Night @ Grandma & Grandpa Ely's

Boo Boo & Mommy spent the night @ Grammy Koney's & Papa Earl's. They took us out for a super dinner. Miss Elizabeth was such a good girl, eating her crackers and chewing on straws. In the morning we had a yummy breakfast and a little relaxation and "garage sailing" before the ride home. Here's a picture Grammy took of her wiped out on the couch. Thanks for the fun time and the hospitality. Hope to see you again real soon! XOXO

Mommy's Helper Cushie Toilet - Works!

10 months old, 8 teeth, and first dookie in the potty last night (Daddy's words). We bought Mommy's Helper Cushie Toilet so we wouldn't have to empty a floor potty, and received it in the mail yesterday. Miss E used it for the first time last night. Could have been a fluke chance that we got her on the pot in time, but she did it, had her little book sitting in her lap and everything. :) I won't post pics so as not to embarrass her...I'll print those out for her graduation party. JK. Anyhow, to review the potty, we've only had it a day, but it's (fairly) sturdy (we'll see when a 3 y.o. comes to sit on it), it's simple, easy to don & doff from the toilet, cushie on the bottom, and only $22 @ Amazon.com. 2 Thumbs up I say.

Motivation...

Ban Puppy Mills!

I was watching the Dog Whisperer and he had a special on Puppy Mills. What I didn't realize is that any puppy you buy can be from a puppy mill - or their parents, and this includes any dog from the classified ads and especially pet stores (the worst). Unfortunately, puppy mills are not illegal. Many claim the pups and parents are free reign with good exercise. This is not true. Some of these dogs never get to see the light of day and are kept in small cages - only used to breed. They are abused, missing limbs due to chicken-wired cages, can be inbred and have infections. Sick. I encourage you, adopt from a shelter. What a sick world we live in.
These people had 400 hundred dogs when they were only licensed for 100 dogs. They were forced to get rid of 300 dogs overnight. Luckily, they they humanelygave them to kennels and shelters versus putting them down, but still:
http://worldkennelusa.com/home.php?xid=209e308feb03795a178a63696a3c1adf
http://network.bestfriends.org/6832/news.aspx

First Trip to the Park

We brought the girls to a nearby park this weekend and went sliding and swinging. Little Bits did very well. The higher we pushed her, the louder she giggled.

Flowers Just Because

Ahhh, flowers "just because" from my Dearly Beloved. Maybe because I rescued my husband, baby and father in law from a broken-down van?

Dinner from the Garden

We had a beautiful dinner last night from our garden: corn-on-the-cob, breaded zucchini fries, fried green tomatoes, beans, kohlrabi, and leftover tuna & potato salad. Miss Elizabeth started on oatmeal this week and ate 1/2 cup all gone. Dessert: blueberries & strawberries & blackberries, oh my! (Atop of ice cream, that is!) No leftovers, so no pics. :)

Here's an update on my garden for my journal: this year we moved the garden from the SE side of the house to the driveway turnaround. It did much better there with more sunlight and new black dirt. Unfortunately a few deer have jumped my 4' fence and ate my potato, cabbage, strawberry, tomato, squash, & raspberry plants and whatever else they ate that I haven't yet noticed. Solution? Deer hunting this year and a higher fence next year. So, even though they nibble on the plants, we have still been pretty fruitful. David also had his own garden at the end of the drive and while the deer cleaned out his sunflowers and beans, he has a lot of corn, potatoes, and onions.

Mommy's Little Kitchen Helper.

Date Night

D&I went out on a date night and Auntie Jackie was kind enough to watch Miss Elizabeth. On the ride home we stopped for ice cream. Let's just say Missy E wanted some of auntie's blizzard.

God's Minute for August 25th:

Precious Lord, as the thirsty flowers lift their heads to receive moisture from the heavens, and then dance in the wind in praise to you, so nourish my thirsty soul and cause blossoms of joy to burst forth within me. Amen

Isn't that just, ahhh...refreshing and uplifting. Nourish me, Lord. Nourish me I pray.

Curtains = Energy Savers? YES!

I bought Eclipse Blackout Energy Efficient Curtains from Walmart for my house. They work wonderful! On hot summer days, the house stays 5-10 degrees cooler on the inside than it did before we bought the curtains. We have them only on the South-West side of the house because that's where the hot afternoon sun really does it's work. What I like about these is the color & length varieties. What I do not like is that they only come in 42" widths - which is too narrow for one window and too wide for another. K-Mart has the 52" widths, which I have in my bedroom - better. They're about $9.95 per curtain and I have 2 on each window. Definitely worth it when you consider the amount of energy it takes to heat/cool your home. Overall, I give this product 2-green thumbs up.

Quick & Easy Teriyake Chicken

Quick & Easy Teriyake Chicken

Ingredients:
2 T EVOO
1 Onion, chopped
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts - cut to large bite-sized pieces
3 T ketchup
2 T soy sauce
3 T white sugar (I used 2 and it was still a little too sweet - I may cut back to 1)
2 T lemon juice
1 t black pepper

Directions:
Saute onion in oil until translucent
Add chicken and brown lightly
Combine other ingredients, mix well & pour over chicken. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 min. I served over rice and also added 1/2 a bag of frozen California blend veg. Next time I may try a splash of Worchestershire sauce as well for a little tang.

Time Marches On

My Grandma Betty (AKA: Elizabeth Jane), before she died when I was 2, bought me a whole set of birthday angels, which my Mom gave to me each birthday. A few were broke and repaired, but priceless to me just the same. Now that Elizabeth Angel is going to be 1 in less than 3 months, I read the poems attached to each angel one last time for me and carefully packed them away for her. I hope she cherishes them like I do. Elizabeth Angel = makes sense to give them to her, right?

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a nut for anything Irish. In the Angels' place in the curio cabinet went my Belleek Irish Pottery & Swarovski crystal (something I also fell in love with when I visited Ireland). Time to put away the dolls and display my big-girl pottery. :)

Getting More and More Fun!

Miss Elizabeth standing with the support of the dog.

A new form a Peek-a-Boo-Boo
9 Months is so much fun!

To help Mommy with her cardio workouts, Elizabeth now rides in the back carrier while Mommy walks the dog 2 mi. (Lately she was falling asleep in the stroller and then not going to bed until 9). When we started using Auntie Kelly baby back pack, she was staying awake until one day she was overly tired and just konked out at the 1.5 mi mark. Here's a pic after I took her off. Her little arms are tucked in and folded and Baby is fast asleep.

9 Month Check UP

Elizabeth had her 9 month check up today. No shots, yeah! Here are her measurements:
Head 18": 90th %-tile
Length 28": 50th %-tile
Weight 19#, 10 oz: 65th %-tile

Catch-Up

We haven't had the Internet at our house for 2 weeks, so therefore I have not been able to blog. But now we do so here's a little blog I'd like to entitle "Catch Up".
We bought a new van (2005 T&C) and traded in Dad's. It's wonderful! My family has always named their vehicles, so while I sold "Snow White" to my niece, and inherited "Trusty Rusty", we traded him in for, hmmm "Great White?" Maybe. But when the license plates came in, they read GBK "Great Big Kar". Welcome to the family, Kar.

We celebrated David's birthday last week. We just did a little dinner of chicken monarae and ice cream cake to follow with Gary & Candy. David was a little under the weather, but tolerated our celebrating him well. :) Apparently David is a Saturday Baby, per Candy. Didn't know that. Gary build David a beautiful table for the front room. I believe it's oak (D's fav), with a cabinet down below, pull out shelf, and on the right side; two magazine racks (on D's side, of course). Very beautiful, crafty, and functional. As you can see, Elizabeth has already made herself comfortable with the new furniture.

Daddy & E love to read together. David also taught her how to make hats out of newspaper. This is what happens when Mommy is done with the paper Sunday nights.

Here's a pic of the Brooks/Maki/Schaefer kids at a family BBQ. "Cheese" (Not pictured baby Zane)Here's a pic of Grammy Koney & Elizabeth at Earl & Mom's family get-together. I didn't do well at taking pictures that day, but here's a great one of my two favorite girls.

And here's a pic of the Schaefers with new baby Zane Ryland Schaefer, 1 mo. old.

I'm sure there's stuff I've missed. Our gardens are doing well, however the deer ate David's sunflowers, but we'll have an abundance of potatoes to make up for it. We've picked plenty of tomatoes, strawberries, blueberries, peas & zucchini. The back bedroom is coming along with the new doors put in and framed and hopefully we'll get carpet in there this month. David is planning on putting up the 3 decks this and next month. Glad I had a chance to catch up on my journal. OH! And Elizabeth turned 9 months old on the 1st and got her 4th tooth! Her 1st top one to boot! Yeah, frozen pea cubes!

Minnesota Government Shutdown: Grandmas and Grandpas Speak Out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WdpRuIHrK0
What's at Stake in Minnesota
We are now 13 days into a state government shutdown, with the eyes of the nation and even the international community upon us. We are face to face with the structural deficit that budget analysts predicted more than two years ago. Even while services to seniors rank among the highest of priorities, we will not come away from this stand-off between the Legislature and the Governor without cuts. Still, we can shape the final outcome – our immediate goal is to secure about $20 million that would close the gap between the Governor’s and the Legislature’s budgets for the spectrum of senior care.

As the closed-door negotiations between Governor Dayton and legislative leaders continue, we must return to our core messages and remind policymakers of the $6.7 billion economic impact of older adult services on the state economy, the 142,000 jobs we generate, the demographic changes that are sweeping our state and the names and faces of those we serve and those we employ.

Thanks Father Ryan!

Our very dear Friend and Priest, Fr. Ryan is leaving our parish and moving on to another. He was only with us a few years, but surely touched a lot of lives in such a short amount of time. He is very gifted, talented, knowledgeable, and spiritual. He has such a zest for the Lord and is on fire for Him. I always kidded him, saying that he has the background and knowledge of a priest, but the enthusiasm of a protestant. I think he liked that. He did not say goodbye, only “thanks”. There wasn’t a dry eye in the congregation during his last homily, at least not amongst the women as we wiped away tears. Maybe someday he’ll come back. Until then, we’ll be praying for him and God’s Will and eternal blessings for him and all our priests. (Here pictured is Elizabeth pulling out his Roman collar.)

Boo Boo's First Sleep Over

Elizabeth had her first over night stay at Grandma Candy's and Grandpa Gary's house last Friday night. I cried since we have not ever been apart since conception :). She was a very good girl, besides choosing not to take a bath and even ate all her cereal & applesauce for them (this is new for her). Grandma said maybe next time she could stay the whole weekend. Maybe when Mommy is more ready! Here's a pic with her and her over night bag (Mr. Musical Seahorse made his first overnight visit too).

Peas Please

Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old.
Can't you just read her mind by the look on her face?
"Oh Mother!"

Hahahaha

Tuesdays with Morrie

I just finished a book on tape. I like these because I can still work in my garden, cook, or do whatever and still "read". :)
I just finished Tuesdays with Morrie, by Mitch Albom. It was truly fantastic. I love how Mr. Albom writes and how everything he seems to say ... just flows. His story jumps from the past to the present multiple times, and he always does well as bringing the reader in to the current tense. I've always wanted to read this book and it held up to the standards I was expecting. It is about the final interview of a professor in the last few months of his life. On one hand, he's dying (from Lou Gehrig's disease) and losing the capability to do things for himself. On the other hand, he's still living and sharing what he has learned. I cannot remember how Morrie quoted it, but it's like his life was a bridge between the current life and the after life. I highly recommend this book if you want a slightly sad, yet uplifting quick read.

"Don't hang on too long, but don't let go too soon." -Morrie

PS: Other good reads by Mitch Albom are One More Day and The Five People You Meet in Heaven

Just a Few Cute Pictures

Iz & Eliz at our house.

My Beautiful, Smiley 8 month old Baby.

Itty Bitty in her outdoor playpen, supervising Mommy's gardening.

Daily Devotional - Children

This is the prayer in my daily devotional for today. I thought it was nice and that I'd share it.
Father, thank you for children - Your special gift to my world. Thank you for their laughter, their innocence, and their unquestioning trust. Protect them from sickness, injuries, and sin. Make straight their paths and lead them into Your sunlight. Amen.

Third Tooth!

Elizabeth popped her 3rd tooth tonight. I would take a picture, but holding her mouth open and taking a picture are impossible, so I'll just say: congratulations Little Bits!

Grandma Koney Comes for the Week

Grandma Koney came to stay with us for the week while daycare was closed. Grammy & Elizabeth played, read, cooked, cleaned, napped, and even dyed daisies. Thanks for taking care of all three of us, Mom!

Summer Wedding

We went to a backyard wedding this weekend. (You always have to get pics together when you're all gussied up, right?)

Title X Cuts Cause Six Minnesota Planned Parenthood Clinics To Shut Down

"The Republicans are scoring yet another victory on their war on contraception, as Title X funding cuts cause multiple Planned Parenthood clinics in Minnesota to shut down. Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota has announced that they will be shutting down clinics in Thief River Falls, Brainerd, Red Wing, Owatonna, Albert Lea, and Fairmont while increasing staff in larger clinics in different cities in an attempt to consolidate manpower and costs."

An 11% budget cut was made and it affected 6 clinics. Of course they are increasing staff at the larger facilities since patients will have to go to other clinics, but at least they are still shutting down and if 11% cuts down 6 clinics, I say keep cutting!
While the news reports that none of these clinics that shut down performed abortions, they did provide the morning after pill. They may not consider that abortion, but the fact is: it is abortion.
(Happy Dance)

MIB - Book Review

I was disappointed by Men in Black. The story was engaging at first, but the characters are all so cynical and sarcastic. The reviews I read portrayed it as "funny, moving, poetic, and fast-paced". I don't agree at all. I was going to give up on it 1/2 way through, but I thought it may take a turn for the better. Nope. The ending of the book left me feeling unsatisfied and thinking "what the ...?". He constantly switches between the past and present without introduction. It was filled with crude language, cursing, adultery, lying and had hardly nothing to do with the Men in Black themselves. It mainly focused on the life of an author who wrote a fictional story about the MIB. Overall: disappointing.

Bry Graduates and Turns 18

Bryanna turned 18 and celebrated her highschool graduation. She will be going to college in the fall. Congratulations Bry, we're proud of you!

Great Grandma with her Great Grand Girls

Grandma and her Great Grandchildren -- 3 & 3 Boys and Girls

Grandma Brooks and her Big Grand Babies :)

Baby Schaefer #2 is Born

Derik, Kelly, & Ruby welcomed a baby boy into their lives 6/18/2011 @ 12:19 PM. 8# 3oz, 20.5" long. Welcome to the world Zane Rylan Schaefer. We got to meet you and kiss you and hug you! Congratulations Schaefers!

Elizabeth & Ady Mae

Auntie Jenny & Cousin Adelynne came to stay with us for a week while our daycare was closed. Elizabeth was surprisingly gentle with the baby. Adelynne would suck on Elizabeth's fingers until Elizabeth would pull her little sharp fingers back and Ady would cry. All in all the week went well with the two little ones in the house.

Electronic Nasal Aspirator

We love our electric booger sucker! It was $20 @ Walgreens, but definitely worth it. The manual bulb syringe is terrible and it is horrible getting Little Bits to hold still to perform multiple sucks from each nostril. This is wonderful, even plays music (if you want) as a distraction. Easy to clean. Efficient. Thorough. Gentle. Runs on (2) AA batteries. Highly recommended by this Mom. (And no, I'm not going to try it on myself. My husband offered to, though. Ewe! I'm not cleaning that one out!)

Recent Findings by This Blog's Author

Have you looked at the ingredients in coffee creamer (corn syrup solids, vegetable oils, dipotassium phosphate, etc)? Ick. Now look at dry milk. Milk & Vit D. This is what I now use in my coffee. I buy it the large box and keep some in Tupperware for my daily coffee. Much healthier than the other coffee creamer -- even though I am a sucker sometimes for the flavored, liquid ones. I will not be using the plain, powdered type anymore.

Where are the worst germs in your house? In the drain of your kitchen sink! Gross! So the next time you drop a grape down there...rewash it or toss it, don't just pop it (in your mouth).


And why do we dust with a wet rag vs. just using a feather duster? "There are three main components of dust: first, dead skin cells, second, the dried feces and dessicated corpses of dust mites lovely thought, eh? When people develop a house-dust allergy, this is usually the component they are reacting to), and the last component by volume is tiny fibers shed by clothing -- cotton is bad for this, and jeans are the worst. This is for ordinary house dust. (Incidentally, dust mites are not generally visible, except with a microscope; they are 200-300 microns long, they eat dead skin cells and live in bedding, carpets and soft furnishings.)"

OK, I'm getting off my soap box now...and going to clean with its contents. :)

Sing, Sing a Song, Sing Out Loud, Sing Out Strong!

Little Bits is trying out her singing voice. She's gotten to such high notes lately that I think only the dog hears them. It's so much fun watching her learn different things now. (We had to post something. Grammy wanted to see something new on the blog. Figured we'd do something extra cute.)

Trip to Urgent Care

Miss Elizabeth came down with her first ear infection today. She had a 103.8 fever so we took her to urgent care after trying a cool bath - which she hated. We had the choice of 10 days of an antibiotic or a shot. We chose the shot, even though she didn't like it. After a long nap, feeding, and acetaminophen, she's smiling, babbling, and playing on the floor. Thank God we brought her in to make sure the fever wasn't just a cold, flu or teething. To all parents out there: trust your instincts.