I love these little guys

The boys and I enjoyed some time outside after picking Andrew up from preschool today. Carson is doing a really good job riding this little tricycle. We got this trike for Andrew when he was about Carson's age. Andrew's legs weren't quite long enough to turn the pedals innitially but by the end of the summer, he was riding speedy circles around the drive. I'm surprised that Carson doesn't seem to have difficulty turning the pedals. He has always been smaller than Andrew was at that same age, but maybe not anymore.

First a blast from the past. Here is Andrew on the tricycle. These photos were taken in Oct. 2007. Notice we still had trees on that side of the drive. :( (We do like our neighbors though)

Note the tongue out of mouth curved up on upper left side of mouth. This is something Andrew would do when concentrating on something - just like Uncle Ben.

Andrew would ring the bell on the handle bar so much that he would come inside after riding and say his thumb hurt from ringing the bell!!

I took this picture first. I decided I wanted to get a picture without our neighbors house in the background. So I asked him to get back on the trike so I could get a picture. This is what he did...

Love this somewhat serious expression/scowl

Two new recipes

Here are a couple of new recipes I have tried and we have enjoyed! The first one the boys would only eat the noodles and bacon. Maybe someday they will branch out on what vegetables they will eat! It was so nice to go out and grab some spinach from our garden for this!

Spinach, Bacon, and Sun Dried Tomato Penne Pasta

1 cup vegetable broth

12 dehydrated sun-dried tomatoes

1 (8 ounce) package uncooked penne pasta

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 clove garlic, minced

1 bunch fresh spinach, rinsed and torn

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

3 slice of bacon cut into bite size pieces

2 servings of Laughing Cow (optional)

1. In a small saucepan, bring the broth to a boil. Remove from heat. Place the sun-dried tomatoes in the broth 15 minutes, or until softened. Drain, reserving broth, and coarsely chop.

2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Place penne pasta in the pot, cook 9-12 minutes, until al dente and drain.

3. Fry bacon pieces in separate skillet until slightly krispy.

4. Heat the olive oil and red pepper flakes in a skillet over medium heat, and saute the garlic 1 minute, until tender. Mix in the spinach, and cook until almost wilted, add bacon. Pour in the reserved broth, and stir in the chipped sun-dried tomatoes. Continue cooking 2 minutes, or until heated through.

5. In a large bowl, toss the cooked pasta with the spinach and tomato mixture. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

I really like the recipe that I usually make for Lasagna. I did, however, like that this recipe took less time to prepare and less cook time.

Skillet Lasagna

1 lb lean ground beef

1 small onion (chopped)

3 Cloves Garlic (minced)

1 can diced tomatoes (undrained)

1-1/4 cup water

8 oz tomato sauce

1 tbsp dried parsley flakes

1 tsp dried basil leaves

1 tsp dried oregano leaves

1 tsp salt

2-1/2 cup broken up whole wheat lasagna noodles

1 cup fat free cottage cheese

1/4 cup fat free grated Parmesan cheese

Dash Basil and Pepper (optional)

1 egg

Shredded fat free mozzarella cheese for garnish

In a large skillet, brown beef with onions and garlic. Drain. Add tomatoes, water, tomato sauce, parsley, basil, oregano, and salt. Stir in uncooked pasta. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until pasta is tender. Combine cottage and Parmesan cheeses. Mix in the egg. Sprinkle in basil and pepper to taste. Drop cheese mixture by rounded tablespoons onto pasta mixture. Cover and cook for 5 minutes more. Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella and serve.

The Great Outdoors

Andrew is much better, went to preschool this afternoon. Carson is doing ok,he really doesn't act sick. He does have the rash mainly on his feet and bottom. He has sores in his mouth which only bother him every once in a while. He really plays well, you really wouldn't know he had the virus. He did have a fever yesterday late afternoon but hasn't since. Unfortunately Carson will not be able to go to our gathering with our Sunday school class tonight. Either Chad or I plan to go with Andrew and the other stay home with Carson.

It is a beautiful day today, so we decided to get out and enjoy the great outdoors!

The boys love playing with his bubble wand. They usually take turns holding the wand and making bubbles. Today after Carson first turn with the wand he was content to chase all the bubbles Andrew made. So nice to be out again!

I love these purple wild flowers that pop up in the wooded areas surrounding our house this time of year!

Here is a shade garden Chad developed last year in the wooded area behind our house. Hostas are one of my favorite plants. One of few plants I can actually pick out and name. My mom, who loves to garden and knows so many different plants, would be so dissappointed! :) I enjoy gardening but just don't know the names of the plants.

We are enjoying working in our first garden. I won't deny it, Chad has done most of the work. He built the raised bed; filled it with compost, vermiculite and pete moss; planted all the seeds and plants. I have pulled some weeds and water it - that is it. But I will be the one to prepare most of the vegetables from the garden. Below we have a couple of different types of lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, & basil...(and Carson & I's shadows)

and potatoes, cauliflower, peppers, onions, carrots and sugar snap peas.

Can't wait to eat from the garden. Perhaps a salad for two very soon!

Those silly boys

The boys have this thing with the couch cushions recently. They take them off multiple times a day. They throw them at each other. They pile them on the floor, then run and jump on them. Last night Chad was laying on the couch and they piled every cushion or pillow they could find on top of him. This is what they did this morning while watching a show.

Here are the boys yesterday afternoon having a jam session on Andrew's bed. The insturmentals, words to the songs, and dance moves were very entertaining. Unfortunatley they were done by the time I got the video camera!

Hand Foot and Mouth Disease

Andrew has had Hand Foot and Mouth Disease this week. He started complaining of his throat hurting on Saturday. He didn't want to eat much of his supper that evening, just wanted ice cream. Sunday morning he was still complaining of his throat hurting and wouldn't eat breakfast, so Chad stayed home from church with him. Sunday afternoon is when the rash started on his hands, wrists and feet. I looked in his mouth and saw the ulcer/blister like sores in this mouth. That is when we realized what he has.

I took this picture on Tuesday. Not sure you can even see the rash, it looked worse in person.

If you aren't familiar with Hand Foot and Mouth Disease, it is a viral infection that usually young children get. They often have a low grade fever, sores in their mouth and the rash on their hands and feet.

Andrew has missed preschool this week due to the HFM, and a field trip on Tuesday. Tuesday he told me "I wish I could be healthy everyday" as well as "I'm sick of being sick." He has had times when he is pretty miserable. Sunday and Monday his diet consisted of bites of yogurt, jello and ice cream.

Tuesday he started complaining of the back of his neck hurting and a headache. That evening I gave him some Ibuprofen before bed around 8. He went to sleep fine but woke up at 9. Well sort of woke up; he wasn't really awake yet not sleeping. He was rolling around saying "ouch", "my head" and holding his head. We did get him back to sleep around 10 but he was awake again at 11. He did this same rolling, moaning until 12:30. At one point he even said "I can't do this." During this time, Chad and I were a little concerned. A rare complication of HFM is viral meningitis. We were debating about taking him to the ER here or driving to Children's in Columbus. And do we all go? What should we do with Carson?

At 12:30 Andrew was quite, sound asleep. Which also made us worry! Should he be sleeping right now? Chad woke him up by calling his name several times and moving him a little. Andrew moaned "what." Chad asked him his brother's name, he replied rather irritated "Carson." He asked him his mommy's name, Andrew rolled over with loud sigh "Kristi!". So we decided he was ok. He slept the rest of the night.

He did have a headache Wed morning and I couldn't get him to eat anything, so that afternoon I took him to see a NP in the practice the boys go to. She thought he was ok. Just keep him hydrated and keep using Tylenol and Ibuprofen like we had. He only ate a couple of Vanilla Wafers and a few bites of Jell-o all day yesterday.

He did have a fever during the night but today is a brand new boy! Yeah!! It is loud and active in our house again. He is eating pretty normal again after I told him he was getting skinny! :) I didn't send him to preschool this afternoon since he had a fever last night but I think he should be able to go tomorrow.

The bad news is, Carson now has sores in his mouth and a little bit of rash on his wrists and bottom. Though it doesn't seem to be affecting him the same that it did Andrew. Carson hasn't had a fever and the rash isn't nearly as bad (maybe that is yet to come) and he isn't complaining about his mouth hurting and is still eating well. Perhaps he will have a milder case of HFM.

It's been kind of a long week. But the weather is beautiful!!! Can't wait to get out in it.

Andrew's funny question

Today Andrew and Chad stayed home from church. Andrew was complaining yesterday of a sore throat and again this morning. He wouldn't eat breakfast and just wasn't himself.

When Carson & I got home from church, I was telling Chad about the service. Andrew asked "Was he there?" I asked "Who?" Andrew said "Our new master?" Chad and I both laughed. "You mean our new pastor?"

Funny comment while in Austin

I almost forgot about this funny comment I received while in Austin. It goes right along with my post "You look so young."

I was in the lazy river with Renee one afternoon. We were floating down the lazy river in our intertubes and became seperated a little bit. Renee was in front of me and a woman with her daughters (?) who were probably in highschool or early college years came up behind me and seperated Renee and I. The women asked if I was by myself and I said no that my friend was right up there. The women started to say, "Are your parents..." Right at that same time I reached up to move some hair out of my face with my left hand. She saw my wedding ring. Then she kind of laughed and said "Now I'm not sure if you are a woman or a child."

Renee and I got a good laugh out of this!! I told the woman that I have almost been married for 10 years and Renee told her that my two boys were back home with grandparents. We all laughed and she said "Well take it as a compliment. You look really good".

Later as I thought about this and the fact that she was asking about my parents...just how old did she think I was!?!

No more paci

Yesterday morning while I was attempting to exercise (remind me again why I thought it was a good idea to purchase workout DVDs instead of a gym membership??? Yesterday was a day of constant interruption) Andrew showed me Carson's pacifier. It had a large slit in the one side. Andrew said Carson was biting on it. Carson sometimes will get his paci out of his bed during the day if he is feeling a little sad, usually it is just for nap/bed time. And sometimes he bites down on his pacifier and then pulls it out of his mouth with his hands.

So we talked a little about it being broken and that we should probably throw it away, like we have other pacis. But this time, it is the last one we had - no more pacis.

While Andrew was at preschool, Carson told me that Andrew was biting on it. I thought this was strange. Why would Andrew have Carson's paci in his mouth? Well I guess I shouldn't be surprised, especially since Carson is not at the age to make stories up like that.

At bedtime Carson again said it was broken from Andrew biting on it. So I called Andrew into Carson's room and asked him about it. He again said Carson was biting on it. I asked him if he was sure because Carson said that he (Andrew) was biting on it. Andrew said "Ok, yeah. It was me." That little stinker! :)

I still let Carson have the paci but he kept saying it was broken. He acted annoyed that he couldn't suck on it like he used to. So I asked him if we should throw it away. He very simply said "yeah." took it out of his mouth and handed it to me. I thought, wow that was easy.

Not so. To make a long story short, he is having difficulty. He went to sleep ok last night, with me holding him. But then he was awake off and on from 12-1, but then slept the rest of the night. His nap didn't go too well today and right now at 10pm, he is still awake! This post was started several hours ago when I thought he was in bed for the night.

I know he is old enough that he doesn't need it anymore. He has been sleeping so well that I really dread this weaning. It also makes me a little bit sad when I think about it. It is just one more thing that gets him closer to becoming a little boy and not the infant/toddler I know.

If you would, remember us all as we go through this transition from paci to no more paci and toddler to little boy! :)

Austin Texas

May 2-9th Chad and I spent in Austin, Texas for an annual Ophthalmology meeting of Chad's. I tagged along for some fun in the warm Texas sun. We spent a lot of time with our friends Brandt and Renee. Brandt was a year behind Chad in Residency. Renee and I spent many afternoons together, letting our boys play. So good to see them again!! (Renee did a fantastic job posting about the week on her blog. I forgot our camera! I guess since the boys weren't along, I didn't think I needed it! Not really, I wanted to take it because we hardly have any pictures of either Chad or I - they are all of the boys. Thanks Brandt and Renee for capturing some photos of us.)

We spent most of the day Sunday with Chad's cousin Cheryl, Roger and their son Nate. We enjoyed seeing where they live, shared a great meal together, played Phase 10, toured the car wash that Roger has a side job/hobby and took a nice cruise around their neighborhood in Cheryl's convertible. We enjoyed catching up with them - it had been a really long time!!

Tuesday evening we spent with a high school friend of mine, Kyle and his family. Again, it had been a long time! I think the last time I saw Kyle was at our wedding almost 10 years ago. We had a great meal with his family. They have two energetic little boys, so we felt right at home!!

If you didn't go to Renee's blog (you should!) I can sum it up like this...we spent lots of time at the resort pool - it had a wonderful lazy river, a water slide, an adult pool..., ate out at great restaurants with delicious food - where I did not have to plan, shop, cook, clean up the meal!!, Renee & I went shopping at the largest outlet mall I have ever seen, enjoyed time just being Chad and Kristi again, enjoyed reuniting with family and friends again, we slept in, we slept all night and we missed two little boys.

Here are some pictures Renee sent to us. (This isn't the order that I would like them in but blogger is making it difficult for me to rearrange the pictures! Which is rather irritating for this perfectionist!!)

The Ophthalmology Residents and past Residents from Grandview. We all went out to eat together one evening.

Renee and I after eating at Chiptole.

Chad and Brandt at Mt. Bonnell

The view of part of Austin from the top of Mt. Bonnell

Renee and Brandt at Mt. Bonnell

Chad & I, happy cause our bellies are full after eating at Chiptole

Renee & I
Chiptole is delicious!

Chad & I eating at the resort restaurant

We have another little neice!!

My older brother Ben and his wife Kristy had a little baby girl yesterday afternoon. Her name is Madeline Louise and she weighed 7# 14oz. Ben said everyone is doing well. I am excited to see them sometime soon. That makes 6 neices for Chad & I. Congratulations Ben, Kristy & Abby! Hope everyone is adjusting well.

We're Ba-ack!

Chad and I were in Texas last week for one of his Ophthamology conferences (more to come on that). The boys spent the first part of last week with Chad's parents and the last part of the week with my parents. They had a great time! We picked up the boys yesterday at my parents. We are getting back into our routine - I have been called Grandma and Mama quite a few times! :)

Here are a few funny comments that my parents told me....

While at church, Arva my advocate from highschool was talking with my mom and Carson. She said "Doesn't he look like Kristi?!" Carson responded "No me Kristi, me Carson!"

Andrew asked my Dad yesterday "Does God toot?"

My mom was talking with Andrew about it being Mother's Day. He said "My parents probably won't get me anything for Mother's Day!" (he is such a deprived child!!)

Well gotta get back to Chad and I's laundry. Thanks Mom & Dad and Barb & Byron for watching the boys for us! We had a great time just the two of us and I know the boys enjoyed their time with you as well.