North Carolina Waterfall Trip 13th Anniversary

We spent the weekend near Hendersonville, North Carolina.  Transylvania County is noted for their many beautiful natural waterfalls.  We stayed at a little cabin and hiked Friday - Sunday.  My legs are so sore, but it's a good thing.  We hiked to  4 waterfalls on Friday, 3 waterfalls on Saturday and one on Sunday.  Here's some pictures of our trip.

 That tree is an example of perseverance!

 Do you see the heart?  So sweet!

  Do you see the face in the rock?

Have a great week!

Apple Picking 2011

We had the best time.  Wooley went with us for the first time.  Our friends Chris, Jana and Shayla came along too.  We picked apples and petted animals.  Then we ate apple pies.  We drove up to Amicalola Falls and walked down 425 steps to view the falls.  Breathtaking.  Then we walked back up 425 steps to get back to the the cars.  

All was documented on my camera.  

Lots of pictures, like 200 pictures.  

But I deleted ALL.OF.THEM!!!  

I was so sick to my stomach I couldn't even eat supper that night. 

But life goes on.  

We'll take more pictures another year and we'll make more memories.

This year we'll have our memories in our minds.

Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Fun Indoor Activities

I don't know about the rest of y'all, but we've been snowed in since Sunday night.  My brother has a 4x4 truck, so he came by Monday to pick up my hubby and they went driving around on the ice. 

Why do men do that?  Must be a macho-thing.

Anyway.

So the kids and I have been stuck in the house.  And you know when kids are stuck in the house after a few days, they start to go BONKERS!

Here's a few things to help ease the cabin fever:

1.  Make a tent out of sheets and play with the flashlight

2.  Have an indoor picnic for lunch, lay out a tablecloth or blanket and have fun

3.  Get that play-doh out of hiding and let them keep their hands and minds busy (or make some homemade play-dough)

4.  Have a movie day (vs. night) complete with pizza and popcorn

5.  Gather all your coloring books and crayons and get busy

6.  Make cookies and freeze some and bake some

7.  Play dress-up in your clothes and Daddy's clothes

8.  Choose some of your older story books and have story time

9.  Make paper snowflakes and tape them to the windows.  Or try these pasta snowflakes.

10.  When all else fails, fill the bathtub with hot, steamy water, put on their bathing suits and let them splash and play in the bathtub. 

We've done all of these accept the cookie one.  I'm thinking it's time for some cookies!

This works for me. What about y'all?

Enjoy!

"Food Inc." - The Documentary

 

Have you seen this yet?

I watched it on Netflix Saturday.  My husband and I contracted that horrible stomach bug that was going around.  Boo-Boo had it Thursday and Sissy threw up in her bed that night.  I guess between cleaning up messes and holding sickies, we got it.  Anyway, I felt horrible Saturday, barely moving off the couch.  Around 6 in the evening I decided to watch something.  Nothing on TV.  Why is that?  So I pulled up Netflix and remembered I had put Food Inc. in our queue.  

I was so surprised after watching this documentary.  My husband reminded me that this is only one side of the story.  There are always two sides.  My friend Brandy says there are 3 sides to every story - yours, mine and the truth.  So while I'd like to believe everything they said was true, I'm sure there were some things left unsaid.

I'm not going to spoil it for you if you haven't seen it, but I do think it's worth watching.  Especially if you have concerns about healthy eating.

After watching it, I've decided to do some research on grass-fed beef and free-range chicken.  We have some friends who live in Alabama who raise grass-fed beef.  We actually considered purchasing 1/2 a cow last year.  Things got busy and I didn't think about it when it was time for them to butcher their cows.  I'll be asking them about it again. 

I'm also going to be heading over to the Whole Foods market and Dekalb Farmers market to get prices on grass-fed beef and free-range chicken.  I do use coupons for quite a bit of pantry-style products.  So I think our budget can handle some of these items.  I'll check Publix to see if they offer grass-fed beef and free-range chicken.  I'm not interested in "organic", but grass-fed seems to be a little easier for us to digest rather than the corn-fed beef. 

If you seen this, I'd love to read your thoughts and comments. 

Enjoy!

The Epitome of Southern Hospitality

Tonight, I had the best experience meeting the nicest most genuine woman, Christy Jordan from SouthernPlate.com.  She is one of the best story-tellers I've read in a long time.  She makes you feel like you've known her for ages.  She helps you bond with memories of loved ones.  Like my Granny, who never wrote down recipes but could recreate the same meal over and over again, making it taste the exact same way every single time.  Christy created a cookbook with family recipes, recipes that touch your soul.  When I received my copy of her cookbook, Southern Plate, I read through to page 105 before I had to put it down.  Her storytelling brought me to tears 4 times!  Only one other cookbook has done that.

I forgot to tell you I love cookbooks, I read them like novels.  Or did you remember?

Really.  

So when I finished her cookbook, I had tears brimming over again.  

Okay enough with the gushing and crying.

Tonight she was in Atlanta for a book signing.  It was such a great experience.

(outside Barnes & Noble...)

 (wish I could remember what we were laughing about!)

 (she's signing my book :)

 (there were 3 different cameras and I wasn't really sure which one to look at :)

Christy and her Mama were so gracious and kind.  Her Mama even signed our book on page 12.   I'm not gonna tell you what's on page 12, you'll have to get the book to find out.  

  (kevin, me, christy, my momma, Sissy and Boo-Boo)

On her facebook page, Christy had promised to give a book to the person who brought the most friends and family with them.  Well, I was one of the two attendees who brought the most!  My Momma received her very own copy of Christy's book and even got hugs :)

Such a sweet woman and so glad I was able to meet her in person.  

Enjoy!

Week at a Glance - Meal Plan Monday 10/11/10

Last week was very eventful.  Monday morning, bright-eyed-and-bushy-tailed (not really) my husband and I drove over to the clinic to have my carpal tunnel surgery.  

Sorry for the lack of posts toward the end of the week, but I didn't have any post scheduled and frankly, my hand hurt so badly, I could not change diapers, fold laundry, wash dishes, or pretty much anything that requires two hands.  I managed to apply a little make up on Friday, thankfully I didn't poke my eyeball out!  And I managed brushing my teeth left-handed, albeit, messy and toothpaste still ends up all over my face, the sink and my hand!  I cannot prepare meals easily so I was thankful for some frozen preparations I managed to accomplish last weekend.  My mother was here Tuesday-Thursday until my husband got home from work.  She did everything I could not, even mopping my floors!  Friday my friend Tara came over and helped out with everything I could not do.  She even formed mini-meat loaves from some thawed hamburger meat and we baked those and froze them for meals for the rest of the month.  I'm so thankful for a good friend and a dear mother.  They made this inconvenience bearable.  

We also went to Savannah over the weekend to visit family.  I was able to remove the bandages and saw the stitches.  We're not sure if I had a physiological or psychological reaction to the stitches, but I nearly fainted.  Hot sweats, nausea and tingly head...yeah I know, it was really weird!  

While visiting family, I got my hair done professionally.  

My mother-in-law treated me to a professional hair do.  My first in 4 years.  If you follow me on twitter, you've already seen the new do!  There is no way I can style it like the hair stylist did.  First of all, I still have a bum hand and cannot use a hairbrush and blow-dryer simultaneously.  Secondly, it was really flat.  I'm a 90's girl.  I loved the "mall" hair from the 90's.  I'm pretty proud of my "Oprah Winfrey Hair".  I have big fluffy hair.  It was really flat and I think I'd like to get a little more lift and bounce.  Otherwise, it's perfectly suitable for this season of my life.  I love the layers and the shortness of it.  I haven't washed it yet, so I can't wait to see how curly it gets after that happens.  

We decided to visit the 1st Annual Flyin' Pig BBQ Festival in Pooler, Georgia.  Honestly, I was a little disappointed.  I was hoping for more BBQ stands.  I saw only two.  My mother-in-law purchased some BBQ and said it was really really good.  She especially loved the BBQ Sauce.  The kids absolutely loved the pony rides.  Sissy had a fun time bouncing in the inflatables they set up.  Bubby was there to "help" knock her down with the giant swinging balls.  I think they thought they were on the TV show Wipe Out!  They loved it.  Sissy got her picture taken with Ronald McDonald.  

Boo-Boo would not set foot into the inflatable things and so he rode the ponies twice.  He was so happy!  It's so easy to make little ones happy!

So it's been a pretty crazy week.  I'm hoping for a nice and quiet week ahead.  To help reduce the chaos, here's my game plan:

Weekly Breakfasts:  Pumpkin Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies, Berry Banana Smoothies; Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal with Frozen Blueberries

Weekly Snacks:  Apple Slices with Peanut Butter; French Apple Pie; Spicy Hummus with Carrots

Weekly Lunches:  Macaroni and Cheese with Peas; Chicken Noodle Soup

Monday:  Crock Pot Beef Roast, roasted potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli and carrots

Tuesday:  Beef Roast REMAKE:  Spicy Pineapple Beef serving over Steamed Rice with Green Beans

Wednesday:  Egg, Cheese and Spinach Frittata with Fresh Spinach, Apple and Cheddar Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette

Thursday:  Bean Nachos with Sante Fe Salad (sharing recipe for Refried Pinto Beans on Wednesday)

Friday:  Homemade Pizza

Saturday:  Mini Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Sweet Peas and Green Beans

Sunday:  Uncle DJ's Grilled Marinated Ribeyes, Baked Potatoes, Salad (recipe to post soon)

I'll share most of these recipes on my daughter's recipe blog.  After typing all of that up, I'm thinking it's not going to be an easy week.  My hand is stilled bummed out, but not nearly as bad as last week.  I hope I can get all of this accomplished and get normalcy back in our lives.  

Have a great week!

Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday: Apple Picking 2010

We finally made it up to the North Georgia Mountains to pick apples. The weather was absolutely perfect! We had a great time making memories. Here's a few pictures of the day:

Have a great day and enjoy the Wordless Wednesday linky below:

This post has been linked to the following:

• Wordful Wednesday at parenting BY dummies
• Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom
• Wordless Wednesday at A Lot of Loves
• Wordless Wednesday at Newlyweds Blog 
• Wordless Wednesday at A Daily Dose of Toni
• Wordless Wednesday at A Beautiful Mess
• Outdoor Wednesday at Southern Daydreamer

Wordy Wednesday: MRI #3

Last Wednesday, Sissy had her third MRI since finding her lumbar lipoma.  I've written a little bit about this before.  This was a very long day.  I had gotten up at 6:00 to prepare for the day.  I knew we'd need to pack snacks and lunches since she would not be able to eat until after the procedure and we'd be heading over to the neurosurgeon's office for his review of the scan.  

The MRI itself isn't a big deal.  The sedation is what bothered me the most.  She had to get an IV in the wrist.  Then we had to wait...1 long hour before we even got to the sedation part.  Sissy is a very inquisitive girl.  I do not try to sugar-coat things for her.  She can handle the truth so I tell her what to expect.  When she went under sedation in the MRI room, I cried.  It's the hardest thing to see your little baby go through something you've never done yourself.  It was tough, but we all survived.  She went in the machine at 12:45 and came out at 2:15.  We waited about half an hour before heading over to the doctor's office to make sure she came out of the sedation okay.  At the doctor's office we waited nearly 2 HOURS in the waiting room.

In my opinion, I think the patients who were having MRI or scans the same day, should be allowed to be seen as soon as they arrive.  Instead, we were nearly the last people to be seen.  Finally, at 5:00 in the evening, we saw the doctor.  He confirmed our suspicions of having to have surgery within the next year.  The tumor has grown a little more than expected but according to the scan, it's not tethering into the spinal cord.  The doctor isn't convinced that there aren't any microscopic shoots because he's never seen anything as big as her tumor that doesn't tether.  Since the evidence points to no tethering, technically, he would not be able to do the surgery.  Conveniently, he had a cosmetic surgeon friend who could perform the surgery and allow him to assist, which is what he really wants to do.  

Honestly, I feel like he is more intrigued and wants to "guinea pig" our daughter.  He is the best pediatric neurosurgeon in the United States, so I can't blame him for wanting to be involved.  But of course, then the blood issue came up and he said he would respect our wishes as long as everything went fine, however if something was going wrong and he needed to "save our daughter's life" then he would do whatever was necessary to save her.  I totally disagreed and told him so.  With all the new medical advancements in bloodless techniques, you'd think he would get on the bandwagon and read some information.  There are several hospitals where doctors routinely perform serious surgeries without blood.  You'd think pediatric surgeons would be interested in life-saving techniques without the use of someone else's possibly tainted blood.  We are interested in finding the best healthcare possible for our daughter, if it means driving across the country to find a doctor who will perform the surgery, then that's what we'll do.  In the meantime, we're in no hurry to put her life at risk when everything is going smoothly right now.  We have time on our side and we'll take advantage of that time to find an appropriate physician.

Here's some pictures of our day:

Arriving at the hospital

Getting her wristband ID

Daddy trying to distract her during the blood pressure check

Her "robot arm" (what we called it to make it more exciting and fun)

The nurses surprised her with a balloon

Coming out of anesthesia

They put the oxygen monitor on her toe...she thought it was pretty

Nana surprised her with a present

It's Strawberry Shortcake!

That was the beginning of our long day...I should have taken pictures of the doctor's visit, but I was too irritated and too pooped to get the camera out.  

Enjoy!

Have a great day and enjoy the Wordless Wednesday linky below:

This post has been linked to the following:

• Wordful Wednesday at parenting BY dummies
• Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom
• Wordless Wednesday at A Lot of Loves
• Wordless Wednesday at Newlyweds Blog 
• Wordless Wednesday at A Daily Dose of Toni
• Wordless Wednesday at A Beautiful Mess

The Daily Grind: Biting...

 photo credit

Biting.  I know.  I can't believe it myself.  It started a few weeks ago actually.  I was looking up something on the computer when I heard the most horrific catterwalling from the living room.  Sissy came running into where I was sitting, barely able to breathe and scream at the same time.  She was rubbing her arm and screamed "He!!  Bit!!  Me!!"  I looked at her arm and just about came unglued.  There on her arm was the tell-tale teeth marks with a horrible purple and red bruise rising to the surface of her skin.  I immediately came into the living and told Boo-Boo that "we do not bite anything but food" and then I did what I thought I'd never do and I bit him on the arm in the same place he bit his sister.  She was crying, he was crying and I was crying.  

How did this happen?  When did biting back become discipline?  I immediately sent my husband a text telling him what happened.  Then I called my friend Tara.  Of whom I almost always ask parenting questions.  This makes sense to me since we are pretty much long-long sisters and parent very similarly.  Her children are a few years older than mine, so of course in my mind, she's an expert.  (Thanks Tara!)

The conversation went pretty much like this:

"hey, what's going on?  hope you're okay?"

"we're fine. just on the computer, catching up on Facebook."

"you're stalking again?"  we both laugh.

"I have a problem..."

"okay? what?"

"Boo-Boo bit Sissy and I bit Boo-Boo.  Now I feel horrible.  Have you dealt with this too?"

"yes...I did the same thing..."

We talked some and I came to the realization this is something most parents do.  I asked Momma about it and she said neither my brother nor I were "biters" so she never really had to deal with it.  However, my cousin bit me and she said my aunt would bite him back.  This was 30+ years ago.  

Again, I ask, when did this become a good idea?  

I rationalized:  Boo-Boo needed to understand the pain he inflicted on his sister.  I didn't want to wait until later when my husband got home from work.  If I did that, then Boo-Boo wouldn't understand what I was talking about.  Remember, he's 2 years old.  He's the youngest and he is trying very hard to speak clearly.  We don't understand a lot of what he says and I think he gets very irritated when he can't communicate his feelings or problems.  I tried explaining to Boo-Boo that it's not okay to bite.  We use our teeth to eat food.  We do not use our teeth to hurt others.  The root of the problem?  There was a toy they both wanted and Sissy had taken it from Boo-Boo.  He's reaction?  To bite her.  

Later I talked to Sissy and explained to her that while it's not okay for Boo-Boo to bite her.  It's also not okay for her to take things from her brother.  She's 4 years old and she understands what it's like when people take things from her when she wants to play with them.  She understood, but they are brother and sister and fight like cats and dogs over silly things.  I know it will get better.  I'm just waiting for the day, it might be 20 years from now, but it will come.  

In the mean time, has anyone else had to deal with biting children?  I'm curious to know how you handled it and what advice you have to offer.

By the way, the biting back didn't work for me.  He bit her again today...

Nature Alphabet: Letter "C"

Our intentions were to find cardinals and observe them.  We found a female but no male.  We went over to my parent's house since my dad puts out birdseed to feed all the birds.  We saw yellow finches, hummingbirds, sparrows, thrashers and even a Blue Jay.  We took a nature walk around their yard and caught sight of many things.  Here's a few of "C" finds:

Pine CONE

Purple CONE Flower

CATERPILLAR

Here's some of the other sites we saw that did not start with "C", but stretching we could consider them "creations"...

Argiope aurantia (Yellow Garden Spider)

Yellow Daisies

 Bird Nest

Okra and Blooms

Persimmon Tree with Persimmons (my brother makes an awesome Persimmson Cake, maybe I can talk him into sharing the recipe with us after frost)

A tree with a single trunk that grew twin trees half-way up

Dandelion puff

Miniature Daisy (I'm sure this has a proper name)

Cicada Exoskeleton (we thought they were Locust or Katydid husks...I learned something new.  We found 25 of them on the trees around my parent's house).

Hope you have a great week discovering new creations!

Enjoy!

This has been linked to:

Southern Daydreamer Outdoor Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday at Newlywed Blog