Video Message from Emily

Emily made this video for you last night. Not sure why it turned out so dark.

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Gymnastics and Nadia Comaneci

This morning, we went to gymnastics. We have figured out that we have to get to class early so that we can get a seat on the sofas. If we're late, we have to sit over on the bleachers and that's no fun. So we were rushing around this morning (as usual). We got there just in time to get the last seat on the sofas.


So we're sitting there about 30 minutes into the class and a white van pulled up and a bunch of people got out carrying bags and came inside. It was a bunch of girls and several old people. Most of them disappear down a hallway and a few minutes later, one older gentleman comes back in and tells all of us (preschool parents who are sitting around waiting) that there are some international gymnasts from Romania, Russia, Kazakhstan and Isreal practicing in the gym this morning. So we all kinda watch them trot around and stretch and whatnot. I looked online when I got home and found out that they were in town for the Nadia Comaneci International Invitational.



And a few minutes later, Nadia Comaneci walks through (wearing a pink sweatsuit, if you must know) with a couple other ladies. While I was not exactly surprised to see her there since she's married to the owner of the gym (Bart Conner), I was a little surprised to see her there since she's a former international gymnastics champion. She's taller than I thought she would be. Most gymnasts are so tiny.


So I immediately start texting my sister, Heather, about seeing Nadia Comaneci at gymnastics! Heather has always liked gymnastics and so she's the first person I thought of when all the international gymnasts started showing up. I wish Heather was there with us to see it. She has yet to visit Bart Commer Gym to see Emily, but I'm sure she will soon. (By the way, that's an open invitation, Heather!)


I got my camera out in case I was able to get some pics of the international gymnasts or Nadia Comaneci without being too obvious. But while I was waiting, I went ahead and got some action shots of Emily doing some jumps and rolls. (Sad that taking pictures of my own child was an afterthought, but I do try to be honest on this blog.)

I've also been trying to upload a video, but I can't get it to load. If I can't get it this weekend, I'll upload it on Monday so be looking for it!

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Supper Time - Red Beans and Rice with Hot Water Cornbread

Tonight for supper, I made Red Beans and Rice with hot water cornbread. I put some Hillshire Farms smoked sausage in the red beans and rice. It took a while to let everything cook, but I think it turned out pretty good. (And Mike totally agrees!)


So ... the real question ... have you ever tried hot water cornbread? Do you even know what it is? I think it's an Arkansas thing since I haven't found anyone from Oklahoma who's tried it. Well .. I mean Mike has tried it and he really loves it. But it's only because I fix it for him. He'd never tried it before we were married.


I'll give you the recipe, but it's one of those passed down non-specific recipes.

Hot Water Cornbread

Mix about 2 cups of cornmeal mix with a bit of salt. I like buttermilk cornmeal mix, but I also use white cornmeal mix at times. (It's important to get the cornmeal mix and not just cornmeal.)

Pour boiling water over cornmeal mix and stir well. Keep adding boiling water until you have a moderately thick mixture. It will thicken as it stands so you may need to add more water.

Heat oil in cast iron skillet until hot.

Run hands under cold water and then spoon out some of the cornmeal mixture and use your hands to make a thick patty.

Drop into hot oil. Cook until browned around the edges and then turn over to cook the other side. Drain on paper towel.

So yummy!

Preschool

Emily was so sleepy this morning. She went to sleep on the couch at Mike's parents house this morning. She NEVER goes to sleep on the couch like that. I've seen pictures of kids that were just playing or watching TV and fell asleep, but that has never happened to Emily. She'll occasionally fall asleep in the car but most of the time, she only sleeps during regularly scheduled naps or bedtime.

We are very fortunate that Emily is a good sleeper. When she was younger, we had a lot of problems getting her to go to sleep at night. She would call for her dad and cry over and over at night. She would do anything that she had to do to get him to come back into her room. I think we were all very glad when she passed that phase.

Now our bedtime routine is in two phases:

Mom bedtime routine - a) "Tell me what happened" where I say what happened today and then she'll say what happened today b) "Now I lay me" where I say "Who's going to say Now I Lay Me?" and she said "Us" and then we say Now I lay me down to sleep ... c) "Hug Kiss Squeeze"

Dad bedtime routine - Turn on the Cinderella light. Tell her she doesn't need the fan on tonight. She fusses. Daddy turns on the fan. Kisses goodnight. (Did I miss anything, Mike?)

Hey, I thought this section was supposed to be about preschool? Oh yeah, I remember what I was going to say. Emily doesn't have preschool tomorrow. I guess the local school district is having a teacher in service day or something. Her preschool follows the local school district's calendar so they will be out too.

Too bad I can't take off work tomorrow too. I was just off on Monday for President's Day. Oh well, we will have fun this weekend anyway.

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Lots of Little Cubbies

We had 7 little Cubbies in our class tonight. That's a record high for us! Two of them were new to our class. We were really excited to have them.

We used up a whole bag of cotton balls for our project - making sheep pictures - and we only spilled like three cups of water at snack time. In other words, it was a GOOD night!

I find that as our class gets bigger, it's more important for us to make the kids behave. When we only had two or three kids, it was not such a big deal if one of them wanted to lay down during story time. But now that kind of stuff is really disruptive to the other kids. I find myself giving the kids "the look" to let them know that I'm serious. No more Ms. Nice-Teacher now!!!

Emily said she had fun at Cubbies tonight too. Her favorite teacher - Ms Jennifer - was there tonight. I think she's getting better at going into her class when it's time. When Cubbies first started, I'd more or less have to push her into the room but now she just walks in.

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Heather update and Kids Say ...

I wanted to give all you prayer warriors an update on my friend Heather. She made it through the surgery fine, but she's still in the hospital. While they were performing the surgery, they found tumors in other places besides her ovaries. The cancer appears to be contained to her lower abdomen though. She'll start chemotherapy in a few weeks.

Her husband has set up a Caringbridge page for her. He wants at least 100 people to sign the guestbook before she gets out of the hospital later this week. It think they are well over the 100 mark, but it never hurts to add a few more. So if you're so inclined, please visit her site at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/heatherchandler and let her know you're praying for her. I've also linked her website on my blog list on the right side of my blog.


Kids say ...

This weekend on the way to gymnastics, Emily asked me what I did when I was a little girl. I told her about playing in the woods, fishing, playing in the sandbox, playing school, Barbies, dolls.

Me: And when I got older, I got a little sister and I would help my mom with her. I would play with her and talk to her and I would give her toys and bring my mom diapers for her.

Emily: Mama! Aunt Heather used to wear diapers???

Me: Yes, she did when she was a baby.

Emily: Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!! Did you used to wear diapers too??

Me: Yep, I wore diapers too.

Emily: Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!! What about Daddy??

Me: Yes! Daddy too!

Emily: *squeals* What about Poppa? Did Poppa used to wear diapers???

Me: Yes! Poppa too! (Side conversation between me and Mike about what they may have used for diapers waaaaaaaaay back in the day.)

Emily: Hahahaha!! What about Uncle Gary and Aunt Cherry??? Madison? Tyler? Grandaddy??? Grandmother??????? Ahahahahahahahaha!!!

Me: Yes, everyone wore diapers when they were babies.

And so it went from there ... screaming and shrieking and laughing all the way to gymnastics. Aren't you all glad that she got a kick out of the idea of you wearing diapers?


This post is part of "Laughter Lives! Tuesday" on the Riggs Family Blog. Check our their blog to read everyone else's "Laughter Lives!" posts.

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Have you ever eaten Angel Food cake with frosting?

I made this cake yesterday for Valentine's Day. It's an angel food cake with fluffy white frosting (tinted pink, of course!) We had some after lunch yesterday and it was sooooo good! Emily and I had it all over our faces. So fun! I'm thinking angel food cake with fluffy white frosting is my favorite food.


Have you ever eaten Angel Food cake with frosting? Leave me a comment and let me know what you thought about it.

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Be Mine, Valentine!

Last night when we got home, Emily opened all her goody bags from her school party and her gift from Nanny and Pops. Here are some pictures of Emily with her gifts. She took a nap with her new pink frog this afternoon and I think we're going to watch her new movie later tonight.

Package from Grandmother and Grandaddy


Then after gymnatics this morning, we came home to find a package from Grandmother and Grandaddy in the mailbox. Emily wanted to open it immediately, but we had to wait until we put all the groceries away. (And checkout Emily's outfit in these pictures. She's wearing her new gymnastics leotard, which is a hand-me-down from Madison. She loves it!)

The card was singing a Dora song. She thought that was very funny.


We're going to love playing with these stickers.

A Thank You video for Grandmother and Grandaddy

Sweet Dreams

Mike got me this HUGE box of Russell Stover chocolates. He's gotten me chocolates for Valentines Day every year since I've known him. He did good, didn't he? I love you, Mike!

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Oh, Deer

I had to work a bit late tonight, but when I got home I found four deer in our yard. They were very close to our house. I got out of the car and closed (okay, slammed) the door and they just looked at me. Then I went inside and Mike and Emily went to look out the window at them. Emily was yelling at them and they still didn't run off. We watched them out the kitchen window while we fixed supper.

Ahhhhhh the joys of country living!

Update on Heather

Heather's surgery has been moved to tomorrow. Keep praying!!

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Heads Up All Prayer Warriors!

Please pray for my friend Heather. She has recently been diagnosed with ovarian cancer and is having surgery today. Heather and I went to school together. She's the same age as me and is mother to two adorable children.


My God is BIGGER than cancer!


Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)

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Not Me! Pumpkin

Do you recognize these pumpkins that I posted about on October 5, 2008?

• I did not just dispose of the pumpkins in the above picture today - February 8, 2009. (Yes, a full 4 months after first putting the pumpkins out in the yard. No, they did not look like pumpkins when I got rid of them this afternoon.)

• I did not eat a "ham and cheese funnel cake" this weekend. It was not really yummy.

• I did not write out one more Not Me! and then delete it at the last second because I decided I didn't want to admit to that one after all. Lovely.

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Wii Had Fun This Weekend

Last night, we went over to Mike's parents house to show them some of our Wii games.

I think they were a little surprised at how far video games had come. As you can see from the picures below, we all had a good time.

Mike's dad playing bowling .. or something

Mike's mom on the Wii Fit ... Ski Jump, anyone?

Mike laughing at/with his parents

Emily being silly

Emily borrowing someone else's shoes

Cheddars

A new Cheddars restaurant opened near us last week. We went to check it out for lunch on Saturday. It's a really nice place and their food was really tasty. I figured out really quickly that none of the food is good for you at that place though. I had the Monte Cristo sandwich ... aka "the ham and cheese funnel cake". Obviously not a health food. But I shared it with my small child so that makes it all better. Right? Riiiight!

Gardeners

It was such a beautiful day in Oklahoma today. This afternoon, Emily and I got out and worked in the yard a bit. We worked on cleaning out one of the flower beds and planted some of the 80 daffodil bulbs that I bought a few months ago. Going to have to get out my bulb planter to help with the rest of them. There are just too many of them to do by hand. (And yes, I do realize it's really too late to plant daffodils and they probably won't bloom this year. If they just survive and bloom next year, I will be happy.)

Emily is so funny. She's really into doing EXACTLY what I do these days. If I'm digging, she wants her own shovel. She wants to wear her gardening gloves just like me and help me hold the water hose and anything else I do. She helped me plant the bulbs. I dug the holes and her job was to put the bulbs in. She knows that the big end goes in the hole first and the small end should be pointing up. And then you fill the dirt back into the hole (and sometimes STOMP them for good measure!) :) ... Just like Mom.

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Feeling Better

Just wanted to drop a quick line to say that we're feeling mostly better now. Sometimes it just takes a while for the residual ickiness to go away.

It's supposed to be a beautiful day here in Oklahoma today ... warm weather, hopefully calm winds. Yesterday, we had some very high winds. Besides the fact that it messes up my hair and blows dirt into my eyes, it's also hard to drive when the winds are really whipping outside. It makes my car feel like it's nothing but a bucket of bolts!

We're off to start our busy day with gymnastics and probably a trip to the grocery store and ??? Who knows what else we'll get into today. Hope you have a good one as well!

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Sick, Sick, Sick

Mike and I have been passing a stomach virus back and forth all week. It's nasty stuff and just makes everyone miserable. Thankfully, Emily has not gotten sick and I hope she can avoid this one.

We missed Cubbies last night because I was sick. I heard they had a good night though. Emily knew her verse and everything. "Let the little children come to me ..." - Matthew 19:14.

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Nutter Butter Banana Pudding Trifle

Note: Another new post below.


This weekend, I made a Nutter Butter Banana Pudding Trifle. I found the recipe in the February 2009 issue of Southern Living magazine. I made the "quick and easy" version of the recipe. (See below.)

Nutter Butter Banana Pudding Trifle

3 cups milk
2 (3.4 oz pkgs) instant vanilla pudding mix
1 tsp vanilla extract
8 oz sour cream
5 medium-sized ripe bananas
1 (1-lb) pkg Nutter Butter cookies
1 container Extra Creamy Cool Whip

Place milk, vanilla, and instant pudding mix in a large bowl. Beat with electric mixer at medium speed for 2 minutes or until thickened. Let stand for 5 minutes and then add sour cream. Mix well. Chill pudding in refrigerator.


Cut bananas into 1/2-inch slices. Break cookies into thirds.


Spoon half of pudding mixture into a 3-qt bowl or pitcher. Top with banas and cookies. Spoon remaining pudding mixture over bananas and cookies. Top with Cool Whip. Cover and chill. Garnish, if desired.


The Verdict


Mike really liked this new recipe. He said it was better than my banana pudding recipe. *sniff* I thought it was okay, but not great. The Nutter Butter cookies added a bit of gritty texture I thought. It was quite rich with the peanut butter cookies and the Rich and Creamy Cool Whip. I would make it again for Mike though.

Have you tried a Nutter Butter Banana Pudding Trifle? What did you think? Let me know if you have any questions about the recipe. I'd be happy to help.

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Interstate Madness and Kids say ...

A couple weeks ago, a four-lane stretch of the eastbound I-40 "Crosstown" was re-paved. Instead of painting the lane stripes, they put down those little reflective strips that stick up a bit? Do you know the ones I'm talking about?

Well ... last week when we had all the icy weather, all those little strips that were dividing the lanes went away. I don't know if it was because of the snow plows or just the sand/salt mixture, but they were just totally gone! Four lanes of cars not knowing where their lanes begin and end ... that's what I call interstate madness!

Kids say ...

This weekend, Emily was playing in the living room. I told her to stop doing something and she told me "No". I called her on it and she said "I didn't tell you 'no', Mom. I was talking to Stephanie (her doll)!" Haha!

This post is part of "Laughter Lives! Tuesday" on the Riggs Family Blog. Check our their blog to read everyone else's "Laughter Lives!" posts.

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Snow Day!!!!

Okay, maybe "Snow Day" is the wrong term. Maybe it's more like "Ice Day!!!"

Mike and I both stayed home from work today because of all the ice/sleet/snow that we've received since Monday. Emily spend the night at Nanny and Papa's house. She was over there when the roads started to get bad and it would have been too dangerous to go and get her. They were gracious enough to let her spend the night last night and again tonight. She enjoys staying over there and they enjoy having her. At last check, she was watching Cinderella.


I have enjoyed the quiet day at home. I got to sleep in for a change (until almost 10am!) We played some Wii games. I did my Wii Fit for a bit. I cooked some spaghetti and meatballs and a pan of brownies. Yum!

I'm not sure if I'll go to work tomorrow or not. It depends on what the roads look like in the morning. I'm guessing it will still be pretty bad out there, but we'll see.

So... since I have some spare time tonight, I thought I would type up a little Blog lesson. (Experienced blog readers can stop reading here!)

Comments

At the bottom of each blog post is a section that tells the number of comments the post has received. If you click on the number, it will take you to another screen which shows all the comments that have been posted. If you scroll down, you will see a place where you can enter your comments.


You have several options on ways that you can identify yourself when you post a comment

• Google/Blogger - * Recommended (see below)
• Open ID
• Name/URL - Type in your first name
• Anonymous - Nothing required, but it would be nice if you'd type your name after your comment so that I'll know it was you.

I recommend that you set up a Google/Bloggger account. You can sign up using your existing email address. Just click on "Google/Blogger" and then on "Sign Up". Enter your own email address and make up a new password. You'll get an email asking you to confirm your email address and that you requested the Google Account. Just click the link in the email and you're all set.

Just a side note ... there are a lot of other things you can do with a Google account besides commenting on blogs. You can also post or share picture on PicasaWeb or set up a shared calendar and more! All with the same account using the same email address that you always use.



What's the deal with those Word Verifications?

You know the ones .. where you have to type the words that are hard to read. Those are to verify that you are, in fact, human and not a computer program designed to "spam" the system with inappropriate messages or advertisements. Don't worry if you key the word wrong ... it will give you a new word and you can try again.

Well I hope this little lesson helps explain a few things about blogs. You can always email me if you have any questions. I'd be happy to help.

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Resolution Revolution

The other day, I was thinking a bit about resolutions. Lots of people make resolutions at the beginning of each year. I personally don't make New Years Resolutions. I have made them before, but they never really pan out. It seems like I forget all about it before long.

So I was thinking ... maybe I could make a resolution for just one week. But really a resolution is pretty much just a commitment to yourself. So ... why not just make a commitment instead of a sure-to-fail resolution?

Commitment - January 24-30, 2009
I commit to using my Wii Fit at least five days this week.

I'm sure you noticed that my week started Saturday ... and that's because I used my Wii Fit Saturday and Sunday so I've already got two of the five days. May as well help myself out a bit this first week. Ha!

And I'm sure that some of you also noticed that I didn't commit to using the Wii Fit 30 minutes a day or anything. Just that I will use it. It could be five minutes, but it will count! Gotta start somewhere, right?


Not Me! Monday

Yesterday at Toby Keith's restaurant, Emily and I went to the restroom before we left because we had one stop to make on the way home. So we're in the stall ... Emily goes first and then it's my turn. I lean forward to help Emily get her pants straightened ... and the automatic toilet flushes (!!!) causing quite a bit of ... uhhh ... spray! Ahhhhhh!! So. Not. Fun.


And to get that uncomfortable scene out of your mind ...

Nanny sent Mike these pictures of Emily riding around in Madison's pink princess Jeep. I was very pleased to see that she followed all the safty precautions with the helmet ... and the pads ... and the seat belt! *proud mommy moment*

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Mike's Birthday Celebration #2 & #3

Saturday afternoon, we met Mike's family for lunch to celebrate his 37th birthday again. We were going to go to Toby Keith's I Love this Bar & Grill, but it was extremely busy. When they said it would be an hour and a half wait, we decided to go to a different restaurant. So we ended up at Texas Roadhouse. They had to split us up into two tables back to back, but it was still better than an hour and a half wait!

Mike's mom made an awesome German Chocolate Cake - homemade cake, homemade icing!! Fortunately/unfortunately, she sent the leftovers home with us! I had some of it for dinner last night ... and breakfast this morning. Just kidding. (I had the strawberry cake for breakfast!)

The Cake!!! Did I mention homemade cake with homemade icing? So rich .. so yummy!

Aunt Charlene and Uncle Ralph

Aunt Pat (she doesn't follow the rule) and all the girls

Mason and Gary

I think it's safe to say that a good time was had by all.

Mike's Birthday Celebration #3

So today, Mike and Emily and I went back to Toby Keith's restaurant for lunch. Mike really wanted one of their chicken fried steak sandwiches for his birthday. It's good, but maybe it's not hour-and-a-half-wait good. We got there right when they opened today so no waiting.

Emily, waiting for our lunch

Emily wanted to know if this bus was the bathroom

Birthday Boy and his little girl

After we finished eating, we were pointing out different decorations they had on the walls. On one wall was a huge American Flag. I asked Emily if she could say the Pledge of Allegiance .. and this is what I got. One is normal .. and one is superfast!

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Tag, I'm it!

I've been tagged by my friend, Lisa.

Favorite memories of 2008
#1 Visiting the zoo with Mike and Emily.
#2 Emily driving the train at her 3rd birthday party.
#3 Mike's baptism
#4 Christmas!

Favorite movies of 2008
#1 Fireproof
#2 27 Dresses
#3 Baby Mama
#4 Nights in Rodanthe (Okay, I didn't actually watch this one, but ...)

Favorite foods of 2008
#1 Emily's Scooby Doo birthday cake
#2 Goldbrick Candy
#3 Fajitas at Alfredo's (before Cubbies on Wednesday nights)
#4 Pizza Hut

Favorite places of 2008
#1 Oklahoma City, OK
#2 Magnolia, AR
#3 Fayetteville, AR
#4 ??

Events in 2008
#1 Our nephew, Carter, was born in February.
#2 Heather and Stephen's wedding in March
#3 Emily's birthday in June
#4 Mike's baptism in July

Things I liked in 2008
#1 Emily learning to write her name
#2 Being a Cubbies leader
#3 Starting my blog
#4 Mike and I both getting a promotion at work

Things I look forward to in 2009
#1 Finding out what God has planned for me and our family
#2 Seeing the results of all the changes we are going through at work (may be 2010 before I see this!)
#3 Emily starting Pre-K in the fall
#4 Spring!


I'm supposed to tag 4 people so consider yourself tagged!

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Mike's Birthday Celebration #1

In this family, you get multiple birthday celebrations. Mike's first party was tonight. He requested Sonic for supper. (I was going to fix BBQ, but he had BBQ for lunch at work today.)

When we drove up at Sonic, most of the drive-in stalls were filled with fancy classic cars. There was a shiny cherry red Mustang, several old Chevys, a couple Belvederes, A red Corvette, and a Falcon to name a few. I wished I had my camera so that I could take pictures of some of the cars! Why is it that I never have my camera with me when I need it??

Then we went home and ate some strawberry cake that I baked this morning before work! It was really moist and tasty. Lots of ooooey gooey icing. After cake (and singing - off key singing), Mike opened his presents from Emily and me and the card from his parents.

Mike's next party is Saturday! Stay tuned for details!

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