Posts from — December 2007

We’re leaving tomorrow for NC.  It will be the first time we’ve all been down as a family since we moved here in May of 2006.  And, it will the be the first Christmas we’ve spent with our families since 2004.  We are really looking forward to it!  I’ll try to post again in a few days with some pictures.  Gotta go pack!  Oh, but let me just say this.  Totally off the subject, but my good friend, Emily, is having an ultrasound tomorrow to find out the sex of their baby!  I’m so excited!  I hope baby Loveall is cooperative!

It was time for a change, so my talented husband helped me change the look of my blog.  I love all of these colors, so this is the winner.  It’s late, so I’ll have to come back tomorrow and post a little more.  Goodnight!

emberassing moment of my life. Definitely the funniest. Tonight, I finished up shopping at Wal-Mart and was rushing to get to the bathroom. I had Shea with me, so he was in the cart and my plan was to just push the cart into the bathroom so that I wouldn’t even have to take him out. As I barged through the heavy door with the front of our cart I looked up to see a man standing at the urinal. Yep, the urinal. I walked into the men’s room. I sure did. It was one of those moments that lasts way too long. I wanted to fast forward, but it felt like we were in slow motion. The man calmly turned his head to look over his shoulder as our eyes locked. All I could say was, “Oh my gosh!” He didn’t say a word and I instantly put my head down and started backing out as quickly as I could. I went in to the women’s bathroom just shaking my head in disbelief. How does one go through 30 years of NEVER having this happen, and then, BAM, out of the blue, it happens? I had no idea my 30th year would be so eventful! I took my time coming out of the women’s bathroom because I was so afraid I would see him again. But, then I realized that he more than likely hauled butt out of there so he wouldn’t have to see me!  Wow.  This life just keeps getting more and more interesting.

Today is my husband’s 33rd birthday.  I am so thankful that God decided to create him and that He guided us together at the perfect time.  I couldn’t ask for a better husband.  He has shown me what it means to truly serve out of unconditional love, rather than out of my own selfish desires.  He is such an example for our boys in many ways and I know that they will both be great husbands as a result of watching their Dad.  I love you, honey!

This is the second week of working out at the “Y” and I decided to start taking my showers there, while my kids are both entertained.  I never knew what I was missing!  The peace was unbelievable!  I didn’t have to worry about Shea escaping from our apartment (which he did just a few days ago) or listen to him scream for me outside my door.  Yes, I did have to experience the weirdness of seeing a naked woman roam through the locker room.  What is up with that?  Sorry, if you’re someone who is okay with it.  But, I’m just not.  What is the harm in putting a towel around yourself?  They pass them out at the front counter free of charge.  I even took two, so there are plenty!  Anyway, with that aside, I thoroughly enjoyed my shower at the “Y” and will be making it a regular part of my routine.

Yeah, right.  It never fails.  I say this every time I end up taking the boys out with me to run errands close to Shea’s nap time.  And, I always end up doing it again after the exhaustion has worn off.  It’s kind of like having a baby.  You know, the amazing memory loss most women experience not long after child birth?  Somehow, we forget the pain, and want to do it again.

We started our afternoon of errands with a stop at the Dollar Tree, where Gage decided to torture his brother by standing on the rock (yes, he carries a rock with him everywhere he goes) Shea dropped in the store and acting like he didn’t know where it was.  He loves watching his brother scream, as I angrily ask him what he did to him, all the while acting like he has no clue what is wrong.  It makes me so mad I could scream, and I can’t figure out why Gage enjoys making me so angry.  We then head over to Lowe’s so that we can buy potting soil and grass seed for a project we’re doing for school.  I enter in the garden section, thinking it will be quicker, and soon realize that I will not be using a cart because there are none available in the garden center.  So, my 2 year old is free to roam, and this is always a recipe for disaster.  I grab a large bag of potting soil and we head inside to find grass seed.  As I’m looking at all the choices, trying to figure out which one we need (I know nothing about grass seed), Gage has discovered a section nearby of hatchets and axes, and he is bringing them all over to me to show me what he wants for Christmas.  So, I have my 8 year old carrying sharp objects, talking my ear off about what he wants for Christmas, my 2 year old grabbing snow shovels and “working” in the aisle, all as I try to decide which grass seed to purchase.  I finally make a decision and pick up the big bag of potting soil, which then bursts all over the floor.  As we walked back out to the garden center to get a new one (after grabbing a cart), Gage was saying, “Mom’s not in a good mood, Shea.”  We left Lowe’s and had one more stop to make.  Aldi.  I didn’t want to do it at all.  But, we really needed a few things.  Toilet paper is pretty important.  On the way, Shea decided to take his sock and shoe off, so when I got him out of the car I quickly put his shoe on without the sock.  He was not happy about this and screamed about wanting his sock on for half of our shopping experience.  I went straight to the Lunchable section to distract him.  It worked until he saw the candy, and then the rest of our shopping experience consisted of him screaming at the top of his lungs because he wanted the candy and I wouldn’t let him have it.  I hate Lunchables!  The screaming continued in the car, until he realized he wasn’t going to get the candy, and at that point he zonked out for his nap.  We arrived home, and as I took his shoes off, changed his diaper, and held him in my arms like I have since he was a baby, watching him sleep, all of the angst he caused for 2 hours slipped away.  I forgot it all that quick.  Isn’t it amazing?  It’s got to be God’s grace.  If it weren’t for these sweet moments (even if they are brief), I don’t think our world would continue reproducing.  I know I wouldn’t!

A few weeks ago, our grocery budget was really low and I was trying to use whatever I could find in the kitchen for dinner.  We had no meat and so I remembered the black beans we had in the cabinet.  Hmmmm….what to do with black beans?  Well, my friend borrowed a frozen pie crust the day before to make a quiche, so I started thinking along the lines of black bean quiche, because I had eggs and I also had a pie crust left (the pillsbury kind that rolls up).  I had some jasmine rice left over from a meal earlier in the week, and I also had some corn.  So, here’s what I came up with.  I was so proud of myself, and not only did it look pretty, it also tasted good!

Here are the ingredients for my Black Bean Quiche:

Pillsbury pie crust

Can of Rotel, drained

Can of black beans, drained (probably about 1 1/2 cans)

About 1 1/2 cups of jasmine rice, cooked

3/4 can of corn

3-4 eggs

1/2 cup of half and half (I’d probably use milk the next time, since it’s lighter)

Grated cheddar and mozzarella cheese

I mixed everything together, excluding the eggs, cheese, and half and half.  I then beat the eggs in a separate bowl and added the cheese and half and half.  Combined all of this and then poured into the pie crust.  Baked at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes.   Toward the end of baking I sprinkled the top with some cheese.

This is my first creation from scratch in the kitchen, and I was so proud of myself!