Girl, girl, girl . . . what am I going to do with you?

Katie Story

I had just put Colton down for a nap. He's a very light sleeper, so it's hard to keep things quiet around the house. I noticed Katie (all dressed up) was opening her bedroom door, slamming it, walking down the hallway, around the bar, back up the hallway and as she was going back inside her bedroom, she'd slam the door shut again. She did this about 4 times before I finally stopped her and asked her what she was doing. Very chalantly, she said she was going on a date with her boyfriend. Shocked, I asked her again. She acted as if I was bothering her, "I'm going out on a date with my boyfriend." Trying to hold back the laughter, calmly I asked her who her boyfriend was. Low and behold, she said it was "WILL." Oh, no! Will's not even 9 years old and he is already stealing my baby girl from me. HA HA! I thought that was cute and had to share it with you.

Natalie's Got Game
We went last night to see Natalie play her last basketball game for the year. It was homecoming, so there were lots going on. Chick-fil-a donated food to the players and gave out basketballs to the little kids, Katie got one. This little boy scared her half to death. Out of the blue, he came up to her and asked if she wanted a pom-pom. She got all shy and I guess didn't answer him. I couldn't understand the boy, but Doug said he was asking her if she was afraid of him. As we were heading out the door to leave, he came out with us and said,"you know you want one." Katie was ready for her daddy to hold her. The boy had to be around the age of 9 or 10 years. She didn't know how to respond to what just happened. Too funny! We got to see the Chick-fil-a cow and Wallace's Lion walking around, greeting the children. Katie appreciated them from a far. She likes characters, but not when they get up close and personal. Doug and I are the same way. She doesn't even like clowns, they freak her out.

Wallace cheerleaders, there were more, but wanted an up close photo

Shoot out!  No one made a hoop

I wished you could have seen this potato gun, a couple of students came out with during half time.  They were shooting t-shirts out to the fans in the stands with this gun.  They have "Goliath" written on the side of this gun.  LOL!  Trust me, it was a "GOLIATH." 

"Goliath" potato gun

Wallace Lion poses for photo op

Natalie's Fan Section

Wallace defeated Gadsden Women's team. Natalie did good, she just missed a couple shots that I could see. Whitney and Zayne came to watch, but instead was Katie's babysitter. Katie loves her "Wibby." She even be-friended a Gadsden fan (boy) that was sitting beside her. Whitney told me that Katie wouldn't leave him alone. I apologized to the boy, but he just smiled. He looked to be about 17-18 years old, pretty cute. Hey, at least my daughter has good taste. LOL!

Natalie Shoots, but didn't score

Wallace wins!

American Idol
When I have an opportunity to watch American Idol, I'm not too impressed. Saying that, I really do like Casey James, contestant. I agree with Kara, he is not only eye candy but ear candy. Agreeing with "Rick & Bubba," Doug was laughing at Casey singing. I didn't notice until it was pointed out to me, but there's a little shakiness to Casey's voice when he sings. "Rick & Bubba" pointed it out during their radio show and now Doug is calling Casey "goat boy." I just think that's harse. I mean, the guy can sing.

Winter Olympics
Did you see Kim Yu-Na? She is awesome to watch. I wouldn't be surprised if she took ballet as well because she has to be the most graceful and elegant skater out on the ice.  She absolutely deserved receiving the gold last night. I hated that I fell asleep before Mirai skated. I so wanted to see her because the media was really putting her up on a pedestal. I'm afraid, Kim will have to get more bodyguards when she returns to South Korea.

A Glimpse

I know it's been awhile since I've blogged, so automatically I noticed that Google Blogger has been making changes to the website format.  Great!  More to figure out how to do simple things that I finally figured out how to do without having to pull up Blogger Help.  I guess their like Walmart, always keeping me on my toes and continue my education.  Whoo Hoo! 

Yesterday, while waiting for Katie to get out of ballet class, Mrs. Elaine had the display out for everyone to see the recital costume samples. I took a picture for you to be able to see a glimpse as to what costume Katie will be wearing in May. It's so adorable! Last year's costume was cute, but I really like this one. This year's ballet recital is featuring all the different nationalities. Katie's class will be representing the country of France. Mrs. Elaine told me that every other year, they have the big productions like last year. So, this year will be very small, but I hear the recital will still be held at Wallace State College.

Colton
I still can't believe Colton will be a year old next month. Would you believe, I don't have his birthday supplies ordered yet. Ugh! I've been a little busy, Katie's class likes to keep me going. I call it "my homework." Lord willing, I plan to order them tomorrow or the next day.

Doug and I are stomped as to what to get Colton for his big day. I am fresh out of ideas. He has everything already. What could be possibly get him that he doesn't already have? I hate giving clothes, so that's out of the question. A couple of times, after dropping Katie off at school, Colton and I stroll through Walmart's toy department. We came across the cowboy hats and sunglasses. He looked so darn cute, I took a picture of him.

He is really changing more and more every day.  There are times when I wonder where the time has gone.  He loves to make faces.  He has his shy look, he grins and shy away from you.  He's sour look, he squints his eyes and shakes he's head.  He does this even if he's not eating anything tart.  He's bulldog look, he sticks out his bottom jaw and makes his fat cheeks really stick out.  I can tell, he loves his sister so much.  When she's not around, he is so whiny.  As soon as he sees her and especially if she plays with him, he perks right up and is happy once again.  He loves playing with her, but like any other sibling, they fight.  Yes, FIGHT.  He has learned, if she doesn't let him play with a specific toy, he gets mad and screams at her.  It's funny, but I know when it's my que to break them up.  There are times, when he attacks her and she thinks it's funny.  He has really shot up, tall.  His stomach is not as noticable anymore.  For the past couple of days, he is going through a eating and sleep change.  He was eating his food (every 4 hours until bedtime) and our food.  A week ago, I was feeding him a 7 ounce bottle, pasta pick-ups (ravioli), cheese puffs and he would still try what we were eating.  He'll scream at you, if you won't give him a taste.  Doug and I giggle at him.  The other day, Doug bought "Wholly Guacamole" dip for us to try.  Not thinking Colton would like it, Doug gave him a taste.  To our surprise, Colton did everything but take the bowl out of Doug's hands to eat it.  He ended up eating approximately half of the dip.  I just knew he would be up most of the night with a belly ache.  To my surprise, he slept all night without any trouble.  Colton is like "Mikey" on the old Chex cereal commercials.  He'll eat anything.  I guess he has come to a temporary stop with his growth because he doesn't seem to want to eat when he normally does.  This could be a good thing, but for right now it's making me very confused. 

American Idol Want To Be
Next on American Idol, the rising new star "Kaitlyn."  Apparently Katie has watched enough American Idol in the past few years, she been on earth, to know how it all starts.  Tonight as we were trying to watch "American Idol," Katie decided to come up with her own version of "American Idol."  She would come out on stage aka laundry basket and we would have to ask her what she was singing.  She would make up a title and begin singing it.  After she finished, we would cheer her on.  Then, she would ask "am I going to Hollywood?"  When we said "yes," she would scream "YAY!"  This went on for a few minutes that's why I was able to get it on video.  FYI, she is using a Charm's Blow Pop for her microphone.  LOL! Here's a little snippet.



While Katie was still playing American Idol, I wanted to tape Colton for a little bit. He was curious about the camera and wanted his two minutes of fame. HA HA!

Last but not least, Katie sings one of her favorite songs "Best of Both Worlds" by Miley Cyrus. At least, I think that's the name of the song.  She is quite the little performer (tehe!)


 

Katie & Daddy Play Dolls

I guess I should be relieved, Katie pays attention to what I'm telling her. There are times when I think she's not listening, while I'm correcting her bad behavior. I think she's a little rough implementing her parental discipline to her babies (dolls).LOL!

I enjoyed watching her and her daddy playing dolls with one another. The background noise is her television. The only reason why Doug agreed to stay in her room is she allowed him to watch the Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony, while they played. You'll notice towards the end that the camera was shaking. It's because I was getting tickled at those two, acting silly. Sorry, but I couldn't keep it together.

Valentine's Day

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's weekend. We had a very busy one. Of course, Friday was Katie's Class Valentine Party and she had a blast.

Saturday, I met up with a friend from high school, doing a little catching up. When I got home that afternoon, Doug went to pick up our Smoked Boston Butt from our city school baseball team. It's their annual fundraising project, but this year they didn't give it to you all nice and warm, ready to eat. This year, Smith Farms cooked and vaccum sealed it. I was ready to sink my teeth into a some barbeque, but the package was cold. So, we decided to freeze it and save it for another day. Piggly Wiggly has a special on their T-bone steaks $4.99 a pound. We buy a lot of our meat from "The Pig" because it is so good and they have really good sales from time to time. Doug put a little steak rub on the steaks and grilled them up for supper. Oh my gosh! They were so good, you could cut them with a butter knife. I didn't have to put my "Shula's Steak Sauce" on it.

Last night, we were going to go out to eat, but I was not looking forward to the crowd of people. Millard and Peggy planned to come over to watch the kids for us. At the last minute, I persuaded Doug to let me go get some more delicious steaks and we'd just stay home for our Valentine's dinner. Oh, our dinner last night was just as good or better than the night before. We had steak, garden salad, baked potato and seasoned green beans. Sooo good! We celebrated Valetine's Day with the children yesterday morning. Katie was so excited because she received the new pink Mermaid Barbie, she asked for. She loved it along with a ladybug candy box and Tinkerbell ring suckers. Colton received a V-tech piano and Blow-Pop suckers. He seems to like it, but I think Katie likes the piano more. LOL! She told me yesterday that she wanted to be a baby just for 2 days and then she would be a little girl again. Doug gave me "Couples Retreat" movie. We haven't seen it yet. It looked like it would be good.

Our little kids cutting up. Colton loves it when Katie picks at him. We have to really watch her because she can get too rough.

Grandma Peggy and Paw-Paw Millard came through the door with these balloons. They were a hit! Katie named the monkey "Colton."

Colton Update
I've started Colton on the Gerber Graduates this week and he seems to be doing great. He likes the Cheese Ravioli Pick Ups and diced apples. He loves cheese puffs and anything chocolate. He cut another tooth, to my surprise. Now, he has 4 on the top & 3 on the bottom. A lot of the time, if you say "yay" he'll start clapping. Sometimes, he says "yay" while he is clapping. Too cute.

Katie Story
The other night was too precious. Katie convinced Doug to play dolls in her room. I got a lot of it on tape. I'll try to post it, but sometimes my video upload sources can't support MP4 video yet. Doug is such an awesome daddy when it comes to his babies.

Birthday Party
Now that Valentine's over, we're in full birthday party mode. Mark it on your calendar, Colton's 1st birthday party will be on Saturday, March 27th. I'll have to discuss the menu with Doug, but hopefully the party will be another success.

Beach TripLaura's been keeping me updated on the reservations at our favorite condo. I'm so excited! I've told Doug, this year I want a family portrait on the beach. I've been shopping around online for white beach outfits for everyone. I've decided Doug and Colton will wear white polo shirt with khaki shorts. I found a beautiful eyelet dress at Gap for Katie. Macy's has an eyelet top just for me.

I'm sure it's just because of the Winter weather, but I'm so ready for our beach trip. Would you believe, we received more snow this morning. It wasn't a whole lot, just a trace. This has got to be the longest Winter in history. Laura, hang on because I think I might be more excited for this trip then I was the last one. I know I'll enjoy it much better than last because Lord willing I won't be pregnant. LOL!

On a side note, this Winter should be proof enough that there is no threat to Global warming. I understand when we feel like we have to control everything and I mean everything. God has to remind us (world) that He is in Constant Control, not us. HE IS! When it comes to global warming, it might be there is a specific reason beyond our own pee-brain knowledge. God knows what's best. He created this world and only He can destroy it. NOT US! Shew! I'm so glad to get that off my chest.


The best Valentine blessing, you could ever ask for!

Snowy Valentine Party

I just can't come up with that perfect title today because so much went on today. First, I've got to ask you. What will a woman suffering from severe cabin fever do on a snowy day? She gets out on the snowy roads, while it's nice and wet in 29 degree weather. LOL!

For the past couple of days, we were forecasted to receive a dusting to 1 inch of snow. They said the snow would begin at 4 AM this morning. How disappointed I was to wake up at 6 AM to no snow. About an hour later, it made it's appearance but not too hard. By 9:30 AM, the snow was here and let everyone know it.

Katie had a blast playing in the cold wet snow with her daddy. Katie had to make a snow angel, while dad threw snow balls.

Today was Katie's Valentine's Day party at school. Those little kids had a blast at their Valentine's party. When I walked in at 10 AM, there were children running all over the place. Mrs. Katie didn't know what had gotten into the kids, to make them act so WILD. They were just so excited! As you know, Katie and I made Oreo Kisses and Red Velvet Bon-Bons for the party. I told Doug last night, I will never do that again. I mean, what was I thinking? Making two different desserts that require chocolate dipping, while I had both children in the house with me and no one watching them. I thought it could be done. Well, it got done, but I'm missing a few nerves, hair and I've got this wild look going on. When Doug walked into the house yesterday, took a look on the Dining Room table (all the bon-bons and cookies), Colton crying, Katie acting her wild self and me with my "I've lost my freakin' mind" look going on and he began laughing. Now, why he was laughing, I will never know. In fact, I don't think I want to know, I can just imagine. I think if Colton was a little older, Katie wouldn't act like a ADHD child, it may have gone a little better. It took me all day, but I got them made. I have say, THEY WERE A HIT! Laura - you were right. You can't eat just one Red Velvet Cake Bon-Bon. That's exactly what Mrs. Katie told me as she was eating her 8th one. (Just kidding) It was probably her 7th. HA HA! I wished the Oreo Kisses would have made more than just 33 cookies. I guess I know now, I'll have to make 2 batches for parties. Everyone had a fit when they found out that I made them. Of course, everyone asked me for the recipes. They couldn't get over how easy and simple they were. Mrs. Katie has nicknamed me "Martha Stewart." HA HA! If she only saw me the night before. Shew! I have just enough Red Velvet Bon Bons to give to mom, dad, Peggy, Millard, me and Doug. Katie really like the Oreo Kisses, but they went FAST.
Momma's little Betty Crocker

Mom's kitchen helper. How do you like our ensemble? I noticed on "Regis & Kelly", a guest baker wore a head scarf while cooking. Have you seen these? They are scarves glued on a plastic headband. They've been on for quite sometime. I like them, but have yet to buy one. Doug makes fun of me for I begin cooking because I put my hair up in a ponytail and then put on a cloth headband, to keep the rest of my hair off my face. Bottomline, it's just good sense to pull as much hair back as possible. Katie liked wearing her bandana until it began falling off. I must not have tied it on good enough. She was so excited to wear her apron that Alise gave her for Christmas. It's so cute with a ballerina on the front.
Here's my kiss. I think I made them too small because I cut the foil to the exact measured suggested and it just swolled up my kiss. Of well, this was my first try at it.
I stacked 4 layers of the Red Velvet Cake Bon-Bons. I recommend them to any event!
Here's an example of some of the special Valentine's gift boxes, I assembled. The Oreo Kisses didn't look exactly like a Hershey's Kiss, but it will do. They tasted so much better than they looked.


All the children had to wait patiently for their Valentines from each child, holding their Valentine boxes in their laps.
A new little girl, Katie, joined our school classroom this semester. I asked Mrs. Katie, if it gets a little confusing with the room full of Katies. She smiled and agreed. All the kids call the new Katie "little Katie," but Little Katie announced to everyone that she's big now. LOL! I thought that was so sweet. She's such a little bitty thang. Of course, Katie is sitting by her best bud, Claire. So cute! Believe it or not, I do fix Katie's hair. She had a pink bow in her hair, but she told me that she didn't want to wear it. I tried straightening her hair this morning because it was going every where. There are some days (lots) where her hair has so much body in it that you can't do anything with it, except put it up in a ponytail.
After Katie's party, we dropped in on mom and dad. To wish them a wonderful Valentine's Day, we gave them a gift box filled with our yummy desserts. We visited a little while, until I could see outside that it was snowing much harder than earlier. I told mom, I wanted us to get home before it got any worse. On the news, they reported that we received just a trace of snow. Doug and I disagreed with them. We think, we got much more than just a trace. I'm sure, you will agree once you see the pictures.

Great Finds
Jello LiveActive is sugar free, 60 calories, 1 gram of fat and 3 grams of dietary fiber. It tastes just great and with my Weight Watchers, it's only 1 point.

2010 Winter Olympics

2010 Winter Olympics Vancouver, British Columbia Canada February 12-28 NBC will be covering

I think I like the Winter Olympics much better than Summer. I like watching the Bobsledding Teams, Luge, Ski Competitions including Jumping, Alpine and Freestyle, and wowed by the Snowboarding. Since I was a little girl, I've always loved the couples Figure Skating. Below is a list of upcoming sporting events for this year's Winter Olympics, check it out: Let me know, what your favorites are.

• 
  
  Alpine Skiing
• 
  
  Biathlon
• 
  
  Bobsleigh
• 
  
  Cross-Country Skiing
• 
  
  Curling
• 
  
  Figure Skating
• 
  
  Freestyle Skiing
• 
  
  Ice Hockey
• 
  
  Luge
• 
  
  Nordic Combined
• 
  
  Short Track Speed Skating
• 
  
  Skeleton
• 
  
  Ski Jumping
• 
  
  Snowboard
• 
  
  Speed Skating
  

Cooking Minds Whatta Know
Tomorrow is the BIG day. I plan to start making "Red Velvet Cake Bon-Bons" and "Oreo Kisses" tomorrow, while Katie is in school. I've already cut out my aluminum foil for the kisses. I would have loved to make the other Valentine desserts, but I have just a limited amount of time, money and weight control left. LOL! By the way, the weight loss is like a yo-yo. I'm not surprised!

I'm going to try my hand at the "Red Velvet Cake Bon-Bons" this time instead of the "Chocolate Cake Bon-Bons." Peggy asked me to make them, she wants to see how they taste. I love Red Velvet cake, so I'm sure it's delish! Betty Crocker sells a "Buttercream" and "Cream Cheese" icings, so I bought both because I couldn't decide which would taste better with the Red Velvet cake. I think I've decided to go with the cream cheese. I don't know. I might call Peggy and see what flavor she would prefer. I'm excited to see how they turn out. Of course, be looking for pictures of the finished product.

Prayer Request Update

I have a praise report - Jon went back to the doctor and was dismissed. Susan said that the swelling is gone and the scar on the knee looks much better, almost disappeared. Baseball season has begun, so he is off practicing for the big tournament this week.

Barry B. and his family still needs your many prayers. Susan told me, the doctor found tumors in his lungs (I believe), but it's not good because it means the cancer is spreading. The doctor is preparing the family saying, he gives him a couple of months.

Mom's been experiencing floaties and one big fuzzy that has made it difficult to read. Her eye doctor said her retina detached, which is where the floaties and fuzzy is coming from. He said it could be one of two different kinds. I really don't understand, but this is what mom said. She went on to tell me that if it is one, it could be treated with medicine. If it is another, you can only wait to let the blood absorb back into the eye by itself. She'll find out this morning, which kind it is. This is driving my mother crazy because she has to really focus to look around the blood spots. She's wanting to just take a few pills and it will heal up automatically.

Roses are Red . . . Violets are Blue . . .

Katie had fun making out her Valentines tonight for her friends.


Flipping through one of my favorite magazines, "Better Homes and Gardens," it had tons of ways to brighten your Valentine's day. I liked the idea of making a Valentine card out of cupcake paper, construction paper and foam sheets. I asked Katie, if she would like to make a special card for Mrs. Katie. She liked the idea, so after I dropped her off at school, Colton and I ran into Walmart to get the supplies. My original idea was to cut out a picture of Katie and glue it inside the cupcake paper, but I liked the design some much that I left it alone. On the inside of the card, I wrote:
"Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, I'm so glad my name's Katie too." I have to give kudos to Doug for coming up with the rhyme. I gave a sheet of Valentine stickers for Katie to go wild with. She stuck them all (15 count I believe) on the inside of the card. LOL! She loves her stickers. I thought it turned out pretty cute.

In the monthly school newsletter, it stated that each child should have a Valentine box made and they suggested a Kleenex box. Not doing this before, I thought this was an excellent idea and it wasn't difficult at all to make. Katie loves her Valentine's box, she just doesn't understand what it's purpose. She keeps asking me, "what's this for?"

This week is "Candy Gram" week. All the children (parents) can buy candy grams for other children, the parents' child or siblings for $1 each. At the end of the day, you receive the candy. Here are Katie's first candy grams, she received this year. I think Mrs. Katie got one a little mixed up on Lily's.


Colton eats his first cheese puff and he LOVES THEM!

I have a feeling, Colton is ready for the stages. He doesn't like baby food as much any more. It just really depends, if he will be in the mood to eat it or not. We've given him some normal human food like mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs, etc. and he does real good with it. He did real good with the cheese puffs. I think ate about 5 or 6 without choking. I'm going to test him on the stages (finger foods) and see how he does, while he still has baby food in the cabinet.