How long has it been since you ate an Oreo?

I know some people consider these cookies to be the ultimate indulgence - especially with a glass of milk. I don't drink milk and I have never really craved an Oreo. However, this past weekend I bought some in order to make a dessert for the youth group. Of course the recipe didn't call for the entire bag...so I took a bite...and ended up eating several cookies. =)
I cannot think of Oreos without also thinking of a particular woman at our church. She is an older lady and is very much into all things natural (which I am certainly not against, but she is on a whole other level than I am!). Anyway, whenever she mentions junk food she equates it with coke and oreos. She cannot imagine how anyone could crave such things. (I've had this conversation with her more than once.) She is very direct and will look you right in the eye and ask, " Do you REALLY enjoy cokes or oreos?" =)
Here is the recipe for Oreo Ice Cream Dessert. It is always a hit with young and old alike. Don't expect to have any left-over!

1 - 1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream, slightly softened
1 carton of Cool Whip, thaw to spreading consistency
24 Oreos, crushed
1 stick of butter

Fudge Sauce
4 oz of unsweetend chocolate
1/4 C butter
2/3 C sugar
2/3 C milk
dash of salt

Make the chocolate first so it can cool while you put the rest of the ingredients together. Over med-low heat, melt the chocolate and butter together and then add the sugar and stir. Add the milk and a little salt and cook for a few minutes stirring constantly so the chocolate will thicken but not burn.(You can use other types of chocolate -german, semi-sweet, etc. Just taste it to be sure the proportions are right. I never measure the ingredients for the fudge sauce, so I'm only guess here!)
Crush oreos in a bag and sprinkle in a 13x9 pyrex dish. Pour melted butter over the cookies. Scoop ice cream evenly onto the cookie crust. Pour cooled chocolate over the ice cream. (It doesn't have to be completely cool, just not too hot.) Spread the cool whip over the chocolate. Sprinkle nuts or oreo crumbs on top if desired. Store dessert in freezer. Allow a few minutes to thaw before cutting and serving.

Bathtime Fun

When the tub is in use, there is always the sink!!

Photos

In December we had some family photos taken. It was a bit of a challenge with a 2 year old and a 5 month old but our photographer was patient and good humored. To view more of her talented work, visit her photo blog.
Thank You Abby!!!

(There are lots more pics and I plan to post more on my dropshots site...check under December 1.)

Tidbits

SO MUCH has been going on around here these past few weeks that I don't have time to chronicle it right now. I'll just post a few things I'd like to remember
We're still plugging away with potty training Lydia. The novelty of getting to go when the kitchen timer buzzes has totally worn off. She protests every time I require her to try. She does prefer to wear her "underwears" though, so I hope we're done with pullups and diapers really soon. We've had several completely dry days -- and even a few dry naps. She has recently decided that she prefers to be alone when she is in the bathroom, proclaiming to me "Don't come in, Mom." Last week I did follow her into the bathroom soon after she had climbed onto the potty and this is what she said (nearly verbatim): "Mom, I told you not to come in. You did come in. You did not obey. Now you need to get a spankin'." I wanted to laugh, but I held myself in check while trying to explain that she must obey me while I do not have to obey her.
Lydia is quite the nicknamer! She gets it honestly, I must say. Her Papa (my Dad) is the king of nicknames -- and the ones he creates have no basis on reality! A few I remember from childhood that he gave to us kids: chili-down-chookus, slim R muscle bullet, low, lobus-tootmo....you get the idea. So Lydia has come up with a few of her own. I am frequently Maman (but the last few days she is testing out Mom-puh), Ben is Dad-o, Lauren is baby sis-a-ler, Kate has morphed from Katie-boo-boo to Katie-boob to Katie boob-a-loo, Liz is usually Auntie Liz or sometimes Aunt Lizzie. Lydia got a kick out of hearing someone call her Elizabeth, so she decided to try it out... "Uh-wizz-a-biff." While Ben's parents were here for the holidays she finally decided to drop their proper names (Grampa Rob and Gramma Kaffee) and called them just Gramma and Grampa. That was nice to hear. She did decide to try out Grampa Robbie once or twice and even called him plain "Robert" once. That was funny as no one calls him that -- we don't know if she heard it or if it was another example of a nickname she thought she was creating!
My baby has started solids and is crawling!!!It is by no means a coordinated crawl, but she can maneuver herself really well. She gets on all fours and begins the rocking motion. Then she usually launches herself face first and begins that inchworm crawl. She is one determined baby. Lydia was playing Memory the other night and Lauren really wanted to get some of the cards. She spied them from several feet away and decided to go for it. Just as she reached her prize, Lydia grabbed the cards off the floor saying, "No baby sis, no no no. Those aren't yours!" We removed Lauren and she immediately headed for the game again. On her third time making it over to the game and her third time being thwarted, she began her "I'm mad" cry. Feeling a bit sorry for her, I relented and let her play with a couple of cards. =)
Well, I've forgotten whatever else I was hoping to record here! Oh well =)

Lydia makes us laugh

Things Lydia has said recently:

Surveying her hands after a meal, "My hands are almost clean Mom!" She is so proud of herself when she finishes a meal and her hands aren't covered in food. She thinks she doesn't need me to wipe her face and hands because they are clean in her mind! I end up telling her she is "almost" clean.
Now, everyone knows Pup is her #1. She has also really enjoyed her doll since Lauren arrived. Just this past week she has adopted a stuffed butterfly that Aunt Becky gave to Lauren and began calling it "my baby girl." I've reminded her that it is really a butterfly,but that she can take care of it like a baby doll. (She swaddles it, puts it in the swing, "soothes" it when she tells me the butterfly is crying etc.) Alright. She loves the song "The Wheels on the Bus." You have to sing it with her in a particular order or she interrupts to correct you. (The wheels are first, then the wipers, then the children, the driver...) I heard her in her room this week and she added a new verse. "The butterflies on the bus go 'wah wah wah'..."
At lunch while covering her eyes with two pieces of bread, "Look Mom. I'm Bartimaeus. My eyes are sick!" I laughed heartily and then asked her who made Bartimaeus' eyes well. "Zaccheus." =) We'll keep working on the Bible stories!

L&L

I'm working on a project that requires me to go through ALL of my pictures. I'm thankful that I organized my non digital pictures a few years ago. It has certainly made the task easier. I thought I'd post a few of my girls when they were near the same age.

Lydia, 4 months

Lauren, 4 months

Lydia, 4 months

Lauren, 3 months

Lydia, 4 months

Lauren, 4 months

Hodgepodge

This morning over breakfast I saw three deer walk into our backyard. If you've been to our house you know we live in a subdivision and our house doesn't back up to any woods. By the time I grabbed my camera and took the picture they were trotting into our neighbors' yard.
Also during breakfast Lydia and I noticed some leaves falling from the trees. She exclaimed, "Mom the birds are falling!" I explained that the wind was blowing some leaves off of the trees. A few minutes later after she had done a little processing she said, "The leaves are breakin' Mom."

Here is my littlest girl showing off her latest skill. She loves to grab her feet these days. She also now rolls from her back to her tummy. We knew she was really close and she actually did it last night. I think it was the first time.
She enjoys her bouncy seat but we frequently see her straining and trying her hardest to sit up! She does not want to be a "baby." We remember Lydia acting this same way.

Since this post is kind of random already, I'll list a few of my latest favorites.

1. Izze drinks. Have you tried one? They are so delicious. No refined sugar, no caffeine. Just fruit juice and sparkling water.
2. Baby Bee diaper ointment by Burt's Bees. The ingredients are all natural and gentle to their skin. No parabens or mineral oils here.
3. Pizza dough in the Publix bakery. We have started having homemade pizza night on Fridays. (If you can still call it homemade even though I buy the dough!) I am hooked on this and we haven't even wanted to order out for pizza in months.
4. The book "Teach Them Diligently" by Lou Priolo. Maybe I'll have a chance to do a little review sometime; it was a very worthwhile read.

Thanksgiving in Review

Although we feel a bit spoiled that we always get to "host" our family members, we are so happy they are willing to drive down to spend holiday time with us. This year, Patrick and Susan stayed at our house for the few days they were here.

Lydia beat Patrick fair and square at Memory.

Lydia bonded right away with Aunt Susie. She started calling her "Suze."

Ben's Uncle Carl and Aunt Rita usually join us either for Christmas or Thanksgiving and they are fun to spend time with. We say it every year, but Rita has the magic touch with the babies. My girls, who don't really cuddle, always seem to snuggle up in her arms and fall asleep!

We had the feast at my parents' house on Thursday. It was a large crowd of both family and friends.

All of the tables were decked out in silver, fine china and fresh flowers.

Where Patrick goes, a game will be played! He has introduced us to many games. He is a good sport and patiently explains the sometimes very complicated rules as many times as needed.

"Two matchin' girls"

I don't think Carl believed us when we explained that the big red ball gets daily use with Lauren!

I'm not feeling very verbose, so I hope you enjoyed the pictures!

my fashonista

Yesterday I began (and almost finished!) sorting through the girls' clothes. It is well past time for shorts and tanks and sleeveless onesies to make their way out of closets and into boxes! It was fun to revisit Lydia's clothes from two years ago and get them laundered and put into Lauren's room. I have also found that in that short period of time, some of my taste has changed! Oh well. I hope I don't feel this way every time Lauren moves up to Lydia's clothes =)

Lydia loved helping me sort. She also decided to redress herself using several interesting items from various piles. She is getting more independent by the week. Every day I hear, "I do it myself Mom." Just a few weeks ago she was saying, "Me do it!" so we have at least progressed closer to correct speech!

struggling with her socks

the end result: a summer skirt that finally fits, newborn hospital cap, pink socks andMom's slippers (or flippers, as she calls them)

Dinner

Last week I made Zucchini Moussaka for dinner. We had not had it in quite a while, and I'm not sure Lydia had ever eaten it. Of course she wanted towatch (and help) me make it earlier in the day. When dinner time came, she was sitting in her booster cheering when it came out of the oven. She kept saying "Yum!". This seemed unusual, but then she's two, so you just never know what they decide is funny or weird or YUM!
I put her portion on her plate to cool and after the prayer she dug right in. After a few bites, the reason for her previous anticipation became clear. She said, "It's not choc-wit Mom," as if I had been misleading her all day! She seemed to enjoy it despite the fact that it wasn't the yummy dessert she had been expecting. =) She likes Italian type foods and was even convinced that the sauteed onions were noodles.
The slices of zucchini were not as well liked. I had given her both a fork and a spoon for the meal so she could use whichever utensil was easiest. (We are battling with her about using utensils these days. The novelty has long since worn off and she just wants to get the food to her mouth with the most ease and speed!) Anyway she was spooning the food in with ease and picking out the zucchini slices and placing them carefully on her fork which was on the table beside her plate. I was quick to remind her that she was going to have to eat some of the zucchini too. Her response - "Dey're waitin' right on da fork for me, mom."

Fall

at Amicalola Falls

We had fun a few weeks ago on our outdoor expedition here. Liz posted about it so I won't rehash the details except to say I hope not to have a baby strapped on next time! Actually it wasn't so bad after the first 30 minutes...I kind of forgot about it.

Oh - and Lauren is sporting a brand new outfit in this pic. We had a diaper catastrophe of gigantic proportions! It was so bad that I had to go buy her something to wear for the rest of the day. (You'd think when I know we'll be gone the entire day I might learn to leave the house fully prepared for any situation...)

Last week was our family's first Fall Festival. Lydia has no idea what "Halloween" is or what it entails for some people. I did not even bring it up to Lydia until right before room time that day that anything out of the ordinary was in the works. So after I finished teaching that evening, we got the girls ready. The idea of spending much money on a costume is foreign to me. So whatever we can come up with for a few dollars -or free! - works for us. Thus, Lydia was a cat (ears compliments of Auntie Liz's stash) and Lauren was a cow -- a $3 hand-me-down from big sis. I gave Lydia some whiskers and a pink nose. She waited pretty patiently while I drew on her face and then when I told her to look in the mirror, all she could say was, "MOM!".

Lauren was great. This is how she spent her evening while we raced around with Lydia.

The church had quite a few of these giant inflatable play things. It was Lydia's first experience on them and she LOVED it! Every time we pass by the church now she says, "Mom - we go pway games?"

The happy trio of unlikely animal friends

It was a fun night and best of all - everything was free --hotdogs, popcorn and drinks -- cupcakes, balloons, pony rides, candy and games!

Prayers

Today a violin student of mine was playing in a competition in SC. Her mom called during lunch with a few specific prayer requests for her daughter as she was about to perform. So, Lydia and I prayed for the girl as we ate our lunch. I finished praying and we ate a few more bites then Lydia wanted to pray again for this girl. We folded our hands and prayed again...and again shortly thereafter.
After our prayers for this student, Lydia started requesting that we pray for some of my other students...and then for Mommy, and then Lauren and lastly Lydia. I was touched by some of her requests and the fact that she willingly put lunch on hold each time we stopped to pray for someone.
While she was still sitting at the table, she was unusually quiet as I rinsed our lunch dishes. I was wondering if she was thinking about our little prayer session. Then she asked very seriously, "Mom, we pway for Dora?" while looking at the cartoon character on her placemat. I had to try very hard not to laugh out loud!

The Story of Lauren's Birth

Is it possible to stay pregnant forever? Obviously not, but I wonder how long Lauren would have stayed in her cocoon had she not be "encouraged" to leave! My midwives gave me up to 10 days past my EDD to let labor occur naturally. Nothing doing. I know people thought I was nuts to wait that long for labor and I did get some comments like, "Why won't your midwife go ahead and induce you?"She probably would have done it sooner had I wanted that. As I did when preparing for Lydia's birth, I tried many things to bring on labor but without success. Lauren was cozy inside and had no intention of coming out! So when July 23rd came, we went to the hospital for an induction.
When we arrived we waited an hour in the waiting room for them to call us back. I remember flipping through magazines trying not to become irritated at the additional opportunity of the hospital to "time" my birth. (When I was finally taken to a room we realized that the shift change occurred at 11am and I surmised that we had been made to wait until that could take place.)The midwives Stephanie and Jill were on call until 6pm. Stephanie broke my water shortly after 11am and it had been previously agreed upon that I would be allowed to walk and to try to get some contractions going. After a couple of hours and little to no progress (I was 1.5 cm dilated and completely effaced) they put me on Pitocin. I struggled a little bit with this as I REALLY wanted this birth to be without Pit, but I lost that battle. I reminded myself that I had to keep a positive attitude regardless of the situation. To say I was disappointed is an understatement. Now I was facing loss of mobility as well as drug induced contractions. It was right about this time that dear Pat, our friend and doula, arrived to bring support and positive thinking! (She had been waiting at home until things started to happen.)
The pit drip was started at 2pm. After about 5 minutes of Pitocin, my contractions were immediately painful and intense. I began to despair a little because it had taken several hours of Pitocin during my labor with Lydia to get to that stage. I was wondering if I really was going to make it without the pain meds! I continued laboring in the rocking chair with my feet propped on the bed. Pat, Ben and my Mom were there. I tried a birthing ball for one contraction and it was awful!!! I couldn't wait to get back to the chair! At 4pm they checked me and I was at 6cm ( only 6 I remember thinking). I remember going to the bathroom after that and then casually mentioning after my next contraction in the chair that I felt like pushing during a contraction (and had) on the toilet. That got Stephanie and Jill's attention and they checked me again. I was nearly 10 cm and they gave me the green light for pushing! It was about 4:30 then. Things began to kick into high gear in the room as lights came on, gloves were snapped on and gowns donned by the midwives. I literally could NOT believe I had progressed from 6 to 9.5 cm in about 20 minutes. I kept thinking (and probably saying) "I can't believe it's time to push!". (The midwives were surprised too, I think, as we had chatted earlier in the day about how they wouldn't b e there for Lauren's birth. I remember hoping very much that Lauren would be born before my nurse's shift ended at 11pm!!)
When I had to move from my glider to the bed I climbed on top of the bed and was standing on it until the various IV cords and blankets were situated. I remember Pat laughing at this =) My left hand was hurting so much from the IV port that I could put no pressure on that hand without lots of pain. So standing was actually easier than trying to shift my huge body around on the bed one-handed!!-Well, I think I had5 or 6 contractions after that point and then Lauren was born. The cord was around her neck and one arm across her body with her hand near her cheek when her head came out. That felt really weird when Stephanie was maneuvering Lauren's arm around her head. I think perhaps the cord was cutting off some of Lauren's oxygen because I remember Stephanie looking at me after only about 3, maybe 4, contractions and saying, " You really need to get her out on this next one, okay?". I was shocked.What did she mean the next contraction? Was I really that close? Could it all really be going this much faster this time? Well, it really did. Lauren was born at 5:11 pm and they placed her on me right after she came out. It was incredible. She gave one little cry and then was quiet while I held her. We tried nursing a few minutes later and I will say that she had a powerful latch from the get go! Birth really is a miracle and there is nothing like that feeling I get after birth when I meet my baby for the first time.
After I was cleaned and stitched up (the tearing was not as bad this time, and really I think I might have escaped it altogether if the pushing stage had lasted a little longer) the nurse wheeled me to my room. Although Lauren's birth was so much "easier" than Lydia's, my hospital stay was certainly less pleasant. I guess I can leave those details out unless anyone is really curious.
Lauren - you finally arrived, safe and healthy and we are so excited about life as four. I love you little Lauren and I love being Mommy to you and Lydia. I pray for wisdom, patience, tenderness and peace every day as I seek to parent you as God would have me to do. May you love Jesus and cling to Him all your days. Love Mommy

Changes

Ben and I were reminiscing the other day and it came up that this fall is the first time in the nearly 5 years of our marriage that I am home every evening when Ben gets home. When we were first married, I was in the middle of pursuing my Masters degree. Concerts and rehearsals kept me out late in the evenings. When I wrapped that up, I began teaching for a music academy. I taught there three days a week and on my earliest evenings I arrived home by about 6 or so...the other days it was after 8pm. I even kept this somewhat crazy schedule for Lydia's first year. She took to it as well as I can imagine. She has always loved going bye-bye and she became quite close with the two women who kept her in the nursery. (In fact, the other day we were heading toward that area and going the same route we used to take every week and she suddenly said, "Mom, we're goin' to see Miss Carmen at the nursery?" I was stunned that she remembered our driving route and touched once again by the fact that she misses Miss Carmen and Miss Cindy and the kids she played with.) Anyway, I ended that crazy schedule and we are enjoying a more normalized evening routine. It has been good for us.
I took about 2 months off of gigging when Lauren was born and since I started back in September, our quartet has had a wedding, or two, every weekend. Actually last weekend was our first "free" weekend. We'll start back the first weekend in November and keep up the pace through Christmas. I enjoy gigging and have to thank Ben for sacrificing a large portion of his Saturdays to watch the girls and enable me to do this. (This reminds me of how I used to avoid using the word "gig" when I was first getting into this. I thought it sounded so stupid and I preferred to call it a "job." Obviously my peers rubbed off on me and now I use the term with the best of them!)

My baby is three months old today. It really wasn't that long ago that she was born but it wouldn't seem like our family without her. She is an active baby and likes to be held. This means Mommy wears the baby bjorn for a portion of every day. (I could benefit greatly from weekly visits to a masseuse and a chiropractor!) She is rolling over -from tummy to back - nearly every day. This accomplishment has translated into middle of the night feedings again because she wakes up distressed. She hates her carseat and loves her bouncy seat. She enjoys the little toys that hang off of that seat and she will just GRIN at the bird that is attached.

Lydia continues to make us laugh. She can be quite the little ham and after you laugh once she will continue doing whatever it was to try to keep you laughing. She is (finally) really enjoying being read to. She has always liked books, but never had the patience to hear the story. She likes her "special books" (the books I will not leave in her room). Favorite stories include "If You Give A Pig A Pancake," (and others in that series), Curious George, and Olivia. She has a great memory, but she is very stubborn and resists memorizing anything we think is profitable...i.e. short Bible verses, Children's Catechism etc. She likes to sing and I can finally recognize a melody in there somewhere. Too bad it is always the same melody --Come Thou Fount! She will put any words, including nonsense, to that tune. She loves her little sister and it is sweet to see Lauren's face light up when Lydia talks to her. Even though I am constantly reminding Lydia to be gentle, she still has occasional bursts of wildness that have resulted in near miss accidents. Last week I took something from the kitchen out to the fridge in the garage. I was out and back inside in under 5 seconds. When I looked over to the girls, Lydia had picked Lauren up (she was propped on the boppy on the couch) and was standing next to the couch holding her in a bear hug with a proud grin on her face. In the milisecond it to me to react, I ditched my first thought and instinct-- raising my voice - or saying anything at all -- and raced to her side to grab Lauren. To say my heart was pounding does not even describe how I felt!
That's all for now!

My Littlest Girl

Just a reminder that even when i don't have time to post here, there are pictures being added at my dropshots site.

www.dropshots.com/jenviolin

Name that tune...

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but Lydia uses the Consumer Reports Buying Guide as her hymnal/Bible. That is the book she runs for when we're having family worship or even during the day when she feels like singing. Last night she was flipping through it and here is the line she kept repeating,
"Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth" except it sounded more like "Pahdon for sin and a peace dat endoooowith".
Can you name that hymn?!

Quiz

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
The Inland North
The West
The Northeast
Philadelphia
Boston
The South
North Central
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Lydia Sings

Today, to celebrate this wonderful weather, I took the girls to a local park. I did some walking on a path with one in the bjorn and the other in the stroller. When we made it to the playground area, Lydia hopped out of the stroller and made a bee-line for the equipment. She alternates between doing her own thing and copying what other kids are doing. She also can't resist a baby. Twice today she saw babies and went right up to them to say hi and pat their heads or hands. She has had the "be gentle" talk for weeks now, and both the mommy and grandma were very gracious about her attention to their little ones. Still, I realize some parents do not want another child right in the face of their baby. I had to coax her away each time.
Over lunch when we got home she was recounting the things she had done at the playground. There is some thing there that kids can spin around on and regarding it she said, " I spinning on dat. I be very busy!". (Busy is Lydia's word for dizzy.)
Before her downtime, I was reading from her new favorite story "We Help Mommy." (It is a classic Golden Book story by Eloise Wilkins.) There is a part where the little girl helps her mommy make something with dough and she has to roll and pat it. Lydia and I talked about how she has sometimes helped me make something in the kitchen. She looked at the book and then back to me and said, "Like pizza, Mom!". I was impressed she made that connection about rolling out dough since the picture was of a pie, I think. The very next thing out of her mouth was, "Auntie Liz can't have cheese". Wow! And she is right. The last time I made pizzas, Lydia was helping and I explained how we had to be careful to leave some of the pizza without any cheese because Auntie Liz can't eat cheese. She has a great memory. Little instances like this remind Ben and me that we need to encourage her in developing that memory -- as in memorizing short Bible verses or the questions/answers she is s l o w l y learning in the catechism.
A week or so ago she touched the wheel on the car tire right after we had gotten out. Of course it was very hot and she really hurt her fingers. After kissing her hand and wiping the tears I reminded her of the importance of obedience. (She had been told before not to touch the car tires.) I told her that sometimes when she did not obey mommy and daddy she could get hurt like this. It made an impression because she kept bringing up that instance all day and for many days afterwards. How I wish other things for which she is disciplined would remain so clear in her mind!
On a much more comical note, Lydia proclaimed during church last night (at a vocal level those sitting nearby could not have missed), "Mom! I'm poopin'!". Ahhh the joys of potty training.

Strong Girl

Lauren is really strong for such a young baby (I think). She has been able to hold up her head since birth and just continues to progress in this. She can bear her weight on both legs as long as someone keeps her steady. She likes to sit up in your lap and I just got the Bumbo back and she even enjoyed that for a time. Today I found her on her back in her crib. She had rolled over! I have discovered her like this several times, but this is the first time she managed this feat while in a calm state! Previously she was really upset and I think all the squirming sort of resulted in her rolling over. Oh - and this afternoon while in the crib, she squirmed out of her little pants! When I went to get her she was at one end of the crib and the pants were about a foot behind her little feet.