Too Many Possible Titles to Choose Just One

Kristen, Mark, and the girls visited us for the week between Christmas and New Years. I took a variety of pictures during that week and I've collected what I think are the best for this post. Understand that I do not think we got one perfect picture of all the kids beautifully looking at the camera but I definitely got shots that describe our life in that moment.

The day after they arrived dad offered to stay at home while Jamison, Ruthie, and Maddie all took naps so that the girls could go out to lunch. Kristen admitted to him that the girls would wake up before we got home and gave him instructions for feeding them a snack. This is what we came home to:

He was very much on guard watching them. The dogs were too since they were expecting something to fall on the ground.

The next day my mom's sister, Linda, drove up with her daughter Denine and Denine's daughter Myria. Although they all live in Rochester, I consider us all pretty close. Denine and Myria avoided the camera so you won't see them. I should make it clear to anyone who doesn't know, my Aunt Linda is crazy. Completely. Unequivocally. No doubt about it. So when she is around we have automatic entertainment.

Lily loves to play "band" on this obnoxious electronic piano (if you can call it that) and Aunt Linda is usually the one who joins her on the tambourine. So for Christmas Linda thought it would be a great idea to give instruments to all the kids. Lily had a trumpet, Jamison received a drum, and each of the twins had a maraca. It was chaos. I love the look Maddie is giving Aunt Linda because I want to tell her - "Honey, it's just begun for you. We've been giving her that look for years. It goes so much better if you just accept."

Later on in the week Jamison was roaming around the house looking for Grrmam to read to him. He had put her reading glasses on his head in preparation.

Finally. He found her. Maddie was relieved as she was looking for someone to distract Grrmam.

And somehow Ruthie found her way on to the couch as well.

And then Lily (excuse me, Sleeping Beauty) wanted to be a part of it for attention purposes only. At this point Jamison is the only one who still cares about the book.

Snuggly. Is that spelled right?

And then he was done. This is actually his new face that he knows I love and will only do it when he feels like it. I'm glad I was able to get a shot of it since he uses it to bribe me all the time. No more bribery from you Jamie!

Next it was bath time. When my sister visits we tend to spend a lot of time over at my parents so it's just easier to bathe the kids there and put them in their pj's. They go straight to bed when they get home. (Jamison is going to hate me for these pictures in 10 years).

And he's not a stupid kid. As soon as bath is over he runs into Grrmam's bed and gets all cuddly while he combs his hair with her brushes. I'm sure he lost them as well and she's probably been looking for them. Check under your bed, mom.

Then they all pile on to do somersaults, jump, and have parents throw them around. We do this in hopes to get some unused energy out of them. It usually ended in someone falling off the bed. Notice that Jamison is still combing his hair. He's nothing if not thorough.

And that summarizes what we do when all the cousins are together. You are blessed that I didn't post any videos - the screaming, crying, and whining would have made it all less perfect for you.

Glad to Have My Camera in the Kitchen

Since Jamison was eating his afternoon snack in his high chair I went downstairs to put in a load of laundry. I wasn't gone five minutes and this is what I saw when I came up the stairs. (Please ignore his hair - he had just woken up from his nap).

I have no clue how the kid did it. Granted, he wasn't buckled in but the tray was as far in as I could get it.

Then the next morning we came into the kitchen and we saw a thief!

We've had this bird feeder up for a little less than a year and this is the first time that we saw a squirrel. So he definitely isn't the smartest rodent in the neighborhood.

This guy was very talented. He had to climb on our roof and then slowly ease himself down onto the bird feeder. I was really afraid his nasty claws would tear the screen but we were lucky.

Brian threw a tennis ball at him to make him go away. That was just as entertaining for the kids as the upside down squirrel.

Guessing Game Revealed!

Sorry it took me so long! I got distracted by life. My mother guessed the correct answer - they were marker tips. (although she shouldn't be allowed to win since she is with him almost everyday. My cousin, Rachel, was the first runner up and she should be considered the actual winner) .

This is why Lily is only allowed to use the markers during Jamison's nap.

It was actually a relief to find those tips on the floor. For weeks I thought he was ingesting the tips. As in, sucking the ink out of them and then just swallowing them. So it was very reassuring to find those tips scattered in corners of the room and under chairs.

You can see that five of the six the above markers were "Color Wonder" markers. So those tips were clear. But it's the other markers (like the above grey one) that have caused the big problems. The black and the red markers give me the biggest scare when he rounds the corner. The other colors just look ridiculous.

These little guys feel victim to the biter as well. I thought he'd like to color with these friendly looking crayons. Within minutes both were de-crayoned.

One day, my son, you will be old enough to use writing utensils without biting them.

Thankbirthmas

We really wanted to go visit Brian's family for the holidays this year. Unfortunately, once we started looking for tickets we realized we needed to come up with a different plan. The flights to Austin for Thanksgiving and Christmas were a little...pricey...to say the least for a family of four. Wait, wait, you might say. Isn't Jamison under two? Wouldn't that make him a lap child? Ha Ha. The boy may fit on someones lap. In fact, he might even sit on someones lap for a brief amount of time. But on a flight? Especially the four hour Baltimore to Austin flight? I'd rather spend the money on a seat.

So we decided to fly down to visit the second weekend in December. Those tickets were a lot more budget friendly. Apparently no one travels that weekend.

The week that we flew down contained FOUR birthdays - Uncle Eric (12/10), Uncle Jonathan (12/11), Auntie Demeree (12/15), and Lily (12/19). (yes, that's actually 9 days but whatever). So we also decided to have a small birthday celebration for everyone. As a result, we were celebrating Thankbirthmas.

Jamison was all ready to go the night before. He was very excited about getting to go on a plane again. I have no idea what was up with his hair.

The flights were happily uneventful. In fact, unbeknownst to us, my mother ended up on our first leg to Baltimore on her way to Nashville. So she got Jamie for that whole flight. We needed to conserve our energy.

The morning after we arrived Jamison looked at family pictures with Nana.

Then he got nice and comfy in his little rocker. That was actually Brian's rocker when he was little.
Lily cuddled up with Granny Pat and watched Cinderella. Pa enjoyed the movie as well. We don't get to see Pa and Granny Pat as often as we like, but we love every minute we can spend with them. By Friday night Eric and Rene and Jonathan and Demeree had also drove in. We hadn't seen Eric and Rene since last October at Jonathan and Demeree's wedding and we hadn't seen J & D since they moved from Albany to DFW in September. It was so nice to have the whole family together with no other agenda but to be together.

That night we celebrated birthdays. Nana put a candle on a muffin for each of the birthday boys and girls. Since Lily was last she was going insane for her muffin. The cold hearted part or me kinda wants to tell her - IT'S JUST A MUFFIN. CALM DOWN. But the other part of me loves to see her get so excited about little things that mean so much. And since the part of me that loves her always wins, I just took a picture.

Lily was just as excited over the muffin as she was to see Auntie Demeree again. She didn't leave Dem alone the entire time. And luckily, Demeree loves Lily so she played hop scotch, Pretty Pretty Princess, and all the other things that I like but only to a certain extent.

For her birthday, Karan made Lily a beautiful purple princess outfit. The cape is lined with Disney princess drawings and has the obligatory sparkles on the outside. I almost don't want her to play with it because it's apparent that Karan put so much time into it.

Papa gave Lily a book that he wrote and Nana illustrated. He read it to her as she sat in his lap. The book was about a princess named Lily (of course) and included all of the family members as characters.

The next morning was Christmas. We all crowded into the family room (except for Rene who is allergic to pine trees. She was doped up on Benedryl and other allergy medications). Jamison was especially cuddly and cute that morning.

Jamison decided that using his teeth to open presents was the most efficient way.

Lily received A LOT of princess gifts. How in the world did they all guess that Lily might like princesses? Could it be that she only thinks and talks about them 24/7? Could it be that every word out of her mouth is a question about a princess or an observation about one? I'm secretly hoping that one day she has the same obsession with something that will be worthwhile. Like math or history or gosh, anything but the stupid princesses.

Jamie received a lot of trucks and other things with wheels. I keep trying to psycho-analyze his interests - does he like trucks and airplanes because we keep showing him trucks and airplanes or does he truly like them? I mean, he sees fifty princess things a day but he hasn't started collecting Snow White figurines. Although he will sing along with Lily to Ariel's heart-tugging "Part of Your World." They will also sing the "Ah Ah Ahhhhhh" part where Ariel is giving her voice to Ursula. Despite my best efforts to get that duet on tape, I have only been able to record it on my phone. I just don't know how to get it off my phone.

There is nothing better than seeing my kids enjoy spending time with their Texan grandparents. Even though they only see them 2-3 times a year they are completely comfortable with them and obviously love them.

We had a great trip and we are thankful that everyone could take time off of work and school to visit with us.

Guessing Game

Ok all you smarty pants out there, I've got a tricky game for you. I was going to offer a small prize for it but decided that the reward of winning should be a prize in itself.

I'd like to hear what you think the objects below are. Go on, guess. They are all the same object just in different sizes.

I'll even give you some help. Here they are next to a tea light so you have a size reference.

I'll admit it took me about 5 minutes. But I should have known better. And Brian - you are not allowed to guess!

Dedicated to the Great-Grandparents

We have noticed for the past few months that when Jamison is concentrating on an activity he sticks his tongue out. Here he is trying to figure out the remote controlled car.

This is genetic and he definitely inherited this from Brian's side of the family. Brian's grandpa does the same exact thing when he is working...except grandpa doesn't drool like Jamison. Brian and I find this common trait incredibly endearing.

He knows the remote has something to do with making that car go. He just couldn't quite figure out how to do it.

And even after he figured it out he still kept his tongue out as he maneuvered the car around the room.

My Mammy was up in New York a few weeks ago and she made Lily an outfit. I love the pattern. This picture would have been perfect if her eyes were open.

Instead this is the only shot I got with her eyes open. I hate the stupid princess pose. But I love the outfit - thank you Mammy!!

Thanksgiving in January

Brian and I offered to prepare Thanksgiving dinner this past November and I'm just getting around to post the pictures I took of the process. I rarely get the time to really cook so I enjoyed every minute of this.

Here was the menu. Our instructions were to keep it simple since my parents don't like my fussy recipes.

Sage-Parmesan Turkey

Sausage, Cranberry, and Apple Dressing

Arugula and Spinach Salad with Champagne Vinaigrette

Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes

Corn Casserole

Grandma's Rolls

Lattice-Topped Apple Pie

Pecan Tart

Pumpkin Pie with Poached Cranberries

The sweet potato casserole was provided by my aunt and uncle so I didn't include that in my menu.

This was our first casualty. Our pepper grinder broke and we needed to get the peppercorns for the brine so Brian used a screwdriver to rescue the peppercorns from their jail.

So how did we keep the kids occupied? Lily was easy since she wasn't interested in helping. Jamison on the other hand....so I just put him on the step stool and "accidentally" left the drawer to the ziplocks open. He may have pulled out 180 ziplock bags, but it took him 30 minutes so it was well worth it.

Honestly, the whole reason we wanted to cook was for the pies. In this shot you can see that our cold butter chunks are too large. They should be about pea size. We also discovered that our food processor is sadly lacking.

Brian was in charge of rolling out the dough. Please note that the only reason he's wearing my apron is because he was teaching Bible class that night and didn't want to change. Jamison was paying close attention with his bla-bla (the ever-present Sooner's blanket).

This is a different piece of dough from the one above. This one didn't turn out as perfect because we didn't cut up our butter small enough. It should look like little white chocolate chips, not huge chunks of whiteness. I post this so that you can learn from my mistakes. Because I care that much for all of you.

This is my pumpkin pie. When I saw the leaf punch outs at Williams-Sonoma it took all my effort to not squeal at their cuteness.

Look at them!!

Look really closely. Or real closely. Or real close. Whichever one. Just look.

And when they're baked they're still cute.

Here is the pecan tart. I think this was the best one.

The pumpkin pie called for a poached cranberry topping. Cranberries are so beautiful. Here they are poaching in sugar and some port.

And then, when they are just at the point of bursting open you take them off the burner and spread them on a jelly roll pan. Aren't they gorgeous? Unfortunately, they didn't end up tasting so good. So while they look oh so pretty that's about all they were good for.

We decided to do a buttermilk brine for the turkey. Our brining spices were the typical ones, including our recently released peppercorns.

Boil and boil toil and trouble...and after it cooled we put the turkey in the brining bag, added 4 quarts of buttermilk, the brine, and sealed the deal for 24 hours.

Roasty toasty.

And Grandma's Rolls. There really was no need for any other item on the menu. These are Reba Reeve's rolls, Brian's maternal grandmother, and they are an art.

They are completely from scratch. They take no less than two days of preparation. Atkins, South Beach, you have no defense against these blessed and precious carbohydrates.

I wanted to make my Mammy's cornbread dressing but there is not a retailer within 150 miles that sells Martha White cornmeal mix. Oh how I wish I could have recorded the conversation between me and my grandmother when she was telling me the recipe. There are no measurements. The ingredients are subjective to a certain extent. (the specifics are the brand names for the ingredients and also to press sliced butter on the top of the dressing, do not mix it). You know you have it right by how it looks.

So here's my unworthy dressing. It was ok. Nothing great but not horrible.

Dinner is done and it's time for pie!

The remains. It all ended too soon.