Broccoli and Olive Salad

Growing up my grandmother always made the most delicious broccoli and olive salad. Several years ago she announced that she didn't think she made it very well and that liked it better when other people made it. Usually me or my mom end up making it. I volunteered to make it this year.

We've talked a lot about how hard this Thanksgiving will be for my grandfather - his first one without her on more than 65 years - but I don't think I've spent any time thinking about how I am going to feel tomorrow. So I was caught by surprise at how emotional I got making the dressing and veggies for the salad tonight. I was overcome with a feeling of history or legacy (I don't think that's really a feeling but you know what I mean) as I made it. It was such a direct connection to her. I thought about how she made that salad for so many occasions with such love in her heart.

As strange as it sounds, I felt her presence with me as I went through the motions of making that salad. And I suddenly realized how incredibly sad tomorrow will be in many ways. I'm so thankful to have such a wonderful family with whom I can share that sadness.

But it won't be all sad - we will be thankful for her life and celebrate the legacy that she left behind. More than just recipes - love and family and faith.

Fair Fun!

We made it to the Texas State Fair last week! It was super fun! The girls decided they wanted to ride their first roller coaster. It was a little one in the kiddie ride section. We thought it would be little and slow enough that they would have fun. Boy were we WRONG! I was watching Campo ride another little ride and could hear poor Me Too's screams over the very loud rides. Doug finally gave the ride operator the cut off sign. Big Bear got off the ride and immediately said, "Never, ever again". Me Too didn't stop crying for about 20 minutes. She said that she did NOT like the fair at all. Once she started to settle down she did mention that some cotton candy might help her feel better. It did the trick!

It was actually heartbreaking for me. I am terrified of rides. I was very hesitant to let them go on the rides in the first place but everyone else seemed to think it was fine. So to hear those screams of sheer terror just made my stomach do flips. But...all in all, everyone survived and my children now know that roller coasters aren't for them!

Other than the ride disaster, we had a wonderful time. We had yummy food and saw lots of animals. The best activity was actually the only free one! It was an exhibit called Little Hands On the Farm. The kids enter a farm yard and are given an apron and a bucket. They go from building to building doing different activities such as feeding the chickens and gathering an egg or milking a cow and getting a carton of milk. By the end of the exhibit, they had a bucket full of items that they "sold" at market. They were paid some funny money which they then took to a little store where they could "buy" some snacks. It was precious and the pictures are adorable!

Campo on a very slow ride that did NOT scar him for life!


The awful dragon roller coaster that terrified my poor girls.


Campo loving the car show!


The family with Grammy and Big Tex!


All of us in front of Big Tex!


The family in the animal building!

The kids at the Little Hands exhibit!



Feeding the chickens!

Oh Baby, Baby, Baby, Baby

4 sisters, 3 in Chicago and 1 in California, each had a baby - all within 4 days! Apparently they weren't all due at the same time - thank God all the babies and mommies are fine. The first question that popped into my mind was...How does Grandma know where to go first?

Read the full story here.

Whiny and Complain-y

I feel whiny and complain-y today. I know complain-y is not a word but I'm making it one for today.

First of all - it's SOOOOO HOT!!! I can't take it anymore! It's been over 100 for the past several days. In the afternoon, I can't get my house any cooler than 80 and yesterday it was 81! Miserable!!

Second, the kids were supposed to go to Parent's Night Out at the rehab place where Big Bear goes for occupational therapy. 3 kids for 3 1/2 hours - for $25!! You can't beat that!! But Big Bear woke up at 3:30am to get sick. She is running fever and has a sore throat - although she seems much more energetic than I would expect.

Third, my leg has been aching since about the time that I woke up with Big Bear. It just aches from up above the knee and all the way down.

Fourth, Doug has to work tomorrow morning. He has to start working every other Saturday morning and that just bums me out.

Okay - I'm done whining. Sometimes it just makes you feel better to get it all out. Now I'll look at the positives...

First, at least we have air conditioning and a nice house for that air conditioning to cool us off - at whatever level of cooling that is!

Second, we've had a lot of nights out recently so it's not like I really NEED a night out like I do when it's been a while since we've had time to ourselves. And, like I said, Big Bear seems kind okay right now. Maybe it's just a short lived little bug.

Third, actually I'm having a hard time coming up with something for this one. My leg REALLY hurts and I don't know what could be causing it.

Fourth, at least Doug has a good job!! In this economy and the way things are going these days, that's a GOOD thing!!

Christmas 2009

We had a fabulous Christmas! We started out Christmas Eve with 4pm mass in the snow! YES! SNOW - in Dallas! Amazing! Doug stayed home with Campo since he had been feeling well and not eating all day. Those do not make for a happy baby under normal conditions but add in waking him up early from a nap to get him ready for a mass where if you were lucky enough to sit, you were practically sitting on the person next to you. If you weren't lucky enough to sit, you were standing of the church in one of the two rows up unlucky folks or standing in the vestibule which was so packed I almost couldn't get through to go to the restroom. If you weren't lucky enough to get to stand in the church or the vestibule where you could actually hear and somewhat see Mass, you were standing down the hallway where you couldn't hear a word or see the church. I'm not even sure if that actually counts as mass!

Afterwards we came home and had dinner with Grammy, Grampy and Emma (now called Hemma by Campo). The kids opened their Christmas pajamas, sprinkled their reindeer food, and left cookies and water (we convinced them that Santa would be really tired of milk by the time he got here) for Santa and headed to bed. I also headed to bed since I felt horrible. Lucky Doug got to stay up and assemble a tricycle!

The next morning Grammy, Grampy and Hemma ventured out in the snow/ice/slush to see what Santa brought the kids!

They were so excited about their new presents!




We had a great morning. That afternoon we headed over to Grammy and Grampy's to enjoy even more family, and of course, food!! Big Bear dressed her big dinosaur in a party dress.

Saturday we headed out to Granbury to visit Doug's parents and cousins. Tons of great presents, more great food, and lots of fun! And I mean LOTS of presents!

And LOTS of fun!



There was still a bit of snow out there so the girls made a snowman. Okay, he's not that big, but he's cute!!






It has been a great Christmas holiday!! Thanks to all my family for their generosity with their gifts, their love and their continuing and constant support of my family!!

Easter Stuff

Finally, Easter pictures! My Lent was good - not great, not bad. It could have been a lot better I'm sure. I went to the Holy Thursday mass and Good Friday service which usually blow me away but didn't this year as much as usual. I wanted to go to the Easter Vigil but circumstances that happened earlier in the week all sort of snowballed into a situation where I just couldn't make it. On Thursday night after the mass I got home and crawled into bed. Just as I got super comfy and started thinking about how happy I was to be there, Doug ran in and said he had cut his finger and needed to go to the ER for stitches. I called my poor dad who was just wrapping up...not only from the mass but wrapping up his day which had started with a 6:45am men's prayer group. Yikes! Of course, later we realized that there were a couple of other people we probably should have called but Grammy and Grampy are the first ones I always think of and the ones who would need the least instruction as to the care of our kids and where to find things in our house etc. So off we went to the ER and got home around 2am. Now I do not do well with lack of sleep and that proetty much just ruined me for the next few days.

We decided to go to 7:30am Easter mass after realizing we would only be getting to mass about 30 minutes later if we wanted to get a seat at the 9am. It turned out to be one of the nicest Easter masses I've been to since I've had kids. We weren't squeezed in and it didn't last super extra long because the crowd for communion wasn't too long. The kids did great. Me Too got very upset though. With her bottom lip sticking out she told me how sad she was that the shepherds put Jesus on the cross and that he was dead - she's 3, okay, give her a break...she knows more of the story than some! I told her no, we were there to celebrate that he was not dead anymore, that he had risen! But we were sitting in the front row and she looked up to the huge crucifix hanging high in the middle of the altar and pointed and said, "No, he's dead". I tried telling her that it was just there to remind us of what he did to take away our sins. Well, there was no convincing her otherwise and how do you explain that one to a 3 year old?

The only bummer of the day was the pouring rain which caused us to abandon the girls' sandals (which took two trips to get the sizing right) for tennis shoes with their nice dresses. Oh well! After we got home from mass we had cinnamon rolls, bacon and eggs. It was all dark outside from the rain and inside the house was warm and cozy and breakfast-y smelling. It was lovely!! The kids found their Easter baskets and we all got naps in at some point.

Late in the afternoon we headed for Grammy and Grampy's house where we had a lovely dinner and more Easter basket surprises!

Here are some pictures!

Freaking Out Update and Kindergarten Round Up!

Well, not only did I survive the kindergarten picnic last Friday (read about my freak out here), I also survived Kindergarten Roundup this past Wednesday...but not without water works of course! It's been a trying week around here!

The picnic was great! Luckily it wasn't slated for today...yucky, rainy, cold...and was on a day that had exactly the opposite weather...warm, sunny and beautiful! Me Too had strep throat so she stayed home with Grammy. It was very strange going to a family event without a member of the family and I kept telling everyone that there was one more! The bubble machine was a hit but didn't work exactly as I had planned. The kids did swarm our area, but Big Bear, who is very happy playing by herself, was off running around other places! One mom did ask me if I was the one who brought the bubble machine but I really didn't need it to meet anyone. Since everyone there was pretty much in the same boat and since the express purpose of the event was to get to know people, everyone was pretty friendly and open. The most important thing was the Big Bear had a blast and left more excited about kindergarten than before...if that is possible!

Next was Kindergarten Roundup on Wednesday night. Grammy helped out again by keeping Me Too and Campo so that Doug and I could concentrate on the information that we were given. And boy, did we get information! It was a little overwhelming. Also overwhelming was seeing my Big Bear leave in a big group of other future kindergartners to have story time in the library. As I watched them line up and leave the cafeteria, it hit me hard and strong that this is really it...the thing I've been dreading since the day of her birth...kindergarten is almost here!!

Here are some pictures from the picnic:

Big Bear running in a game of tag!


Campo had a blast at the picnic.

Except when someone started getting too close to his french fries!

And even daddy had a great time on our blanket with the kids!



Oh, and someone had asked about the bubble machine...Target...$8.99. Here is what it looks like...comes in different colors.
The genius of it is the way the bubble blowers are positioned inside there. It causes it to blow out tons of bubbles at once! And since you don't have to hold it...no yucky bubbles on your hands! Yay!


Not good for the bubble machine are rocks inside of it. Thanks to the kid at the picnic who caused us to find this out! Luckily, daddy fixed it!!

Blogging Break...Over?

Well, hello friends. I've been away. It wasn't intentional. I just stopped. It just was fun, I had nothing to say, I stressed all the time over what to post...blah. So, without even making a conscious decision, I just stopped! People kept asking me if I had quit blogging and I just told them no, I was taking a break. I was accused of letting Facebook take blogging's place. Not the case. Facebook is jut a lot easier to keep up with - just little quick hits here and there instead of having to sit and think about exactly what I wanted to say. But today it happened...I missed blogging and wanted to do it again. So here I am. And we'll just see what happens!

Everyone is doing great. Big Bear is getting really excited about going to kindergarten. After a long discernment process - lots of prayer, research and counsel, we have decided to go to our neighborhood public school. While I am sad that our kids will not attend Catholic school, we are very at peace about our decision. For a couple of weeks, Doug and I were both feeling really moved in that direction but hadn't shared our thoughts with each other about it. One day he came home and said that he felt so drawn to the school every time he drove by it and I told him I felt the same way and at that point we felt really sure. We are very excited to meet lots of new people. This Friday we will go to a picnic for incoming kindergartners and their families. Big Bear and I have also been attending a little program at the school for incoming kindergartners. So far they have gone to a music class, an art class, a PE class and to the science lab. They met and took pictures with the mascot from the high school. The superintendent even came to speak to us one day! Here is a picture of her in the little tee shirt she got from the school.

Me Too has gone from being a little toddler with hair sprouting out unevenly all over her head making it always look messy and disheveled into a sweet, adorable little girl who is very popular at school, not only among her classmates but her sister's as well. She has quite the temper and is extremely stubborn...although she balks at being labeled as "stubbord". On the other hand, she is the most loving, snuggly little thing I've ever known. Every morning she comes and climbs in bed with me and cuddles up so close. I cherish those moments and hope they never stop. I tried to find a recent picture of her by herself but could only find pictures of her with her siblings. That kind of sums up Me Too. She's all about her sister and her brother.

And, last but not least, Campo! What a fun little guy he is becoming! He has such a funny and sly sense of humor. He is loving and sweet at the same time that he is rough and tumble. He loves to play with his sisters and lights up when he sees them. In the past couple of days he has found his voice and babbles nonstop. He loves to "talk". Campo has a funny quirk when he sits down on a step or in a swing or his carseat - any type of seat where his legs hang down. He always crosses his legs at the ankles. Even when he sits on the floor...one leg goes over the other. And when he sleeps at school, he goes in a swing with both hands behind his head and legs crossed. He looks like he's lounging in a hammock. Too cute! Here he is playing outside last week.

Apron Wishes

I don't really cook often and often don't enjoy cooking when I do. However, I had some sort of out of body experience this Thanksgiving that I thought I might share! On Monday dad called to warn that mom was coming down with something. She was in that stage where you know you are just about to feel pretty awful. By Tuesday, she was feeling pretty awful. So I decided that I would cook the dinner this year. It's something I have always thought that I should do or would have to do one day but I have been always been too scared to try plus someone else was always doing it anyway! You know what...it wasn't that hard! It got a little crazy right towards the end when the turkey was ready and all of the sides needed to be in the oven. And...dinner was an hour late! But...it was worth it. Yummy - if I do say so myself!

And I'll fill you in on a little secret...but don't tell anyone. I actually really enjoyed cooking the dinner. I mean, I really enjoyed it. It was fun. The family was all around all day long. The kids were SO great. The girls didn't fight...much. Even Campo didn't fuss and took 2 good naps. I got to pick all of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes made the way I like. We had football on all day and everyone was dressed causally and comfortable. It was just a very relaxing, family day with very little stress.

I did have one unexpected surprise desire throughout the day though. I've often seen other mommy bloggers write about their aprons and their love of aprons. I remember not too long ago when someone was selling aprons and everyone was buying them up. They were beautiful but I just had no desire to have an apron! For some reason very early Thursday morning, I'm talking very early, I was thinking about the dinner and what I needed to get done and when etc., I suddenly wished that I had a beautiful apron to cook Thanksgiving dinner in. And all day I just kept thinking that it was the one thing missing...besides my mom of course! So, maybe one of these days I'll get an apron!

I think the apron wishes and the sense of enjoyment that I had making the meal on Thursday had a lot to do with the sense that I was going through some sort of rite of passage. When the meal was all ready, we made a plate for my mom and took it over to her. I felt this huge sense of anxiety that SHE was trying MY turkey and MY thanksgiving dinner. This woman who had done this magnificent feast for us (and many more people than I cooked for by the way) year after year was going to taste what I had worked so hard on and planned so much for all week. Luckily, I passed the mom test...and the dad test, sister test, husband test and the two kids who eat food besides rolls, chicken nuggets and pizza test.

So I guess, maybe, I am now apron worthy!!

Here's a picture of my dinner! Unfortunately, we didn't get a picture of the turkey before we carved it. And I don't have a lot of nice things for serving so ignore the tacky set up!

Dinosaurs and Dollhouses

We are having so much fun with Daddy home! It was hard at first, I'll admit! We all got in each other's way. But, we've gotten into a new rhythm now and it's been so wonderful. I know I'll always cherish this special month that we've been able to spend as a family! Okay, and moving on because I'm getting teary!

So last week we visited a museum! We went to the Dallas Museum of Nature and Science. It was a blast. The girls loved it. In fact, everyone could tell how much they loved it by the huge tantrums the girls threw on the way out because they wanted to go "to the next thing" as Big Bear kept asking us to do all day long!

Big Bear's favorite part was...you guessed it...the dinosaurs. They had a T-Rex and Teranadon (no idea how to spell it - in fact, I'm just taking her word for it on what it's even called - she would know!) exhibit as well as a fossil dig. The girls got to get in the dirt!

Me Too discovered a doll house and spent about 15 minutes just playing with it. Her attention never diverted and she could have stayed another 15 minutes or more. That is a long time for a 2 year old to do one thing! At least we know what to get her for her birthday!

Campo fell asleep on the way there and woke up soon after we got there because I stopped moving the stroller...ugghhh! You'd think I'd know better by now! Anyway, he loved watching everything and then...surprise of all surprises...there was actually a little area for him! It was a play area for 0-2 year olds only so he and Me Too went in. He had a blast crawling all around and playing with some big, soft blocks! In fact, I'm sure that is where he got the little cold he seems to be developing! Well, it's either a cold or side effects of the hard, jagged little bit of a tooth poking through the gum! Can't see it yet, but I can feel it!

So, here are some pictures of our fun day at the museum! Enjoy!

Day at the Museum

Credit Cards Pay Off For Once!

With a Bank of America credit card you can get free admission to museums across the country on certain weekends every month. I'm assuming this is just one free admission? It's not very clear but I intend to find out and take advantage of this great deal! I've been wanting to take the girls to the Museum of Nature and Science at Fair Park. I think they'll have a blast!

A Little Reading

I was about to start a chore that would take some concentration and noticed it was a little too quiet around the house. Since the baby was down, I figured I'd better find out where Me Too was pretty quickly! For once, it was a harmless quiet. She was reading to her baby doll. But, what she was reading to her baby doll was hilarious. By the time I got the camera and took the picture, she was reading What to Expect the First Year. But when I first found her, she was reading...this - click on the link and scroll down a bit. It's a book that explains how to do The Billings Ovulation Method (NFP)!!



I guess it's never too early to start learning!

More Easter Pictures!

Me Too looking a little devilish!!



Now she's sweet again!



Big Bear with a blue mouth from Baptism cake!!