Up and coming photographer

We found out on Sunday that my daughter has quite the knack for taking pictures. She helped Grandma take pictures during Auntie's shower. Apparently, most of those pictures were usable. After the shower, while she was patiently waiting for Auntie, Olivia picked up my camera and took pictures around Bryan's mom's house. I have to admit -- she is good for 4 years old. Just take a look:

Grandma giving Olivia her lesson in photography

Olivia the photographer

Cute dog on the fireplace

Candles, candles and candles

Grapes

Lauren

Doggie on the fireplace up close

Lizzie (Lauren's dog)

Another puppy

Sisters

Shout Out!

Just wanted to give a shout out to Alex for making his second basket of the season at last night's basketball game! Woot Woot!! Good job Buddy!! We are so proud of you!!

19 on the 19th

Nineteen years ago today, on February 19, 1990, the world lost an amazing man. My Grandpa - Bob Inman. Wow, I can't believe it's been 19 years. I guess the reason is because I remember that day like it was yesterday. I remember what I was doing that day. I went to school and then to work at McDonalds. They had asked me to stay a little longer when my shift was over. I called home to let my Mom know -- no answer. As soon as I got home and my Mom and Dad finally got home, I knew. My Mom hugged me tight saying "Her Daddy was gone!" I remember what I wore to the wake and funeral. I remember watching my Grandma rub my Grandpa's hand during the wake. I remember after the funeral, with everyone around, my Grandma just breaking down and sobbing at the kitchen table. I remember visiting my Grandma after he had been gone and thinking every time I went over there that I would just see him walk down the hallway into the kitchen. I remember needing a pair of boxer shorts for school - either to wear under my uniform - or for a special something or other and Grandma giving me 2 pairs of Grandpa's (he had never worn them), one yellow and one green and they were my favorite! During my freshman year in college, I was taking an English Composition class -- I wrote about my Grandpa and about his funeral. To this day, I cannot hear the song "Be Not Afraid" and not think of that moment, the whole family huddled together, walking down the center aisle at St. Francis of Assisi church, to pay our last respects to this wonderful father, grandfather, uncle, brother. For me, losing my Grandpa was the first family death I actually experienced. I had lost Great-Grandparents before but was to small to attend and remember. This one was huge for me. A few years before that, when Aunt Rosemary passed away, I remember begging my Mom -- please let me attend her funeral. I was scared. I did not know what to expect from a funeral but I knew that I needed to attend. I needed to be prepared. Was this a premonition that in just a year and a few months I knew one of my own loved ones was going to pass away? I don't know. I do know that when my Grandpa went into the hospital, I didn't go visit him because I knew he wasn't coming home and didn't want to remember him that way. For many years after his death, on the anniversary of his death, at the time of his death, I would stop what I was doing and pray the "Our Father" and say a little prayer to him. Maybe that is why we are connected. I love the old picture of him I posted above -- not only because it's just a fabulous picture of a fabulous man but because it's uncanny how much my brother resembles him in this photo. Every time I look at it I see my brother. I love that. I have such wonderful memories of this man. I remember one day driving over to just visit with him. My Grandma wasn't home and I knew that. I just wanted to visit with him. Apparently, he loved that because later that day, when he talked to Deb Do, he asked her "guess who came and visited me today?" and told her all about our visit. I still have the birthday card my Grandpa gave me on my 16th birthday. He went to the store and picked it out by himself. Only he signed it. It was a treasure then and now. My sixteenth birthday was also the last birthday of mine he attended. On my seventeenth birthday, he was in the hospital. He called me during the party and it just meant the world to me. I could go on and on about the things I remember about this man but I'll stop here. I wish my kids had the pleasure of knowing him. He would have loved them. I know Olivia would have gotten the biggest kick out of him!!

Love you and Miss you Grandpa!! Talk to you later!!

Dreams

I believe that dreams can sometimes be a way to connect with the spiritual world -- if you don't believe me, read the blog entry titled "60 Years" - the one I wrote in June of 2008 regarding my grandparents. Anyway, the last two nights now, deceased loved ones have appeared in my dreams. My mother-in-law has made an appearance both nights. In my dream Sunday night, someone thrust 2 photos in my hand of my grandparents and my mother-in-law and said they wanted/needed them here and would I please, since I have a connection with them, please conjure them up -- if I recall, we were having some kind of party. I did my magic and lights appeared signaling they were there. I don't think they physically appeared however, my mother-in-law did. Then last night she made another appearance in my dream. I can't recall really why she was there or what the dream was about but when I woke up, the first thing I thought was...Mary was in my dream again. What does this mean? I told Jimmy and he said "maybe she was telling us to move to Little Rock". I said "Or maybe she was saying not to go". Hmm...very weird. Wish I knew what the message was!!!

I do love dreams where I get to connect with my deceased loved ones and actually remember it. I've had a few of my Grandma Connelly -- where I've gotten to hug her and tell her I miss her. She and I always talked about visiting after she died. I used to ask her over and over if she would come back to visit me. She was visited by her father after he passed and so believed this could happen. She always assured me I would get a visit from her. I have also had a few with my Grandma Inman and of course, the infamous dream with my Grandpa Inman. He and I usually just talk and I "feel" his presence. He usually doesn't visit my dreams. I know some think this is just all bull-hockey but I believe it and am so grateful for the moments I get to share with them - just one more time!!

Valentine's Weekend

My Valentine Weekend was one of the best weekends I have had in a long time! It started out with a bridal shower for Liz at Chevy's. A couple of friends from Premier Care got together for her. Had a great time and got the chance to catch up with one of my good friends - Shannon - as well. I wanted to go to the bookstore after the shower but completely forgot. My week was not so pleasant -- the sewer backed up in the basement leaving my house smelling like...well you know "CRAP!!". Ugh. Had Roto Rooter out 3 days in a row - it's still not fixed. Then, I had to prepare for Olivia's Preschool Valentine Party. As much as I love being head room parent, this job stressed me out. I have to have everything perfect and really put a lot of thought into the goodie bags, craft and games for the girls. So, by the time Friday rolled around, I was feeling a little overwhelmed but extremely thankful the weekend was upon me. So anyway, back to my weekend -- forgot to go to the bookstore. However, that worked out in my favor. My best friend JJ called me on my way home. She is in sunny FL and I miss her terribly. I hate that I can't just pick the phone up to call her. I really needed to talk to her. Actually, after speaking with her, she really needed to talk to me too. I am so grateful for her. Then, my hubby and kids surprised me with Valentine cards and chocolates. Usually, at these small holidays, I buy for myself. Well, they surprised me. I loved everything.

On Saturday, we decided to make it a day for everyone -- not just me and Jimmy. Alex had a basketball game and after the game, we went for one of our favorite meals -- seafood. We went to Joe's Crab Shack in IL for lunch -- well it ended up being a late lunch. Olivia devoured her crab as soon as I cracked it and put it on her plate. She could probably eat her weight in crab! After lunch, we went over to Sports Authority and got Jimmy a new pair of crocs and Alex a new competitive swimsuit. His other suit got holes in it from being scraped on the no-slip strips along the pool edge and with a meet coming up this weekend, he needed a new one. After that, my Valentine present consisted of going to the bookstore. My love, my passion! I love books!! When JJ and I talked Friday night, she told me about a book she was reading and the author. I decided it sounded like an author I wanted to read and so I got the book. Actually, I got 2 books that I wanted. Olivia picked up a stuffed "Olivia". Olivia is the character in Ian Falconner's books called Olivia. She is a pig with an attitude. Olivia has a few of these books and they recently made the book into a series on Nickelodeon that she loves to watch. After the bookstore, we headed over to Gamestop for Jimmy and Alex's Valentine gifts. They both got a new video game. We had such a great day being together. It really was one of the best Valentine's days I've had! I love spending time with my hubby and kids.

Sunday was a great day as well. We took the kids out for breakfast at a restaurant down the street from our house. After breakfast, we went stopped off again at Sports Authority. I noticed at breakfast that Olivia's crocs were busted at the toe. Those are her main shoes -- she loves her crocs. So we got Olivia a new pair. I also picked up a pair of soccer shorts for Olivia. They were on clearance for $3 to good to pass up. In the fall, she will get to play soccer. I can't wait. We also stopped in Pet Smart. They had a few dogs for adoption. We have been thinking of getting a new puppy. We also checked out the cats but can't convince hubby to go for that one - yet! Then, we headed to Wal-Mart and grocery shopped. I really hate grocery shopping but since Wal-Mart became a Supercenter, that's the only place I go now. I love that I can do all my shopping at one place. We were actually in Wal-Mart for a couple of hours. After that, we headed home to do some home things -- laundry, dishes, etc. Alex had another basketball game and we had to do our concession stand duty. Jimmy happily obliged and took the "duty hour". Liv and I stayed home. I made a pot of Jambalaya for dinner and got ready to start my week. Jimmy and the kids got the luxery of having today off. I hated that this awesome weekend had to come to an end. So here's to hoping my week is as pleasant as my weekend was!!

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Happy 37th Anniversary to my Mom and Dad!

I am so proud of my parents. Proud that despite the odds of marrying so young with a baby on the way, these two have perservered. And here they are 37 years later and still going strong. My parents have taught me what commitment is really all about. They sacrificed things for me that I will never know. They taught me about life and love. For all the memories they have given me, I will be forever grateful.

So tonight, we are going out to dinner to celebrate. I am really looking forward to it and can't wait to give them my gift. Ever since I saw this, I have been wanting to get them one. I hope they like it.

Here's to you Mom and Dad. May you have many more years together!

I love you!

Cancer Sucks!

I hate cancer! I hate the word...I hate everything about it! Have you ever watched a loved one deteriorate from cancer? I have! Cancer is a disease that not only affects the person with cancer but also the loved ones watching as the one they love slowly becomes a shell of their former self. Jimmy's aunt is suffering from a form of cancer. My prayers are for her find peace and comfort during this time. I also pray that Uncle Bill can find peace and comfort during this time as well.

Little Rock

We finally got to celebrate Christmas with Jimmy's family last weekend in Little Rock. It was so nice to get out of this snowy, cold weather and into the sunny, warm weather of Little Rock. The temps were in the high 60's and low 70's. I ran an errand on Saturday and actually opened my sunroof. I am definitely one of those people who get depressed from the winter weather. Sun really does perk my up. So it was just the right pick me up!!

It was a quick trip -- we didn't leave STL until 5 p.m. It was kind of creepy and scary driving down the portion of the highway between just before Cape to after Blytheville -- those areas were hit really hard with ice and there was no power. No lights along the highway as we drove along. The highway was clear but snow was piled up on the side of the road unlike here were on the highway, the snow was cleared away. Of course, Olivia had to stop for a potty break -- we pulled off at a rest stop to find it was pitch black. The facilities were hit by the ice and no electric. Quick thinking, Jimmy held her like he was going to swing her - so she was in a sitting position and held her pants while she did her business. Hey, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do and when a 4 year old proclaims she's gotta go, there is no time for thinking. As we were leaving the rest stop, Jimmy said he could hear all the ice and trees breaking. I pulled out of the spot and started on my way -- bright lights on -- but wait, what is THAT? Eeeww, gross, is that a RAT? Yep and not just 1 but 6! We saw 6 rats scamper away as we were driving out of the rest stop. I loudly proclaimed we are NEVER stopping at another rest area again!!!

We made it to Little Rock about 10:30 p.m. Got ourselves situated and had a nice chat with my father-in-law before proceeding to bed. Jimmy and Alex were getting up early to go see my nephew Nicky race his car in the Pinewood Derby. He proudly won "Best Design". Nicky and Brian (my bro-in-law) designed a penguin car and a whole penguin village after Club Penguin -- the newest Disney game craze.

That afternoon, Jim and I prepared a homemade spaghetti sauce -- we actually made our own -- no jars. It turned out pretty good for our first try. I made up a lasagna for dinner. We were having a few friends over that night -- Jimmy hooked up with a couple that we haven't seen in 6 years on Facebook. They are good friends of the Morgan's. They have a son who was born on the same day as Alex. It was so good to see Robert and Adrienne. We had a fantastic dinner. Lasagna turned out pretty good despite the fact that we smoked the kitchen/house up because the pan tilted in the oven and spilled juice which caused the smoke. Ugh! Oh well,

We left Little Rock early to head back to STL so Jimmy could go to his Superbowl Party. With it being daylight, we watched as we left the comfy, warm area of Little Rock and headed into the cold area of STL. We watched the temp jump from 65 to 45 in a matter of minutes. Ugh! It was such a downer to see all the snow again! I am ready for spring!! For flowers! For sun!!!

Overall, it was a nice trip...I hate to say this because I know there are some in my family who don't want to discuss this possibility, but we are considering moving to Little Rock. Jimmy is going to apply at the police department there. I have been checking out houses online. It is amazing to me the difference in housing costs there compared to here. I can get the house I have always wanted there for half the cost or more. That kind of house here in STL would never be obtainable. The cost of private elementary school is about what we pay now so no difference there but the cost of private high school education is drastically lower there than here. And with high school not far in our future, it is something we have to consider. There are many downsides to leaving STL - family and friends but we would be moving to a place where family and friends are also. I couldn't move to a place where I don't know anyone. I don't make friends easily since I am a bit shy. I am at peace with this decision should it come to this. However, I won't let myself think about leaving my baby sister behind. She is the one I would miss the most. We see each other the most. She sees my kids the most. I usually only see my parents and brother once a month sometimes longer - they are busy. I want my kids to experience having a family close. When my mother-in-law was alive and they lived here, Mary saw Alex every day (ok, she took him to the babysitter) but we also saw them almost every weekend. I miss that closeness. I have also connected with old friends via Facebook lately and some of them are no longer in STL even though their families are. I know it can be done and that I can still maintain closeness with my STL family and friends. We'll see if that is the direction the Lord wants us to take. And if it takes us out of town, we'll visit often. We'll see!

Deceptively Delicious

So in our effort to get healthy in 2009, we decided that we would try to incorporate more veggies into our diet. Let me say that I am not a vegetable lover. The vegetables I will eat consist of spinach (love it - whether fresh or canned), peas and corn. I can stand brocolli and cauliflower is low doses but it doesn't get bought often. I cannot stand green beans and carrots. Well, in an effort to help my kids also get more veggies into their daily intake, I bought the book by Jessica Seinfeld, Deceptively Delicious.

This book shows you how to sneak some veggies into recipes unnoticed. I am not into "deceiving" the kids because I want them to know how to eat healthy but I do like the concept of putting pureed veggies into recipes to get MORE of them. So I picked the recipes I thought the kids would like...blueberry lemon muffins, cheesesticks, chicken salad, mac and cheese. Bought all the ingredients and had a great time steaming and pureeing the veggies. Jimmy cut up all the veggies...I put them in the steamer my Mom and Dad gave me for my birthday last year (which I had yet to use! See, not much of a veggie lover!) and once the veggie were steamed, put them in the food processor to puree. Easy Peasy! We pureed cauliflower, zucchini, carrots, yellow squash and butternut squash. I had never tried butternut squash before and after I pureed it, I gave it a taste...it was yummy!

After all the veggies were steamed and pureed, I only had time to make the muffins. The secret ingredient in the muffins was yellow squash. They turned out good. Alex liked them, I liked them, Jimmy liked them and my blueberry freak Olivia -- HATED it. OK, I was not going to give up just yet. The next night, I made the chicken salad for Jimmy and I -- it wasn't bad -- I did think it was too liquidy so I will reduce the amount of mayo and yogurt in that one but overall, it was good -- that recipe's secret ingredient was cauliflower. Since Olivia loves cheese -- I thought I would try the cheesesticks -- the secret ingredient in that is also cauliflower. The recipe calls for you to freeze the prepared cheesesticks in the freezer for 20 minutes. I highly recommend doing that because I didn't and it did not hold in cheesestick form -- it was basically splatted-looking cheese on a plate. I put a few on a plate for my daughter who took one look at it and declared quite loudly that "these are not cheesesticks". I begged and pleaded for her to please just try it. They were really good -- they just didn't look good. I got her to take a tiny bite which she promptly became grossed out by the taste and spit out. OK, what is up with this...my daughter who loves fruit and veggies and rarely eats meat is not loving my Deceptively Delicious recipes! The cheesesticks were a hit with Jimmy and Alex though. I am so excited that Alex is taking a liking to these recipes. He's usually my picky eater but he has embraced this new trial period.

Mac n cheese -- thought for sure this would be a good one -- secret ingredient is butternut squash. Again, in my effort to cook healthy for my family, we have stopped using the "white" pastas and use the whole wheat pasta. I didn't have macaroni noodles but I had rotini noodles -- the spiral ones -- made up the recipes and again, Olivia took one look at it loudly proclaimed she was not eating that! She did eat the noodles without the "cheese" sauce though. Alex thought it was just OK. I think the cheese mixture was a little too thick and plus, we didn't have the correct noodles. I will try this one again.

I will continue my quest for recipes that allows us to incorporate more fruits and veggies into our diet and will let you know how it goes. I have pictures of my purees but the usb cable on my camera isn't working but I will post as soon as I get a new one. I felt so accomplished after completing this process! 1 point for Mom (but don't tell Olivia!).