New Family Photo

This picture was taken courtesy of both grandmas. Grammy wanted a family picture. Nana took the family picture. I was not excited to take a family picture because I still have 15 pounds to shed from this pregnancy. However, it turned out pretty good so I am glad that we did take it. Now I will have nice Christmas cards to send out this year.

Prayer

Family prayer out our house usually goes something like this...Mom or Dad asks Carson who he wants to pray. He sometimes will answer, but usually is just fighting it because he knows he has to go to bed right after prayer. So one of us will start to pray. Carson will interrupt the prayer saying he wants to pray. Mom or Dad finishes the prayer and we have another prayer by Carson. Recently Carson wants to pray all of the time. He always answers that he wants to give the family prayer. We will be driving in the car and he will say he is going to pray. He volunteers all of the time in nursery to pray. He always has to give the opening prayer during Family Home Evening. Last night, Carson was giving the family prayer. He now tells us he doesn't need help praying so we never know what we're going to hear. Usually he ends up listing everyone he knows in his prayer. Last night he proceeded to say, "thank thee that Carson can go pee pee and poo poo in the potty..." Now we have been working on him not talking about pee pee and poo poo because he uses those words to be silly. He'll replace a word in a sentence with either of them. When he said that in his prayer, Jordan and I both tried not to giggle. I listened carefully to see if he was trying to be funny. He didn't laugh. Instead, he continued on with his prayer and later ended it. Since Carson did not laugh or seemed to be phased by what he said in the prayer, I can only assume it was sincere. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I am grateful for that too. I am glad I only have one in diapers and that Carson is so independent.

Christmas in November

Yes, I did say Christmas in November. Nearing the end of my pregnancy, I knew I was getting larger and immobile as the weeks progressed. We decided to put Christmas stuff up this year super early in November. Jordan made fun of me, but went along with it. Carson was wearing shorts that day so it didn't quite feel like Christmas, but the radio station was already playing constant Christmas music. Even though everyone laughed at me, I was glad we did it early this year because the last two weeks of my pregnancy were very tiring.

Santa is in Town

This year we decided to go see Santa arrive in Panama City. It was a Thursday and Jordan has school from 5-6:15 on Thursdays. I dared to brave it on my own. Santa was supposed to arrive by helicopter at 6. He was then going to ride on a firetruck the few feet from it was to the mall entrance. So we had Santa, a helicopter, and a firetruck...all of Carson's top three favorites. Santa ran a little late that day which was actually very nice because Jordan got out of school early and met us. Carson was so excited! He was able to high five Santa. On the way home he asked if Santa was bringing presents tonight. I said no. He then responded, "That's right. Baby Callie's not here yet." Carson started asking about Santa back in June so I told him that Baby Callie would be here and then Santa would come. Now Callie is here and we still have 15 more days until Christmas. Poor Carson.

First Dentist Visit

Look at the good little blogging mom I am. I had my camera in my purse ready for a blogging moment. However, Carson's first dentist visit was back in September. Our desktop has been out of commission for quite some time so that coupled with working are the reasons for the lack of posts. Now that Jordan has the desktop back in line, I have all of these pictures that I haven't posted about. So the next couple of posts are backdated. Back to the dentist, I wasn't sure how it would go. The hygienist said Carson may only let us walk him back and sit in the chair. I was prepared for that. Afterall, he is only three. Instead, he LOVED the dentist. He got his teeth cleaned and everything. The hygienist said that he had good spacing so he more than likely won't need braces. Awesome, especially since I had to have them. I was glad that Carson had a good experience at the dentist. He is usually good about cleaning his teeth, but now he is really good about it because he doesn't want to make the dentist sad.

Baby Callie is Here!

It takes quite a bit more preparation when having baby number two than it did with the first one. This time, we had to figure out where Carson would be while we were at the hospital. After making plans of bouncing him from one person to the next, we were ready to go to the hospital. We had an induction scheduled for 4 a.m. Holy moly that is so early! We later found out the one of the ladies in the room next to us had to be there at 3 a.m. so I guess we were lucky to get one more hour of sleep. I was really surprised that they got us back into a room and hooked up with patossin (however it is spelled) by 5 a.m. I was kind of expecting the labor to be quick because I seemed to progress faster than they thought I would with Carson. Once I reached a certain point, the labor was fast. It was so fast that we had to wait on the doctor. The nurse told me to do two practice pushes and then ordered me to stop. She frantically called the doctor and informed me I could not push anymore because she would get in trouble if she delivered the baby without the doctor there. That was the longest ten minutes of waiting. Two pushes later and Callie was born at 12:50 p.m. She weighed 7 pounds 15 ounces and was 21 inches long. Both Callie and I are healthy and doing very well. Here are some pictures of her.

Pictures of Callie

We have 11 more days until the newest addition to our family, Callie, is scheduled to arrive. By scheduled, I mean we have an appointment at the hospital at 4:00 a.m. on December 5th. Today I went to the doctor for a weekly checkup. Mom was able to get a few good shots of Callie which is very rare (we've only really had 2 times where she hasn't had her hands and feet in her face). Check out the next Fluff. You can already see how round her little face and cheeks are.

3 Year Olds Will Tell All!

Jordan is still adjusting to staying home with Carson. It is a good adjustment, but one that he realizes he doesn't want to be permanent. Are things different? Yes. There are things that he is so much better at than I ever was when staying home, and vice versa. At any rate, Carson is a hoot because of his age. He says and does the funniest things these days. Since Jordan is staying home, Carson has done a few things that have told on him. One day, Jordan was running in to pick up the pizza from Pizza Hut. Carson and I were in the car waiting. Carson was unhappy because he wanted to help Daddy. I kept trying to make deals with him to convince him to stay in his seat belt and wait. I told him that if he'd stay, he could go back and watch cartoons. He then proceeded to let me know that he was not interested in that bargain. He said, "Mommy, I don't want to watch t.v. I do that all day with Daddy!" Of course this is so not true. When I told Jordan about it, he laughed because Carson had been watching more t.v. that week because he was trying to study. One last story involves the best Christmas present I ever bought Jordan...The Wii! One day when I came home from work, Jordan decided to play Mario Kart. Carson was back in his room, but bolted around the corner into the living room the moment he heard the Wii turn on. When the game loads, a character says, "Mario Kart Wii!" Carson chimed in perfectly with the game. I couldn't help but laugh and tell Jordan that that was sad. So according to Carson, all they do is watch t.v. and play Mario Kart. I know better than that though.

Jorgan's Blog

Jordan is now a stay at home dad/college student. This has been our plan since I had a scholarship and he didn't. I would finish school first and then he would go to school full time. It's an interesting role reversal. I have informed him he only has 2 years to finish school, so don't get too comfy. Jordan has only been home for almost a week now. I told him that he should start a blog to share his adventures as a stay at home dad. He finally decided to hop on board with the idea. Go check it out and leave a comment. You'll find out why my title reads Jorgan and not Jordan.

Baby Weight

This pregnancy I haven't gained as much weight as I did when I was pregnant with Carson. I do have 2 months left, but I don't think I'll gain another 23 pounds in 2 months. I am feeling a little better about myself knowing I am not gaining as much as I did with him. I went to the doctor on Thursday. Carson and Jordan came along too. Carson wanted to come back with me even though I wasn't seeing the doctor yet. Usually they give me a cup to pee in, check my blood pressure and weight, and ask a few questions. This time was no different other than Carson came along. I was trying to multitask in the bathroom as I filled the cup and was trying to keep Carson occupied because I could just see him opening that door at any time exposing what would be an awful sight. Carson kept asking me a million questions about what I was doing and about the baby. He then looked at me and said, "Mommy, your butt is too big for the potty!" I thought how fabulous that he has noticed this as I am sitting there trying to balance myself, fill a cup, and watch him. Three year olds are brutally honest. When it came time to be weighed I though of what Carson had said. Then, the lady informed me that I was down a pound from 2 weeks ago. HA! Take that Carson! My butt may be big, but I did lose a pound in 2 weeks!

Who Needs Applebee's?

First of all let me just say that I LOOOVE Applebee's!! It's a place that I know I can order anything off the menu and know it will be good. Usually, I order the same thing I always order when I go to a restaurant. I know what I like and that's what I want. I am not as brave as Jordan. One of my favorite things at Applebee's is their Oriental Chicken Rollup. MMMMMmmmm. I came across a recipe for the Oriental Chicken Salad and decided to give it a try. I put mine in a tortilla to make a rollup of it. It was to die for. Seriously, I do not need Applebee's anymore to get my fix of Oriental Chicken Rollups. Here's the recipe.



Applebee's Oriental Chicken Salad/Rollups

4 breaded chicken breast fillets (I used Tyson)
1 romaine heart
1 1/2 c. coleslaw mix (or finely shredded cabbage)
1/3 c. toasted almond slivers or slices (blanched almonds)
1/2 c. chow mein noodles

Dressing:
1/3 c. vinegar
1/2 c. sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. horseradish
1/2 c. canola oil

Cook chicken fillets as directed.

To make dressing, combine everything but the oil in a blender of food processor and process until liquified.

Continue to blend and slowly drizzle in the oil until blended.

Make coleslaw with the cabbage and the dressing first and top it with the lettuce, almonds and noodles. Then cut up the chicken and add to salads.

I just used flour tortillas to make the rollups because it was a last minute idea. They were great though. Enjoy!!

Carsonisms

Three years old is such a funny age. Carson is always saying funny things. Here are a few of his latest Carsonisms.

This is a conversation we had Saturday morning.
Carson: "Mommy is it morning time?"
Mommy: "Yes."
Carson (looking out the window): "Yes it is. The sun is up and can melt the ice."

Another similar conversation the Saturday before last.
Carson at 5:00 a.m.: "Mommy, is it morning time? I want to watch cartoons?"
Mommy: "No. The sun's not up. You have to wait until morning."
Carson went back to sleep.
Carson at 7:00 a.m.: "Mommy, is it morning time now? Can I watch cartoons? The sun IS up!"

Church on Sunday.
An announcement being read: "We'd like to thank all of those who went this weekend to help clean up in Louisiana."
Carson: "Mommy, Nana went to LouisNANA."
(That's where her husband lives. She wasn't helping out or anything this past weekend.)

In the car.
Daddy: "Carson, what is your full name?"
Carson: "Carson Taggart Gold."
Daddy: "Good job!"
Carson: "Taggart like RRRROOOOAAAARRRR!"
(I am thinking he thinks his middle name is Tiger.)

Killer Ribs

Last weekend I picked up some ribs on sale at Sam's. BBQ was sounding good! I didn't know how I wanted to cook them though. In the past we've put the ribs in the crockpot with some BBQ sauce and they've been good. This time I wanted to try something different. I became adventurous and found a recipe online and decided to jump in and try it. It was awesome! The only thing I would change is that I would put them in the crockpot because they cook longer and are falling off the bone more so. I will definitely be using this recipe again!! It would even be good on chicken! Try it out!

Killer Ribs

Ingredients

* 3 lbs pork back ribs
* 1 (8 ounce) jar honey
* 1 teaspoon paprika
* 1 teaspoon chili powder
* 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
* 2 tablespoons Old Bay Seasoning
* 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
* 1/4 teaspoon celery salt
* 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
* 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
* 1 medium onion, grated or finely chopped
* 12 ounces barbecue sauce
* 1/4 cup white sugar

Directions

Place all ingredients together in large roasting pan (i use bottom of turkey roaster). Cut ribs apart for easier serving. Mix together making sure to coat all ribs with this semi-dry paste. Spread ribs out evenly on bottom of pan. Cover lightly with foil. Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 1 hour, turning or stirring occasionally. You can use broiler for these ribs, just watch more closely, and adjust cooking time.

Of course after I made these, I received my Every Day with Rachael Ray and it had tons of BBQ recipes in it. This one is really good though!

Say a Little Prayer for You...

We are totally into our little nighttime routine at home. It is so nice. We stop everything at about 7:30 and Carson gets a bath. Next comes pajamas and a book. This is followed by family prayer. Usually Carson wants to pray. His prayers consist of quickly saying "Dear Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ Amen." I try to interrupt him and help add things in. Usually this works. Tonight it did not. He told me he wanted no help and could do it himself. This was his prayer: "Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for letting us go to work. Bless us to have fun. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen." He is so big! It is so funny to hear him ask to have fun. I love this age! Afterward, Carson gave us kisses and hugs and tucked himself into bed. He is growing up way too fast! Good thing baby Callie will be here soon! I love the independence, but I hate him not needing me as much.

Gas Hysteria

Thursday night I actually stayed up long enough to watch the 10:00 news. Normally I am in bed by 9:15 because I cannot function on a few hours of sleep like Jordan can. Anyway, the news said it would be best to fill up tonight because of possible gas increases or shortages. I told Jordan that we better fill up. I drive a total of 40 miles round trip to work and back daily. I was already running low on gas and thought why not fill up now and not have to stop on my way to work. So Jordan said he'd go fill up both cars. He went to fill up the first car with no wait. As he was finishing up and leaving, he saw a lot of people pulling in. When he switched cars and went back to fill up, he had to wait. We laughed about it the next morning because we figured it was all people watching the news. Hooray for media created gas hysteria. I called Mom early on Friday and told her about what we had heard on the news (knowing she was an early bedgoer as well and probably had not seen it). I told her that I didn't know if it really was going to be a problem or if it was just media being media. When I came home Friday I didn't really notice any gas stations. It was when I went to pick up Carson from daycare that I noticed the craziness. Cars were out in intersections waiting for gas. I have never seen so many people. Mom called and said she saw people waiting for gas at Wal-Mart all the way back at the lawn and garden section (the gas is all the way across the parking lot at our Wal-Mart and this means there were 15-20 cars in line). I couldn't believe how crazy it got. I got up Saturday for my yard saling adventure and noticed that many gas stations were out of gas. CRAZINESS!!! We didn't have a lot of price gouging like Tallahassee and other places (Tallahassee saw gas at $5.49 whereas we paid $3.79). It really made me think about my food storage and where we are at in that aspect. We've been doing well adding things monthly. I kind of saw a glimpse of what it might be like if there is a food storage. Scary!

The Biggest Roller Coaster

I love my job! The first four weeks of school have been great for the most part. The more and more I teach, the more I realize that my job is the biggest roller coaster I have ever been on. Some days I come home feeling defeated because it has been in a rough day. Other days I come home on a high because I had an awesome day and I know my kids did too. Thankfully there are more of the second kind of days than the first. I am grateful to have one of my best friends up at Waller teaching with me. Without her, I know I could not make it. Who else could I run to and tell of my horrible or wonderful day and know that she too is going through the same thing. The hardest thing about this job is trying to balance life. As I look around my living room right now with the kid asleep and Jordan at Stake Conference I think of all that I should be doing and getting done, yet here I am blogging. It's hard to find enough time for everything: family, keeping up the house, church, downtime, grading, planning. I am still working on it. I have found a great routine for making sure I do take some time for me. Saturday mornings I've started going to yard sales. The few dollars I spend on stuff I probably don't need helps to keep me sane. Is it retail therapy? No. I've been there. It is about getting out and doing something for me. It's hard to find the time, but Saturday mornings work out the best because Jordan and Carson like to watch cartoons in the mornings together. I know I haven't blogged in FOREVER, but I was just thinking about how great life seems to be going right now and thought I'd take a second to update. Are things perfect? Never. However, we are finding our balance in everything and are content.

Trash Talking at Disney

A talking garbage can?? Only at DISNEY! We came out of the restrooms and saw a talking garbage can.
Do you see the guy in the upper left hand corner with a blue shirt, hat, and glasses? You may have to click the picture to enlarge it and find him...my own version of Where's Waldo. He is holding something and talking into it. He was the talking garbage can. No one figured it out because he looked like a tourist. (Well Jordan figured it out because he's a smarty.) He had a messenger bag on that had the controls to move the garbage can and a microphone he held in his hand. It was hilarious! We seriously sat there and watched people interact with it for a good 20 minutes. It was great to watch kids and adults open the trash can to see if there was something inside that was moving it. I LOVE Disney!!

Disney Trip #2

First off, NO KIDNEY STONES THIS TIME!! Hooray! We were able to use up our tickets and have a blast. Second off, park hoppers are not something to invest in if you have kids. We paid the extra to make our tickets park hoppers (so we could go to more than one park a day if we wanted to). There was so much to do with Carson that we really didn't use that feature to our advantage. We did have a wonderful time. We started off at Hollywood Studios (formally MGM). Carson met Mater and Lightening McQueen. This was the longest line we waited in to meet a character. We HAD to meet them though. Hollywood Studios was Jordan's favorite park because it took you behind the scenes and showed you the tricks behind making movies. There is also a lot of memorabilia. Now if this was Jordan's blog, the slide show would consist of every picture he took of the memorabilia. Since this is not, it will only have a few pictures of that. We went to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot too. I have a few stories from the trip that are blogworthy. So here is the condensed slideshow of our second Disney trip.

What ARE you dreaming about?

Carson took his nap last week and this is what he looked like. Should I be concerned? I wonder what he was dreaming about?? The joys of having a boy.

My Birthday - July 8th

Ever since Carson came along, the focus on my birthday has been switched to Carson's. It's way more fun to plan a party for a 3 year old than a 23 year old. Birthdays and holidays were always big in my family growing up. So this year for my birthday we decided last minute to go out and eat some BBQ. It wasn't a big huge deal, just Mom, Dad, my grandparents, and our little family. I got my hair cut FINALLY on my birthday so my hair was crazy and still wet when we went out to eat. When we were leaving after dinner, we came across the biggest UF fan in the world's car. It is tacky, but I couldn't resist a picture with it! We went back to Mom's to eat cake...not just any cake, but double doozie big cookie cake YUMM-O! The lady still misspelled my name despite spelling it for her right there. Oh well. I opened my presents there. Jordan bought me a game for the Wii. I really don't play the Wii much, but I did want a karaoke game. Can I sing? NO! It sure is fun though! I didn't want to karaoke in front of everyone because I do have a horrible voice, but I did. I ended up doing really well. I went platinum, unlocked a character, and unlocked a video!! We had so much fun! You can see the surprise in my eyes in some of these pictures. Thanks Dad for being the photographer since we left our camera at the house. You did a great job!

The Best Week EVER...and It's Only Tuesday!

Okay this week has been the best week ever! Maybe that's because the last month and a half haven't been so great with the whole job waiting experience with Jordan and myself. At any rate, it has been a wonderful week! Jordan started his job this week. Hooray for that. However, we were planning to go to Disney Thursday-Sunday to use the tickets we didn't use when Jordan had his kidney stone. We're totally piggy backing this trip. Mom has a conference in Tampa that her work is paying for. They are paying for the gas/hotel/etc up to $2,000. This is why we can go to Disney now (plus Carson is about to turn 3 so we have to hurry and go because we didn't buy tickets for him). Our tickets, gas, and hotel are already paid for. We just have to buy food. HOORAY! The problem is Jordan just started his job. I was so worried they wouldn't let him off. They did though. What else could make this week better?? I HAVE A JOB!!!! The principal from Waller (where I taught Kindergarten ESE for part of last year) called me late last night. She couldn't find my number and remembered that my Uncle John was my uncle and works at the purchasing department (he had called her when I interviewed back in February to put in a good word). She got my number from him. She told me that the regular education Kindergarten class she thought would be available was not yet. She did have a third grade job. I jumped on it! I LOVE third grade. I did my student teaching in it last year. I just might have some lesson plans I can use from last year! How amazing is that?!!? It gets better...right now there is STILL a hiring freeze. So no jobs have been posted. Since I did work last year and received a letter saying I would not be guaranteed a job back next year, the superintendent said she could change the letter. So that means all I have to do is go sign papers tomorrow. I don't have to interview. The job does not have to be posted. She doesn't have to interview a certain amount of candidates either. HOW AMAZING IS THAT?!! I told you this week is the best week ever...and we haven't even been to Disney yet!!!!

Boy or Girl?!

After weeks of continuously looking at baby #2, my mom has officially called it. We are having a GIRL!!!! We're so excited!! Baby Callie will be here in December.

July 4th

Every year (except last year when we were visiting Jordan's family) we always do the same thing for the 4th. We start the day by going to the Lynn Haven Parade. It is really not a spectacular parade by any means, but is something we just have done for forever. Carson had a great time this year. We put him near the road so he'd get some candy and beads. He ended up with a ton of beads and candy.




Afterwards, we headed to my aunt's house for a cook out and a swim. The missionaries were tracting in her neighborhood. So we invited them to join us for lunch. We had a ton of fun. Afterwards we went home for a quick nap. Then we went to another cookout at the Glanzers. We followed this with fireworks on the beach. They were gorgeous! If you've never sat with your toes in the sand, with the waves crashing, and a nice breeze blowing while you watch the fireworks, you are really missing out!

An Answer to Prayer

Jordan received a call back finally from Berg Pipe (he applied there the first week he was laid off). We were so excited because it was killer money. He called me after his interview to tell me that they wanted to hire him. They even offered college reimbursement. There was a problem...the schedule. It rotates every 3 weeks. There is no way for him to go to school and take this job. I was devastated! I knew that there is no way for him to take this job, but it sure was good money and we could totally use the money. After accepting the fact that he could not take this job, we were both bummed for the rest of the day. Then Jordan received another call. Okay, Jordan had not yet received a call back in the entire month of June. We were so excited! It was for a job that he applied for the first week he was laid off as well. It's a company called Del Jen that the Air Force Base uses to do the landscaping and grass cutting for on base. This job has great hours 6-2:30. It is seasonal and ends in September (how great would it be for him to work the summers while I still get my teacher pay??). It works out perfectly for his schooling. He will even be making more money than he was at Century Boats (only by 2 cents...HAHA). With the holiday (Independence Day) being the week he interviewed, it has slowed the hiring process down because the military likes to take a very long weekend then. Jordan will start this coming Monday. Hooray! This is definitely an answer to so many prayers.

Writings on the Wall

Carson has been so great to get his art box out and color all on his own. He is very independent. I had a thought a few weeks ago that we might not ever have to go through the coloring on the wall phase. A few days later, I was wrong. I was explaining something to Jordan when I heard Carson making some noise. I didn't know what he was doing, afterall he is pretty noisy. After a few minutes of the constant noise, I went to find out what he was doing. He was coloring...ON THE DOOR! Do I yell at him or do I grab the camera thinking this would be a good blogging experience?


Of course I grabbed the camera! We did have a talk about not coloring on the doors or walls. As I grabbed my 409 and some paper towels, I hoped the crayon would come off easily. The purple came off so easily. I looked down at the crayons on the floor and realized he had some that were washable and some that were not. The only purple was washable. I looked for the orange crayon. There was only one of those too and it was washable! However when I went to clean up the orange, it wouldn't come off. I didn't understand. I stopped scrubbing and took a step back. I found the culprit...the NONWASHABLE orange crayon. Needless to say I quickly threw the few regular crayons away that did not say washable on them. We are now a washable only crayon house.

So Much to Post...

I hate getting behind with blogging. I get so behind that I don't want to blog because I know it is going to take forever to update my blog. I've finally made the time to do this though. After I'm done, hopefully I'll blog more since I won't be so overwhelmed.

A New Recipe

***UPDATE. Thanks Julie for catching my mistake. I did a simple copy and paste from Rachael Ray's site, but I did not include the recipe for making the mashed potatoes she made with it. The mashed potatoes called for some of the lemon juice. I have corrected the recipe. The joys of blogging late at night is my brain doesn't work as well.***

First off, before I get into sharing my new recipe, I have to tell you why I have time to blog tonight. Jordan went to work today and will go tomorrow with two of my cousins. They own a roofing business and told Jordan if he didn't have a job this week that they could use some extra help. So he had to get up at 5:30 and be at work at 6:30 this morning. He worked all day in the Florida heat (thank goodness it was cloudy this morning). He came home around 5:00. He was beat to say the least. So he and Carson (who did not get a nap today because we went swimming and it through him off his routine) went to bed early tonight. It is kind of nice to hear only the faint sound of the fan in the living room. So after a nice relaxing bubble bath (when do I ever get to take one?!!), I decided to post a new recipe that we tried tonight that was really easy and delicious. I love trying new recipes (only ones that fall within my comfort zone that I am pretty sure I know I will like). These kind of recipes tend to be Rachael Ray's because of the level of ease and I usually love her food. This one was on her show last week I believe.



Roast Citrus Chicken

Ingredients
* 4 legs and 2 whole chicken breasts, cut in half (I just used all chicken breasts since that is what I already had at the house)
* 4 cloves garlic, smashed
* 10 fresh bay leaves
* 2 lemons, sliced
* 1 cup green Cerignola or Sicilian olives (I opted out on these because my boys do love olives, but these have pits and I was not about to take the pit out for Carson...he'd want to eat them all and I'd never get to eat)
* 1 large onion, chopped
* Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), for drizzling
* Salt
* Pepper

Directions
Preheat an oven to 450ºF.
To a roasting pan, add the chicken, garlic, bay leaves, lemon slices, olives and onion. Drizzle everything with EVOO, season with salt and pepper, and transfer to the oven. Roast, turning the chicken pieces occasionally, until they are golden brown and cooked through, about 30-35 minutes.

We had mashed potatoes, black-eyed peas, and rolls with the chicken. It was really yummy.

How Do You Keep Your House Spotless?

I feel like I am constantly cleaning and cleaning, yet never fully satisfied with the results. Carson is at the age where he can and will help me clean up, but as soon as he "helps", he undoes EVERYTHING! Whenever I go to my mom's, dad's, and grandma's, I always covet how clean and uncluttered their houses are. I know, I know. That's bad. I think having a little one around the house has something to do with why my house feels so cluttered. None of them have tons of little toys in every room like we do. Chance's (my youngest brother at 17) toys include the laptop, PS3, and his cell phone. Alice has a killer play room that is enormous to keep all of her kids' things. Maybe the spare bed should be a play room. It's small, but could work. Then again, baby #2 is coming and will need somewhere to sleep. At any rate, how do you guys do it!?! I need some tips on keeping it spotless with a little one! I think my problem is I want everything spotless and I get overwhelmed. I am going to try something new this week though and see how well it works. It's really just simplifying the whole cleaning process. Here's the plan...I am going to clean a few rooms a day and when they are done, then I can scrapbook, go to the pool, etc. without feeling guilty. I know...not a hard concept, but one that I think will really work for me since it's not so overwhelming trying to clean it all in one day and never having any me time. So here's what I'm going for:

Monday - The Kitchen
Tuesday - Laundry, Laundry, Laundry
Wednesday - The Bedrooms
Thursday - The Living Room
Friday - Laundry, Laundry, Laundry
Saturday - The Bathrooms

Can I really get all the laundry done in only 2 days without letting it seriously pile up?? We'll just have to see this week. I may need to make some adjustments, but I am thinking this will work!

Oh What Do You Do in the Summertime...

This summer we have had a lot fun so far. We've spent some time up at Pop's house. Where we have swam and rode 4 wheelers.

Carson has even learned not to eat everything that Pops gives him.

Carson has helped out around the house and earned some money by doing so.

Our gerber daises are in full bloom and gorgeous this summer thanks to Carson.

We have made, chased, and eaten bubbles.

Carson has tried his hand in photography.

I attended a 2 day AIMS inservice for school. It was great! I got paid for it and we got all of this free stuff!!

I can't wait to see what else the summer has to bring!

Tobacco Free at Age 2

Lately there has been an anti-smoking commercial on. I tried to find it so I could post it with this, however I could not find it. The commercial is a shoot 'em up video game that someone is playing. He kills everyone and it says level complete. After the level, he pulls out a cigarette, lights it, smokes it, and dies. Then it goes on to say that smoking kills 50% more people a year than hand guns. Whenever this commercial comes on, I always say something like, "Eww!! Gross!" when the cigarette is pulled out since Carson is normally watching. Carson has been on this dead kick. I don't know why or how it got started, but he likes to pretend he's dead or the bad guys are dead. (In a matter of like 3 weeks he's started this mess.) So I always point out that the guy is dead in the commercial and end by saying cigarettes are bad or yucky. I thought it couldn't hurt to start Carson off early. A couple of nights ago we were watching something and that commercial came on. I wasn't really paying attention until I heard Carson tell Daddy, "Ew! Yuck!" when the cigarette was pulled out. This was followed by an, "Oh no! He's dead!" I could not believe it! We were cracking up about it. Carson is only 2 and he is a tobacco free campaigner!

A Sense of Accomplishment

This is NOT my house, but I am too chicken to take pictures of my house and post them. So I lifted it off Google.

I started working back in February. Since then, my house has gone downhill. You can just imagine from February to June how horrible my house looks. I was planning to start Monday on getting the house back in order and getting some things done. Monday morning I slept in a little bit and then got up, showered, got dressed, put on my make up, got Carson ready, and was walking out the door to buy Jordan's Father's Day gift at 9:00 a.m. when Jordan called me. This is normally his break time, so I didn't think much of it. He told me he was coming home to help me clean (he was off the week before from work with only Monday paid and felt guilty about not cleaning that week). Come to find out, he was calling to tell me that he had been layed off. I freaked out and bawled. I just kept thinking that this could not be happening to us because we have another baby on the way. With Carson we weren't prepared because I was on birth control when I became pregnant with him. With this one, we were so prepared. Both of us were working. We had killer insurance (which we had already met the hospital deductible with thanks to the kidney stone incident). Then we found out that my ESE unit was being dissolved, so I have no job next year. Now Jordan has been layed off and our killer insurance is only good through the end of the month now. Anyway, now that I have totally vented and did not intend to do so when I sat down to blog...it has taken me a few days to get over this fear of unemployment and now I have refocused my energy back on getting the house in order. Today I have cleaned my kitchen. I promise we're not dirty people, but man there was a lot of work to do in our kitchen. Now my floors are nice and shiny. The room smells of cleaner. The stove top is scrubbed along with all of the cabinets and counter tops. There is not a dirty dish in the sink. It feels GREAT! We'll see how long it will stay that way with a two year old, a husband, and a wife that loves to cook.

Baby Callie?? Baby Porter??

Tuesday I finally went to the doctor for this pregnancy. Mom has been doing ultrasounds and gave me prenatals so I haven't neglected this pregnancy by any means. I just didn't want to take time off from teaching since I was out of leave due to the joys of getting the Waller Crud (pink eye, strep throat, and the flu). Mom asked the doctors and they said it would be fine to just wait until school let out. Insurance pays for an ultrasound on the first visit so I got to see mom during my appointment. She said we'd just measure and make sure the due date was accurate. It was, December 14th. The baby was being so good about spreading his or her legs so mom decided to just play around and see if we could see anything. She saw three lines, which means a girl!! She never checks this early because you really can't be sure for another few weeks. Mom kept checking and kept seeing the three lines. Then, she saw something that she said might be a boy. She only saw that image once so we'll see. In two weeks we'll know for sure she said. How exciting!! When we did the 3-D ultrasound, the pictures didn't come out so well because the baby kept kicking and kicking which made the pictures blurry.

Here is the view that looks like baby #2 is a girl.


Here is the 2D shot from the belly ultrasound. This baby is taking after Carson...look at the size of that head! (Mom actually said it was just the angle of the ultrasound.)

50 Moments

I love to scrapbook, but often times I get behind. When I get behind, I get overwhelmed and dread beginning again. Heather White recently had a great giveaway. She was giving away 5 copies of a brand new book called 50 Moments: Scrapbook the Pages that Matter Most. Here is the concept, "If you were only going to create 50 scrapbook pages about your life, what would they be?" Sounds like a great book! Guess what!? I won!! So I get an autographed copy!! I am so excited!!

These are a few of my favorite things...

I love that song! What would I change the words to if it was written by me? Well, I have signed up for another swap. I LOVE SWAPS!! I mean who doesn't love getting a package in the mail?! I saw the favorite things swap last year on Marie's Blog after the fact. This year, I caught it in time! Here are the rules, straight from Kelly's Blog.

it's really quite simple: as a participant, you will be asked to choose at least three objects (i don't think anyone would mind if you decide to send more) that are some of YOUR favorite things to send to your partner... maybe it's an apron you made, your new favorite book, or that favorite flavor of lip gloss. be creative & most importantly have fun with it! objects can be new or vintage, bought or handmade... just remember, it is best to send something the you'd be pleased & excited to receive yourself.

Sounds like fun! I cannot wait! It's not too late to sign up. Sign ups will be open until this Friday. Head on over and join the fun!
Click here to sign up!

An Appropriate Designated Smoking Area

Alright, I know I just posted this picture of my school. It is important to take a look at it this time for this particular post. It looks nice right? Good. Keep that in mind as you continue to read. There are some faculty members who smoke. The problem with that is they have to be so many yards or feet away from the school campus, by law, to do so. Where do they go? Why on the other side of the road. Right across from the front of the school. I wanted to take a picture of it to share, but I wasn't sure what others would say if I was taking a picture of it. It might look a little odd. Instead, I lifted a similar picture from Google so you don't have to use your imagination. So where do the smokers go to smoke their cigarettes at my school??



The CEMETERY!!!! How ironic!