He ain't bad to look at either...

Dinner time can be stressful, at least for me. There are some days that I plan a meal and can execute it well and most the time it's edible. That's when I plan ahead, follow a receipe of sorts and have all the ingredients at hand. But those nights that I have not planned, I can stare into our pantry/fridge/freezer and just be completely dumfounded. It's the same thing that we women go through when we have a special occasion and want to look really good and just stare at our closet as if we have never dressed ourselves before.

Now on those nights, my Above Average Joe can look at that same pantry/fridge/freezer and find ALL KINDS of things to make. I think it's magic, or witch-craft or something. Because I was just there...and there was nothing speaking to me other than a huge sign pointing to take out menus. One of these nights happened last week. We had a bunch of fresh veggies that parents dropped off so Above Average Joe decided to make a "veggie gulosh". I put that in quotes for a very specific reason. I have no idea how to make gulosh (and i don't think joe does either) but that was the term that we agreed upon as he started cooking all of this into a saute pan with oil and seasonings and ground meat. And here's the kicker...it turned out great. Well, not totally great, but not by any fault of Joe's. The cucumber was a bit bitter but that was the veggie's fault, maybe the farmer...but not ours! Otherwise, it was quite tasty and Above Average Joe was SO PROUD of whipping up this little meal that he made me take a picture.



He was mostly proud of how he browned his cheese to perfection. It was good, folks. And this is only one of the reasons that he earns his nickname over and over.

Hold, Please

Garrin has adjusted to having Kiya around in superhuman ways. I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that he has very little to complain about in the attention department even with her around. See one of the blessings of Joe being unemployed is the fact that there are two loving (if occasionally sleep deprived) parents always around somewhere. So that natural "I-hate-this-new-thing-that-has-invaded-my-world-and-sucked-all-the-attention-away-from-me" phase, just really never happened. And I'm hoping never will now that there is a certain routine around the house.

Now because Garrin has no issues with his little sister he actually really likes being around her. He holds her hand, calls her cute, gives her his blanky when she is crying...all that good stuff. But my absolute favorite thing that he does is plunk him bum right down on the ground next to me and say "hold, PEASE". Not kidding, the first time he did it I welled up.

He sits very still and I put Kiya on his lap leaning against his chest for a moment and then pick her back up because even though he WANTS to hold her, he hasn't quite mastered how to. But everytime I pick her up for the first time I hear "PEASE, PEASE, PEASE!" And I place her on him again for a little bit. He will then turn his head to her and kiss her (or at least make the sound) and that is my cue to pick her up again. These are the things that I love about being a mom.

Miss Kiya's 3 month pictures (prof)

A big THANK YOU to my neighbor who pulled out this dress and let me borrow it the night before pictures were taken. My beautiful baby girl...

Paper Bag

Trevin on the first day of 4th grade!

This will be an interactive post...I expect to see MANY comments!

Trevin came home from school today, and along with his math and reading homework he had a plain paper bag with instructions that were to fill it with 8 things that make him...him. It got me thinking what I would put in my paper bag today. Trevin filled his with great things that really show who he is and what he likes. The things in Trevin's paper bag are as follows:
1. A Movie (Specifically Pirates of the Carribean...could have been Star Wars too)
2. A CD (he wanted to take Barenaked Ladies but I didn't want to be called in on the first week of school so we sent the Shrek 2 soundtrack)
3. His pinewood derby car (because he likes boyscouts and building things)
4. His football trophy (he loves football)
5. A Baseball (he loves baseball)
6. A magnet of a lighthouse in OBX (this is a vacation that we have taken twice now and signifies how much he loves the beach...and vacations in general)
7. A picture of the family (because he LOVES being a big brother)
8. This one is still being debated but it's a toss between a soda can (because he likes soda) and his wallet (because he likes money to buy things).

The 8 things in my bag....

1. My wedding ring (i love this ring and i love what it represents)
2. Chocolate chip cookie (i do like to bake and i'm pretty good at it...never bad to have a little chocolate in your life too)
3. Picture of my kids (obvious reasons)
4. The Giving Tree book (i love this book)
5. A theater pin (i love the theater)
6. Sand from a beach (representing travel and the ocean)
7. a bracelet that my best friend gave me a few months before he died (to remember him and to remember how precious friendship is)
8. The song I Hope You Dance (which is how I try to live my life and in small tribute to the fact that I cannot dance as I once did)


So I put it to you...what are the 8 things in your bag????

Up & Coming

I know I've been very photo heavy in my posts lately, but when you have little ones it is important to document anyway you can and things seem to slip by so quickly that I still feel very behind. Lucky for me we have scheduled more photos to be done! Let's hope they turn out as cute as I am hoping and that we only have so many breakdowns trying to achieve said cuteness.

In other wonderful news Above Average Joe has an interview tomorrow! I never thought and interview would seem so exciting, but tell you what...I have shivers. Let us all hope that the powers that be will see exactly how above average my Above Average Joe is and offers him a slew of work. If not, we'll just keep along. Contract work has started to spurt up and eased some financial burdens, and we are greatful for that. I'm just selfish, and want more. ;)

Haircut

Garrin had his first real haircut this morning. I had buzzed his head before, but that's it.
This is how the hair started...
This was pretty much how the appointment went (sorry, angela) only WAY more tears, snot and screaming...Seriously, this kid does not do well in new situations.

He was happy it was over and the hair looks great.

A little gel in it makes it really cute! We'll be doing family pictures this week so I'm happy that his hair will at least look good in them...

Kiya's 3 months

Kiya had her first pedicure this week. she did a great job sleeping while mommy painted.

Kiya is now 23 inches long and i'm guessing a little over 12 pounds. She is, by far, my cutest girl!

2 Years In The Making...

Garrin was born via emergency c-section on August 7, 2007 at 9:34 pm. This is him and mom that night.
This is the day we brought Garrin home. Trevin loved being an older brother.

Daddy loved him lots too. Garrin is about 3 weeks here.

Garrin is 3 months here.

8 months.

1 year photo shoot.

Garrin at 15 months
Year and half and his first buzz haircut.

Big Brothers Rock

I say this from experience because I have 2 older brothers...Big Brother's Rock. It's not that they are always nice to you or take care of you, but occasionally you have these moments where you really, really love having big brothers. I am documenting this first "my big brother rocks moment" for Kiya.



I was in the bedroom and Above Average Joe was in the front room but was called outside for a few moments to talk to a neighbor, without my knowing about it. In this time of non- parental exhistance in the front room Kiya decided she was not happy. I did not respond quickly because I thought AAJ was out there to handle any difficulties. When it became apparent that either Joe was not in the room or had decided to become a neglectful parent I went out to the front room to asses the situation. Kiya was still fussy but Garrin had taken the matter into his own hands. He had gotten his blanket that has been his comfort for his life thus far and placed it on his little sister and was patting her. I just about bust into tears, it was so sweet. AND, it had calmed Kiya down. She loves her big brothers.