tempted to go eat another york peppermint patty.  The last one wasn’t even that delicious (your taste buds change when you stop eating chemicals and they no longer taste like food).  I  must just be hungry. lol
  • (while I was checking my spelling and proof-reading this post, I ate a reeses’ cup.  I figured at least it didn’t have corn syrup in it so it was a better choice than the peppermint patty.  It was so disgusting.  And now I have a chemical residue taste in my mouth.  Why did I do that ? So gross.  I need to hit Trader Joe’s and get some of their chocolate-peanut butter cups.  Those taste like real food!  And they’re delicious!)

You are my sunshine…

December 21, 2010 in Paige by Petra | 1 comment

These photos of Paige were taken on November 27th ~ figured I’d add them into this post about the things she’s doing right now at 20 months/12 days old.  :)

Paige is adorable!  She gets squeezed and kissed ALL the time…

Her favorite thing to do right now is draw or color.  Even if that means coloring on the carpet with the orange Sharpie she found, or drawing a Paige-heighted line of circles all the way around the front room on the walls.  She will sit and draw on a piece of blank paper until there is absolutely no other space to draw on.  She loves it.  Loves.  Maybe even more than Brittany loved it at her age.  Which is a lot.

Paige has been talking a lot more.  She saw photos of my brother, Josh (in the photo with her above) while I was editing for this post, and she pointed at him and said “Josh” even though she hasn’t seen him since Thanksgiving and has never said his name before that I’ve heard.  She says most of our names (Jacob is too hard for her to say), and she knows several signs to go along with words (such as fish, bird, please, daddy, mommy, pretty, ball, etc.).  The cutest thing is when we ask her a question and she grins a big toothy grin, nods her head and says “uh-huh”. 

Paige isn’t too sure about the kittens.  She thinks they are cute, but she’d much rather play with their Mama.  I think she’s just not used to them yet.  {and by the way – the kittens are almost 4 weeks old and couldn’t be ANY cuter!}

She loves to play games like chase and peekaboo.  She sings “daddy, daddy” over and over again all the time.  He is her favorite person right now (well, Mommy is pretty cool too). 

Paige loves to play dress-up and pick out shoes to wear.  She loves clothes!  She dances all the time (if you’re on facebook and haven’t seen her dancing video, go watch it).  She’s a complete ham.  If we laugh at something, she’ll do it over and over again with a huge grin on her face.  Anything for attention!  She’s stubborn and persnickety at times, especially if she’s being told ‘no’ or doesn’t get something she wants.  She is at one of the cutest ages, when her personality is really starting to show.  She’s hilarious, beautiful, adorable, and we can’t get enough of her! :)

…and the thing that will make them ring is the carol that you sing…

December 20, 2010 in Brittany, Christmas, Darby, Jacob, Jarvis, Justice, Paige by Petra | 4 comments

Trimming the tree…

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

Everywhere you go…

Take a look at the five and ten, glistening once again…

With candy canes and silver lanes aglow…

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

Toys in every store…

But the prettiest sight to see is the holly that will be on your own front door…

A pair of hopalong boots and a pistol that shoots is the wish of Barney and Ben…

Dolls that will talk and will go for a walk is the hope of Janice and Jen…

And Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again…

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

Everywhere you go…

There’s a tree in the Grand Hotel, one in the park as well…

The sturdy kind that doesn’t mind the snow…

Other photos coming, along with stories and lists and cuteness and fun!  I hope everyone is having a wondrous Christmas week!

{these photos were taken when we put our tree up and decorated, the weekend after Thanksgiving}

 

A gluten-free and kitten-filled Thanksgiving

December 11, 2010 in Animals, Brittany, Celiac, Food, Jacob, Jarvis, Justice, Paige, Recipes, Thanksgiving by Petra | 2 comments

I know I’m a little late in getting this post up, but I wanted to share my menu with my gluten-free readers, and photos with all of you…

Jarvis’ cat, Chili, had kittens the day before Thanksgiving.  They are so adorable!  Kittens = perfection.

This was on my camera when I downloaded the Thanksgiving photos.  Jacob told me Jarvis took it and that he is sitting on the ceiling.  He thought it was hilarious.  :)

Ah, the beautifully moist stuffed turkey.  Yum!

Counter full of food (menu at the end of the photos)…

Mmmmm…

I love Thanksgiving.

An intense (and long) game of chess. lol

Paige the maniac

Tired party-goers.  They were up early helping me cook. 

It was a great day full of delicious food and wonderful friends and family!  More photos of some of the party-goers shall appear on facebook in the near future, but there’s only photos of about half of them.  I gave Jarvis the camera and told him to take pictures of everyone, but he missed some people.  Oh well, without his efforts there would only have been photos of the food!  :)

The Thanksgiving menu:

Roast turkey (I used a Trader Joe’s kosher turkey… I’ll post how I do the turkey sometime, it turns out flavorful and moist every time)

Stuffing and dressing (I used this recipe, and it was amazingly delicious – at least *I* thought so [for the GF bread, I used Whole Foods brand sandwich bread])

Ham (I love the hams from Trader Joe’s, and my awesome glaze is a trade secret… ;) )

Deviled eggs (I only mix mayo/mustard/onion powder/salt/pepper into my eggs, and they are normally to-die-for, but this turned out to be the worst batch I’ve ever made (it was late the night before and I was being careless with the amounts of salt, apparently)… however, they still got gobbled up, so I guess that goes to show how good they NORMALLY are… lol!)

Mashed potatoes (I went out on a limb and used a new recipe this year.  It was really good, but I think it needed a little more butter and salt than what I added. Oh, and I didn’t use leeks. I will definitely use this recipe again though… :) )

Homemade gravy (from the juices of the turkey, a bit of chicken broth, rice flour, and salt and pepper.  So good! And there was not enough of it.)

Two kinds of sweet potatoes (simply sliced and roasted.  One with olive oil and salt, one with butter and brown sugar.  Pretty good, but I think they needed to cook a bit longer as they weren’t *quite* soft enough.)

Green beans

Steamed carrots with butter and brown sugar

Corn on the cob

Steamed zucchini with butter and salt (Josh made this for me – so good)

Steamed squash with butter and salt (Josh made this too – yum)

Fruit salad (brought by Lisa, and oh-so-delicious!!!)

Pumpkin bread (I adapted a recipe to be gluten-free.  I got it from my sister-in-law, Carolyn, several years ago.  It was really good!  I didn’t try it on Thanksgiving because it didn’t look delicious, but then the next morning Andy was like “that pumpkin bread ROCKS!” and I tried some and oh my goodness – it was so good (especially for being gluten-free)!  I’ll be making it again!)

Banana bread (I got the recipe from our friend, Jeff, when they were visiting last year and I’ve made it a million times since – so good! [recipe shared at the end of this post since so many people have requested it])

Gluten-filled yeast rolls (brought by Lisa, and thankfully received by all of the gluten-eating peeps :) )

Desserts (of which there were no photos – sorry)…

Two apple pies(gluten-free and adapted on the fly from a recipe online that my mom gave me.  I used a pre-made crust from Whole Foods.  They were good, but I’ll try another recipe next time.)

Snickerdoodle cookies (using a GF sugar cookie mix we get at Lowe’s Foods, Brittany makes these and rolls the cookies in cinnamon and sugar to turn them into snickerdoodles.  I love them.)

Chocolate-oatmeal no-bake cookies (I eat way too many of these whenever I make them!)

Cherry cheesecake (brought by Lisa, full of gluten, and LOVED by my gluten-eating men!!!)  :)

Apple pie (brought by Alison, also full of gluten, and it looked SO pretty and I’m sure it tasted a million and four times better than my gluten-free ones. lol.)

Organic whipped topping (bought from Whole Foods and it was DELICIOUS) and Vanilla ice-cream to top the desserts

Recipe share:

Jeff’s banana bread turned gluten-free (just use regular flour to make this gluten-filled)…

Banana Bread
(Approximately 2 medium loaves)
Ingredients:
1 ¼ c. organic cane sugar (I use Domino brand usually)
1 stick real butter
2 lg. cage-free eggs (preferably brown and organic ;) )
3-4 ripe bananas (the riper the better)
1 tsp. vanilla (I use Trader Joe’s organic alcohol-free vanilla)
½ c. organic 2% milk
2 ½ c. all-purpose flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Put sugar in bowl.
3. Melt butter. Add, mix together with spoon.
4. Add eggs. Mix with spoon.
5. Add bananas. Mix with electric mixer.
6. Add vanilla and milk. Mix with mixer.
7. Add flour, slowly fold in with mixer.
8. Add salt and baking soda. Mix again with mixer.
9. Bake for approx 30-45 minutes, depending on your oven, until fork comes out clean.
10. Top of pan should be in middle of oven for even baking.

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