Thursday, December 20, 2007

Back from Disney

Well, we made it back from Disney. We had a wonderful time. If you are planning a trip to Disney this is the time of year to go (after Thanksgiving but before Dec 20). The weather is great - you aren't hot and miserable, the crowds are light - the longest we waited for a ride was 30 min and it is decorated for Christmas.

The theme this year is "year of a million wishes". Disney picks people at random to grant wishes and make their park experience special. We were lucky enough to get picked for a few. The first day the line was pretty long for Peter Pan (about 40 min). We were standing there debating if we should wait or come back. A Disney employee came up to Beckham and asked if he knew who the Lost Boys were. Beckham replied yes and she said if you make an oath never to grow up you can go to the front of the line. So, Beckham did. She gave him a Lost Boys certificate and we got to cut in line. Later that night when we were watching the fireworks (which was about wishes coming true). I asked Beckham what he would wish for. His response - to be a cowboy. The next day we were walking through Frontierland and Beckham got picked to be a cowboy with Woody from Toy Story. You should have seen his face - he was the happiest kid in the park. He now believes that wishes do come true at Disney. Later that day we got picked to be part of the parade. We walked down Main Street waving to everyone and waving the flags they gave us.


The kids were great at the park. We stayed on property which worked out perfect. The first day was extended hours for people staying on property so the park was open until 1 am for us. Since we had extra hours we went back to the hotel after lunch for a nap so the kids would last later. This was one of the best decisions we made because it made the afternoon more enjoyable because they were rested.

I could go on an on but I won't. Beckham's favorites were - being a cowboy, the Buzz Light Year ride, and Ariel (he seems to have developed a crush on her - we had to wait in line to see her twice so he could see her again). Ainsley's favorites were meeting the Princesses and the Magic Carpet ride. I still haven't learned how to create a slide show of pictures (I'm sure it isn't hard I just haven't had the time to sit down and figure it out). Maybe when I see Meggo or KT next week they can show me. Until then I'll post a few pics.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

His Way Inn

Over Thanksgiving we were able to go to my parents new place "His Way Inn". They named it that because they wanted the house name to Glorify the Lord for all he has blessed them with. What an amazing house! Beautiful views from every window. The kids and I went early because two of my Uncles from Nebraska had come to give my mom some of the furniture that wouldn't fit in my grandma's new place. We don't get to see them much so it was nice to see them. There was a full house Thanksgiving week with us, all the Scott girls, Aunt Jeannie, Uncle Kirk, cousins Julie and John and Amy's boyfriend David. My dad's sister, Susan, her daughter Liz and David's mom Susan came for Thanksgiving dinner.

Thanksgiving Day was busy but with mom's new spacious kitchen we were all able to fit and work on our assignments (we divided up the food preparations so mom wouldn't have to do it all). As you can imagine we had a lot of yummy food and even more desserts. It wouldn't be a Scott gathering without a lot of dessert. Spending time with everyone reminds me of how blessed I am to have such a wonderful loving family. The pictures are of us in my parents backyard. Like always it was hard to get a good picture (and this time we were racing against the sun setting). I also included one of Beckham from his Thanksgiving feast at school (it was too cute not to put on the blog). Each kid in his class was given a name and his name was Rising Sun. Fun Times. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Friday, November 9, 2007

Layered Enchilada Bake

It's been a long time since I have posted a recipe. I guess I can't call it recipe of the week when I don't post any for months. I have tried a bunch of new recipes but I never find time to blog about them. Anyway, the other week 8 of my friends decided to do a meal swap. Everyone made 8 of one dish and brought it to swap. At the swap everyone got one of each meal so you go home with 8 meals. The concept is it that if you are making lasagna it is easier to make multiple pans of it since everything is out and you can buy in bulk. You cook once and in return get 8 meals to freeze. It turned out to be a success and we plan on doing it again. It has been great for nights I teach swim lessons and don't get home until 7:00. I pull one of the meals out of the freezer put it in the oven program the delay start and when we get home dinner is ready.

I was planning on making chicken enchiladas but a lot of people signed up to make chicken dishes. I didn't want to make another chicken dish so I had to find something else to make. I saw this recipe in the Food and Family Kraft Magazine and thought I would give it a try. Pretty risky making it for 8 people not even knowing if it was good. Luckily it was really good. By the way, if you don't get the Food and Family Kraft Magazine I highly recommend it. it comes about 4 times a year and is FREE. Yep Free! you can't beat that. All you do is register for it on their website. It is full of great recipes.

Here's the recipe:
1 lb of lean ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 c Salsa
1 can (15 oz) black beans drained and rinsed
1/4 c Italian dressing
2 Tbsp Taco Seasoning
6 flour tortillas
1 c sour cream
1 package of Kraft Mexican Cheddar cheese (I used regular cheddar)

Brown meat and onions, Drain. Add salsa, beans, dressing, seasoning, and mix well Arrange 3 tortillas in a single layer in bottom of baking dish, cover with layers of half each of the eat mixture, sour cream and cheese. Repeat all layers. cover with foil.
Cook now - preheat oven 400 bake covered 30 min remove foil bake additional 10 min. let stand 5 min
Cook later - freeze up to 3 months, preheat oven 400 bake covered 1 hour. remove foil bake additional 15 min let stand 5 min

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Movie by God

This weekend the kids and I went to help my parents move into their new house (they are finally in and the house is amazing - Yea!!!). The kids had a great time exploring while I helped move and unpack boxes.

Part of our night time ritual is that the kids get to watch 10-20 minutes of a movie before going to bed. On Saturday night both kids were exhausted and went straight to bed after dinner forgetting to watch a movie. The next morning Beckham woke up and told me, "Mom, we forgot to watch a movie last night but that's OK. I watched the stars twinkle. The sky was full of them and they were so pretty. God made a great movie (referring to the twinkling stars)." Beckham has the sweetest heart and he melted my heart as he told it to me. I have to admit he was right the stars are amazing there. In one room the bed is right under the window so when you look up all you see is stars. They are so bright, beautiful and you can see 1000s of them. The first night I was thinking the same thing Beckham was - What an amazing God we have.

Halloween

As you can imagine Halloween was a hit at our house. Both kids got into it this year. Ainsley was a riot. She would push her way to the front of the group making sure she got first dibs on the candy as it was passed out. At one house she held both hands out reaching for the bowl of candy. The man asked - Do you want the whole bowl? Her response - YES!! It was fun to see the kids enjoying themselves as they walked house to house gathering candy. Ainsley was determined to do it all on her own and refused help fro anyone. By the end of the street she was dragging her bag but didn't want to stop. Beckham was so sweet at one house the lady opened the door with a sleeping baby in her hands he whispered "trick or treat" followed by a soft "thank you". Making sure not to wake the baby. Beckham was a cowboy and Ainsley was a ladybug. I think Beckham's costume was inspired by school because they had been studying the Wild West. When he said he wanted to be a cowboy I was delighted knowing it wouldn't be hard to put that costume together. We trick or treated in shifts. I took both kids to the houses on our street with our neighbor's kids while Monte passed out candy. then we came home ate dinner and Monte took Beckham out while Ainsley and I passed out candy. It seemed to work out well and it gave both of us an opportunity to see the kids trick or treat.

The next morning Ainsley was ready to go back out for more. She asked "we go trick or treating again tonight mommy OK?" Once a year is enough for this house. If we did it every night we would all weigh 300 lbs.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Not Easy to Pick Apples


One thing we loved doing when we lived in Chicago was apple picking. Every year we would go to Apple Holler and would have a great time. Every year I would pick way too many apples. The ride home would always consist of Monte asking how we could pick so many and didn't we learn our lesson last time. (We also always stopped at the Mars Cheese Castle to pick up some cheese curds on the way home). we had some great memories picking apples up north. Texas didn't have apple picking so when we moved to the Carolinas I was so excited to be able to go apple picking. The other weekend we decided it was time. We piled in the car and headed out to pick apples. We planned on meeting a few friends and making a day of it. Before leaving we thought about calling to make sure they were still picking apples but then thought - No, surely they still have apples their apple festival isn't for 3 weeks they have to still have apples. You can probably guess where this blog is going. We drive there only to find they stopped picking apples the previous weekend. With the freeze in the spring and the severe draught we are having they only had 25% of their crop. So we let the kids play in the hay, chase the chickens, and get some apple cider donuts and cider. I was disappointed but must admit the donuts made up for some of my disappointment. they were yummy and as we drove home we talked about how we should have gotten a dozen instead of a half dozen. Maybe next year will be better and we learned to call before driving out to the farm. You can see from the pictures that the kids had fun which is all that matters right? You can also tell from the pictures that Monte let the kids dress themselves. Hence Ainsley's sundress with pink shoes (originally she didn't have the shirt under her dress I grabbed that as we left and put it on her when we got there) and Beckham's bright red and green outfit. They still looked cute!

Monday, October 15, 2007

Gentlemen Start Your Engines


I can now call myself a resident of Charlotte. Monte and I got to truly experience NASCAR this weekend. Well, I don't know if you can say the true NASCAR experience. Monte got sky box seats to the race. We got to go on a pit tour that was pretty neat. The lady that gave us the tour is one of only a few female drivers for NASCAR. She gave us lots of insider information. It is amazing how much work and science goes into those cars (not to mention money). She talked about how instead of cleaning their windshield each pit stop they have clear stickers that have tabs and each pit stop they rip off the top sticker so the driver has a clean windshield. Also that the gas cans weigh 5 lbs empty but 80 when full. It takes 6 sec to empty the fuel can. They don't fill the tires with oxygen because there is moisture in oxygen so they fill them with nitrogen. I have to admit it was neat to get the tour. If you are going to go to a NASCAR race the sky box is the way to go. Air conditioned, soft seats, buffet and free drinks. What made the race even more exciting was the little personal TVs we got. The TVs allowed us to select a driver and see the race from the camera in his car, we could listen to any of the cars and their conversations with the pit crew. They also had a reply button you could use if there was a crash you could enter the car number and you could see the crash from their view and hear what they were saying. It definitely helped make the race more interesting. It was amazing to see how fast they drive and how loud it was. We did go outside for a little bit so we could hear the noise level. Before the race we walked around outside and you would have thought the circus came to town. If you like to people watch you would loves a NASCAR race. I can't even begin to tell you some of the things we saw. There are some very interesting NASCAR fans. We forgot to bring our camera but luckily the sky box gave us a goody bag which came with a camera. Problem is it is 35 mm so we have to get them developed and scanned before we can post any of them. All in all we had a great time. I won't call myself a NASCAR fan but I did have a good time. I told Monte I would go back...only if we were int he box seats again. Big thanks to Meggo and dad for watching the kids so we could go!

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Getting better

I wrote this blog a few days ago in response to everyone's reply to the previous post about Ainsley being sick but was waiting to include pictures. Ainsley is feeling better (I wouldn't say 100%). I took her to the Dr. on Monday (a week ago, remember I was a slacker with posting this) because she has had congestion for over 2 weeks and this weekend she got hives. Poor girl seems like she has had one thing after another. The Doctor put her on some antibiotics that have to be the worst thing in the world. The liquid medicine is gritty - it feels and looks like it had sand in it. It's like drinking chalky sand. Doesn't that sound good? Imagine trying to give a toddler this nasty medicine you wouldn't take yourself. Not fun! I have learned Ainsley's love for marshmallows/candy corn. We now use marshmallows or candy corn as chasers for the medicine.

The other part of the story is whenever the kids go to the Dr. they get a sticker. which they love. The first few times they put them on the window of the car. I didn't like that look so I suggested putting them on the roof of the car. As you can see from the picture of the roof of the car we have been to the doctor's a few times in the past 18 months. In fact just a few weeks ago Beckham said - Mom we need to go to the doctor. Curious I asked why are you sick? His reply - No, we just need more stickers we haven't gotten any new ones lately. (Only because it was summer and you weren't sick every other week). I told him there's a much cheaper way to get stickers - like the dollar store!! I am hoping this year won't be as bad as last. I am praying their immune systems got used to school germs, NC/SC germs and the environment here.

Ainsley's side of the car is the left picture Beckham's is the right. I had a hard time capturing how many there are.

Thursday, October 4, 2007

I all better??

The only thing worse than being sick is having your kid be sick (I guess the worst thing would be being sick and having a sick kid at the same time). Ainsley had the stomach flu this weekend and I felt so bad for her. At that age they don't understand what is going on. This is the first time she had the flu and every time she got sick she would look at me with her sad, confused eyes and say, "I don't like, I don't like" I tell her it's OK no one likes getting sick. I can only imagine what was going on in her brain - wondering what in the heck is going on. She would then say "I all better mommy?" It would break my heart because I would've given anything to make her better but couldn't. Luckily the stomach flu only lasted 24 hours but then 2 days later she spiked a fever. So right now we are held up in the house until she gets better. I am hoping her fever breaks soon so she can get some relief. It's no fun having sick kids. You feel so helpless and wish you could do more than just love on them.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

How can they do that?


Now that football season has started our TV seems to be on a little more especially on the weekends. Monte and I were watching a game while the kids were playing. All of the sudden we heard Beckham laughing hysterically saying "look at Ainsley! look at Ainsley!" Monte and I both jumped up not knowing what to expect. Beckham runs to the front hall pointing to the cabinet saying "look!" Ainsley had managed to cram herself into the cabinet. She was happily playing with the cards she had brought in with her. the cabinet is not very big and Monte and I wondered how it could be comfortable to sit in. She even wanted us to close the doors and go away so she could contnue playing. After capturing it on film we told her it wasn't a place to play and we pried her out. I guess we learned that if we want to watch football and let the kids play on their own we can't get upset if they cause a little trouble!

Fall Festivals


One of my favorite things to do in the fall is go to festivals (aside from watching football). This weekend we didn't have any plans so I looked online and found an Apple Festival less than an hour away. It was a cool day (cool in comparison to what it has been - it was in the mid 80s) we thought it would be fun. When we got there we couldn't believe how big it was. There were food vendors selling everything from fresh fruits & veggies to fried apple pies and funnel cake. There was a lot to do but nothing could compare to people watching. I love to watch people and in the south I have found it to be even more entertaining. It was a great family outing and the kids loved their apple cider in apple shaped cups and loved the cotton candy even more.

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Like mother like daughter



Many of you know I tend to have a sweet tooth and love candy. Well, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree with Ainsley and her love for candy. The other night Beckham had eaten all of his dinner and was ready for dessert. Just mentioning the word dessert made Ainsley perk up. She pushed her plate away and said, I finished - Candy!! We told her no you have to eat a little more meat first. She didn't like that answer and proceeded to cry and get down from the table. Ainsley ran over to the pantry and held onto the door handles. She kept trying to get it open while crying and saying - candy, candy, candy. In the end she stopped crying, ate some meat and got her candy. Monte and I couldn't help but snicker while she was balling at the pantry trying so hard to get it open to get candy. It reminded me of how I probably was as a kid. The pictures don't do the story justice because I had a hard time getting her face to show her true emotion. But it helps you visualize her trying so hard to open the doors.

Recipe of the week - Saucy BBQ Sloppy Joes

I don't know what got into me this week but I tried 3 new recipes. I got the Food and Family Magazine Kraft sends out every quarter (If you don't get it you should - it's free. All you have to do is register for it online.) I typically flag a bunch of recipes to try and then never get around to trying them. Since school has started and I am teaching swim lessons again I decided it was time to get organized and plan out meals for the week. While planning I picked 3 new recipes to try. They were all good and the kids ate all of them (that doesn't always happen). I'll probably post the other 2 another time but this was Beckham's favorite.

Saucy BBQ Sloppy Joes
prep: 5 min Total:20 Min (You gotta love a meal you can make in less than 30 min)
1lb ground beef
1 each green pepper and onion finely chopped
1/2 c BBQ sauce
1/2 c water
4 oz Velveeta cheese cut into cubes
4 hamburger buns

Brown meat, drain, add chopped peppers and onions cook 5 min, stir in BBQ sauce, water, and Velveeta cook 2 min until Velveeta is melted and mixture is well blended. Serve on buns.

Since I teach at night I need something fast when we get home. I made the mixture ahead of time and just warmed it up when I got home. the magazine also said this is a good meal to freeze and warm up later. If you make it let me know how it turns out.

Sunday, September 9, 2007

Fall is in the air


Well, not really temperature wise (it has been 90+ degrees 43 out of 45 days with no rain) but it is in the air because football season has started. We like to think the season started yesterday so we can forget that the first week ever happened. Monte and I were able to go to the Clemson/FSU game but left disappointed. If any of you saw the game the first half was miserable to watch - being in the middle of all the cheering Clemson fans was even worse. The second half was better. I don't think it could have been worse - FSU only had one first down in the first half. It ended up being a pretty close game coming down to the last play but FSU didn't pull through. Monte and I both agree it was much better watching games when we were good and used to blow our opponents out of the water. Back then you could sit back and enjoy the game. Now it is nerve wrecking and frustrating. We did have a good time and are thankful we got to go. There is something about watching college football live! This weekend wasn't much better but at least FSU won. We are excited the football season has started but are worried the season will turn out like last year. On Friday night we took the kids to the local High School game and they were both clapping and cheering the Yellow Jackets on while eating their popcorn and skittles (their favorite part of the game). So even though it doesn't feel like fall you know it's here because football season has officially started. Go NOLES!

Friday, August 31, 2007

Recipe of the week - shrimp tacos

A few days ago we had a friend over for dinner and we made shrimp tacos. They were really good. We got the idea from restaurant in Austin called Chuy's. Monte always got the shrimp tacos and they were so good. We tried to recreate their recipe from what we remembered. My favorite part about the tacos was the sauce we made (Mandie it wasn't the boom boom sauce - I wish I knew how to make that). Here's what we did:

1 lb of precooked and shelled shrimp put on skewers and baste with BBQ sauce (we used a sweet blueberry BBQ sauce we got from Doug and Judi) put on the grill just long enough to warm through. I guess you could use raw shrimp and keep them on the grill a little longer. Build your taco using tortillas, the shrimp, and any other topping you like on your taco. We made a yummy sauce to put on top. Again no recipe - I put sour cream, fresh cilantro, fresh lime juice, and salt in the blender. I had to taste it a few times to get the quantities right. It was a nice refreshing taste on the tacos. I used left over sauce on my salads all week it made a great dressing. The best part is it was low fat because it didn't have any oil in it. If you like salads try making the sauce and using it for dressing.

I also made the typical corn and black bean salad/relish to go with it. I added mango to it which made it sweeter. I intended it to be a side dish but we ended up putting the relish on the tacos! Yumm!

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Not Marine Material

Many of you know I take a class at the gym taught by a woman that trains Marines. I have never seen a woman so fit. She is tough as nails. Some people see her at the gym and stare in amazement as she runs forward, backwards, and sideways on the treadmill which is going faster than I run and has a steep incline (Meggo got to see her do this). She has run a marathon pushing her kids in a stroller. I don't think I could run a marathon let a lone one pushing an extra 40+ lbs. Needless to say she is hard core which might be one reason I love her class. I always feel like I have accomplished something when I finish her class. I am always sore the next day but am glad I did it.

On to the story, Connie trains Marines and incorporates some of the training she uses with them into our class. Today she decided that we were going to do the whole class carrying a "gun". Since the Y doesn't have guns she found us all 9 lb body bars to carry. At first it wasn't bad as we ran, lunged, shuffled, and sprinted with the "gun" but after a 20 minutes it got tough and my arms started to ache. Half way through someone mentioned how hard it was and she said - this is easy you don't have on combat boots, 100 pound pack on, and we are inside in the air conditioning. I then realized I am not cut out to be a Marine. (Not that I ever wanted to be one). I tend to think I am in pretty good shape but each drill she gave us I barely finished. I couldn't imagine doing that in the heat, with all the equipment Marines wear. I did finish the class and I did complete all of the drills but I was wiped out. It made me appreciate all the training our military goes through. For all you military folks out there thank you for protecting us and all you do because after Connie's class I know I couldn't do what you all do.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Best Friend

Meggo's comment in Praying for Rain made me think of another story worth blogging. This past weekend our church hosted AVBS (After Vacation Bible School). Each night all the participants got to put their name in a bucket for a prize. If you brought a friend you got to put your name in the bucket for each friend you brought, increasing your chance for winning. Beckham didn't win a prize the first night and was confused as to why he didn't win a prize. I tried to explain that not everyone wins - just 3 people out of everyone there won. He didn't understand and proceeded to ask what he did wrong and why he didn't get a prize. I explained further saying it's just luck and that only 3 people win. the more your name is in the bucket the better your chance is to win.

The second night we were on our way to AVBS and Beckham asked if he could bring his friend Charlie so he could put his name in the bucket twice. Problem was, Charlie is his stuffed animal dog. I told Beckham Charlie didn't count it had to be a real person. Beckham's response, "I can put my name in twice because I brought you and you're my best friend." My heart melted even though I knew he was just saying that so he could put his name in the bucket twice. I told him that in order to put your name in twice you had to bring a real person who is a friend your own age. I couldn't blame him for trying. I'm sure I would have tried the same tactics when I was younger if I had been that smart. (Beckham is a smart cookie who is always thinking outside the box).

Beckham never won a prize. As a mom it broke my heart every night to see his face disappointed when he didn't win. I felt even worse when he would ask what he did wrong. I wanted to go buy him a prize just to make him feel better. But I realized it's one of those life lessons you have to let your kid learn on their own - not everyone wins.

Monday, August 27, 2007

Praying for Rain

Many of you know that it has been a hot dry summer for us in Charlotte. It hasn't rain for a while (I don't count the day it rained for less than 2 minutes). We have mandatory water restrictions and can't water our lawn except on Wed and Sat. Cops in our town don't have much to do so they have also been the "water police" giving warnings and writing $120 tickets for those that water on the wrong day. (After the first ticket it goes up to $240 then $400 - guess they are serious making you stick to your watering day). Anyway, we were driving in the car and Beckham and I had the following conversation:

Beckham - mom it's going to rain b/c I prayed to my heart for it to rain
Me - You mean you prayed to God for it to rain?
Beckham - yeah, to my heart. That is where Jesus is so I prayed to my heart.

I thought it was the cutest explanation and had to blog about it. The funny thing is last week we were talking about how God is omnipresent meaning he is everywhere. I guess he hasn't fully grasped that concept - but he can say the word!!

Incase you are wondering - it did rain that night. Not enough to wet the ground. It evaporated right away.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Recipe of the week - Maple Pecan Pork

A few weeks ago I decided that I was going to try a new recipe each week and blog about it. The idea came from 50 toes - they do Music Mondays and pick a song to share every Monday. It has been fun hearing new songs and seeing what they pick. I thought people might enjoy getting a new recipe each week and it would make me try to cook something new. I have cooked something new for the past 4 weeks but I haven't gotten around to blogging about it. This is the week I start. Since my schedule is ever changing I am not going to have a set day for the recipe so you'll just have to check back each week to see what I've been cooking.



Last night I made Maple Pecan Pork Chops. they were really good and super easy. I can't promise a good or easy recipe each week but this one was both. Below is the recipe if you want to try it. Happy cooking!



INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup maple syrup, divided
4 (3/4 inch thick) bone-in pork loin chops (I used boneless)
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup unsweetened apple juice
1 cup pecan halves
DIRECTIONS
In a small bowl, combine the mustard, pepper and 2 teaspoons syrup. Brush over both sides of pork chops. In a large nonstick skillet, brown pork in butter over medium heat for 2-3 minutes on each side. Add apple juice. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until meat is tender. Remove chops and keep warm.
Add pecans and remaining syrup to the skillet; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until blended. Serve over pork chops.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

The ants go marching one by one

The past few weeks have been hot and dry from the lack of rain. It has been in the 100s and one day it was the third hottest day in Charlotte history. Not just for that day but for all days. The hot dry weather has brought a ton of ants. This weekend we noticed a few ant hills in our yard. I also noticed a line of ants in our dining room and quickly took care of it- by smashing them!! Well, yesterday I woke up and went to the pantry to get breakfast and there were ants everywhere!!! When I say everywhere I mean everywhere. It was so gross. I threw a bunch of food out (due to the volume of ants on it even though it was sealed). I needed ant spray but I didn't have time to load the kids in the car and go get it because we were going to see a movie at 9:00. So, I furiously started killing ants. There were 1000s of them. I got the majority of the ones I could see and put a line of chili powder where they were coming in (it is supposed to deter them). I couldn't do anything more until after the movie. We stopped at target on the way home and thankfully got some ant spray. Once we had the spray the ants didn't have a chance. So the moral to the story - when it is hot and hasn't rained in a long time ants like to find their way into your house so make sure you are ready. And, don't leave any open food anywhere - we had an open granola bar the ants were devouring.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Growing like weeds

Monte has been out of town all week so Megan and I have been scrap booking. Truth be told I am so far behind I don't think I will ever catch up. I am a little less than 2 yrs behind on Beckham's book and until this week I was only to 3 months for Ainsley - but with meggo's help I am up to our Hawaii trip (8 months for Ainsley). The first night we didn't get much done because we looked at the pages that had been done and talked. Flipping through the pages made me realize how fast time flies when you are older, especially when you have kids. Looking at Beckham and Ainsley's birth pictures made me remember how wonderful and amazing those days were. I know every mother says it but, it does seem like just yesterday they were born. It was so fun to look through the scrap books and see how they have grown. Time is so short we need to remember to cherish every minute with loved ones and make the time to create those special memories. Before we know it we'll be dropping them off at college (Beckham is already asking when he can go to college. On a positive note he wants us to go with him. I am sure he will change his mind 14 short years from now.)
Here are a few pics of the kids. They are growing so fast we say, they are growing like weeds.





Saturday, July 21, 2007

Ratatouille


You know how much Monte and I love Paris (It's where we had our first date). Well, we couldn't resist taking the kids to Ratatouille. Beckham has been asking to see it since he saw the trailer. He seems to have our love for Paris too! Whenever he sees a picture of the Eiffel tower he says - look mom, the Eiffel Tower in Paris. He then goes on to say, I've been there when I was in your tummy. (Which is true. The last time Monte and I went to Paris I was pregnant with Beckham). Back to the movie - We thought it was very cute and is very family friendly. If you are looking for something to do with the kids we recommend seeing it.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

8 years ago today

I can't believe that 8 years ago Monte and I began our journey together as husband and wife. Friends and family tell us how hot it was in Virginia that day and we laugh because neither one of us remembers it being hotter than usual. I guess we were too busy and excited to notice. What a fun day that was. Celebrating with family and friends at our wedding was the perfect way to start a life long partnership. Life is full of exciting times, great opportunities, new challenges and tough trials. We have had many of each and are so blessed to have one another as we travel down the path the Lord has marked out for us. I can't thank the Lord enough for blessing me with such a wonderful, supportive husband. It makes life so much better when you have someone so special to share it with.

Monday, July 16, 2007

DC Pictures

As promised here are a few pictures from our trip to Virginia/Washington DC. We had so much fun visiting family and friends. There are so many great pictures Meggo is going to teach me how to put them in a filmstrip. Until then enjoy these.

Ainsley the ham.


The Fam (minus Adam's fam) on the 4th at Amy's BBQ
Waiting for the fireworks with Katie, Ryan and Christina (Meggo is taking the pic)

More waiting...


Still waiting for the fireworks but at least it's almost dark...

Monday, July 9, 2007

Bitter Sweet

Last week we went up to Virginia for one last trip to my parents' house. It is the house I remember most because they have lived there for 24+ years. There are a lot of fond memories in that house and it will be weird not staying there next time we go up. Two of my sisters and brother and sister in laws still live in the DC area so I am sure we will still make it up there but not as often. I am not sure it has fully hit me yet. It was weird to see the house so empty - my parents have been bringing stuff down to SC each trip. The Virginia house looked empty in comparison to what it used to look like. For those of you that have never seen my parents house it used to look like a Crackle Barrel. no joke - Basket hanging from the ceiling with dried flowers hanging out, not an inch of available space on the wall, etc. they close on their house next month and are hoping their lake house will be finished soon after.

I mentioned the trip was bitter sweet because trips to DC won't be the same but we are looking forward to my parents being in their new house. A 2 hour drive is a lot better than 7. Not to mention their new house is on the Lake with a beautiful view and a pool. I am sure the new house will have many fond memories as well.

I hope the new family enjoys it as much as my family did. It was a great house and a wonderful place to grow up. I'll post pictures of our trip when Megan forwards me some. I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July. We had a great time watching the fireworks one last time in DC. Beckham loved it and was a trooper. (Ainsley stayed with Grammy Keeks and Poppy because we thought it would be best for all of us if she didn't go.)

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Full Crib

Some people say that a picture is worth a thousand words well, that is true in this case. When Katie was in town we had a full house - Katie, Megan, my mom (for one night) and Katie's friend was supposed to stay with us one night. Katie and Megan don't like to sleep in the same room because one of them snores and keeps the other up. So, Megan slept in the guest room, Katie slept in Beckham's room, Katie's friend was going to sleep in the play room on the futon (he didn't end up coming). Since Beckham let Katie sleep in his room he got to sleep in Ainsley's room with her. This weekend was the first time they had slept in the same room together and after seeing the picture you will know why it was the last. The first night went well. They both went to sleep and didn't play or talk to each other. The second night was a different story. We heard playing in the room for a few minutes but didn't think much of it. After awhile I decided to go in and put an end to it. You can imagine my surprise when I opened up the door and saw the crib full of every toy in Ainsley owned. Ainsley was in the middle of it all. She was happy as could be until I came in and freaked out. I couldn't believe she was just sitting in the crib allowing Beckham to pile everything on top of her. Needless to say we have not let them sleep in the same room even though they ask. For those of you wondering I took Ainsley out of the crib before going to get the camera so she is not in the picture.

Water Fight


Father's Day weekend Katie was in town for a wedding. It was fun to see her and the kids had a ball with her (and Megan). At one point int he weekend Beckham found the water guns and thought it would be fun to get dad and Aunt Katie (Megan was at work and I was making lunch). He thought it was so fun as you can see from the pictures. I would have posted this earlier but was waiting to get the pics from Katie.

Parenthood


If you have seen the movie Parenthood with Steve Martin you might be able to relate to this picture. Ainsley has a fascination with putting this bucket on her head and running around the house. In the movie the little boy would put the bucket on his head and run into walls. Ainsley has doesn't run into walls but she gets the drum sticks from our play drum set and bangs on the bucket while it is on her head. It is the funniest hing to watch and she thinks it is a riot. Luckily I was able to video record it so I can show it to her when she gets older. Even funnier is Beckham used to put this same bucket on his head (he didn't use drum sticks he would just run around the house with the bucket on his head). I can't find the picture with the bucket on his head but found one with a bowl on his head.

Monday, June 25, 2007

Is that God?

Driving home from Target we were listening to a Christian radio station and Beckham heard the DJ and said, "Is that God talking?" I said no it's the man on the radio. He then proceeded to ask what God sounds like and how does he talk to us. I told him that we can talk to God anytime by praying and he talks to us in our heart when we pray and read the Bible. He then asked how God could hear him because heaven is so far away - it's passed the clouds! I told him that God is an amazing God and can hear us no matter where we are. I guess that answer was good enough because he said, "Oh, OK." It is times like this that I wish I had a tape recorder in the car to record our conversations.

Funny stories from Target

We were in Target today and I was trying to figure out what kind of shampoo to get and Beckham noticed a larger man on the same aisle. He then proceeds to say...that man had a big belly, why is his tummy so big mom? Is it because he eats too much. I was mortified. I tried to tell him to shhhshh! but he kept asking. I don't know if the man heard but I was so embarrassed. I quickly grabbed some shampoo and pushed the cart a few aisles away before talking to Beckham about how it is rude to talk about people's weight or talk about people that might look different. I tried to tell him how God made everyone different and we should love everyone for who they are. He then said, did God make him fat or does he eat too much? At that point I tried to change the subject and finish my shopping.

Friday, June 22, 2007

Pictures

Since my camera is broken so I have to wait until I get pictures from family or friends to post them. I want to blog and document stories when they happen and don't always want to wait for pictures. So here are a few pictures that I would have posted with my pool blog, soccer camp blog, and a few random pics I thought were cute. Enjoy.

Beckham living up to his name at soccer camp



Beckham and Ainsley enjoying the pool


Beckham showing his sister some love!!



Beckham helping me with the grocery shopping. he has gotten much better at pushing his cart. The first time he ran over my heels half a dozen times.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Observations

Beckham is an extremely observant kid. He's the kid that sits back and takes everything in before he gets involved. He is a thinker and loves to observe things and figure out how they work. For example the other day he asked me what the box was at the construction site. I explained that is a porta potty which is a bathroom for the workers at the construction site. As we drove home from the YMCA he said "look mom there's quarter bathroom and there are 2 more". He says quarter for porta and instead of potty he calls it a bathroom so potra potty is now quarter bathroom. After pointing out 3 or 4 he said, "mom, grammy and poppy have a quarter bathroom at their house." I was amazed he remembered because he has only been to their lake house once. I asked what color the potra potty was at grammy and poppy's and he said yellow. He was right. Kids have a great memory.

Then a few days later I was reading him one of his Dora the Explorer books. The title was Play Park. In the beginning of the book Dora talks about how she and Boots (her monkey friend) are going to meet some of their friends at play park and her favorite thing at the park are the monkey bars. After reading the last page Beckham says, "mommy, that isn't play park because it doesn't have monkey bars". He noticed that the picture of the park in the book didn't have monkey bars and that Dora said on page 1 that she liked the monkey bars at play park. I was shocked he noticed. To be honest I didn't notice. Kids amaze me.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Personal Policies

50 Toes has tagged me for a Personal Policies meme. They want to know my personal policies - not moral rules, like "Do Not Kill," I'm talking about the silly policies we impose on ourselves, like "Never eat anything you can't identify," or "Don't step on sidewalk cracks." Beth Moore talked about these when she came to NC this Spring. She called them "DLAMB - Don't Laugh at me but...." and people were supposed to think or a funny quirk. At first I couldn't think of any but then I couldn't stop.

1. I hate being late. If I am going to be late I would rather not go. Funny thing is I hate being too early.
2. When I vacuum all the lines have to go the same way
3. I hate when doors, drawers, and cabinets doors are left open
4. bed has to be made right after getting out of bed
5. I can't stand clutter. We have a rule if you bring something new into the house you have to get rid of something else.
6. Counter tops have to be clean from food, finger prints and clutter
7. I have to sleep on the right side of the bed (if you are looking at the bed from the foot of the bed)
8. I hate when food is left in the sink (not rinsed down after the dishes are done) or when the rag is left soaking wet in the sink.
9. I like to drink out of a straw and I perfer plastic cups over glass
10. I have to strat my day with a cup of Joe (I don't have to but I like to)

I could go on and on but those are my top 10. One of Ainsley's is she has to sleep with 2 pacies and Beckham has to have water at bedtime. Feel free to post any of your personal polies in the comments - it will help me feel normal.

FIRE!!!!

Ainsley's newest saying. Whenever she is mad, doesn't get her way, frustrated, or when someone takes her toy she clinches her fists and yells FIRE!! She learned it from Beckham who learned it from a kid at school. Once Ainsley started doing it Beckham stopped. He would clinch his fists and yell it. Ainsley has taken it one step further and will not only clinch her fists but if she is saying it because of something Beckham has done (or her perception of him doing something) she hits him and yells FIRE! I know that if the kids are playing upstairs and I hear Ainsley yell fire I can guarantee crying is soon to follow (either from her or Beckham). It has become her outlet when she gets frustrated. We are working on stopping this little habit. We are trying to get her to use her words (she is talking a ton now). I guess she could be saying something much worse.

Felt like a circus

Yesterday afternoon felt like a circus we had so many people in and out of our house. A few weeks ago we did our one year walk through with the builder and pointed out everything that needs to be fixed (It's hard to believe we have been here a year already). Well, yesterday the carpet guys came, the garage guy, the painter, structural engineers, electrician, cabinet guy, landscaper, and a second group of guys for the carpet. Some things were fixed and some things got worse. The carpet guys pulled back Ainsley's carpet to fix the sub floor. They had to cut a huge hole in the sub floor to get to the joist. Once they did they found that the floor was squeaking b/c the joist is cracked. They covered it back up and now we are waiting for the framer to come fix the joist. Then our stairs squeaked so they had to cut a huge hole in the master bedroom closet wall to fix under the stairs. Workers are supposed to come by for the remainder of the week (I am sure it will take longer) to fix everything on our list. Luckily Ainsley is a great sleeper and she was able to sleep through them sawing through the floor, hammering, and the workers making all kinds of noise. My dad would say, "she is a determined sleeper and nothing will stop her from her sleep." As I write this there is a guy fixing/adjusting our doors and fixing the trim in a few places. today is not nearly as crazy as yesterday. Iam just thankful they come fix things after 1 yr so we don't have to.

Aunt Megan

My sister Megan is living with us this summer and the kids are enjoying every minute of having her around. I love the way Ainsley says her name as she walks around looking for Aunt Megan calling her name. Ainsley likes to run passed Megan laughing looking behind her in hopes that Megan will start to chase her. Of course Megan complies - who can resist Ainsley's laugh plus, Ainsley will keep running by you until you get up and chase her. We have been to the pool a few times and when we are at the pool Ainsley and Beckham want nothing to do with mom when we are there. Megan is much more fun. The both love when she swims under them and blows bubbles. Ainsley says "tickle, bubbles again, bubbles again". I am sure there will be many more stories of the kids and Aunt Megan this summer. We are enjoying her visit and hope she is too!

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

I did it!!

That is Ainsley's new saying. Anytime she does anything she says "I did it!" It is so cute. Whether it be getting out of bed or eating her dinner she is proud when she accomplishes something on her own. She is and has always been a very independent little girl. There is a new found happiness and glow on her face when she does stuff by herself because "she did it!!"

Tuesday, June 5, 2007

Pictures from Doug and Judi



Since our camera is broken I thought I would post some of the pictures Judi sent from their visit.

The one of Beckham and I is of us making a pinata. He helped with the first layer but just wanted to get to the candy part and skip the 2nd layer. So, I got stuck doing the second layer alone.


The one of us in our backyard is when the kids were moving around the "mobile" bird houses Judi made. They are so cute and the kids love moving them all around the back yard.

We went to Monte's office and the kids enjoyed "working" like daddy.
And lastly there is a picture of Beckham in front of the wiener mobile trying to sing the Oscar Myer Wiener song. As you can see we had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa Watkins.