Paxton’s “Pool”

  Paxton, 9 1/2 months old, looooves the water……

Look at those sweet baby legs!!!!!

  So, we decided to use our old antique washtub for Paxton’s “pool”, previously used by us for holding soda’s and bottled waters at BBQ’s.  It has worked quite well!

Here is our setup, now featuring a canopy over Paxton’s pool and the children’s lawn chairs, not pictured. I know it looks small, but it works out really well for us and the stages our kids are at!

In the following photos, you’ll notice Paxton is either in a diaper, or in the buff. Yes, he does own darling little swim trunks, but I was in no position to make all the kids get out of their pool, so I could go back in the house for them…..so we went for the “All natural” look. 

SPLASH! {Sputter sputter}

Oh my, that was a bit tramatic….

Again!?!?!?!

“Hmmm…

You know, I think that was pretty funny!”

“What in the world?”

“Uh, mom?  Are you seeing this strange thing?”

What a sweet, happy boy!

THE END.

~T

 

Not Your Ordinary Taco Night

  Too bad I am not clever enough to have made Nacho’s with supper, then this could be called: 

“Nacho Ordinary Taco Night” 

I know, I know, it’s so been done. 

I still think it would’ve been cool.

  Before I share a recipe with you, I want to tell you about my lil’ Pax who turned 9 months old a couple weeks ago. 

What?!  How is that possible?

  Oh, and you know that LIE they tell you about 9 months to put on the weight and 9 months to get it off…..baloney, I say!  My baby weight doesn’t leave until a week or two after I stop nursing, then BAM, 10 pounds gone.  (Pleaseohpleaseohpleaseohpleeeeease, let it happen that way again!)  Until then, I keep eating yummy food.  Oh,who am I kidding, I eat yummy food after that too!  I’m a foodie, what can I say? I love to eat!

  Right now, Paxton is totally obsessed with two things:

{No, they are not his food source, although it’s fair to say he IS obsessed with “those” as well.}

It’s…..

• The Train Table
• The Drum Set

He is so proud to be playing with “big kid” stuff!  Sniff-sniff, my baby is growing up!  😦  He walks the perimeter of the train table destroying track as he goes. 

He gets SO excited when the whistle goes off! Sweet boy.

“Look Momma, I got one!”

Next he heads over to the drums Tylan got from his Grandma.  This kid can JAM! He gets those drums a goin’ and beep bops his little head to the beat, I love it!  Of course, he has yet to do it for the video camera, that little stinker quits as soon as I get it out! I was lucky to get these few shots before he came over to see what I was doing!

“It’s nice that they provide this teether stick for me while I play the drums, mom.”

“Ooooh, I am supposed to hold it like this? Gotcha!”

Sweet, big boy!

  He recently added high 5’s, waving Bye bye, and signing “All Done” to his repertoire of tricks.  He is also walking all over the place! Grabbing whatever is nearby to get the job done……

 

On to the recipe part of this blog, Gorditas!!!! These little corn cups are a great way to rev up Taco night.  I found them over on Mama J’s “A Little Bit Crunchy, A Little Bit Rock & Roll” website, she has some really great and oh-so healthy recipes over there!

GORDITA’S

• 1 can creamed corn
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 cup water (I had to use a bit more to get the corn meal to blend)
• 1 2/3 cup corn meal
• 2 T. butter
• 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese
• Toppings: anything you’d put in a taco. We did taco meat, black beans, cheese, cilantro, tomatoes and sour cream.

Preheat oven to 400*.  In a medium-sized sauce pan, add creamed corn, water and salt.  Heat, stir and add corn meal.  Cook until thick.  Stir in butter and cheese.

  Drop by tablespoons into  well-greased muffin tins.  Press with tart shaper and fingers up the sides.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes before filling with your toppings of choice.

  Easy and pretty too!  Try them soon!

~T

 

This recipe linked to:

Savannah’s Savory Bites

 

A Year Ago Today

  A year ago today, THIS was my view from the hammock:

 

This is what I got to enjoy today….

Let’s review, shall we?

Last year: 7 months pregnant with Paxton.

This year: Paxton 9 months old.

Yup, I’d say things are looking muuuuuuch better this year!  🙂

~T

Weekend Fun

  With May comes the end of school, and the beginning of a busy time of year full of weddings, graduations, graduations, graduations, plus a few birthday parties to boot!

  We had a very, very busy weekend going from one great party to the next!  Call us party poopers, but we are EXHAUSTED!!   I was asked to photograph a 1st birthday party for some friends from church, as well as Senior portraits for Dale’s cousin, Matt, whose Graduation Open House we attended this weekend as well.  It’s one thing to take pictures of your own kids, but someone else’s, yikes!  No pressure, right?!  🙂

 

Hope you all had a great weekend!  This is our last week of school, how about you?  I am ready to have my girl home with me again! 🙂

~T

Ade’s 1st Birthday Party:

Happy 1st Birthday, precious girl!

 

Meet 2011 High school graduate, Matt:

Congrats on your Graduation, Matt!

 

  Destiny’s dream came true this weekend, she got to ride a real live pony at her friend, Kolby’s 6th Birthday party!   🙂  She wants a Cowgirl themed 8th birthday party SO bad!  We’ll see if Boots the pony can make an appearance at her party too.

  See her big quilted jacket?  Yup, it was THAT chilly!  Gotta love Kansas, 103* one week, 56* the next! And doggone it, if I didn’t already pack up all the children’s “warm” clothes.  Brrrr…….

 

   We attended several more Open Houses, but I didn’t feel it necessary to take my camera.  I WILL show you however, what our Sunday night looked like.

 

I’m with Paxton, time for bed! Good night!

Clever, no?! Um, no.

  The other day, when we were hiding Easter eggs before bed, the kids put their Easter baskets on as hats.  I thought they looked terribly adorable and quickly insisted they leave them on for a bit so I could grab my camera and take a quick photo or two.   More like 10.

My mind was already thinking ahead to an upcoming Easter post that I could use these in, it was going to be so cute and clever, no?!

  Ummmmmm, NO.

  Didn’t work AT ALL.

4 tired kids + 4 fuzzy chicky basket hats =  CHAOS

Avery sat like this for several minutes, silently contemplating life from below the rim of her “hat”.

Letting it go, and moving on…..

In other news, Spring is officially here.  Want to know how I know?

  ‘Cause my kiddos feet are looking like this every time they knock on the back door to be let in.

  Which is why they stop here, in the laundry room, to wash hands AND feet, before setting foot in mom’s clean house.

  Good job, buddy!

Oh, and faces too. Did you know……Snot + Sand = Smud?

   Springs arrival also means we can have snack time outside each afternoon, and do homework on a blanket in the yard.  LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!

 

  Tomorrow I am doing a post on an Easter tradition of ours, making “Resurrection Cookies”.  Come back and check it out, they are really neat! 

~T

P.S.  Guess who started walking today, just a few days after he turned 8 months?  This may not be uncommon at your house, but at our house, babies don’t start doing this for a few more months and do not walk until they are a year.  (Or if you are Destiny, don’t walk until 18 months old)

Pax grabbed onto this Postal cart and off he went through the kitchen.

Then he fell down twice and wouldn’t have anything do with it after that.

Good! That was a close one. 

Oh, wait, I meant awwww, poor baby!

 

See It, Grab It, Taste It

  Paxton, mobile as of 6 months, has officially entered the “See it, Grab it, Taste it” stage of his life. 

  Funny, after 4 kids, you’d think I’d remember all the hoopla that comes along with this stage, but alas, I had already forgotten (blocked out?) just how on your toes you must be with a newly mobile child. 

  The other kids are having to learn not to play things like Polly Pocket, or anything involving small chokeable parts, while he’s awake.  Dale is having to be careful to not let change drop out of his pocket after work.  And me?  I am having to pick up every fuzz, speck and crumb from the floor…..

Oh wait, I already do that everyday.

Ok, so I’ll keep up my OCD ways, and we’ll be fine.  🙂

    Just today, I rescued poor Sophie from Paxton, as he joined her in eating lunch….HER lunch.

Here is what I fished from his mouth:

Ew.

But that is NOTHING compared to what happened next:

I hear Destiny frantically hollering from the bathroom.  This is not an uncommon occurence at my house, as we woman tend to be a bit theatrical. 

(WHAT?! I can admit it.)

So, used to such dramatic out bursts during the day, I took my time drying my dish pan hands before heading over to see what was going on.  As I walk through the dining area, she calls again:

“MOOOOOOM.  I mean it, GET IN HERE! Paxton is LICKING the TOILET!”

WHAT?!

Well that got me moving in a hurry.  BARF-O!!!!!!  I’d take dog food in the mouth any day over TOILET LICKING! 

  The OCD side of me wanted to sanitize his precious little formerly-clean mouth, but instead I calmly asked her to please please PLEASE keep her brother out of the bathroom when she is in there from now on.

Inside I was saying: This is an immune booster. This is an immune booster.

This is….

 

SOOOO GROSS!!!!!!

Ew. Ew. and Double Ew.

  Maybe Paxton’s nickname should no longer be “Tank” but “Destruct-o”?

Or, “The Cleaner”. (as in the TOILET cleaner. Again I say Ewwwww.)

Nah, “Tank” it is.

  My sweet sweet baby, “Tank”.

~T

Egg Hunts & Yummy Dips

With Easter rapidly approaching, we decided to go ahead and bring out the ol’ Easter baskets and plastic eggs this week.  We will spend countless hours hiding and discovering these eggs between now and Easter, but seriously?  You can only hide 24 eggs in the same living room so many times!  Oh well, the kids love it, so we are all for it.

   To make things easier, and to keep fighting to a minimum, each child has their own set of eggs to find.  Avery has shiny eggs, Tylan has sports eggs, and Destiny has print eggs.  Paxton has regular, which he seems to think are quite delicious.  He made sure to taste test each color in his basket right away.

 

  Once the kids had their jammies on, the First Easter Egg Hunt of the season began…..

  They had a lot of fun but all too soon, it was bedtime for everybody.  Especially Paxton.

  Pax had been entertaining himself on the floor during all the festivities.  This being his first Easter, he was quite fascinated with his furry basket and the contents therein.

 

  Suddenly, the ducky basket was NOT so fun, and he began to feel a bit distressed…..

  He quickly spotted his “Ma-ma” and crawled over to me for comfort, and in true Paxton form, quickly tried to grab and ingest my camera lens.

  This is the part where I informed him, oh-so-kindly, that I did NOT want his sweet but slobbery little fingers on my lens.

He was not impressed.

 

Hey, are you still watching how sad you made me?

Good, cause I am getting a bit sleepy here.  {YAWN}

  Are you SURE I can’t touch this pretty lens just one teeny little bit?

  Still a no-no, huh.

Even if I put on my CUTEST pouty face and shed a tear?!?!?!?!? 

{SIGH} Fine.  Take me to bed, that was exhausting.

Goodnight sweet baby Pax!  XOXO

   Now that all the little ones are tucked snug in their beds, I have 2 yummy recipes to share with you: 

Dips! 

Oh, how I love thee.

  We do a Sunday Night Snack supper each week, as has been tradition since I was a little girl.  It’s the perfect time for me to try new appetizer recipes without waiting for a party invite! Yay! 🙂 

  In addition to whatever appetizers I am wanting to try at the time, Dale always makes his infamous seasoned popcorn in our stir-crazy popper, and we have it with fresh fruit, orange julius’s or something equally yummy! 

 

   Sunday Nights are fun, since we do something together as a family.  My mom comes over, and we play board games or watching the kid’s favorite show, America’s Funniest Home Videos……all while eating in the LIVING ROOM! {Gasp} What a treat!

  Here are 2 of our favorite dips, one an old favorite, one brand new:

Corn Dip

(click on title to print on TK)

16 oz. Hyland’s Chive Sour Cream Dip

2- 11 oz. cans Mexicorn, drained

1 – 10 oz. cans Rotell, drained.  Use half a can of Original, and half Hot. Dale likes all hot, but then no one else can eat with him. {HEY! Maybe that’s the POINT????? Turkey.}  You can freeze remaining Rotell for next time!  Drain corn and rotell well and mix with Chive dip in a medium bowl. 

Chill until serving to allow flavors to blend.  Serve with Frito Scoops. (no substitutes)  

Cucumber Cracker Spread from The Country Cook

Ingredients:

½ Cucumber (peeled and cut into chunks)
3 Green Onions (trim Off Roots)
1 block (8 Oz.) Cream Cheese, Softened
1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
⅛ teaspoon Salt

Chopped fresh tomatoes for garnish, optional but delicious!

Finely chop the cucumber and green onions.  In a medium bowl, combine chopped veggies, softened cream cheese, Worcestershire sauce and salt.  Beat until smooth.  Cover and refrigerate overnight, it’s WORTH the wait!  Serve on crackers. 

(Or on an Everything Bagel, which I have not yet tried.  There is none left! Maybe next time?)   🙂

  Have a great weekend!

~T

 

Linking to: Easter Traditions Bunny Blog Hop

And So Sweet Sunday’s

Thanks Patti & Kim, for inviting me to link up with your blogs!

When Life Gives You Lemons…

Make funny faces!

Sorry Pax, one day you’ll look back on this moment and laugh.

Well, I will at least.

Love you bunches,

~Mommy      XXOO

The Sleep War

  I don’t know what it is about my kids….something in their genetic makeup?  The stubbornness they get from their father?  But my babies, every single blessed one of them…has hit an age during their first year, where they FIGHT SLEEP.  Like arching their back, throwing the binky, flailing around to prevent the inveitable….sleep.  Whether at home or church, a few minutes of fight must ensue.

  I had to sigh the other day at church, when a friends baby, simply layed her head on the nearest shoulder and drifted off to dreamland.  She is just a few weeks older than Paxton.  Her name is Meadow.

Here is a pic of Meadow and Paxton meeting for the first time last summer….. Paxton is 3 weeks here and Meadow is 5 days.

 

I love the scowl on his face! Like she is totally invading his personal space or something! 🙂

  Sweet little Meadow could teach Paxton a thing or two about sleeping in public.  I have to take him out of church EVERY week, just to get him to sleep before slipping back in service, since I don’t want to be “THAT” mom.  You know, the one with the noisy baby that disrupts the sermon.

  He squawks and squeaks, pulls my hair and arches while chucking his binky down the pew, all in the name of staying awake during morning naptime. 

I have photographed the process below from the comfort of my recliner:

Ahh, once again, sleep wins.

Sleep –1  Paxton – 0

It was a nice try, Paxton.

Better luck next time!

~T

Zzzzzzzz….

  Waiting for supper is SO exhausting!

Check out those luscious lashes!

  Speaking of sleep…..

  Tylan, now 4, is starting to exhibit signs of being done with afternoon naps.  (No, please not yet!!!!) So, I let him read by flashlight and “rest” for an hour or two instead…..

  The good news?  Half the time this occurs.  🙂

  I am such a better mom after quiet time.  I think after the kiddies outgrow sleeping during the afternoon, we’ll still divide up to separate rooms for reading time. We are all more refreshed and excited to play together again after a few hours of quiet!!!!!

  Speaking of quiet, I better go get some stuff done while they are all down!

~T