Donuts and sugar, Oh My!

The past few nights have been a little crazy with a baby who must be teething. I cannot come up with any other explanation for her to wake up every 2-3 hours, scream or just want to play. I have to say I am totally exhausted today, but oh well, life goes on and I have another great day to entertain an 8 1/2 month! (No sarcasm, I love entertaining her! Except at 3 in the morning)

We have been doing really good about eating better the past few weeks, but this morning when I got up I wanted donuts. Kyle wanted an omelet. I love eggs, but I have to be in the mood for them otherwise they taste nasty. So I made Kyle an omelet and I made myself some donuts.

I made them the super easy, fast way that my great grandmother Agnes did when I was a kid. She opened a can of biscuits, cut out the holes and fried them up. Then she made a powdered sugar glaze and coated the hot donuts and we had a heavenly little pastry in just a few minutes. I am not sure how she always made sure the insides of the donuts were perfectly cooked because every time I make them, the inside is a little gooey. And, I always forget about this because I haven't made donuts in years. So I need to remember next time to just cut the biscuits up in little bite sized pieces so it all cooks evenly and is perfectly brown.

Taryne was watching me eat one of my donuts and kept grabbing for one, so I decided to give her one of the donut holes. She LOVED it!!! I am so ready for her to have teeth so we can actually give her more pieces of food instead of the pureed stuff. She is so ready for regular food, but with no teeth, she is pretty limited to stuff that is really soft.

And before I forget, once she woke up this morning and had her breakfast (before the donuts) she has been in a very pleasant mood. Lots of laughing, chatting and playing!

Until next time...Gig'em!

Our destructive little dog...

Phoebe likes to destroy things. She likes to lick the walls and chew on the carpet. You name it, she loves to eat it. I don't know how many shoes I have had to throw away because of her destructive nature. I am pretty sure it got worse after she had her back surgery 3 years ago.

The latest "victim" was a wooden spoon we had out for Taryne to bang on some of my baking pans. And as usual, an item can be out and be "available" for destruction for days or weeks before she decides to target that item. This was the case with the wooden spoon. Taryne has been playing with them for weeks. I noticed the other day a small chunk was missing from the wooden spoon, but I took that as just play wear and tear. We have several wooden spoons and since I NEVER use them to cook with, I thought they would be great for Taryne to play with because I would not miss them. Well, tonight we went for ice cream (yes, again) and when we came back this is what I found on the floor...

The spoon was in PIECES!!! I hope she didn't eat too much of the spoon and I really hope it doesn't make her sick. That is all we need right now is an emergency trip to the vet because small pieces of wood are stuck in her intestine or worse it tears her intestine...

Until next time...Gig'em!

Crazy Bed Hair...

Until next time...Gig'em!

STACDC Spring Program 2010...

This morning was the spring program for Taryne's day care. Each class "performed" their class' favorite song of the year. It was also the Pre-K Graduation. Taryne's class performed for the song "6 Little Ducks". In reality, they just sat there looking very cute in their buggies.

Taryne was very cute sitting in the front and kicking her leg to the beat of the song. Most of the other kids just sat there. With the spring program comes the end of the school year for the part day infants. The older kids have part day options for the summer, but not Taryne's age. So it looks like I get to spend a lot of time with her over the next few months.

Until next time...Gig'em!

We have a mobile child!

Taryne started crawling yesterday. I wasn't sure if she was really crawling because she only went a few feet yesterday morning. However, when I picked her up from day care, they told me she was trying to crawl. That confirmed it. And last night when I tried to get a video of her crawling, she wanted to be stubborn and only move a few inches.

So today, she is crawling even more! I finally got a little video of her crawling across our office. Her crawling ability is not perfect, but I have no doubt in the next few days she will perfect it.

She has definitely decided to explore with her new found freedom. We really need to finish baby proofing everything. She has already unorganized my ribbon bin and is pulling up on anything she can get a grip on. I guess she will be walking soon, because she is already cruising around the house.

Until next time...Gig'em!

Splash time!

This afternoon Taryne and I decided it was time to get out the splash pool and play in the water. She LOVES the water!

Then we needed to sunbathe a little to dry off before we went inside....she played with the phone the entire time or with the camera when I was not taking pictures...

Until next time...Gig'em!

She is on the move...almost...

Last week (5/14) Taryne sat up by herself for the first time...that I know of anyway. I laid her down for a nap and a few minutes later I heard her screaming. So I went to check on her and she was sitting up in her crib and wedged in the corner. So I didn't know if this was a freak incident or what so I set her on the floor to see if she would do it again.

So she rolled around for a while and then she just propped herself up and sat up. It was slow at first, but now she is sitting up like she has been doing it forever. If she is close to something she can pull up on, she sits up and then pulls herself up into a standing position. She cruises around the crib and other furniture. And if there is nothing for her to hold onto, then she scoots around on her rear end.

She is really growing up and changing so much each and every day!

Until next time...Gig'em!

Pig Tails!!!

Today when I picked Taryne up from day care, she had pig tails. They were sooooo cute!!!!

Until next time...Gig'em!

Spring garden update...

Well it has been several weeks since we started our garden. And while we have yet to see the fruits of our labor,  most of our plants are growing and doing well. We are determined that the tomato and pepper plants we purchased must not have been good plants. They looked healthy when we purchased them, but they quickly became chlorotic and sad looking. I fertilized all the plants and within a few days, the tomato and pepper plants went down hill very quickly. The zucchini and yellow squash just took off! We have a little less than half of our tomato plants left and just a few of the pepper plants.

We also started a compost pile many months ago. It doesn't look like much in the picture, but the huge pile of "stuff" is finally breaking down and becoming compost.  Yay!

Here are a few pictures of our garden from this past weekend. I also discovered a lady bug on the squash, so that is good to control some pests we could get.

Zucchini...

Yellow squash and then a pot with nothing, then a sad tomato.

Peppers and 2 pots of sad tomatoes.

Compost pile.

Our squash have tons and tons of blooms. I anticipate fresh squash very soon!!! There is nothing like fresh from your garden vegetables.

Until next time...Gig'em!

SHSU Graduation...

Yesterday, Charlotte graduate from Sam Houston. I think I should feel old because my youngest sister is now a college graduate, but I don't. I guess that is a good thing. Charlotte earned her B.S. in Family & Consumer Sciences. She has no idea what she wants to do and has not found a job yet. So if you are reading this and need to hire someone...she is looking. She will still live in Huntsville, so it needs to be close to there... Her current "occupation" will be getting all the last minute details together for her wedding next month. I am sure she will be very busy in the coming weeks.

After her graduation, we went to a party for her and another graduate at The Vineyards of Waverly Manor. Charlotte and her friend Lori were both interns at this place this past semester. They learned even planning and all sorts of things while working there and helping with weddings. The party was superb. It was pot luck, so I brought decorated sugar cookies. I love decorating cookies so I thought this would be a great time to make some bearkat paws.

Here are some pictures from graduation, right after and at the party....

Mom, Charlotte & Taryne

Charlotte in front of the Sam Houston statue...

Mom, Charlotte & Dad

Aunt Claire and Taryne...Aunt Claire and Uncle Ricky surprised us and met us at the graduation.

Kyle, Uncle Ricky, Dad

Cake...It was supposed to say Congratulations Lori & Charlotte, but it was Laurie...it was wiped out and "fixed". I think I might have to submit this to Cake Wrecks....it was a very yummy cake by the way.

Taryne after she had some of the cake...

Mom, Charlotte & Dad outside at Waverly Manor.

Kyle, Charlotte, Me & Taryne...

Zach & Taryne...in her Buda position...

Zach had Taryne try on the orange wig...she looked like one of those trolls...maybe we should dress her up as one for Halloween...all we need to do is take of her shirt and a jewel to her belly button...

I am so glad we were able to be a part of Charlotte's graduation. I have watched Charlotte grow and become a wonderful person over the last 5 years of college and the last 22 (almost 23) years. Congratulations Charlotte! No more papers or tests!!! Whoohoo!!

Until next time...Gig'em!

8 Months...

Today Taryne is 8 months old. She is also sick for the very first time. But after that first round of the Z-Pack and a good nights sleep, she was a new baby today.

At 8 months, she is rolling all over the place. She also scoots around in circles when she is on her tummy. She tries to pull up on everything and a good number of times, she actually pulls herself all the way up. She is cruising all over the place which makes me a little nervous because she likes to be brave and just let go. And then gravity takes over and she freaks out.

On a few occasions she has said something that sounded very close to words. I am almost 100% positive she has said "doggie", "Cassie" (our lab) and "Kyle". She totally shocked me with that one. We were walking into the kitchen and she just looked at me with this serious face and said "Kyle". I, of course, did a double take and then we went outside to tell Kyle about this event.

She still does not have teeth, but I can actually feel them under the gums trying to come through. She loves her yogurt puffs, which is surprising because they taste just like yogurt and that is absolutely disgusting to me. She is eating all sorts of fruits and vegetables and lately she has been eating spaghetti which she loves.

She is all about exploring the world around her. As I type, she is slowly unorganizing my ribbon bin that I took a very long time this afternoon to reorganize. Oh well...she is learning and it is fascinating, so I don't care...too much. She loves water and baths. Today at school they had "Splash Day" and according to her teachers, she was the only one that enjoyed the water and she had so much fun she didn't want to get out. And I got tons of comments on her cute swimsuit. She got a cute one from her Opa and Omie, but it is still a little big...so I had to get her a different one for the time being. It is a one piece that is white with flowers that are mostly blue. And since blue is her color, it looks awesome on her.

Her 8 month stats (official stats since we had to visit the doctor yesterday):

weight: 17 pounds 2 ounces
length: 27 1/2 inches

Here is a pic from this morning...

Until next time...Gig'em!

First sick doctor visit...

We have been very lucky so far with Taryne. Not only is she a great baby, she has never really been sick. Until now. She has only visited the doctor for her well baby check ups. I am not sure how we made it through the cold and flu season without her getting sick, but I will take it.

She has my allergies, so she has had lots of congestion, sneezing and the occasional cough, but the past few days have been different. I was concerned that she had an ear infection, but after a trip to the doctor, it was just a sinus infection. Unfortunately, she will probably have many of these in her life because of those pesky allergies.

He gave her the baby equivalent to a Z-Pack and she is taking some Mucinex and she will be all better soon enough. It is a good thing, because we have a lot of events coming up in the next few weeks.

Tomorrow she has her "Splash Day" at school and the doctor said she can still participate. I am glad, because I would hate for her to miss her first water play day.

Today at the doctor she weighed in at 17 pounds 2 ounces and was 27 1/2 inches long. She's a growing girl!

Well, I better go and take care of my sick self (I have a bad cough from my allergies too) and my sick child.

Until next time...Gig'em!

The Tale of Phoebe and the Amish Friendship Bread...

The weekend of Taryne's baptism, Kyle's mom gave me a starter for Amish Friendship Bread. You have to follow the instructions carefully and at the end of the process (several days) you bake it and have 2 loaves of yummy sweet bread. You also end up with 4 bags of starters to keep for yourself or share with others.

I made the first starter and shared the rest with a few friends and my mom (she accidentally left her starter in the car, so she had to chunk it). I kept one for myself. During the process the bag ferments and gas builds up in the bag so you have to open it and let the gas out. I have been very careful to do this and mash it everyday per the instructions. Normally I mash it several times a day...usually when I walk by and see the bag.

Yesterday we were at my sister's so when we came home the bag was HUGE. I opened it and released the gas. I checked it again before I went to bed and let out more gas. This morning, I didn't get a chance to mess with it because Taryne and I were behind getting ready for work and school. So today around lunch I get a phone call from Kyle. The bag exploded. And apparently some of it started dripping on the floor. So guess who was the clean up crew? Phoebe. Apparently she was standing under it as it was dripping off the counter because she has dried batter all over her head. Thankfully Kyle cleaned up the mess while he was home, but I still need to bathe Phoebe.

Here she is...dried batter all over her head and a bloated stomach...

So, now I have to wait for my mom to bring me another starter...and I need to give Phoebe a bath.

Until next time...Gig'em!

Winner!!

Ok, I enter blog giveaways all the time. I am usually one of thousands to enter, so I figure I will never win. So, my normal morning ritual is to peruse my blog dashboard and see what everyone has to say for the day. And guess what? I am a winner!!!

I won a custom calendar from Confessions of a Paper Freak blog. If you know me, I love paper and crafting and pens and all that type of stuff. I was so excited when I found this blog and there are so many great ideas...

I will post a pic of my beautiful calendar once it arrives, but here is a sneak peak at it before it is personalized for  little old me.

This calendar is from the Etsy shop Much Ado About You. Great stuff! I  can't wait to get my calendar!!!

Until next time...Gig'em!

First (real) Mother's Day...

Today was my first Mother's Day. Technically last year was my first, but Taryne was still inside me, so in some ways it counts and some ways it doesn't. We are normally pretty non-traditional when it comes to most holidays. We don't really do gifts for one another for birthdays or Christmas (we usually get ourselves something together), but I guess Mother's Day is the exception. And that is okay by me!

Yesterday, Kyle and Taryne took me to lunch at On The Border...yum! We had our Mother's Day lunch yesterday because today we were at my sister, Tanya's house for Theia's dedication. This morning while feeding Taryne, Kyle walks into the kitchen with a gift bag and some cards. (Yay!!) The bag is simple, but it has curled ribbon tying it closed. Silly me, I ask if he had someone do this. I didn't think he knew how to curl ribbon...or that he would think to do it. I guess I under estimate him occasionally. I forget he has helped me do wedding flowers for many weddings, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Inside were two cookbooks I have been wanting..."The Pioneer Woman Cooks" and "What's New, Cupcake?". Of course, now I want to make and try everything in these books. I love, love, love cookbooks. So if you are ever shopping for me, a cookbook is always a good choice. Especially baking cookbooks. And judge me if you want, but I love Martha Stewart.

I got a little side-tracked...sorry.

We went to Houston today for Theia's dedication. As you know from previous posts, we are Lutheran. My sister is Baptist. Since my family is mostly Catholic, this was our first experience with a dedication. I had no idea what it meant. So, what does one do when you are looking for information? Google it! And where do I look first? Well, my trusty Wickipedia site, of course! It is basically saying the parents are going to bring the child up in a Christian environment. Similar to a baptism, but the child is not actually baptized. I know it is more involved than what I just described, but that is it in a nutshell. If you need more information on the subject, please google it.

I believe this is the second time in my life that I have attended a Baptist service. The first time when I was in elementary, I spent the night with my friend Sharon and then we went to her church that Sunday morning. And since it was soooo long ago, I believe it was a Baptist service. It was a good experience and I really enjoy attending other denominations services. I think it is important to understand other religions. We each have our own personal beliefs and I think you need many life and religious experiences in order to form your beliefs.

After the service we had lunch at Tanya's. It was great to spend Mother's Day with my sister who is a new mom and my mom. Charlie's mom, Cathy was also there. So we had 4 moms in attendance today. If we did not have Theia's dedication today, we would have had a quiet Mother's Day here at home, but it was very nice to spend it with family.

Here are a few pics from my Mother's Day weekend...

Taryne was supposed to be taking a nap...however, she was babbling and playing on her tummy.

She was just too cute!

She was playing on her side and peeking through the rails of her crib.

My mom got a scrapbook page kit for us to put hand and foot prints of Taryne and Theia on so we can either put in their baby books or frame. I am painting Taryne's foot in preparation for the footprint. We were only able to get a footprint of Taryne before the fussiness began. (We stripped her down in order to prevent paint spots on her clothes...and we just left her that way until it was time to go...she was having to much fun.)

Tanya and Charlie recently received a plethora of baby items from friends who no longer need these toys. Taryne was trying out the walker. I think she liked it...we have been thinking about getting her one of these. 

Tanya had a sock puppet kit she got from someplace and asked Charlotte & Zach to create the sock puppets...Here is Zach with his creation.

Taryne playing in their jumper thing...

It has been a great day! I will always cherish my first Mother's Day. I am very lucky to have a wonderful husband and a healthy, happy, beautiful baby girl!

Until next time...Gig'em!

Road trip!

Well, it was a somewhat short road trip. Yesterday Taryne and I went to Huntsville to visit Charlotte and Zach and watch the Aggies BTHO SHSU in baseball. The Ags prevailed and beat the Bearkats 3-1. Whoop! We also walked around the SHSU campus in hopes to find a spot to take some pictures with Taryne. Unfortunately, we were too late for all the beautiful azaleas, but there were a few spots of flowers on campus. All of the areas were in the very hot, bright sun. We attempted to take some pictures next to a fountain, but the loud noise of the water scared Taryne, so we had to throw that idea out the window.

After our walk around campus, we ran a few errands and then went to the game. SHSU has a really nice baseball stadium. I am so used to Olsen Field with the 2 levels of seats and the crazy student section. The SHSU stadium is really new (2006) and has only 1 level of seating and the students were very calm...compared to what I am used to experiencing.

Taryne has enjoyed every sporting event we have attended so far and she had a blast last night as well. She must be watching the game. If you hold her or turn her away from the game, even for a second, she twisted around to see what was happening on the field. Yay for us! We have a sports fan! Maybe she will grow up to be a softball player...

Here are some pictures from the day and the game:

Some pics from campus:

Here is the fountain we wanted to take pictures in front of, but Charlotte snapped this picture of Zach...

Me and Taryne

The press box at the stadium...

Aunt Charlotte, Uncle Zach and Taryne

Me and Taryne...she was so intent on watching the game.

It was a late night, but we had so much fun. Until next time...Gig'em!