Tuesday, April 27, 2010

freckles and delayed hygiene.

i'm still here and with sweet reminders about the next blog post, i finally sit down, with lots of stories and photos to share...but not all tonight as girlfriend is about ready to pass out, but can't until she showers...for the FIRST time today. it's not normal, but true. i have been saying i was going to jump in the shower for hours now. ha. it's kind of making me laugh now. hey, mama said there'd be days...

oh, how i miss the NEW POST page when i finally do sit to write a few things. in my mind, the blogger post page can get me into a frantic state..."i need to post? i want to post! what to post?"
however, when i arrive here and the white and blue computer screen stares back at me...it's comforting. i love that feeling.

i'm pretty sure the red wings just scored a few times, because my father-in-law is in the other room losing his mind and peyton (yes, she's supposed to be in bed, but she was and i missed her...and so she came downstairs and laid her sweet little freckled face on my arm and there she remains as i sit typing) and i keep saying things like...'that crazy gido!' and 'oh my goodness, the wings must have scored again.' i know i act like i could care two corn dogs less about the wings winning in their big game (or last one until the big one?), but when i hear the excitement in the other room, i am secretly proud of our red wings and i know it matters a lot to the loud guy, happy guy in the next room...and to daddy 2000 miles away too.

we have been having an amazing time here in michigan. i have had a couple shoots which have kept me as busy as i want to be, which leaves just as much time as i need to do what i really want to do, which is not a lot of anything.

well, a lot of nothing and by that i mean, i only want to do things...trips to the local parks that have lots of trees around and each one is different offering a new little piece of michigan heaven.

lots of visiting with friends, and aunties, and nona's and papa's!

a whole lotta nuttin' meaning backyard campfires making smores, the kind of campfire without fire and without marshmallows.

we have time cook something every night and when we are not cooking, we are talking about what we want to cook or try.

dinner with sito and gido each night followed by bath time where sito scrubs the kids clean and makes them smell nice which always makes them more lovable i think. ha.

pizza at chuck. e. cheeses with g-pa and aunties that style up my girl's hair all hannah montana-like...those photos will be the next post.

for now, a few casual photos of my super sweet and adorable niece, evie, whom i miss terribly...

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love that little sprite!
the kids playing the pacman game which is a HUGE treat at sito and gidos house!
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all three play like big kids and it is so sweet to watch and since my kids associate michigan with snow, they decided to pretend it was
snowing and sled around the deck...
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and then a bonfire...

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with fruit snacks instead of marshmallows and chopsticks instead of sticks ('cause sticks are too dirty, peyton said)

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we take lots of walks...
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where evie likes to spread her arms wide open...
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toward her mama, my sister, who walks beside me and catches me up on...life!
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posh and becks love their nona and papa!

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sito teach us how to make her specialties such as...yknee or nic nic or heaven in a bowl...whatever you call it, just try it because it is so
warm and filling and fresh and comforting. you'll love it!

it's like a tomato based soup that you pour over linnies rice...it's delumputious (that's delicious and scrumptious.)

here is the recipe:

Yknee

one large onion
1 pound of filet or stew beef (linnie uses lamb, but i like beef, but great both ways)
2 cups carrots, big chop.
12 cups of chicken broth or stock
2 cans of petite diced toms
a bunch of green beans-cut into 3's or small enough to fit on the spoon when eating
another option: okra
2 garlic cloves-pressed. i'm pretty sure garlic presses have changed my life. i love 'em.
2 big potatoes, diced to throw in at end of cooking time when bean are done.
a knors's bouillion cube or a tablespoon of better than boullion (linnie's fave)
salt& pepper

in a soup or dutch oven, brown your meat in a little butter or olive oil. ( i use both)
then add broth and all other ingredients with the exception of the pots. let it simmer, simmer, simmer...
the true secret to good tasting food in my mind.

i would let it boil and then turn down the heat a bit. when the beans are done, throw in the pots. when those are cooked through,
your nic nic is done. serve it with pita bread and pour the yknee over linnie's rice.

this is a staple over here, especially on cold days. enjoy it!
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beckham's face while snapping green beans...
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whew, i made it out alive!
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will snap green beans for a squirt of whipped cream!!!
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a little catch up...
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happy birthday lily! and a sweet party of ice skating for us which took us on an adventure

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thank you, lily for getting beckham started in his new sport of choice...
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yes, he moans and whines at every turn wanting his own hockey skates and a helmet with the 'lines' which i FINALLY figured out after
googling pictures of hockey helmets, meant hockey helmet with shield.
yes, our little guy is a sport nut and it's kinda driving me out of my mind with all the new sport's equipment he thinks he needs seeing as he's
not a player...yet! our sweet little guy. we are so proud of his enthusiasm.

okay, a little grateful list:
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i love walking up and down the aisles of this store. they have any and everything you could want in the knick-knack-kinda-cool department.

nothing worse than not having these coupons on you when you finally decide to stop at BB&B, so now i rip them out of the mag and throw
them in the glove box in the truck. ha ha, i'll show them!
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my 'inspire' sign that a friend gave me because she said she thought of me when she saw it. holla, a bigger compliment i can not think of right
now. thank you, leslie. i love it!

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all the fun bath time soaps and potions to keep the little ones happy during bath time. sito always hooks it up. this time the big hit was
super scrubbers soap and lavender bubble bath.

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these silly and sweet kids. driving me crazy and driving me to love them more and more each and every day!

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the freckles i see more and more on my girl's face.
i love them. every. single. one.

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the creativity and imagination that i see in my kids.

well, i am off...to shower and i still need to move my freckled beauty to her bed as she is snuggled up close...forget it
she stays with me;)


i hope everyone is enjoying their days as much as we are. trust me, it's not all rainbows and unicorns over here, we have
been in time-out city over here with my kids new favorite word...wait...here it comes...
POOPY or POOPY head. ?!?!?!?!
i don't get it. i really don't.

love from michigan,
heidi
xoxoxoxo

***ha, i just realized that the photos at the park, are from a couple months ago, i confused the two folders. updated ones
will follow one of these days***

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

are we there yet?

and other things about traveling with babies. i know i should stop calling them that as i am reminded daily that they are not babies anymore, big kids instead. uh, i kinda don't like it, but it's life and it's wonderful and it's going to happen whether i like it or not, right?

traveling with children can often times seem like this big daunting task. with the packing, and security lines, and shoes being taken off/on, healthy snacks that may soon turn into unhealthy ones as the day moves on.

all moms know what it entails to prepare for the travel part of the trip...forget the actual vacation...it's the traveling portion that has us stressed out and hitting the dollar spot at target for last minute 'keep 'em busy crap.'

but even with all that a trip entails to prepare for, it is so worth it all. actually, i am afraid of the day when i don't need to pack the kids' carry-ons full of toys, markers, surprise new coloring books, snacks, fresh boxes of old maid and go fish. yes, soon enough an ipod and a #6 at burger king is all they'll carry on the plane.

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beckham would tell me he saw a plane with the same excitement as when
he saw the first. peyton played it off a little more cool, but told me a few times how much
she was having.
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at one point today, i looked at the seat back in front of me and i smiled to myself. there used to be a day when all i would see in that little pocket (which turns out to be extremely useful even as tiny as it is) would be a cosmo magazine, a danielle steele novel, a bottled water, and a king size bag of peanut m&m's. complete with a pillow and blanket *provided by the airline.* traveling was a breeze. it was nap time.
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random, 'i love you, mama!' and hand holding initiated by them or question after
question about why the wings don't move on a plane like they do on a bird or
'why aren't you looking at my picture, mama?' i love these questions. those big brown, innocent eyes that look to me. i get tired and at times i want the questions to end,
but today i answered all of the questions and it felt good to rock out motherhood today.

and...i like what i see in my front seat back pocket today a lot more than what i saw in the 'good ole' days' except that peanut m&m's do sound pretty good right about now. ha.
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Photobucketwith travel, comes the promise of a wonderful new adventure and this is exactly the way i have been feeling since the minute we landed. what will we do? who will we see? which of my favorite restaurants do i 'just have' to visit. i'm thinkin', mexican gardens! i flew in for a couple of photo shoots that i was asked to do, but decided to stay a bit longer. i feel free. like a bird...with a camera and two kids in tow.

we flew to michigan today! the special place where all of my immediate family live, my oldest friends, and in-laws. i'm always comforted by the nostalgia that 'going home' gifts you with.

i'm thinking all this freedom and flying bird talk may be because we had a scary beginning to this adventure. i'm not the most calm flyer in the world, but normally i have jeff to hold my hand. today, he wasn't there and when the plane kept dipping from air pockets and peyton and i wanted to throw up, and beckham kept asking me what those noises were, i smiled calmly and told him it was the strong engine making the plane fly. inside i was praying and scared as hell and just wanted us off the plane.

just when i thought i could be overreacting , i looked to my left to gauge the reactions of the other passengers because that's what you do in situations like these, right? i expected them to be snoozing, reading, unfazed by all the dipping and diving. not. so.much.

i had no less that 6 scared looking people studying me at the same time i was gauging them... i had two choices...smile and appear to be unfazed OR look at them with complete fear and say..."i'm not sure if this is right," which is what i did. dude, i can only be strong for two people...p & B, and they got the last bit of fake calm i had left, so when they weren't looking, i crumbled for a second. only a second before, i laughed it off and said..."it's okay, the attendants seem fine. it's okay."

then, as if things couldn't be anymore surreal...they started playing calming elevator music over the intercom 5 minutes before we were to land and i'm pretty sure that never happens. they were trying to distract us. it didn't work. cue silent prayer after prayer, tight hand holding, kisses and hugs.

was this the last bit of music i would ever hear before...? kind of depressing but the kids liked it and b started dancing in his chair to it.

...after a pretty terrifying landing...the flight attendant validated all of our fears by announcing...
"well, say your twenty hail mary's and call us in the morning."

he was trying to be funny. we all laughed our nervous laughs, i squeezed my kids tight and said thank you too many times to the captain and the super 'funny' flight attendant.

beckham thought the "bumpy plane was fun, mommy!"

"oh, yes it was beckham!!!"

afterward, my mother-in-law taught me how to make her specialty and i will share that later this week.
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we watched the kids discover old toys that seemed like new to them, we took a short walk outside in our pj's and collected weeds and flowers before it rained. we were wrapped in the before-the-rain smell. yummy. it's like warm pavement, grass, and rain all rolled into one perfect wind-filled evening...
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sito hooks the kids new bubbles and super scrubber soaps. bath time is way more fun here too!

and we hung with linnie's best friends and watched american idol.
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and i saw myself in my girl tonight and i wanted that moment to last longer...
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all in all, today was a really, really good day.

next post...ice skating seems to be the new sport obsession of the week.
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i hope you find your own little adventure tomorrow with or without the travel part.
with lots of love. xo.