Kelsey

sneak peek

So I am really trying my darndest to get these pictures for my AWESOMELY patient seniors... and I just wanted to show off a little sneak peak of the poster some pics I have done for a couple of them... I obviously have a lot more, but this is all I have time to post for now.  I sure hope they like them... I do!

A Day at the Zoo!

So, now that I am getting a little closer to little man #2 getting here, I am getting a little bit more sentimental about the time I spend with Iain.  Last night, I was thinking about how he just turned 3 years old, and how this time has absolutely flown by.  It seems like he has been in my life forever, but at the same time it seems like these years have passed in the blink of an eye.  It is amazing how quickly life speeds up when children come into our lives, and I want to make the most out of these last 6-7 weeks we have with Iain before another little guy starts to take some of that attention too. 

So, even though we didn't necessarily have the money to do it, we decided we would make a way to find ourselves at the zoo.  Iain absolutely loved porcupines, the jaguar and the snake house.  He kept talking about the BIG kitty cat and how it says "meow, meOW!", and the "lirtle nake, and BIG nake" at the snake house and how they like to say "SSSssssssss...."  We even spent time sitting in the middle of the boardwalk learning our letters from the names of donors engraved in the boards, while everyone else walked around us giggling at how funny we were.... it was simply great, even if we were in the way of everyone else!

If I can, I would like to try to do something special like this again before Lachlan gets his eviction notice, but even if it isn't anything "big" the rest of this time will be nothing less than special for us all.

I LOVE my boy!

So this morning when I dropped Iain off at daycare, one of his classmates Christopher was coming in with his mommy at the same time, but was obviously having a bad morning.  When we got inside, Iain noticed that Christopher was crying and came up to him and gave him big hugs saying "aww..ok"

Then just a minute later when Chris stopped crying (thanks Iain!) he was trying to get his jacket off... Iain came up to him again and said "I help" and he helped him pull his jacket off....it was absolutely the cutest thing!  He's simply the best, and he's all mine!  =)  =)  =)

Sr. Shoot

OK...so my computer is being stupid right now and the pics aren't here directly, so you will have to follow the link  (click on the title)... sorry! 

I have TONS more to work on, and will post more later...

It's Pouring!

So if the adage has ever been correct, When it Rains it Pours... it is definitely true right now.

This past week has been the most unreal, crazy, one thing after another, weeks that we have had it quite some time...
It started last Monday night with Iain getting a fever and we found out the next day that he had Swine Flu.... So we dealt with the never-ending fever and fatigue associated with that through the week... by Friday little man was finally feeling better, but I couldn't walk due to the pain from my heel spur so off I headed to my podiatrist for a lovely cortisone injection in the heel.... can I just say... (OH MY GOODNESS... I WANTED TO SCREAM THAT SHOT HURT SO BAD!!!!!!)  I couldn't walk for the rest of the day, and guess what?!  I STILL have pain in my heel.  grrr.....
  So Saturday came and we thought we would splurge on Pizza... I had cheese, Iain and Allen had pepperoni... well, ends up the boys got food poisoning from the pizza... so more fun dealing with 2 sick boys in the house all weekend... By yesterday though they were finally feeling up to snuff...
   To add insult to injury, last night our car would not start when we got out of Target... our 45 minute quick trip to Target ended up becoming a 3 hour ordeal while we waited for the tow truck to show up, and finally load our car up to take it to the dealership's service dept.  It was 9:30 before we ever made it home.
  And to top it all off, I called the dealership to check on my car this morning (to make sure that it made it there and that he dropped my keys off).. and go figure he dropped it in the middle of the service road in front of the dealership, and locked the keys in... so I was late for work because I had to drive up there to unlock my car for service to move it and fix it!   GRRRRRR... I can't stand stupid people.


Ok... I feel better now... thanks for lettng me vent....=D

STOMP!

So this is a bit of an old video I found, but I just loved it and forgot how cute Iain was when he was doing this.

I especially love the "attitude" he copped at the first part of the video!

Original Video - More videos at TinyPic

I hope you aren't too squeamish...

This is the result of my son's adventures last night... 2 inch gash and 3 staples.... and the little twerp was such a good little patient. When the nurse came in to take his BP, HR, Temp, and O2 sats, he kept looking at the monitor and jumping up and down whenever the lights would light up or the machine would beep, but he didn't mind any of the temp probes or any of that stuff... I think he was actually quite fascinated with it all.

Then when his nurse came in to put the local anesthetic on his scalp to get ready for the doctor, she finished up and looked at him, and before she could say it, he said "all done!' and started to walk out the door....

Doctor comes in to do the staples and Iain leans his head over and held really still for him to do his job... He's one tough little cookie!

Rachael's Maternity shoot

took forever to get these done, with interruptions like a month of football practice, but I FINALLY finished them and got to try out some new tricks! This is just a few of them, but some of my favorites.

I HAVE TO PEE!!!!

Aaaaagggggghhhhhh!!!!

I hate being a teacher and being stuck in class....with no one to cover for me... I have three more minutes and don't know if I can make it... my eyes are watering... I can't sit still.... and my students think I am on a major caffeine high...LOL!!!

EASTER EGGS!!

So, After Iain woke up from his nap today, it was time to make a few Easter eggs. I don't think I have done this in at least 15 years, and I have to say it was quite fun... Messy, but good and fun. And I would have to say that Iain quite loved his job of dipping the eggs (for the most part)!

I know he is getting rather excited about hunting Easter eggs tomorrow at church, and getting his Easter basket... last year, he still really could care less.

Myself, I am getting rather excited about our sunrise service in the morning at the beach... Our
church has done this for years but this will be the
first time we have made it, and I think it will be
awesome!

Have a fantastic Easter, and be thankful every day
for God's Greatest Gift!

I REALLY Wannabe...

I have this idea in my head (and heart) that I am
a fairly creative person. I really enjoy being that person too, but unfortunately I don't have much time to dedicate to it. However, the other day one of my students was needing to get senior photos done, and I had the time to spend playing with my camera...Off we went about our day, and here are some of the results... One day, I really would love to be able to actually dedicate a bit of time to doing this, but need feedback on things to correct, and if I actually have an eye for it or not...
Feedback is WAY welcome!

Daddy's Helper

So, here is another page I did... I guess I am on a pretty decent roll as I have uploaded 2 other pages elsewhere...

The other day when Allen was putting Iain's new bed together, little man woke up to see what daddy was doing, and just HAD to help out... so he kept 'jacking" the screwdriver from Daddy, and was trying to tighten the screws... I love the cheesy grin he flashed me when he realized I was watching! Gotta love it!

Trip to the hospital..

So, we had to take Iain to the hospital this past weekend. He ended up with a NASTY bout of Rotovirus, and became severely dehydrated and had a very high temp...Not a fun weekend to say the least. He ended up getting admitted on Monday after spending 8 hours sitting in the emergency room waiting for a room to open up upstairs. And after we had finally gotten him down and had fallen asleep, around 4am the nurses came in and told us we had to move to one side of the room so he could get a new roomie. It was an absolutely unreal experience to say the least, but it really did go well, his nurses were fantastic and did a great job of taking care of him. Now he is home and doing much better, though he is still a little leary of eating, but that will come. And yes, I have already made a scrapbook page of our experience!

Little Man's New Tricks

So, last week while I was working in the kitchen I noticed that things were getting a little quiet in the house, and by "things" I mean Iain Taylor...To my suprise when I looked around the corner, I saw little man STANDING on top of the cozy coupe beside the basketball goal. I guess he wanted to be able to dunk the ball again! I was lucky to actually have my camera on the counter so I managed to get a picture don't worry, Daddy was right out of the frame ready to catch him just in case...I promise!

Rock Star

So on New Year's eve, we were at my aunt and uncles party having a good time with all of the cousins and our friends playing Rock Band 2... If you have never had the chance to play it is an absolute blast, and you need to take your first opportunity you have to go out and embarrass yourself in front of everyone. Kinda' like karaoke on steroids...lol.

Anyway, we were all enjoying playing around when Iain noticed that what we were doing looked more fun that playing with blocks and cars, so over he came, and completely took the drumsticks away from me to "Rock Out" like a big boy... Can we just say that we ALL "Partied like we were Rock Stars!!"...LOL!

Yummy Philly Cheesesteak!

Okay... so while we were visiting home, David made the most awesome Philly cheesesteak I have eaten in quite a while... I was truly skeptical at first, but as I took a bite I realized my previous feelings about cream cheese on a sandwich were mistaken. This is GREAT for a small party or bible study group. Enjoy.

Here is the recipe as best as I can recall.

Walmart (Great Value) "steak-ums"
1 package of provolone slices
1 package of cream cheese
4 TBS fresh minced garlic
1 tsp. powdered red pepper
1 tsp black pepper
1 small onion cut into strips
1 small green pepper cut into strips
1 Large french bread loaf

In a large skillet fry together the frozen steak, onions and peppers cut into strips until the steak is well browned (and grease is mostly cooked away) and the onions are carmelized.

Set oven to Broil

Using a medium bowl mix together cream cheese, red and black pepper, and fresh garlic.

Cut french bread in half leaving it connected in middle, and spread the cream cheese mixture over both sides of the bread. spread the meat mixture on the bread and cover with cheese slices.

place the baking sheet low in the oven and broil until cheese begins to brown...

fold sandwich over, cut into smaller sandwiches and serve.

Slightly Early Christmas...

First off, can I just say that I am completely EXCITED about Christmas this year... I simply CAN'T wait! And well... you can see from the scrapbook page that it is true... Not so much because I couldn't actually control myself... yes, it is hard to do, but I really can manage... The reality is that we simply will not be able to fit Iain's big gift into the car with us for the trip. So, we put it together tonight, and surprised him when we got home from church. Iain absolutely LOVED it... he immediately climbed aboard and started scooting it across the room, ringing the bell along the way. So of course I HAD to scrap the moment... not to mention, Daddy, happily piecing the trike together while Iain napped today.

Most of the scrapbook elements are from my friend at church who I just found out has an online digi store!!! I LOVE her stuff... and if you would like to check it out...go to www.paperbagstudios.com ...You will find some really awesome stuff there!

Christmas 1980

I absolutely love this picture from Christmas years ago. I can remember every little bit of going into the parking lot at K-mart to find the little red house where we would find Santa. Waiting outside, getting really antsy to see Santa, and seeing other kids coming out of the house smiling and eating their candy canes. After what seemed like a lifetime of waiting (in reality probably only 1 or 2 families in front of us...if that) we finally got to go inside to see Santa, where it was MUCH, MUCH warmer than outside, and the best part was getting to eat that candy cane thinking about how many presents Santa would bring me come Christmas.

Another Yummy Recipe... Gonna have to make this SOON!

I found this recipe From Cooking Light and it looks completely amazing! I tried something along
these lines a few years ago at a gourmet restaraunt back in Eureka Springs and absolutely loved it, and this is the closest I can find to the dish. The only difference I see is that there were also
golden raisins and cranberries with the dish from the restaraunt, and the apples were diced more "chutney" style with the raisins and cranberries, rather than being sliced.

I also think this would be amazing with a pork loin instead of the chops...Enjoy!

Pork Chops with Cinnamon Apples

Warm flavors like sage and cinnamon play up the contrast between the juicy chops and caramelized apples. Tart Granny Smiths and slightly sweeter Braeburn apples both work well for this dish.

Yield

4 servings (serving size: 1 pork chop and 3/4 cup apple mixture)

Ingredients

1 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 (4-ounce) boneless center-cut loin pork chops (about 1/2 inch thick)
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
Cooking spray
1 teaspoon butter
4 cups (1/2-inch) slices peeled Granny Smith apples (about 4 medium)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Dash of salt

Preparation

Combine first 3 ingredients, and sprinkle over the pork. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add pork; cook 3 minutes on each side or until done. Remove the pork from pan. Cover and keep warm.
Melt butter in pan over medium heat. Add apples and remaining ingredients, and cook 5 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Serve the apples with pork.
Nutritional Information
Calories:
251 (30% from fat)
Fat:
8.3g (sat 3.1g,mono 3.3g,poly 0.9g)
Protein:
24.1g
Carbohydrate:
20.2g
Fiber:
2.3g
Cholesterol:
67mg
Iron:
0.9mg
Sodium:
388mg
Calcium:
38mg