"Thank you, Owen". Owen's response: "No problem, Mom."
"Good job going on the potty, Owen." "Thanks, Mom."
While pushing my squishy belly, Braedy asked, "Do you have a baby in there?". He is still living and didn't even get smacked. Lovely, observant child, that Braedy.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Christmas card outtakes 2012
I'm wholeheartedly considering taking a photography class starting in January. While my outdoor shots continue to be consistently decent (assuming good light), my indoor shots leave something to be desired. But, I keep trying!
This weekend, we tried to get Christmas pictures of the boys based on Captain Underpants (their idea, not mine). We've since decided we might be charged with something, and have changed course for pictures that will actually be mailed. Here are my favorite outtakes from Saturday's session.
This weekend, we tried to get Christmas pictures of the boys based on Captain Underpants (their idea, not mine). We've since decided we might be charged with something, and have changed course for pictures that will actually be mailed. Here are my favorite outtakes from Saturday's session.
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| Best attempt at a Christmas card, ever. Super Captain underpants! |
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| Man, BK and I want a body like Eli's! Now if this picture were only in focus! |
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| Why Owen always wants to climb on people I will never understand. |
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| Appropriately on the toilet. |
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| Great faces on blurry Owen and stoic Braedy. |
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
One Day in the Life
While I have all but given up blogging and scrapbooking, I read about a "one day in the life" challenge yesterday and thought "I can do that!".
So today, I took notes and pictures about my day to commemorate a normal, day in the life of the Klaw family. And I have to say, though it was hard to remember to keep track of things, the times I paused and either wrote or took pictures, it really was quite enjoyable. So here we go: November 14, 2012
2:45-3:08 Woke up to Owen, walking into my room and attempting to crawl into my bed. After last night's debacle of trying to wake up Brian, only to hear incoherent sounds emitted from his mouth, I decided I'd take Owen back to his bed. Incredibly, he fell asleep quickly and I got to make my way back to my Tempurpedic rather than spending over an hour on the hard floor beside Owen's bed.5:00 Brian woke me up from a dream. It took me until 5:15 to finish the dream and get my sorry butt out of bed and downstairs to start our P90X workout. Incidentally, we are about on P180X or so, but hey, we are getting results.6:15 Shower; one of my favorite parts of the day because all I can hear is WATER. This morning, I tried to convince myself I had cancer. Then, I thought of a friend who's son has cancer and I wondered which is worse: losing a child or dying young. Seriously; my mind just needs to turn off sometimes. To calm myself, I started thinking of songs and thought of an incredibly sad song by Dave Matthews where his wife appears to be leaving him. So yeah; so much for my happy time in the shower.6:50 Breakfast. I tried to check in on the internet while answering Eli's incessant questions and building Bob the Builder's Lego trucks for Owen. I broke up one fight, then another. Braedy required applesauce because he finally has a loose tooth. After I broke up the second fight, Braedy attempted to console Eli regarding how annoying Owen is by saying, "I know who was the nicest baby. Jesus."
7:25 Broke up my 3rd fight of the morning by showing the older boys pictures of families in Africa who have dirt floors and get food from garbage dumps. Not my proudest Mom moment ever.
By 7:44 we were all in the car on our way to school. Owen, as usual, pitched a fit. Eli picked on Braedy, and Braedy yelled back. By the time I dropped off the kids at 7:56, everyone was happy.
At 8:33, I had finished my trip to Walmart necessitated by us hiring an incompetent housekeeper. Finally, I had to buy my own cleaning supplies. Darn it.
In the morning, Owen and I played Legos and marbles, and finally made scones.
When I asked Owen if he wanted to continue helping to make the scones, he said, "Do it moms' self". I was trying to teach him to count the eggs, and I said, "one egg. Now, what is this one?" and he replied, "The last one". He was technically right. When I asked, "Owen, please get out the pan", he replied, "I'm on it Mom." Indeed.
10:30 Scones in the oven; Owen watching Bob the Builder.
By 11:45 Owen was out for nap time!
1:10 Owen woke up saying, "I want scone!"
Another side note: Owen was completely dry all day today until after dinner. I think the kid might have potty training down, but we're too lazy to take him out of diapers full time and try it for real. Either way, I'm glad it's clicking and we're going through less diapers.
This afternoon, Owen had over a 1/2 an hour timeout because he wouldn't apologize for throwing a pillow at me. I rearranged Eli's room (something he agreed to, creating more space for him to play and freaked him out at bedtime) and really think it looks great.
We ate comfort food for dinner: homemade mac and cheese, corn dog muffins and corn.
Way too many carbs, but it all went over quite well (and made quite the mess).
By 6:25 the kitchen was all cleaned up thanks to the Adele station on Pandora helping me to motivated and sing along while scrubbing pans and sweeping. Here's a day's worth of crumbs:
Here's Braedy reading our Thanksgiving tree.
I never stop marveling at kids who learn to read. It's just amazing.
Between 6 and 7, the kids played hard with Brian. Here's Owen "wrestling", while Braedy kept talking and Eli kept reading.We're definitely multi-taskers around here. Eli had finished his melt down regarding moving things in his room and having a math test tomorrow. Whew.
By 8:00, the kids were all in bed and BK and I could enjoy Modern Family. At 8:30, BK complained about his currently job and at 8:45 I opened my second beer so I could be a "good wife" and keep listening.
It seems mundane and boring, but sometimes, that's life. It's great to find the time to laugh at my circumstances (or what the kids say) throughout the day. I had fun today, and that's certainly what matters. Tomorrow, it all starts again.
So today, I took notes and pictures about my day to commemorate a normal, day in the life of the Klaw family. And I have to say, though it was hard to remember to keep track of things, the times I paused and either wrote or took pictures, it really was quite enjoyable. So here we go: November 14, 2012
2:45-3:08 Woke up to Owen, walking into my room and attempting to crawl into my bed. After last night's debacle of trying to wake up Brian, only to hear incoherent sounds emitted from his mouth, I decided I'd take Owen back to his bed. Incredibly, he fell asleep quickly and I got to make my way back to my Tempurpedic rather than spending over an hour on the hard floor beside Owen's bed.5:00 Brian woke me up from a dream. It took me until 5:15 to finish the dream and get my sorry butt out of bed and downstairs to start our P90X workout. Incidentally, we are about on P180X or so, but hey, we are getting results.6:15 Shower; one of my favorite parts of the day because all I can hear is WATER. This morning, I tried to convince myself I had cancer. Then, I thought of a friend who's son has cancer and I wondered which is worse: losing a child or dying young. Seriously; my mind just needs to turn off sometimes. To calm myself, I started thinking of songs and thought of an incredibly sad song by Dave Matthews where his wife appears to be leaving him. So yeah; so much for my happy time in the shower.6:50 Breakfast. I tried to check in on the internet while answering Eli's incessant questions and building Bob the Builder's Lego trucks for Owen. I broke up one fight, then another. Braedy required applesauce because he finally has a loose tooth. After I broke up the second fight, Braedy attempted to console Eli regarding how annoying Owen is by saying, "I know who was the nicest baby. Jesus."
7:25 Broke up my 3rd fight of the morning by showing the older boys pictures of families in Africa who have dirt floors and get food from garbage dumps. Not my proudest Mom moment ever.
By 7:44 we were all in the car on our way to school. Owen, as usual, pitched a fit. Eli picked on Braedy, and Braedy yelled back. By the time I dropped off the kids at 7:56, everyone was happy.
At 8:33, I had finished my trip to Walmart necessitated by us hiring an incompetent housekeeper. Finally, I had to buy my own cleaning supplies. Darn it.
In the morning, Owen and I played Legos and marbles, and finally made scones.
When I asked Owen if he wanted to continue helping to make the scones, he said, "Do it moms' self". I was trying to teach him to count the eggs, and I said, "one egg. Now, what is this one?" and he replied, "The last one". He was technically right. When I asked, "Owen, please get out the pan", he replied, "I'm on it Mom." Indeed.
10:30 Scones in the oven; Owen watching Bob the Builder.
By 11:45 Owen was out for nap time!
1:10 Owen woke up saying, "I want scone!"
Another side note: Owen was completely dry all day today until after dinner. I think the kid might have potty training down, but we're too lazy to take him out of diapers full time and try it for real. Either way, I'm glad it's clicking and we're going through less diapers.
This afternoon, Owen had over a 1/2 an hour timeout because he wouldn't apologize for throwing a pillow at me. I rearranged Eli's room (something he agreed to, creating more space for him to play and freaked him out at bedtime) and really think it looks great.
We ate comfort food for dinner: homemade mac and cheese, corn dog muffins and corn.
Way too many carbs, but it all went over quite well (and made quite the mess).
By 6:25 the kitchen was all cleaned up thanks to the Adele station on Pandora helping me to motivated and sing along while scrubbing pans and sweeping. Here's a day's worth of crumbs:
Here's Braedy reading our Thanksgiving tree.
I never stop marveling at kids who learn to read. It's just amazing.
Between 6 and 7, the kids played hard with Brian. Here's Owen "wrestling", while Braedy kept talking and Eli kept reading.We're definitely multi-taskers around here. Eli had finished his melt down regarding moving things in his room and having a math test tomorrow. Whew.
By 8:00, the kids were all in bed and BK and I could enjoy Modern Family. At 8:30, BK complained about his currently job and at 8:45 I opened my second beer so I could be a "good wife" and keep listening.
It seems mundane and boring, but sometimes, that's life. It's great to find the time to laugh at my circumstances (or what the kids say) throughout the day. I had fun today, and that's certainly what matters. Tomorrow, it all starts again.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Overheard: Braedyisms
Braedy is turning into quite the funny little kid. He regularly makes us laugh; sometimes on purpose and often because he tends to say things at just the right moment that are funny just because of the timing.
During the Olympics, he was very interested in the sprinters. During the 100 meter dash preliminaries, he decided to run all around our house. He started just as the runners took off from their starting blocks. We timed him using our iphone timers (his record was 9.4 seconds for his course). When he returned from his sprint, he looked at the TV, saw the runners had already finished their race and said, in all seriousness and with a tone of incredulousness, "What? Why are they done? I'm still running!"
Eli and Braedy also enjoyed watching diving, though when I talked them into trying it, since they love swimming and gymnastics, Braedy responded, "Why would I do that? They're wearing underpants!" (apparently, Speedos look like undies to 5 year olds). Braedy and Eli could't stop laughing when I told them Brian used to wear Speedos on swim team. And, Eli's hopes of becoming the next Michael Phelps were nearly dashed when he said, "I'm not joining swim team if I have to swim in my underpants like Dad!". I assured him that swimmers wear longer attire now, so back to being the next Phelps it is.
Finally, tonight we were outside and saw neighbor boys riding bikes past our house. In an effort to encourage our boys to be social, we offered them $1 to go out front and ride with them. Eli accepted and then changed his mind. Braedy replied, "I'll still do it! And, I'll take $5 too." Smart kid, that one.
During the Olympics, he was very interested in the sprinters. During the 100 meter dash preliminaries, he decided to run all around our house. He started just as the runners took off from their starting blocks. We timed him using our iphone timers (his record was 9.4 seconds for his course). When he returned from his sprint, he looked at the TV, saw the runners had already finished their race and said, in all seriousness and with a tone of incredulousness, "What? Why are they done? I'm still running!"
Eli and Braedy also enjoyed watching diving, though when I talked them into trying it, since they love swimming and gymnastics, Braedy responded, "Why would I do that? They're wearing underpants!" (apparently, Speedos look like undies to 5 year olds). Braedy and Eli could't stop laughing when I told them Brian used to wear Speedos on swim team. And, Eli's hopes of becoming the next Michael Phelps were nearly dashed when he said, "I'm not joining swim team if I have to swim in my underpants like Dad!". I assured him that swimmers wear longer attire now, so back to being the next Phelps it is.
Finally, tonight we were outside and saw neighbor boys riding bikes past our house. In an effort to encourage our boys to be social, we offered them $1 to go out front and ride with them. Eli accepted and then changed his mind. Braedy replied, "I'll still do it! And, I'll take $5 too." Smart kid, that one.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Lake Michigan or bust!
With temperatures in the 90s early last week, I decided the kids and I should head to a "real" beach without lots of weeds. Thankfully, I had the foresight to look at how far away Lake Michigan is and decided it would be a better trip to make with Brian.
Today, we headed over to Point Beach State Forest, right near Two Rivers, Wisconsin, but we found out that the beach was closed due to E. Coli. Owen started having a breakdown, leading to me having a bit of a breakdown (especially since our "GPS" from our phones kept saying "no service" meaning we were going on a hope and a prayer that we would find a beach nearby that was open). Lo and behold, Two Rivers has a free, humungous city beach right off of the same highway as the state forest.
We all had a blast. It was just cloudy enough that we weren't too hot, and we got there before too many crowds arrived. We will most definitely go back. When asked what they thought of it, Eli said he really liked it and Braedy said it was "fantastic." I guess we can't ask for a greater review than that.
Here's Owen, demolishing one of the boys' many sand castles. We started off saying, "Owen, don't throw sand" and quickly changed our admonishment to a directive: "Owen, throw the sand in the water, not on people." Turns out, that was way more effective.
Here are Brian and Eli making dinosaur faces.
My two more cooperative boys (for this picture, at least).
I have no idea what this was all about. First, he stuck his head into a hole he dug, and then he tried to drink the water. Hopefully they were right about the absence of E. Coli.
Today, we headed over to Point Beach State Forest, right near Two Rivers, Wisconsin, but we found out that the beach was closed due to E. Coli. Owen started having a breakdown, leading to me having a bit of a breakdown (especially since our "GPS" from our phones kept saying "no service" meaning we were going on a hope and a prayer that we would find a beach nearby that was open). Lo and behold, Two Rivers has a free, humungous city beach right off of the same highway as the state forest.
We all had a blast. It was just cloudy enough that we weren't too hot, and we got there before too many crowds arrived. We will most definitely go back. When asked what they thought of it, Eli said he really liked it and Braedy said it was "fantastic." I guess we can't ask for a greater review than that.
Here's Owen, demolishing one of the boys' many sand castles. We started off saying, "Owen, don't throw sand" and quickly changed our admonishment to a directive: "Owen, throw the sand in the water, not on people." Turns out, that was way more effective.
Here are Brian and Eli making dinosaur faces.
My two more cooperative boys (for this picture, at least).
I have no idea what this was all about. First, he stuck his head into a hole he dug, and then he tried to drink the water. Hopefully they were right about the absence of E. Coli.
Friday, July 20, 2012
Why the new blog?
Some readers might be wondering why I've chosen to start a new blog, under a new address. Let's just say this: when a random, tea-partying IT person employed by your husband's company asks for a blog address, is not given said blog address, and then takes the opportunity to find said blog address while updating your husband's computer and choses to share said blog address with secretary's at your husband's company so your husband finds his secretaries looking at pictures of HIS children on their computers rather than working, it's likely time to either shut down a blog or make it private.
Indeed, when a random Southern Baptist daughter of preacher comes across your blog and, instead of comforting you about what you have written, chooses to share your blog address with other people, making a bigger mess than you intended to create, it's likely time to either shut down your blog or make it private.
When you write stories about your LDS neighbors, even when said stories are true, funny at times, and frustrating at times, and said neighbors scour the internet, looking for clues to determine your blog address and find you "so fascinating" that you have to create a fake blog so you can participate in neighborhood blogging, it's likely time to shut down your fake (and real blog) or make it private.
All that to say, while my intention has never been to poke fun at or hurt people's feelings with my blog, it has also never been my intention for people I hardly know to read it. I have purposely made the blog open enough that people can find it-and comment on it-but have also made it so search engines cannot find it. And, when I comment on other people's blogs, my blog address is not listed unless I chose to give it out.
So, if you're here, and along for the ride, great! If I tick you off now (or in the future), I'm sorry. Now that I'm back in the Motherland, I feel I know a bit more of what to expect culturally and socially. Hopefully I will avoid the hidden landmines of Southern Baptist culture and will make friends with LDS people (including the missionaries! Did you know I was regularly visited by missionaries in Texas because I always gave them something to eat, drink and knew a lot about Utah?). And, hopefully this blog is here to stay.
Finally, feel free to pass the address onto people you know and trust. This is the internet, afterall. I still love comments and love knowing people are reading. This time around, however, I'm going to be more careful about who knows that I write, especially busy-bodied people who have nothing better to do than to think I'm fascinating and/or who want to stir of drama. Or a cultural uprising; but that IT guy really was weird. Thank goodness I'm done with Texas.
Indeed, when a random Southern Baptist daughter of preacher comes across your blog and, instead of comforting you about what you have written, chooses to share your blog address with other people, making a bigger mess than you intended to create, it's likely time to either shut down your blog or make it private.
When you write stories about your LDS neighbors, even when said stories are true, funny at times, and frustrating at times, and said neighbors scour the internet, looking for clues to determine your blog address and find you "so fascinating" that you have to create a fake blog so you can participate in neighborhood blogging, it's likely time to shut down your fake (and real blog) or make it private.
All that to say, while my intention has never been to poke fun at or hurt people's feelings with my blog, it has also never been my intention for people I hardly know to read it. I have purposely made the blog open enough that people can find it-and comment on it-but have also made it so search engines cannot find it. And, when I comment on other people's blogs, my blog address is not listed unless I chose to give it out.
So, if you're here, and along for the ride, great! If I tick you off now (or in the future), I'm sorry. Now that I'm back in the Motherland, I feel I know a bit more of what to expect culturally and socially. Hopefully I will avoid the hidden landmines of Southern Baptist culture and will make friends with LDS people (including the missionaries! Did you know I was regularly visited by missionaries in Texas because I always gave them something to eat, drink and knew a lot about Utah?). And, hopefully this blog is here to stay.
Finally, feel free to pass the address onto people you know and trust. This is the internet, afterall. I still love comments and love knowing people are reading. This time around, however, I'm going to be more careful about who knows that I write, especially busy-bodied people who have nothing better to do than to think I'm fascinating and/or who want to stir of drama. Or a cultural uprising; but that IT guy really was weird. Thank goodness I'm done with Texas.
Der Kohlkopf meets little Sara home-maker
This summer, we arrived at our new house too late to plant a proper garden. Sure, we've added the customary tomato plants and have given into the kids' desires to try our hand at carrots (Braedy) and pumpkins (Eli) in a completely random space behind our garage. But, summer to me is all about fresh produce (among other things), so when I found out about a reasonably priced produce share farm that delivers to my house, I considered signing up. After talking it over with Brian and receiving his assurances that he would eat whatever random produce we received, I sent in our check.
The first produce share box we received had romaine lettuce (great), random other lettuce mixes (equally good), broccoli (a crowd favorite here, when roasted) and a humungous bag of peas that weren't quite ripe (per Brian, "bitter"). I froze about half of the peas, forgot about the rest and then accused Brian of putting away my cookie sheets I had used to freeze said peas in some completely random, unable to be found spot because I forgot about those too. Details...
Our produce share is bi-weekly, so when this week rolled around, I thought surely we'd receive tomatoes or basil or some other vegetable type thing that seems readily available at farm markets and (key point here) that I enjoy. But, when our enormous box arrived, it was filled with corn (some good, some not), zucchini, yellow squash, lots of cucumbers both big and small, more broccoli, a head of cauliflower a cabbage and a bag of green beans that was larger than our prior weeks' bag of peas.
Today, I learned how to blanch and freeze green beans. I also used some in a great, grilled Asian green bean side dish, enjoyed only by Brian and me (and used as a weapon against Owen: "Owen, if you try to sit on Mommy's lap, you must eat a green bean first." Not a proud parenting moment, but I got my lap to myself!).
Yesterday, I made up all of the corn and froze the kernels we didn't eat. I foresee a really awesome chicken pot pie this winter.
I shredded a zucchini and plan to make some breads, cakes or other baked goods. I hope to try to make some on the grill or perhaps venture out and bake some strips and make some dip. But, I'm stumped with the squash, all of the cucumbers and what the heck do you do with a cabbage in the middle of summer? All I can think of is the German children's book I have where the cabbage is the star of the book because it rolls all the way down the mountain and finally bursts open so the kids can make vegetable soup (Der Kohlkopf! Halt ihn fest!). Vegetable soup in the summer just doesn't sound that appealing. I'm intrigued by two suggestions from friends: chicken cabbage salad and egg rolls, but so far, I haven't found recipes. Another friend suggested refrigerator pickles, and since Owen regularly eats 3 pickles at least two times per day, perhaps that's not such a bad idea, either. One really big positive thing about receiving produce the day it is picked is that I do have some amount of time to figure out what on earth to do with it.
And, lest you think I'm all about health all of the time, take a look at this magnificent, SOUTHERN creation I made for dessert tonight:
It's not that bad for you; it has tons of calcium and was made with homemade, whole wheat bread (admittedly, bread with butterscotch chips). While it doesn't measure up to the bread pudding from Crawford's Hole in the Wall (the local restaurant owned by the family of one of Eli's best friends from Texas; I'm secretly hoping they'll share their recipe with me now that I'm safely out of Texas), I used a recipe from the Pioneer Woman, and it sure is tasty (if a bit sweet).
Tomorrow, I'm tackling my basil acquired from the Farmer's market last weekend. Pesto, anyone?
The first produce share box we received had romaine lettuce (great), random other lettuce mixes (equally good), broccoli (a crowd favorite here, when roasted) and a humungous bag of peas that weren't quite ripe (per Brian, "bitter"). I froze about half of the peas, forgot about the rest and then accused Brian of putting away my cookie sheets I had used to freeze said peas in some completely random, unable to be found spot because I forgot about those too. Details...
Our produce share is bi-weekly, so when this week rolled around, I thought surely we'd receive tomatoes or basil or some other vegetable type thing that seems readily available at farm markets and (key point here) that I enjoy. But, when our enormous box arrived, it was filled with corn (some good, some not), zucchini, yellow squash, lots of cucumbers both big and small, more broccoli, a head of cauliflower a cabbage and a bag of green beans that was larger than our prior weeks' bag of peas.
Today, I learned how to blanch and freeze green beans. I also used some in a great, grilled Asian green bean side dish, enjoyed only by Brian and me (and used as a weapon against Owen: "Owen, if you try to sit on Mommy's lap, you must eat a green bean first." Not a proud parenting moment, but I got my lap to myself!).
Yesterday, I made up all of the corn and froze the kernels we didn't eat. I foresee a really awesome chicken pot pie this winter.
I shredded a zucchini and plan to make some breads, cakes or other baked goods. I hope to try to make some on the grill or perhaps venture out and bake some strips and make some dip. But, I'm stumped with the squash, all of the cucumbers and what the heck do you do with a cabbage in the middle of summer? All I can think of is the German children's book I have where the cabbage is the star of the book because it rolls all the way down the mountain and finally bursts open so the kids can make vegetable soup (Der Kohlkopf! Halt ihn fest!). Vegetable soup in the summer just doesn't sound that appealing. I'm intrigued by two suggestions from friends: chicken cabbage salad and egg rolls, but so far, I haven't found recipes. Another friend suggested refrigerator pickles, and since Owen regularly eats 3 pickles at least two times per day, perhaps that's not such a bad idea, either. One really big positive thing about receiving produce the day it is picked is that I do have some amount of time to figure out what on earth to do with it.
And, lest you think I'm all about health all of the time, take a look at this magnificent, SOUTHERN creation I made for dessert tonight:
It's not that bad for you; it has tons of calcium and was made with homemade, whole wheat bread (admittedly, bread with butterscotch chips). While it doesn't measure up to the bread pudding from Crawford's Hole in the Wall (the local restaurant owned by the family of one of Eli's best friends from Texas; I'm secretly hoping they'll share their recipe with me now that I'm safely out of Texas), I used a recipe from the Pioneer Woman, and it sure is tasty (if a bit sweet).
Tomorrow, I'm tackling my basil acquired from the Farmer's market last weekend. Pesto, anyone?
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