The Rabes

My Little Clean Freak

2012-01-29T20:22:00.000-06:00

Diaper update - Huggies overnight pull ups are winners. No leaks since I got them. So now we are wearing size 6 all the time and pull ups at night and we are not yet 2.

Jake might be the cleanest child I have ever met. When he spills something he runs to the kitchen, grabs a towel and wipes it up. If he drops food (which is VERY rare) he won't take another bite until it gets picked up.

He does not drop food. I don't think it would ever occur to him that food would go anywhere but his mouth.

He picks up his toys. I say let's go outside and even though that is his all time favorite phrase to hear he puts all his toys up before he goes to the door. I did not teach him this. I thought about it but didn't get around to it.

Speaking of food, he still eats more than I do everyday. Like, I make 2 chicken breasts for dinner and Rett gets one and Jake and I split the other one. He eats 2-3 jumbo scrambled eggs, a yogurt and a glass of milk for breakfast. I eat a bagel.Today at lunch we were leaving the restaurant and Jake ran back to the table to grab a few more bites. Luckily, he eats pretty healthy. He eats more fruit than anyone I've ever seen. He spits out cookies and cupcakes and chooses fruit at parties. He only drinks water and milk unless my mom is around to share her tea or coke.

Jake's birthday party is a John Deere theme. He likes all things cars, trucks, trains and balls but I found some cute John Deere stuff that made the decision for me. We will be at a park although I can't decide which one. There are 3 in the running.

So, I'm pretty honest about when having a kid sucks. But I will have to say that I'm realizing how good Jake is compared to other kids. There is the cleanliness which I have already stated. I can take him to a restaurant and he can last as long as we need him to as long as there are matchbox cars to play with and/or food to eat. He has never had a meltdown in the grocery store. I actually enjoy going with him since he decides in the cart is the best place to give hugs. I give him the item and he throws it back in the cart. Very helpful fellow. When I say bedtime he walks up to me and points to the stairs to get taken to his room.

And then there are the times he hits me that I spank him. Good times...

We go to the park every day if it is not raining. If there is no where else to go before or after we walk. I think he could get there himself if I let him. He walks a few steps in front of me and I just follow along. I'm hoping this means that one day soon he will be able to find his way home if needed...

Jake hearts his tricycle.

My New Go To

2012-01-16T19:12:00.000-06:00

Seriously, so moist and flavorful. We eat LOTS of chicken in this house so we know what is good and what is not so much.

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 package Good Seasons Italian Dressing mix
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1. Mix cheese, dressing mix and garlic powder.
2. Moisten chicken breasts with water; coat with cheese mixture. Place in shallow baking dish.

400 for 20-25 minutes

Syrup and Bullies

2012-01-16T15:36:00.000-06:00

Jake's pajamas smell like syrup. They have smelled like this since Christmas when we had our little family pancake dinner. Since Monday is laundry/go to the store day I do laundry EVERY Monday. So they have been washed like 5 times since he has had syrup. Luckily, I like the smell of syrup.
The guest room redo has begun. I got new bedding and accessories (although I could use a little more) and painted. Now I'm on the lookout for fabric for curtains. Yes, I'm making them. Yes, I know I am not crafty but I have actually made every curtain that has ever been in our house. Just panels which are way easy. The hardest part is lugging the fabric to my mom's house to use her sewing machine. I also want to paint the furniture in there. We will see....
While at our favorite park today some older kids were mean to Jake. I understand that he is like 2 and they were like 6 but he was literally just standing there watching and laughing at them. Luckily, he had no idea they were being mean. They said he couldn't come into their tunnel, their slide, their stairs, etc.... Well, I stood right up and said (loudly) 'Jake you can go through whatever tunnel you want. Get in there!' Then their 1 year old sister hit Jake. I got all up in her face and said "Don't you hit him.' I was about to smack all 3 of them. They are lucky they had to leave.
Everyone says Jake needs a baby brother/sister. No, he needs an older sibling cause he LOVES to watch older kids and run around with them pretending they are actually playing with him.
I'm not a fan of people putting potty training incidents all over Facebook. I figure those kids are kind of old and get embarrassed and probably don't want everyone knowing about their issues. Anyway, children's privacy could be an entire blog entry so I will stop and just tell my little story since WAY less people read this than my Facebook. Jake is big. Not fat but tall. Like people think he is 3 tall. He wears size 6 diapers which I am finding out is the largest size. He leaks out about every other night. I have tried every 'overnight' diaper I can find. Today I bought overnight Pull-Ups. If they don't work then I will just have to accept the fact that I will be changing his sheets every morning for the next year...
Speaking of Jake's bigness, he will be getting a big kid room soon since he is outgrowing his crib. The curtains and paint are already there but the decorations and bedding are not. He is never in his room unless he is sleeping. All the toys and books are downstairs so it's not really a fun room. I'm not sure how much of a theme this room will get since we don't use it...
Jake's birthday is in April. His party is pretty much planned. Now what will I do with my free time?

Ta-Dah

2012-01-11T10:43:00.000-06:00

I just found a website to store all my recipes. I wanted a place to have them that I could look up anywhere (phone). This is so much easier than looking through my little box. Now, every Friday when I'm planning the next week's meals and making the grocery list I just log on and start searching. I just bring my laptop into the kitchen with me when I'm cooking. The sucky part is loading them all in there. Typing recipes does not go quickly...

6 Years

2012-01-07T19:52:00.000-06:00

Today is our 6 year anniversary. Who knew I would marry Rett Rabe? Only God cause I sure didn't. Here is our story. Last night was parents night out at our church so we celebrated while Jake was there. We went to Perry's Steakhouse since neither of us had been there. Rett eats at fancy places a lot for work so there are not many places he hasn't been. I got the best steak I have ever had in my entire life. I think the exact words out of my life were 'it is like a marshmallow in my mouth.' It literally melted. Today we painted the guest bedroom and ate Papa John's pizza. Good times.

What I don't Understand

2012-01-06T15:26:00.000-06:00

Why moms put there daughters in dresses to go to the park then tell them (the entire time they are there) to keep their legs together. First of all, I don't have a girl but my rule is that if your girl is potty-trained her legs should be together. Teach some modesty! Second of all, shorts and pants should be worn to the park so this does not matter and the kid can play. So glad I have a boy so he can sit like this:

Decisions

2011-12-31T11:27:00.000-06:00

When you can't decide whether to have left over fajita meat or mac and cheese what do you do? Enjoy both.

We now live in between 2 awesome parks. Like within 2 blocks of our house. They are better than what we paid $1000/year for out in the 'burbs. Jake and I walked to 1 of them this morning and he had a blast. It is the playground of a school that lets the public use it as a park when school is not going on. Jake's birthday party will be at one of these parks. We will just have to go to both of them everyday until we decide which is better :). Who knew the city had better play areas than the 'burbs???

Me and Command Hooks

2011-12-27T19:13:00.000-06:00

As I've mentioned before, I'm not crafty. I would much rather pay someone else to make it for me since when I try it looks like someone (a child) made it. Well, we recently moved to the city from the 'burbs which means a smaller house. Like about 800 square feet smaller. This means some serious organization. I've used Pinterest for several ideas. Not the crafty section but the buy this and it will help section.
One thing I am good at 'making' is wrapped gifts and bows. My Grandmother is a tad fancy when it comes to presentation so at an early age she gave me a class on proper bow making. (We also got an etiquette class but that is a whole other blog).This means I have lots of wrapping paper and ribbon and now no where to put it. Well, it is now on the back of one of my laundry doors. The Pinterest idea said to screw a curtain rod into the door. I'm not about to ruin a door with screws so I bought some Command Hooks and hooked some curtain hooks onto them and snapped on the paper. That sentence had the word 'hooks' about 3 too many times. There are 11 Command Hooks on this door between the paper, ribbon, tissue paper/gift bags and bucket that holds tags.

I also have WAY too many cleaning products. At the old house I had LOTS of storage. Here not so much so again Pinterest saved the day. Just bought me a shoe rack for behind a door and my other laundry room door is now my cleaning storage.

Literally every time I cook I have a conversion issue and I have to call Rett for his math skills. Again, the lady made this on her fancy machine but she also provided a link to where you can buy it. Which I did. Best $15 I have ever spent. It also includes labels for hanging your measuring spoons/cups. My kitchen storage took a HUGE hit during this move but this freed up 2 much needed shelves. Again, I wasn't about to screw hooks into my cabinet doors so I used more Command Hooks.

This was a Container Store find. I could literally spend hours in that store each day. This morning I did. These cork boards and marker boards are in our office area. Just has things like my cleaning schedule and countdowns to when the house and college funds will be paid off.

Jake and His Tricycle

2011-12-22T20:22:00.000-06:00

We celebrated our little family's Christmas the Thursday night before since we are headed to Dallas for Christmas day. We got Jake a tricycle. He LOVES it. He rode it for a little while but then decided he just wanted to push it. He also got a few Hot Wheel cars in his stocking. Also a big hit. After playing with the tricycle I made blueberry pancakes (Rett's favorite breakfast food) and bacon (my favorite breakfast food) for dinner. I have the best pancake recipe in America. I will never make Bisquick again. Let's just say these have sour cream and melted butter in them.

The Before

The After

Pushing the Tricycle

Riding the Tricycle

Playing with His New Tonka Truck with Uncle Jason

Cousins

We Got It...

2011-12-05T11:16:00.000-06:00

...the screaming Santa picture. First of all, Bass Pro Shop is the BEST place to go for Santa. There are no lines...

There are lots of animals to look at...

lots of tents to play in...

and lots of cars to drive.

Stores I Will Never Step Foot in Again

2011-11-25T21:42:00.000-06:00

So, I'm kind of a picky shopper. I don't shop a lot so when I go I don't want to look around for the best deals, have to dig for my size, etc...I want to walk in, go straight to what I want and buy it. Even though i don't look for the sales I probably still spend less than the average woman because I don't go very often. Well, all this to say there are several stores that do not mesh with my shopping style and therefore I won't be going again.

Marshall's, Ross, TJ Maxx - There are probably a few more but you get the idea. I will not rummage for clothes. I feel like I'm in the Dollar Store when I'm in there.
Dollar Store - Speaking of the Dollar Store...I went to my first one a few months ago. First of all, it was no cheaper than Target. Second of all, when I walked out (empty handed) I felt dirty. Literally. The floors had visible dirt on them.
Ikea - It is a prison. I walked in and was trapped. You have to follow these arrows. There are no doors. You are led to see everything they sell before you are allowed out. I literally felt like I was being released from prison when I saw daylight. I did see a bookshelf I will probably buy for Jake's playroom but it will be bought online and delivered to my door.
Target - Now I have mixed feelings about this place. I do go on a regular basis. I get diapers and toys there (in all honesty I have probably bought Jake 5 or less toys in his life so far including the Cragslist wagon). All other sections just feel like a totally mess with crazy people and their loud kids wandering around aimlessly. Yes, I now have a child but we have not had a public meltdown to date so he is allowed in stores with me. He gets weirdly excited about riding in carts...
Vacations - Now, this is not a store but the same idea applies. I will search for deals on flights and hotels but once I'm there I do not want to be worried about spending money. I want to enjoy everything the place has to offer. I do not want to cook. I don't eat out much now that I don't work so on vacation I'm eating out. One reason we passed on going to Hawaii a few years ago was that I wanted to stay a long time and do it all. Instead we went to San Fransisco for a week and had a blast. We will be in Hawaii soon doing it the right way :).

Now, I realize this makes me sound extremely stuck up and maybe I am. But like I said, I don't shop often and want it to be a relaxing, stress-free experience. Not a rummaging for my size, must get lowest price experience. I would rather have a few nice things that will last a long time than 50 pieces of crap things.

Why Taking the Trash Out Is a Man's Job

2011-11-22T21:20:00.000-06:00

I stepped on a bee today. With no shoes on. And got stung. On the bottom of my toe. It hurts.

So, I was throwing a box in the outside trash can when my toe starting burning. I though I had stepped in fire ants. I looked down. Nothing. I looked at the bottom of my foot. A bee. I'm not gonna lie. I started a commotion. Rett and Jake were inside so I yelled. Nothing. I waddled inside and yelled. Nothing. Rett finally comes out.

Cindy: There is a bee on the bottom of my foot.
Rett: No there isn't.
Cindy: What do you think I'm doing?
Rett: No there isn't.
I sit down and prop my foot on the table.
Rett: There is a bee.
Cindy: Get it off.
He gets a paper towel and grabs the bee. The stinger is still in there.
Rett: I need tweezers.
Cindy: Make-up.
He comes back with tweezers and a hair clip. I scream the entire time because things don't hurt if you scream while they are happening. Jake laughs the entire time. I reminded him that I did not laugh at him today when he fell off the playground at the mall and hurt his arm. He laughed harder. I start talking about amputees and joining the circus with my 9 toes. My toe (and foot) is very swollen, very red and hurts. Next time I see a bee it will die. Or I will run away screaming. Either one...

Pinterest Sametrest

2011-11-17T14:02:00.000-06:00

So, I've been on Pinterest for a few weeks now. It is cool and everything but I'm starting to see that everyone pins the same things esp. since I have many mutual friends. I see the same recipes, crafts, etc...over and over and over. Maybe that is the point? Anyway, I'm tired of seeing pumpkin bread. I hate pumpkin. It reminds of the Friends episode where Rachel buys a Pottery Barn table and has to hide it from Phoebe because she hates Pottery barn because everyone ends up with the same stuff. Ross ends up buying the exact same table. Anyway, I think everyone who does crafts will have the same house decorations in a few months. Also, I can pretty much quote every Friends episode. Seriously.

Interstate?

2011-11-16T14:24:00.000-06:00

I think I don't know what an interstate is. I thought it meant the road went through more than 1 state. Well, 610 is a loop which means it stays in Houston. However, the signs have the interstate symbol on it with the words 'Interstate 610' on them. I'm confused...

A Few Too Many Cars

2011-11-14T21:01:00.000-06:00

Apparently my life has been a tad boring lately since I have no stories to share so more bullet points it is.

Jake and I walked to the Galleria on Saturday. No shopping, just lunch at the food court. We got a few comments from people who saw us walking once we got there. One was at a bus stop. Um, lady if a 1.5 year old can walk 4 blocks you don't need to be taking the bus from 2 blocks away.
Made some more zucchini muffins for Jake today. This time I remembered to add the vegetable oil. They looked way moister. Yes, moister sounds like the correct word to me.
Jake has started taking longer naps. I think it's because I stopped making him listen to music. My theory is that when he stirs he hears a commercial or a scary DJ man voice and wakes up thinking someone is in the room. No more music for Jake.
Every year Rett goes to the deer lease during Thanksgiving. This year I'm trying to get him to take Jake. I figure his mom can take care of him while the guys hunt. Rett says there is no room for Jake. I don't understand this since he has been trying to get me to go for the last 6 years. I know Jake is big but he totally takes up less room than I do...
Rett is in Pennsylvania for work this week. You now what is in PA (I typed that because I didn't feel like figuring out how to spell it again)? Overpopulation of deer. I learned this while visiting my dad at the hospital a few days ago. Side note: He is much better now. At one point everything (kidneys, lungs and heart) were failing.
Jake is REALLY into cars now:

Dirt and Car

Grass and Car

Couch with No Cushion and Car

BMW Car

Race Car

He also loves when Grandmother gives him jelly on his toast.

Random Wed.

2011-11-09T15:00:00.000-06:00

While at La Madeleine today I was told Jake looks 'just like me'. I have NEVER been told that. I have been told he favors me compared to Rett who is all dark. Sometimes I think people feel the need to figure out who the kid looks like. Sometimes they are just unique. Although, I think Jake looks pretty generic (blonde hair, blue eyes, round face, etc...). We get the mailman's kid comment ALL the time...
Because of my recent Taco Bell post I have been told that I eat like a kid. I don't think I'm picky. I just like normal food. I don't like tortillas. Does that make me picky? I think it makes me American as opposed to Mexican...My all time favorite food is a hamburger.
I made cookies last week. I saved about half the dough to freeze. It is gone now...
Rett's brother got married a few weeks ago. I'm was not in the wedding but I somehow managed to buy 2 dresses for the rehearsal dinner and wedding. I love them both. If I wear either one again it will be a miracle.
I joined Pinterest. I have not really explored it much but I have a feeling it will just be a place to make a list of things I will buy in the near future. I'm not crafty nor do I want to be so I have like 2 boards - food and stuff I will buy soon. Eating and shopping - sounds like a good life to me.
Jake will now sit and watch TV for a few minutes. Before he was too busy to even notice it. We watch The Backyardigans and The Wonder Pets. I actually like both. I might even watch The Wonder Pets when Jake is napping and we didn't finish the episode...
I never spell Wednesday right so I always write 'Wed.' I also never do cereal right. My mom used to get mad that when I added it to the grocery list it was always wrong. Luckily there is now spell check and my grocery list is on my phone where no one else can see what I write.

Halloween

2011-11-01T09:45:00.000-05:00

Well, we went to our churches Fall Festival tonight. It was pretty fun. Jake definitely enjoyed it more than last year but I think next year will be a better age for things like this. Here are some comparison pictures from last year and this year.

Halloween?

2011-10-25T20:59:00.000-05:00

So, when I was little we were the kids that were not allowed to trick or treat. We dressed up for our school Halloween parties but that is it. Our town didn't have fall festivals so instead we drove into Houston (about an hour) and each picked out a Christmas ornament. Apparently, there was a Christmas store somewhere on Westheimer (I think) that we went to every year. I'm not sure what the reasoning was for not. I think a mixture of begging for candy, celebrating ghosts, witches, pretty much anything dark. Well, I don't know where I stand on the subject and luckily Jake isn't old enough that I have to decide yet so we are going to our churches fall festival. Jake will be Mario from Super Mario Brothers. We will be Rett and Cindy from the Rabe family. I hope you get to run into us.

Taco Bell Pizza

2011-10-25T13:06:00.000-05:00

So, I have it in my head that Chick-Fil-A is better than other fast food places...healthier, real chicken, etc... And friendlier. I can go through the drive thru at other places and the cashier can not say a word to me the entire time. Well, I was proven wrong today. I saw a Pizza Hut attached to a Taco Bell. I'm a big fan of the personal pan pizzas and it was a drive thru aka Jake friendly so I pulled in. I have never in my life been to a Taco Bell. I'm not a Mexican food fan so fast Mexican food sounds horrible. I didn't know what to expect. The pizza was awesome. The lady in the order speaker was as friendly as I have ever had and the cashier lady was the same. I don't notice a lot of details in life but I will remember this place and will be going back next time I want a pizza...which might be tomorrow...

Muffins to the Rescue

2011-10-21T10:27:00.000-05:00

So when Jake is at Mother's day Out lunch is an issue. He will eat all the fruit I pack and sometimes some lunch meat or cheese but not always. I have to send something that doesn't need refrigerated or heated up. That is not easy. He would eat a peanut butter and honey sandwich but since peanut butter is a banned substance that is a no go. Finally, I found something he will eat. Muffins. Probably any muffin but esp. zucchini muffins. I pack 2 and they are always gone. I just made a new batch to freeze. By lunchtime they are all thawed out and ready for him to eat. I honestly thought I would never figure the packing a lunch thing out so this is a small miracle.

Our Morning

2011-10-19T12:41:00.000-05:00

This morning Jake and I walked to the Galleria. It takes 5 minutes to drive there and 45 minutes for a 29 year old and 1.5 year old to walk. Jake pushed the stroller the entire way. I wasn't going to bring the stroller but decided he would need it on the way back. I was correct. It was pretty smooth sailing until we got closer and crossing the road meant having to wait for the crosswalk man to light up. Jake has ZERO patience. He also has the endurance of a...cougar? Do they run forever? Or just run fast? Maybe I should say the endurance of a marathon runner...who could run 3 in a day. Anyway, once we got there we returned some things and bought some things. We ate an early lunch there because I decided we needed some energy for the walk back. While in the food court a lady stopped us and said she saw us walking. She said Jake was cute. Must not have seen us at the crosswalk where I had to hold him (and the stroller) back like a hungry bear wanting to attack. So yeah if you saw a little scene at W. Alabama and Rice that was us. I pushed him home and we got there in 15 minutes. Also, in case you are wondering I wore the skirt on Sunday. I was a little bummed I couldn't sit Indian style but I survived.

Jake Rabe is the 12th Man

Mario 2011

2011-10-14T21:50:00.001-05:00

I bought Jake's Halloween costume this afternoon. He will be Mario. You know from Super Mario Brothers.We don't have a fancy Wii, or Xbox. We have Rett's Nintendo from 1985. So we play lots of Mario.
Speaking of Jake he has been asleep since 12. It is now 4:30. He has NEVER slept this long. He takes short naps which might be why if I let him he would still take 3 a day.
We are going to a tailgate tomorrow in College Station so of course I had to go buy Jake a 12th Man jersey. It is lovely. Rett got a new A&M hat out of my Academy trip.
So, Jake had never been sick in all his 18 months. No fever, no throw up, no ear infection, nothing. Well last week he got croup. A quick trip to the Dr. and a steroid and he was fine but since I thought it was allergies the first 2 days there were a few LONG nights in our household. I don't think I have caught up on my sleep yet. Maybe that is what Jake is doing now - catching up on his sleep.
On case you were wondering I found my favorite parking garage at the galleria. It is pretty much perfection. On that same trip I came home with a skirt. Do I wear skirts? Nope. Will I wear this one? Rett hopes so. Maybe Sunday...
Speaking of clothes, since most of mine are in storage I wear the same shirts over and over again. It makes me think I don't have any so I keep buying more. This will become a problem once I get my clothes back.

Why is this pumpkin white?

I heart horses

Mom, this is a horse. Naaa.

Fine, I hate horses.

Motherwise

2011-10-05T22:41:00.000-05:00

So, pretty much I recommend nothing. But, I'm going to go ahead and change that today. I'm doing a bible study at church called Motherwise written bu Denise Glenn and let me tell you I am a fan. Again, I have done very few studies that I really enjoyed or in all honesty remember after I'm done. I decided about a year ago to try and only do things during the week that require Jake to be in childcare at church that were beneficial. Since I stay at home it seemed weird to have him at the church almost every day during the week. So I quit MOPS. It was purely social and just didn't seem worth it. I joined Motherwise instead. Best decision I ever made. We watch a video then break up into small groups. Mine includes 2 mentor moms and 3 young moms like me. The mentor moms have grown kids and some have grand kids. They have seen it all and tell it like it is. I love it! It is so refreshing to hear from moms who have actually raised kids as opposed to the young moms who know no more than I do. It is nice to hear that everything is not a big deal and earth shattering. But the biggest thing I have learned from the study so far is the whole reason God gives us kids - to raise them up in Godly homes so they can spread the Gospel. Not to get into the best preschool, private school, college and make lots of money. That wherever they live and wherever they go to school is their mission field. If all the Christians went to private school then who would reach the public schools? Side note: Something my mentor mom pointed out about private school is that if they would take the money they are paying for private school and move where your kid can go to public your mortgage would be cheaper than tuition. Anyway, I would be much prouder of Jake if he said 'I'm not going to college. I'm going to Africa to be a missionary.' All that to say, sign up for Motherwise!

My First Week in the City

2011-09-29T15:46:00.000-05:00

I have been to the Galleria twice this week. Why? Because I now live 2 blocks away. That is not the point of this blog though. I have a few observations from my recent visits.

4 year olds should not be in a stroller. Maybe even younger but this kid looked about 4. First of all, he barely fit. Second of all, the first thing I thought about when seeing him was 'what a lazy kid.' My 1.5 year old walks with me EVERYWHERE. It wasn't easy to get him to follow me at first and he isn't perfect at it yet but he gets better each day. I have not used my stroller in about 6 months. Plus, he is in very good shape :).
There are a weird number of kids who are obviously school age at the mall at 1pm. And by school age I mean like 14. I'm not the most observant person but even I know where they should be. Come on cops. Get them!
I feel under dressed when wearing workout clothes. In the burbs this attire is normal. In the city it is not. This might be a good thing since I rarely dress up. I need motivation.
There are like 37 garages and I always park in the one farthest away from where I want to be. My goal is to have it down by next week. This means I will be there about 5 more times before then.
My first visit since being neighbors with the Galleria was to find a dress for Rett's brothers wedding in about a month. I came home with candy for Rett and I and some clothes for me that were not wedding appropriate. Unless I decide to be like Whitney and bust out a hoodie for the wedding. I'm have not ruled this option out.

I will be back with more adventures of my new life in the city but for now the laundry is calling my name. Or, I could just keep going to the mall and buying more...

What I have to Live With

2011-09-20T14:20:00.000-05:00

While watching football:

Rett: Do you want me to play that hit again for you
Cindy: Are you serious?
Rett: Oh yeah. Sometimes I forget you are not a guy.

I can not wait for Jake to be old enough for Rett to share with him instead of me.

Silly White Girl

2011-09-19T21:13:00.000-05:00

We are not a musical household. I have several family members that are into singing, playing instruments, etc... but that talent/love missed me. All that to say, we don't watch all those singing/dancing/talent reality shows. I have watched maybe 2 episodes of American Idol but only the ones at the beginning when they show the really bad people. Well, tonight somehow the TV got put on The Sing Off. I think it was so Rett could watch Jake dance. We watched a little bit and it was alright. I can only sit and listen to people sing for so long. Anyway, my main observation comes from a group with the word 'afro' in their name. There was 1 white girl in there mixed in with all black people. I'm not gonna lie, I was pretty distracted by her. This isn't racist just a fact - white people don't have Afros. Sorry girl. Maybe that Von Trap family that got sent home will let you join their group...

Jolly Ranchers

2011-09-15T21:26:00.000-05:00

Today I volunteered with a woman whose name is Cinderella. They call her Cindy for short. I wasn't sure how I felt about that at first but I think my final opinion is that I love it.
Sometimes I pick Jake up from Mother's Day Out a little early. The 290 HOV lane opens at 2. Sometimes I try to get in a little early since the gates are open. My goal is to be the only car in the lane. It is a thrill.
We move in like a week. To say I'm excited is an understatement. Our house being full of boxes is built in entertainment for Jake so I can pack undisturbed.
Since we are not moving directly into our new place we are trying to eat up all our food which includes LOTS of meat from our deep freeze. For the next week we will be grilling fish, steaks, doves, elk, etc.... every night. Feel free to come over if you have a meat deficiency. One of the biggest criteria for the new place was to have room for the freezer. Luckily, this place past the test. If not, we might have been turning a closet into a freezer closet.
I bought a package of jolly ranchers the other day. Oh my. Might be better than my lemon drops.
In case you are wondering, the hardest appliance to shop for is a washer and dryer. I won't go into the details because I don't understand the details.

Randomness with Skittles

2011-09-08T20:32:00.000-05:00

To follow up on my last post I am sitting here eating a 14 oz bag of skittles.

Tonight is the first night of NFL this season. I was hoping there would be no season this year. Let down. While watching the pregame concert I saw 2 male performers wearing skinny jeans. Skinny jeans don't look good on girls so on guys they look bad. Real bad. I want to throw up on their legs and paint a rainbow on their face. Stop it.

Jake was starting to get a little picky with his food choices. The vegetable intake was pretty slim but we kept on it and last night he ate half a squash. I'm hoping this means he has matured.

Apparently the word 'school' is used for mothers day out, preschool and daycare. School is kindergarten. Going 1-2 days a week is not school. It's funny that the same moms that don't want their kids to grow up (and cry about it) are the same ones putting them in 'school' at age 2...

Speaking of 'school', Jake goes to mother's day out once a week while I volunteer at a clothing/food bank. I got called today as soon as I got there saying he was sick. I went to get him and he jumped down and ran around the church. He has allergies. He is not sick. I told him he better get sick by the time we got home. He didn't. He has never been sick (besides a runny nose) a day in his life. Yay for formula from day 1. I just had to throw that in there since everyone else seems to throw their breastfed babies immune systems in my face.

It is dove season. There is a field close to our house that Rett hunts at. He just brought home like 15 doves. We are supposed to be eating up all our meat (and we have LOTS) before we move (3ish weeks). Rett keeps adding to it with his fish, doves and soon to be deer. Anyone want some animals?

Big Fan of the Cars at HEB

'Hi. I have all my teeth and wanted to show you. Give me some meat. I'm sorry I look sweaty. Who Knows...'

The Candy in My Life

2011-09-05T15:43:00.000-05:00

Over the years people have gotten the impression that I LOVE sweets. Yes, I love some of them (and probably talk about them too much) but I'm actually pretty picky. When it comes to baked goods I could go without. Maybe a cookie every now and then but I don't really like cake, pie or brownies. Everyone assumes girls like chocolate. Well, I do like it and would eat it but I could go the rest of my life without it. It fills me up way too easily. Just not a huge fan. What is a big deal for me is chewy candy. Skittles (my all time favorite), gummy bears/worms, sour balls, etc...Also lemon drops. When I was working and sitting at a desk all day I always had some at my desk. Now that I'm home I don't eat candy too often but the other day I saw that Princess Kate had a weakness for gummy bears. She allows herself bears once a month. Now before you think I'm all obsessed with the royals I was getting a pedicure and the magazine they gave me to read had her diet in it. Anyway, I'm more of a gummy worm fan so I bought me a big bag of them today at Target. They are as good as I thought they would be.

In case you are too mature to know what a gummy worm looks like.

Apparently, Jake doesn't like sweets either. He likes some but is also pretty picky. For instance, he spits out cupcakes at birthday parties. It is probably for the best since he weighed 30lbs at 15 months.

Oh Aggie Girls

2011-09-04T20:44:00.000-05:00

I am watching the A&M football game right now. Pretty much the only sporting events I will watch without complaining are Aggie games. We are winning. Lovely. What is disheartening is the girl students. They are all wearing dresses with their hair fixed. Now, I have not been gone for too long (5ish years) but we all wore shorts, maroon t-shirts, pony tails and flip flops. These girls must think they go to Baylor. No offense to the Baylor crowd but I've been to their games and those girls are decked out. Not a bad thing but not an A&M thing either. The best is when they show them on TV they are in the corp section. It is the first game of the season which means they (probably freshman) got all excited about their corp dates and decided to dress up. Ladies, we are farmers so get out your cut-off shorts and get comfortable. 4 hours in 100 degrees is a long time to stand.

Also, I have a video of Jake raising his arms in the air celebrating every time we say 'Aggies' but it's still on the phone. He can't say a word but he definitely has that one down.

I Am an Aggie

2011-08-31T21:42:00.000-05:00

I don't want to be known as that crazy Aggie but I am a fan of this.

Boxes

2011-08-31T16:15:00.000-05:00

In case you are wondering, it is WAY easier to pack/move when you are not working. I started packing today and ran out of boxes. I got about 15 boxes filled up so Rett will have to bring me some more from work. The Faith Center is about to his the jackpot in their household department. Old towels, sheets, candles, picture frames, scrapbooks, you name it. It is out of here. Jake helps too:

Male vs. Female Negotiating Tactics

2011-08-29T20:21:00.000-05:00

We are moving. Not far. Just about 20 minutes closer into town. I have tried not to talk about it much because it has taken a while to become official. Well, now it is pretty much official. We close at the end of the month on our old and new houses. Our new place needs gutting so we will be homeless for a while but that is another post (or another blog altogether). Anyway, the sell of our house was pretty easy. They pretty much offered what we asked and we quickly accepted. They asked for nothing in regards to the inspection so now we are just waiting to close. The new place is another story. We have gone back and forth several times now and finally we decided to accept their last counter-offer.

Me: Call Paul (realtor) and tell him we are in.
Rett: I would like to wait about 4 days and make them sweat. It is part of my love for negotiating. I'm in control and I want them to know that.
Cindy: Do you think they will come down on the price or are you trying to be mean?
Rett: I just want to be mean.
Cindy: I will probably be sweating more than the sellers until this is official.

He promptly called Paul.

Also, a snocone stand opened in our neighborhood a few weeks ago. Just in time for summer to be over. Jake is really serious about snocones.

Here he is doing his favorite hobby - cooking/stirring

And his second favorite hobby - talking on the phone/remote

When 2 People From the Country Marry...

2011-08-21T16:13:00.000-05:00

The galleria has no idea what is about to hit them once we move in.

Midget in a Unit

2011-08-18T23:13:00.000-05:00

Rett is addicted to Storage Wars and all the other storage reality shows on TV. Like, he DVRs them. I watch for the same reason I watch ESPN 1, 2, 3, 9, etc...because we have 1 TV in our house. I actually know all the charecters better than Rett. My favorite by far is Barry. He is an old man that doesn't buy units because he can resell the contents at a store. He buys them because he sees something shiny and thinks, '1 time in the 70's I had something that was shiny and it was fun.' Literally. Anyway, to help him 'win' a few days ago he brought

A midget. On stilts. With night vision goggles.

No more words are needed.

Plastic Dinnerware?

2011-08-12T16:52:00.000-05:00

Jake's favorite hobby lately is getting my pots and pans out and stirring with a wooden spoon. He lines them up on the coffee table and goes from one to another very methodically. He does this for hours and it really looks like he is cooking. So far I have only sufferered a broken cutting board which was actually Rett's fault when they were trying to see if they could both stand on it at the same time.

Cindy: Maybe in a few years he could take a kid cooking class.
Rett: That is gay. Maybe in the fall Jake can make and stir mud pies.
Cindy: In my cooking bowls?
Rett: In our plastic bowls. Oh wait we don't have any.
Cindy: Who does? We are not in college (I actually don't think I had them in college either...).
Rett: Everyone but us.
Cindy: Go to my mom's house and see.
Rett: Anyone but your family.
Cindy: No one has plastic bowls except your mom is Edgewood who also drinks out of mason jars.

The conversation went downhill from there. I'm not super fancy but I also don't buy cheap stuff. I would rather spend more and have it last.

Meal of the Week

2011-08-09T17:42:00.000-05:00

Tonight's meal of the week was way good. We eats LOTS of baked chicken in our house and this was a nice version of it. I'm not a fan of typing/writing out recipes so here is the link:
http://www.plainchicken.com/2011/07/double-cheese-chicken-fingers.html

Weather

2011-08-09T15:24:00.000-05:00

I do not like talking about things that I can not change. It makes my brain tired. I like to save my words. This includes the weather.

I live in Texas. It is summer. It is hot. Duh. I don't need to hear the radio, TV, Internet, friends, strangers tell me that it is 100 degrees. I'm aware of this when I go outside.

I come from a line of rice farmers. Rain was a big deal to them. Everyone else? It is not a big deal. Again, I'm aware that it hasn't rained in a while. When it does rain I would like to not hear about it all day long. Let me tell you what happens in a city with no farmers when it rains. People forget how to drive, wreak their cars and cause lots of traffic. If you are worried about the silly grass get a sprinkler.

The End.

The Things People That Make Me Pretty Say

2011-08-07T22:15:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I got my hair cut. Nothing fancy or trendy. Just chopped off a bit. I went to a new place which was fine (it's pretty hard to mess up my thin, stringy hair). A conversation I had not had in a while happened though:

Sandy: Do you work?
Me: No, I stay at home with my son.
Sandy: Cool...wait what?
Me: I'm a stay at home mom.
Sandy: You are married?
Me: Yes, for over 5 years.
Sandy: How old is your son?
Me: 1.
Sandy: So you got married pretty young?
Me: Right after college.
Sandy: How old are you?
Me: 28
Sandy: (she drops her comb) I thought you had just graduated high school.
Me: Nope, haven't been there in about 10 years.

Then she goes on to compliment my young looking skin and how when I'm 40 I will be happy I am just now looking 25. It make me wonder how many people think I'm a teenage mother when I'm out and about with Jake...

Also, today at the nail salon I had a guy doing my pedicure. Not a huge fan of this but whatever. Of course he asks about my kid situation. I tell him I have 1 (which is a relief after all the years of having to say I don't and hearing how I should have had one yesterday). He says 'well it's about time to have another.' I say ' no thanks I'm good.' He proceeds to tell me that I must have at least 2. I smile and nod but secretly want to throw my phone at his little Asian head. Was the politically incorrect? Probably, but I'm not so correct usually. I have been to enough nail salons in my life to know the kid conversation will come up if you are under 30 (or look it) while there. It is a fact.

Home Cookin

2011-08-04T20:19:00.000-05:00

Tonight I cooked a roast. Now, I don't normally like roast but Rett does. I looked for the perfect pan to cook it in. I somehow ended up with 2. I enjoy cooking (esp. things I'm not a fan of) much more when I have the correct pan for it. Here it is:

It was awesome! I used my aunt's recipe and it turned out perfect. I'm not going to lie though I was nervous I would mess it up all afternoon. I guess the burned chicken from the other day messed me up. I went to HEB this morning. Carrots - easy. Potatoes - not so much. I had no idea which ones to get. The baking potatoes were on sale so I grabbed 4. Apparently, you are supposed to use the little round ones. We have 2 left over. Then I got to the meat. I looked all over the place for the already packaged and cut roast. Couldn't find it so I was forced to go to the meat counter. I told the man I needed 'pork - like for a pot roast.' He looked at me for a while and said 'you mean chuck roast?' Sure. Whatever you say man. This might make the regular rotation at our house from now on.

My First Burned Meal

2011-08-03T22:39:00.000-05:00

I started cooking a little over 5 years ago - pretty much when we got married. I usually every night and cook 1 new meal a week. Now, I'm not the best cook but I don't think I have made anything inedible. Most are pretty good since I get the recipes from foodnetwork.com. Well, last night I made some grilled chicken breasts that had a seasoned coating on it. We eat LOTS of chicken in our house and I should have known that every time I do it in a skillet instead of the oven is it tough and dry. I did everything they said to do EXACTLY. The first time I make something I follow the directions to a T and after I make changes as I see necessary. This chicken came out bad. Dry, tough and burnt. Even Jake wouldn't eat it. He has like 83 teeth and it took him 5 minutes to chew 1 bite. So he wouldn't go hungry we fed him some more food and when he went to bed we ate ice cream.

Tomorrow I'm making a pot roast. I never have but apparently Rett loves them. I am already confused about the buying process so I'll let you know how it goes. I bought this big roaster pan dish on Amazon a few weeks ago. Apparently, it is THE brand to get. Hopefully that helps.

Why I Quit Facebook

2011-08-03T11:21:00.000-05:00

So, about a month ago I gave up Facebook. Totally deactivated my account. Facebook thinks I will be back. It goes into great lengths to tell me before it is official that I can come back and my page will be saved. Maybe I will be back but for now I'm good. Anyway, I did this for several reasons but mainly because it is just fake relationships. Just because I see your pictures and sometimes comment on them and know what you are doing every second does not make us friends. If I do not hang with you in person then we are not really friends. Hate to break it to you. Facebook makes you think you are great friends with people you never actually see or in some cases have never even met. If you think about it that is a tad weird. Actually, I will go ahead and say it. It is very weird/creepy. I actually feel the same about blogs and have greatly decreased the number I read. So, now instead of reading about what people I'm not really friends with are doing every day and thinking 'man I'm a loser since I'm just sitting at home playing with my son and cooking dinner for my family' I can make countdowns for when our sons college fund will be filled up and our mortgage will be paid off. Yes, that is what I do.

Big Man in a Little Bed

2011-07-28T16:30:00.000-05:00

Today was Jake's 15 month check-up. Of course he was 95-100% in each category. I'm used to that. What was a surprise was what was on the sheet they give you as you leave with what you should and should not do at each age. At 36 inches tall (or when they are crawling out of the crib) they should be moved to a toddler bed. Well, Jake is 34 inches. Now, I would love to get rid of the crib but I have a feeling that 2 inches from now he will not be ready for a real bed. I might be squishing him into his crib for a while. Maybe this is one of the reasons he hates the pack and play. When he goes in he can touch all the sides. It must make him feel like a giant. I mean, the nurse thought we were there for our 2 year check up when she saw him...

Eating/Wearing My Sunglasses

Come On Down

2011-07-25T21:19:00.001-05:00

So, at home Jake is the best sleeper. At 2 months we cried it out and set his bedtime for 7. Ever since he has slept from 7 to 7. When I say 'time for bed' Jake either raises his arms to be picked up or runs to his bed and grabs his blanket. It is lovely....if we are at home. If you have in-laws that live 4 hours away this becomes a problem. Jake does not like pack and plays. Or different rooms for that matter. We went last week and I literally almost packed up our stuff to leave at 3am. He woke up at 3. He would not stop crying. I had newborn flashbacks. If you know me you know I did not like the newborn days (honestly, who really does)? All 3 of us got in the car and drove to every small town in East Texas. We came back and he woke up an hour later. Rett took him driving until 7. This was Friday night and we had to stay until Sunday. Saturday night Jake went to bed WAY better. We were scared to go in the room to go to bed for fear we would wake him up. Jake has been in his own room since day 1. We are not used to the sharing a room thing. I slept on the couch and Rett slept on the living room floor. We were that traumatized from the night before. It took me until the next weekend to fully recover on my sleep. I'm going to go ahead and state that it should be a rule that grandparents must travel to see the grand kids cause I don't wanna go back.

Rett's parents live 1 pasture down from his grandparents. Jake drove us down. He was shockingly good at steering the wheel...

Yes, I Am Green

2011-07-14T17:10:00.000-05:00

A few years ago I started buying the reusable shopping bags at HEB. I would buy 1 each visit and now have about 6 or 7 of them. I heard a rumor that you would be required to use them soon. Who knows if that is true. Well, a few weeks ago I decided to actually use them. I LOVE them. The baggers put WAY more stuff in each bag so instead of 10 plastic bags with 2 things in each I have 5 very full bags that I can bring inside in 1 trip. And no, I am not environmentally friendly, green, a tree hugger, etc... but I guess besides the convenience factor it's nice to not have to throw away those plastic bags :).

Stupid Broken TV

2011-07-03T20:06:00.000-05:00

Rett left on Friday to go to Lake Amistad on the Texas/Mexico border. Apparently, this is the lake to bass fish in. I know this because we watch tournaments on EPSN 2 every Saturday and they are at this lake. Rett's uncle has a house on the lake and invited us down this weekend. I passed since Jake barely handled the drive to Dallas last weekend and I wasn't about to be stuck in a car with him all the way to Mexico. Now I'm wishing we had gone. Yesterday our TV magically muted itself and I can't get the sound back. I'm about to die. I've cleaned the house, taken 1/2 my clothes out of my closet to donate to the Faith Center and forced Jake to play with me. He is an independent kid. He plays ball by himself, builds towers by himself and just roams around the house by himself. I come into his room to play and he gets up and walks out. Well, I built me some crazy big block and Lego towers this weekend and I think Jake was impressed. To make it worse I quit Facebook on Thursday (that is another blog in itself) so I have nothing to look at online either. I thought about working on Rett's stocking but I need background noise (TV) and something to snack on (lemon drops) and Jake is already asleep and I might get arrested if I left him home while I ran to the store. It is 8 and I'm thinking about just going to bed...

Rabe Rats

2011-06-29T18:36:00.000-05:00

Tonight at dinner:

Cindy: We have never had a rat in this house.
Rett: You have seen 2...1 in the back of the oven (turned out to be a burned pig in a blanket that fell in the back) and 1 under the kitchen cabinet (turned out to be dust and a piece of thread).
Cindy: Oh yeah...

Emotional Eating

2011-06-27T10:33:00.000-05:00

I have found the cause of this problem. You are welcome.
We went to a family reunion this weekend. It was outside...in June...for 2 days. This was Jake's first year to stay the entire time. He was hot and tired and when told he could not get in the pool had flat out meltdowns. Each time this happened someone offered him food which he gladly accepted. He NEVER turns down food (except mashed potatoes and corn) and NEVER stops eating on his own. Even people that didn't know him gave him food. I was 1 more cookie away from throwing away every piece of food at the entire reunion. No wonder adults eat when they are upset! When they are 1 people shove food in their mouths to keep them quiet. If I had to tell 1 more person that he does not need anymore food I seriously was going to just fall over and die right there in Point, TX.

I could do an entire post about the annual Rabe Reunion. Instead here is a picture of how we all feel on the way home. I'm not a fan of kids with no clothes on but we ran out of clean clothes. Jake is also very loved by his Great Aunts who reapply lipstick at a park:).

Dairy Queen Greatness

2011-06-26T21:29:00.000-05:00

So, I'm from a small town. Now lots of people say this but don't really know the meaning. When I say small town I mean graduating with 50-60 people where you go to kindergarten-high school on the same block. (although there are a weird number of gyms for our little 2A school. I guess that goes along with the whole small Texas town loving sports thing). I mean having no stop lights only a 4 way stop with a blinking light. I mean the nearest Wal-Mart being 20 minutes away and the nearest mall being about 45. I mean the only restaurants being pizza (that does not deliver), Mexican, BBQ (the best on earth) and a Dairy Queen. So, all that to say, I ate at Dairy Queen ALOT. I now live in Houston and rarely eat there but in my 28 years of living I have never gotten a burger - always the chicken finger basket with fries and Texas toast. Well, on Friday night in Buffalo, Texas I decided to try a burger. SO disappointing. Too much lettuce. And it was wet or something. I almost stole my sons chicken fingers but he might have thrown his drink at me. Rett said I could get a blizzard if it was under $2. It was $2.19. Bummer.

Also, while we were unpacking in our room I said 'ready to go night night?' Jake stopped what he was doing, gave Rett the 2 deodorants he was playing with and ran to his room and stood in front of his bed. He must have missed the bed while we were out of town this weekend...

My Fanny Pack Day

2011-06-22T21:33:00.000-05:00

Today I:

Woke up (and had to wake up Jake) at 6:30 to lots of rain and drove an hour to the medical center
Got hooked up to some electrodes and a blinking battery fanny pack
swallowed a 1/2 pill 1/2 camera the size of Jake's head
Drove an hour home and talked to Jake in my growl voice until he did his growl voice back
Witnessed Jake point to himself and call himself Dada
Drove and hour back to the medical center to get my fanny pack and electrodes taken off. FYI - it hurts 10 times worse than taking off a band aid
Got to eat after 2 days of nothing so got a Jason's Deli salad bar and Dairy Queen blizzard. FYI - Get a small. Do not let that new stupid mini size fool you. Jake could eat that in 2 bites.
Drove around my new (hopefully if our house sells) neighborhood
Sat in the church parking lot eating my blizzard listening to some Pat Green and Cory Morrow while waiting for small group to start
Got home to see the bug spray truck drive down our street. I'm still tempted to run behind it. Yes, I did that as a child and no, that does not explain anything.

What We Do All Day

2011-06-12T19:44:00.000-05:00

Last week I sat in Jake's bean bag chair for an hour watching him run around with a blanket on his head running into walls. Here are a series of pictures and a video that chronicles our afternoon in order.

Just Walking Around

Mid-Fall (My Favorite)

On the Ground

It's Funny Every Time

Also, I spent about an hour searching online for a song I hear in HEB each week. I don't think that makes me a loser with no life...

Peanut Butter and Lemon Drops

2011-06-09T21:35:00.000-05:00

So, apparently peanut butter and places children are kept is a big deal. If your child is not allergic to peanut butter (or anything for that matter) you don't think about this. Today was Jake's first day of mothers day out at our church. While he was there I got to go volunteer at our church's food pantry and clothes closet. So fun. I was pretty much a personal shopper all morning. I'm very excited about doing this every Thursday. I'm not one of those moms that wants a break from my kid during the week but that is a soapbox for another day. Anyway, back to the peanut butter. I sent a peanut butter and honey sandwich and fruit for Jake's lunch today. See previous post about why I'm opposed to jelly. As I'm sitting in the church parking lot reading the dos and don'ts of mothers day out I see that they will not feed kids peanut butter. Well, that would have been good to know before I packed my sons lunch this morning. I walk in and 3 different workers told me about the peanut butter rule. OK, Got it. I ask if he ate lunch or if he was starving and they told me they quarantined him at lunch to the church lobby where he had to eat his lunch as to not contaminate the rest of the kids. I laughed. Hard. Rett said it worked out since he got his own private lunch helper and his own private dining room. Luckily Jake is not picky and I have many options to send next week.

Also, I bought a bag of lemon drops today. I might just die they are so good. My tongue is raw though...

Speaking of food, here is Jake helping me cook in his swimsuit.

Ball Boy

2011-06-09T17:25:00.000-05:00

My favorite thing about playing volleyball in the living room with a beach ball is that when we hit it crazy Jake will happily chase it down for us. Can't wait to let him be our ball boy on the tennis court.

Also, Jake has serious smiles.

Bird Outing

2011-06-04T09:00:00.000-05:00

Last night we went to a new restaurant (new to us) - Raia's Italian Market. We LOVED it! The owners son is a friend from church. We talked to the owners wife for like 10 minutes on our way out the door. SO nice! The food was awesome but my favorite part was the couple sitting outside that brought their bird. They had it in a cage sitting on the table watching them eat. I'm pretty sure they walked to the restaurant which means they took their bird out for a walk - like a dog. They petted him and fed him bread and pasta. The first thing Rett said was 'that couple does not look like they go together.' I said 'anyone 2 people who decide they should bring their bird to a restaurant go together.'

There is also a rumer that we left some candy and a random bible verse at 2 of our friends houses last night. While I think it was very funny and wish we had thought of that it was not us.

Game 2

2011-06-02T21:13:00.014-05:00

Game 2 observations:

1. Jeff Van Gundy goes to our church and sits behind us. He cracks me up because he says things like 'crazy good', 'don't blame his finger, he is just playing bad' and 'what is Jason Terry doing???'. Maybe we should ask him to lunch after church and become BFFs...
2. I'm not sure how I feel about tatoos but these guys have some crazy cool artwork. It's like a graffiti wall on their arms.
3. When a Dallas player fell in the stands not one Miami fan helped break the fall or help him up. They are some true fans.
4. LeBron James reminds me of McDonalds. He makes me want some nuggets and sweet and sour sauce. Not real sweet and sour sauce - the McDonalds sweet and sour sauce.
5. The women announcers kill me. It seems to me that they should be young and good looking for the target audience. Instead, they are old and homely looking.

Dallas won and my husband will be calling into the sport talk radio stations tomorrow to tell all the Dallas haters what is up.

Game 1

2011-05-31T22:09:00.006-05:00

My husband is a fan of any sport in Dallas. The Mavericks are in the NBA finals so that is what will be on our TV the next week or so. I am actually one of the few that wanted the Heat to win it all but now that the Mavs are in it I will have to keep that opinion to myself. My game 1 observations:

1. Jason Terry looks like a turtle. Every time I see him I can't help but say 'turtle turtle.'
2. The Mavs coach looks like a serious version of Jim Carrey.
3. Chris Bosh looks like a crackhead.
4. I'm a fan of the shade of blue on the Mavs uniforms. Rett says they trademarked it and it is called 'Maverick Blue.' I think he is lying to me like the time he told me you could return used batteries to the grocery store for a quarter.

Bring It On

2011-05-29T23:07:00.008-05:00

So, after church today I went to lunch with my aunt and uncle. We were talking about the recent tornado which led to planning our hiding places when a tornado comes our way. Well, my uncle will be in the pantry or freezer and my aunt will be in a cabinet. When you watch the news and they report bodies being found in a freezer and kitchen cabinet don't chuckle - that is my family.

A few years ago when hurricane Rita was supposed to get us CNN interviewed the 1 person on Surf Side that wouldn't evacuate. Who was it? My crazy, obese great uncle that lived in a beach house on the water. If I remember correctly they forced him out.

My family is ready! Bring it on!

Tricks

2011-05-29T21:09:00.003-05:00

Cindy: I taught Jake to cheer when I say 'Aggies'.
Rett: You are so good at teaching him useless tricks.
Cindy: True. He doesn't even know where his nose it.
Rett: He doesn't even know who we are.

Canned Vegetables?

2011-05-27T15:48:00.004-05:00

Now that Jake eats whatever we eat I've had to make sure to make more well-balanced meals aka not just pasta and biscuits. He will eat anything except potatoes and corn. Until I got married I only knew fresh and frozen vegetables existed. That is what my mom used. One day I was at Bethany's house and she had a can of green beans. I asked her what that was and she told me it was like $.50! Well, holy moly. Now I still use frozen and fresh mostly but always have the canned ones around just in case. The stuff people assume you know about...

Peanut Butter and Jelly

2011-05-23T23:08:00.006-05:00

I do not like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I don't like seeing them, tasting them and instead of making Jake one I replace the jelly with honey. Back in the day I went to a daycare or something like that. It was at a lady's house. She had a cat. Somehow a kid got his sandwich all over the cat and it got all sticky. Grossed me out so much that I can't stand the sight of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. They also smell funny...

Also, I just ate a box of Gobstoppers and I think I'm hyper for the first time in a few years...

Lunch

2011-05-11T10:26:00.005-05:00

In college if I was home for lunch I ate the same thing everyday for 4 years - a sandwich. Not just any sandwich. The best sandwich ever in America. I used sandwich rolls like you would get at Subway, put cheddar cheese on 1 side and meat on the other (whatever was on sale at the time) then stick both sides in the toaster oven. Then I put bread and butter pickles on it and enjoy. Very simple but oh so good. My in-laws even got me a toaster oven for a graduation present. Best gift ever! Well then I graduated and got a job and was not home for lunch. I very much missed my sandwiches. When I got pregnant my countdown for having the baby was so I could be at home eating my sandwiches again. I had forgotten how wonderful they were. I made one for one of my boyfriends in college and he said it was better than Subway. I'm not sure about that but still way good. So, now that I'm home I have one everyday for lunch. Totally makes my day and makes waiting until Jake is asleep at like 1:30 to eat worth it.

Resisting Temptation

2011-05-09T10:57:00.005-05:00

In college I shopped at Kroger. In their bakery they had THE BEST store chocolate chip cookies I have ever had. I bought a box each visit. Well now I have a husband who thinks Kroger is too expensive so I have not had the cookies in over 5 years. Yesterday I only needed a few things and was not about to deal with the Sunday HEB crowd so I went to Kroger. Of course I went in the door next to the bakery. I looked everywhere for the cookies. All they had were oatmeal raison. I hate raison cookies. I decided it was a sign that I did not need them. Well a few minutes later I was in the candy aisle. There they were. Next to the lemon drops a random box of Kroger chocolate chip cookies. I put them in my basket. It was a sign from God that I needed them. It was Mother's Day. I walked down the aisle then took them out. I was so strong it was ridiculous. I walked out of the store without my cookies. Rett was not as proud of me as he should have been. Next time I will just buy them and hide them.

See Ya Again Update

2011-05-05T21:27:00.008-05:00

In case you were wondering, the no bottle thing has been wonderful. I have a whole new cabinet in the kitchen and twice as much room in the dishwasher :). Again, I took them all away cold turkey and gave milk in his cup at breakfast and dinner. He doesn't drink as much and it is much easier to just give him water since he LOVES water but he still gets some milk. I have a feeling he doesn't really like/prefer milk. I think he just liked using a bottle. I can't blame him. I HATE milk. Anyway, we are a pacifier and bottle free house. Smooth sailing until our next appointment when I'm sure we will have to work on something else. Maybe saying words?

Also, we now go to the park everyday. And by everyday I mean we have gone everyday this week. Usually I stick Jake in the wagon and pull him there but today he pushed the wagon all the way there. It might be 1/2 a mile. I'm so not joking. He doesn't quite get that he is supposed to play on the equipment. He just walks around on the sidewalks and tricycle park. He also tried to steal someone elses wagon and push it home. Close call...Here are some other things he likes to push.

Chatting and Another See Ya

2011-04-24T21:32:00.013-05:00

Rett and I chatting tonight online and yes we were in the same house:

Cindy: yo momma
Rett: greeaaassssy grandma
Cindy: yo granny is the one that fries chicken on Christmas morning
Rett: haha your's highers mexicans from Home Depot
Cindy: cause shes smart to save money

Rett: and yes, I spelled it highers vs. hires
Cindy: edgewood is so bad at school
Rett: your bad at school
Cindy: i will lock you in jakes room and wake him up so he yells at you

Can't come back to that one cause that is just terrifying...

Also, tomorrow morning I am taking away Jake's bottle. Again, all the bottles are gone so we are going cold turkey with no temptations in the house. My plan - give him what used to be his morning and night bottle in his favorite cup (anything with a straw) with his breakfast and dinner.

Jake's Last Bottle!

See Ya Update

2011-04-18T20:43:00.007-05:00

We are a pacifier free house. It was SO not a big deal. The first nap he screamed for about 20 minutes but the 2nd nap and bedtime were just like normal - nice, quiet and right on time. My suggestion - take it away before they can ask for it and call it by name. I hear all the time how Jake is easy blah blah blah...All I do is exactly what his Dr. tells me when she tells me to do it. Literally, I get home from her office and so what she says. Her philosophy seems to be to implement things before the kid gets too attached to it. One of these days I might sit down and write the timeline we did things (eating, sleeping, crying it out, etc...) cause I would swear by it all!

This is Jake on the way to his appt. where he was told no more pacifier. He wears hats because he has bad hair days.

See Ya

2011-04-18T10:19:00.005-05:00

Today is day 1 of no more pacifier. We went cold turkey aka I threw all of them away. I don't trust myself that on days when Jake goes nuclear I won't just give it to him. Also, he finds them when I think I have hidden them. When Jake was a newborn he didn't care for them. Then when he was around 6 months he was going back to his old ways of not taking naps so I grabbed one and shoved it in his mouth. Well, it only took that 1 time for him to be addicted. I told myself that when he turned 1 I would take them away so here we are. Normally he goes to sleep without a peep although sometimes he talks to himself. Today nap 1 - screamed on and off for about 20 minutes and now he is sleeping. Next week the bottle goes away. He will drink out of sippy cups (pretty much any cup) but when it comes to his milk twice/day he wants that bottle. I might have to throw all the bottles away...

Jake's Easter Birthday Party

2011-04-11T09:57:00.020-05:00

On Saturday we had Jake's first birthday party. He will be 1 tomorrow. Very exciting! Since Jake does not have any interests besides blocks and balls I decided to have an Easter themed party (he was due on Easter Sunday last year but came 8 days later). I figured this will be the only year I can do what I want instead of cars or whatever he gets into. Let me tell you though it was a challange not to make it too girly. Everything Easter is pastels with a little pink in it but Party City came through. The only thing Rett cared about was no bunnies. My grandmother used to dress up in a bunny costume at Easter. I SO wanted to bring that back! I think she would have done it...Anyway, we had some Chick-Fil-A nuggets, chips and a cookie cake. The favors were some leftover candy from filling the eggs, stickers, some easter egg shaped sidewalk chalk and the eggs they hunted. Pretty simple. I did not make anything. The morning of the party I was sitting there thinking 'I should be doing something' but there was nothing to do. No, I did not get Jake his own cake to make a mess of. I don't like cake so I didn't want left overs to just throw away. I do, however, like cookie cake and I'm loving eating the leftovers. So is Jake. When I was planning I was trying to think of the 50 other kid parties we had been to to get ideas but then decided that I'm so not that creative, cute, sometimes over the top mom so why should I try to be now? We also had a little egg hunt. I took zero pictures. I'm also not a great picture mom. My mom sent me these.

The decoration :) The letters were actually made by Allison at one of my baby showers so I can't claim that. I'm shocked I kept them for over a year.

The present - Pottery Barn bean bag chair

Using the present

Opening presents. We had to bust out the pacifier. We only let him have it in his bed but when he woke up from his nap to a house full of like 40 people he needed some soothing. We are taking it away cold turkey this week.

Getting some eggs. I ate his candy :)

Playing Ball with Uncle Dennis

Singing Happy Birthday. Pardon my face.

Commentary

2011-04-05T22:34:00.019-05:00

So, I watch/am forced to watch LOTS of sports. Mostly, I don't/am not allowed to talk during them but tonight it was the A&M women playing for the national championship. Rett cares but not like if it were the men. Here is a little soundtrack (I'll leave out who the comments were directed towards):

A&M is dominating and her favorite food is Lucky Charms! (which led to me calling her Lucky all night)

Could she be more dramatic? Pretty sure she thinks her life is ending at this very moment.

(same life-ending lady) But she does have some pretty, flowing and shiny hair.

I think she is mean in real life. The eyeliner does not help.

Oh chinless, sit down and grow some hair on your head.

She should do that video Jennie had in college for face exercises to get some definition in the neck area.

Look at her mom and grandmother! How in the world did she end up with that body type?

How can he even say her name without laughing?

I do not like her either. She falls too much just like Jake except he is 1 and exceptional.

Also, the Aggies won. Yes, I know they are women and don't count (per many guys including my husband) but let me tell you how big this is. Just 5 -6 short years ago when I was in college they sucked. And by sucked I mean did not win EVER. No one went to games. They had to bribe students with free sausage on a stick (which were very good and I miss those things). Whoop.

2nd Meals

2011-04-01T13:44:00.009-05:00

So, it is no secret that Jake can eat. Besides wandering around and staring at people eating is his favorite hobby. If he is eating something that won't be messy I let him feed himself. If not, I just do it for him. I know he is capable of feeding himself so there is no need for me to have to clean up a crazy mess. Anyway, this means that sometimes Rett and I have to eat after he does. During the week when it's just me, I try and wait until he is napping and we don't eat dinner until Jake is asleep for the night. But, on the occasion we have to eat in front of Jake it is an ordeal. He comes and stands in front of us, sways/dances back and forth and says, 'nanananananana' or 'mamamamamamama' until we give him something to eat. He is literally like a dog waiting for scraps to fall except less patient. I know he isn't hungry since he just ate. When he sees your plate is empty he all out screams and his face gets red. It's nuts. I'm sure it's our fault since we feed him our scraps but I say no to LOTS of things during the day so this is one battle I have chosen not to fight. Also, I got an I-phone. I am cool now. It's Rett's old one but still...

Fixed Up

2011-03-27T20:45:00.011-05:00

Jake and I visit the assisted living house my parents own about once/week so they all pretty much know who I am. Last week we walked in and a lady says, 'I didn't reocognize you with your hair fixed!' By 'fixed' she meant it was not in a pony tail like it is about 90% of my life. Maybe I should start 'fixing' myself up a little more...

Also, Jake will be 1 in about 2 weeks. In case you didn't get to see all of his box pictures, here is the back of his party invitation - birth-11 months. If you are wondering about the wording it is an Easter themed party.

Random Jakeness

2011-03-22T13:35:00.020-05:00

Sometimes when Jake talks, and by talks I mean blabbers, he sounds Asian so last night I made some orange chicken and rice. He LOVED it.

His favorite hobby is walking/running around the house holding blocks or balls. If he is awake and not eating he is wandering.

We have not child proofed the house. I covered 1 outlet when he was younger and still rolling/reaching for things but he just ignores them. I tell him 'no' and for the most part he goes away. Unless he is tired and then he gets all mad and throws his blocks.

I left a Dr. Pepper bottle without a top on the coffee table and Jake spilled it. And by spilled it I mean he tried to drink it. We are getting new carpet in a few days so I just left it there. It was pretty fun to not have to clean it. I felt like a guy in college. And no, we don't feed him coke...just water and a little juice if I'm in a good mood.

We bought Jake a bean bag chair for his birthday. Rett and I had fun playing with it. We might cover up his name and put it in our room.

My goal in Jake gift-giving for Christmas and birthdays is 1 biggish thing that will last a while instead of 5 little toys. Christmas was the wagon (BIG hit) and now the bean bag chair. Next year I'm thinking tricycle.

Jake now has a college fund. I hope he is smart enough to go to college. I mean, we get the money back if he doesn't go but still. That extra $250/month would mean I could get pedicures on a regular basis again... Yes, I know they cost like $25 but my husband is that cheap.

Jake can't wave yet nor can he said 'hi' or 'bye'. So, he walks up to people and stares at them silently. It's a little awkward. I have to go over and turn him around. Of course, he goes right back and stares. I try and tell him that everyone doesn't like staring at kids but he just doesn't get it. It doesn't help that most people think he is like 2 so when he doesn't talk or wave they think he is 'challenged'.

He can eat an entire kid's meal. It's shocking. I can no longer share my food with him because he will eat more than half and I leave hungry.

He is chasing around a 1/4 full Mountain Dew bottle and trying to drink it. Luckily, I left the lid on this time. I can hear him making gulping noises when he puts it to him mouth. What a weirdo. One time Rett gave him a sip of Mountain Dew and then took it away. Jake cried like he had fallen on his head. Maybe he is like me a little.

I've actually made a folder to contain the pictures for a scrapbook for his first year. It will be made online. Any suggestions for a site are appreciated.

Walking

2011-03-02T17:02:00.009-06:00

So, a few weeks ago Jake took 1 step. Last night he took about 3-5 steps. I don't know if he is technically a 'walker' yet but he did walk. I'm writing this so I remember that he walked at 10 months since I don't do scrapbooks. I'm not creative and cute like the rest of my friends. I actually have not printed out any pictures of Jake yet. Maybe I can do one of those online ones but I'm sure I will make that look tacky too. If someone would like to make one for me I will let you...and pay you.

This is Jake's first trip to the zoo. I'm not sure where his neck went. He wasn't in to the animals but he was in to kicking his stroller until it broke, eating Chick-Fil-A nuggets and shaking his goldfish container.

Sticks

2011-02-25T17:32:00.006-06:00

As Jake is standing in front of me whining and watching me finish eating a corn dog:

Rett: Just give it to him.

Cindy: He doesn't deserve anything fun right now.

Rett: It's a stick...

In case you didn't see Jake's 10 month box pictures.

Dinner

2011-02-22T17:01:00.004-06:00

On my way to Beth Moore:

Me: There is some lasagna you can give Jake for dinner tonight.

Rett: No! He hogs it all!

Lasagna is Rett's favorite food.

Also, my cool friend Sarah at Fish Lips Photography took our picture. We are looking good.

Big Announcement

2011-02-09T15:59:00.006-06:00

Ladies and gentlemen, I have reached my ideal weight decade. And by decade I mean 110-119, 120-129, 130-139, etc...I have not been here since college and that was when I worked out ALL the time due to 1, very much enjoying it and 2, it being my major and I had to be in shape for 4 years it seemed. I think I will celebrate by ordering dessert tonight. No, I'm not going out to eat to celebrate but since I happen to be going out anyway it doesn't hurt to eat a cookie or something.

For those who that this was a pregnancy announcement - not gonna happen - God willing.

I Almost Had A Heart Attack

2011-02-06T21:32:00.001-06:00

Opened my medicine cabinet to brush my teeth and found a fishing lure that looks like a slug. Rett will die - literally.

In brighter news football season is officially over.

A Day in the Life

2011-02-03T10:18:00.004-06:00

Idea from my friend Stori...my typical day.

7:45 - wake up, brush my teeth and put the contacts in
8ish - Jake wakes up and I feed him breakfast (a few eggs, tons of fruit and a bottle)
8:30 - I eat breakfast while Jake drinks his bottle
8:45 - Jake and I play
9:45-10 - Jake takes a nap
10 - Do my quiet time, get dressed, and do my cleaning chore of the day (today is floors)
11:30-12 - Jake wakes up and eats lunch (lunch meat, cheese, more fruit and a bottle)
12:30 - I eat lunch while Jake drinks his bottle
1 - do any errands we have and take a wagon ride or go visit our friends at Cypress Assisted Living
2:30 - Jake takes another nap and I finish the cleaning chore if I have not already then make sure to DVR any Food Network shows that seem interesting.
4 - Jake wakes up and eats Cheerios and water and we play
5:30 - Jake sits in his highchair while I make his part of our dinner and then he eats
6ish - Jake takes a bath every other day. Otherwise we play more
7 - Jakes gets a bottle and goes to bed
7:30 - I finish making whatever else Rett and I are having for dinner and we eat when he gets home.
8ish - watch TV
9:30 - Go to bed

New Trick

2011-01-24T13:30:00.006-06:00

Jake's new trick is to cover his ears with his hands and then talk/scream. I think he likes the muffled sound. If I only knew what he was thinking...

Also, he claps. At his 9 month check up the Dr. was like 'does he clap?' I wasn't aware he was supposed to be doing this so that night in the high chair I said 'clap' and did it. He started clapping like he had been doing it for 5 months. Also, one day Rett just let him stand without holding on to anything and he stood for like 10 seconds. Now he stands all the time. I guess we need prompting on his development.

He is also good at throwing blocks/legos. That has now been added to the things he hears 'no' about.

Not So Much

2011-01-21T14:09:00.011-06:00

So, when people are pregnant and then after they have a baby if seems like everyone says the exact same things. Then when I got pregnant I decided I did not necessarily feel that way and that maybe they just said those things because they thought that was what they were supposed to say. For instance, having this loving connection to the unborn child the moment you find out you are pregnant. I can honestly say that did not come until AFTER Jake was born. Another came after the baby - it goes by so fast. Well so far he is 9 months and it is not going fast. Not really slow but not fast. He is 9 months old and it feels like he has been around about 9 months. Another is that once they are mobile it gets crazy and you will wish they weren't. NOT true. I LOVE watching him crawl. The better he gets the more I like it. Yes, every once in a while he gets into things (cords, blinds, etc..) that he shouldn't but I just tell him no and for the most part the stops and finds somewhere else to go. Yes, I was that parent that was saying no when he was like 3 months old. So yeah, don't feel bad when people tell you all these things and you don't feel the same way. My conclusion is that they must be lying :).

Babysitting Madeleine White

What the Heck?

2011-01-17T22:24:00.004-06:00

Rett: Look in the bath tub.
Cindy: What is that? (as I run out of the room)
Rett: I don't know.
Cindy: (I look again) Why is there pizza crust in our bath tub?
Rett: I don't know.
Cindy: What are you doing?
Rett: Fine! I was eating a piece of pizza in the shower and needed to get rid of the crust so I threw it over and forgot about it.

Are you freaking kidding me???

Under 100!

2011-01-17T17:14:00.005-06:00

9 Month Stats:

Height - 31.5 inches - 99%

Weight - 24 lbs - 99%

Head - 20 inches - 99%

We stayed under 100%. Score!

9 Months

2011-01-12T20:11:00.005-06:00

Jake is 9 months old today. Here are his box pictures. We go to the Dr. tomorrow for a check up. If there are any crazy stats I'll let you know. The end.

Pretty Little Liars

2011-01-10T22:06:00.012-06:00

For the most part, our TV watching consists of NBC (Thursdays), ESPN, HGTV and Food Network. The only shows we DVR are The Office, Outsourced and LOTS of bass fishing on like ESPN 9. Then, last year I discovered the show Pretty Little Liars on Fox Family. Rett hangs with some guys on Monday nights and since Jake goes to bed at 7ish I have lots of Cindy time. It's about these 4 high school girls whose friend mysteriously disappears/dies. This person named 'A' somehow knows all these secrets about them and stalks them with texts, notes, etc... The last episode of last season I thought everything was going to come out and be done. Well, nope. One of the girls gets hit by a car by 'A' and now we are in season 2. I can't keep watching with no conclusion. It's like 24 (which I was addicted to for the last like 5 years). It's a little shady sometimes but not as bad as let's say Grey's Anatomy or Desperate Housewives (I have never seen either) so I feel better about myself. Every time it's over I realize I have been holding my breath for like a minute and feel like someone is standing outside my door ready to get me. It's awesome. Also, it is based on a book but since I don't read I will have to keep watching. According to Rett people who don't read are not smart. I don't read. He called me dumb. Maybe I should join Becky's book club. Oh yeah, he doesn't read either. Our Sunday School class is about to read Radical in small groups. Apparently my life is about to change...

Also, Jake's new trick is to hit his head on his crib while standing and look at you until you say 'bonk'. 1/2 the time he just turns his head towards the crib with no contact and looks back at you to see if you will say it. Cheater.

5 Years

2011-01-07T09:17:00.005-06:00

Today is our 5 year anniversary. If you wanna hear our dating story go here. Tonight is also the Cotton Bowl where our Aggies are playing LSU. Normally we DVR important games but when it comes to the Aggies we must watch them live. So, we will be at Taste of Texas at 5 in order to be home by 7 when it starts. Another perk is that we will be avoiding the Friday night crowds :).

This is how much Rett hearts the Aggies

His Groom's Cake

Finally

2011-01-05T20:47:00.014-06:00

So, Jake crawled today. He has been going backwards and sideways for about 2 months but tonight he finally went forwards. I'm celebrating by eating oreos and Rett is by eating smores. Jake is sleeping. He chased Rett's empty coke bottle around the living room for like 30 minutes before bed. I'm not gonna lie - I never thought it would happen. I would try and make him by sitting behind him so he couldn't go backwards but he would just say 'I'll show you' and sit up. He isn't the most determined kid so far. He will be 9 months next week and I'm VERY excited that I can say he crawled at 8. For some reason 9 seems so much older. Another plus is that he will get to move from the baby room to the crawler room at church. He is the oldest and biggest kid in his room. At MOPS one day the worker couldn't get him out of the swing (which wasn't even moving because he was too big for it) so she dragged him out and across the room to me. Now, I'm aware he is a tad bigger than usual esp. to be in the baby room but she could not have been more dramatic. Anyway, he will be out of there soon. He hung out with his friend Laurel a few nights ago who is 2 weeks older than him but has been crawling for a few months now. She must have rubbed off on him :). Now when people look at him and say things like 'he should be walking, talking, etc...' before they realize he is only 8 months I can at least say 'he can crawl!' My mother-in-law saw a shirt that said 'I'm not slow, just big for my age.' I wish she had bought it for him...

Lots of Food and a Wagon

2011-01-05T11:30:00.013-06:00

So, Jake has been on 100% table food for about a month now. It took a while for me to figure out what to give him and how much fills him up and I think I finally have it down. Now, the filling him up part is a little questionable still since he has never rejected anything I have given him. He will literally eat until I run out of food and apparently likes anything. It helps that he has 8 teeth and I can see the back ones all coming in. Also note that this is about what I can eat. Here is a sample menu:

Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs, 1 whole kiwi, 6 oz. bottle
Lunch: 3 pcs of lunch meat (turkey, chicken, ham - he doesn't care), 1 slice of cheddar cheese, 10ish grapes, 6 oz. bottle
Another 6 oz. bottle around 4
Dinner: Whatever we are having so like tonight probably 1/2 chicken breast, several handfuls of green beans and carrots, whole sippy cup of water
Another 6 oz. bottle before bed.

Also, we got Jake a wagon for Christmas - $40 on Craigslist and it looks brand new. Score one for Rett. We took it to the neighborhood park last week for a picnic and by picnic I mean Jake ate and we watched him.

We Swung

We Climbed

We Ate

We Passed Out on the Way Home

We are the Parents?

2011-01-02T19:52:00.004-06:00

So, I never post anymore. I've actually debated whether or not to just take the blog down since I rarely post. We will see.

Rett put Jake down for his 3rd nap today (he usually has 2) at 6pm. Bedtime is 7:30. Jake is still sleeping. It is 8 and Jake has not eaten dinner or had his last bottle of the day.

Rett: Are you going to wake Jake up?
Cindy: I don't know. Stop asking me questions.
Rett: Well, call someone.
Cindy: Who? We are the parents...

Toys or Crap?

2010-12-09T11:37:00.025-06:00

I've heard MANY conversations about Christmas lately and I've been pretty shocked at the amount of presents being bought. Jake will be getting 1 present from us this year - a wagon. Any you know what? If we gave him nothing he would not care. He will not care this year or looking back in 10 years. His favorite toy is Rett's calculator lid. We could afford to buy him tons of toys but we choose to not spend our money on crap. He does not need a bunch of crap. Yes, I said crap. I am determined to not have a house filled with useless toys and a kid that has to have brightly colored things to entertain him. The kid is playing outside as soon as he can walk/run. I think Jake is as happy as any other kid with a playroom full of toys. We don't actually have a playroom but if we did...Also, I'm not doing Santa. Go ahead, catch your breath. I've been pretty surprised about how big of a deal it is to not but I didn't when I was little and am pretty sure I'm not messed up. Yes, I know that there was a 'real' Santa back in the day but I don't get how that turned into the 'spend hundreds of dollars every year on presents' for people who do not need anything. I would be perfectly happy to buy no presents and just eat dinner with our families, read the Christmas story and sing songs every year. Yes, my family sings songs at Christmas, birthdays, Thanksgiving, Labor Day, 4th of July, pretty much anytime we get together. They are all musically inclined. I, however, am not at all and just sit and listen. Speaking of music, if you are going to our churches Celebration this weekend look for my uncle and dad who will be performing. If you don't know what they look like then just look for the best sounding and best looking ones there.

Observation

2010-11-24T20:57:00.014-06:00

I would not call Jake an 'easy-going' baby. I would say he is right in the middle of difficult and very easy - just your average, ginormous kid. It seems that all of my friends who have babies (and there are TONS) say that their babies are easy-going. Now, if all these babies are easy-going then it seems that those babies should be called average, Jake is difficult and there are some crazy easy babies out there. I think I'm pretty realistic about my kids behavior. Maybe all my friends have those crazy babies. Lucky folks.

Also, it is deer season.

Tile Races

2010-11-24T20:53:00.002-06:00

Rett and I just had a few races around the island in the kitchen. The only rule is that you can't step on the cracks. I won.

Stuff I Heard

2010-11-17T22:07:00.017-06:00

Stuff I heard tonight while Rett was supposed to be packing for his fishing trip.

I know what an amphibious is.
I want nun chucks. Get me some for Christmas.
I love Ninja Turtles. What is that rats name?
Do you think Jake dreams?
Do you think Jake is scared of stuff?
Are you thankful everyday for how funny I am?
What is the coolest thing about me?
Would you rather have stomach pain for the rest of your life once a month or have another kid?
What is your favorite thing about this house? Don't say lamps.
By the way, I know what an amphibian is. It's like a turtle.

My One Request

2010-11-15T18:08:00.005-06:00

Men (or women if you are lucky enough to have your husband do your laundry), when you take off your socks and put them in the dirty clothes PLEASE put them right side out. It is SO much easier to fold socks when I don't have to turn them right side out. My husband rarely reads my blog. If you see him, feel free to share. Thanks and Gig Em.

Also, Jake at 7 months.

Thief

2010-11-11T08:57:00.003-06:00

So, this morning Jake and I were running and this kid who was waiting for the bus says, 'he is so cute!' and starts running after us. I'm not sure what he was planning on doing before his mom grabbed him - take Jake to school with him? Kids are weird.

Meal of the Week

2010-11-08T21:50:00.014-06:00

So, I'm not a fancy chef, baker, etc... but I do enjoy to cook. When we got married I decided to cook 1 new meal/week for dinner. I have lots of cookbooks but what I really do is get recipes off of foodnetwork.com. During Jake's 2nd nap of the day (the 1st nap is when I do my chore of the day :)) I watch cooking shows and when they make something that looks good I run to my computer and print out the recipe. Well, last week Paula Deen (my favorite) made a cheese soup. Now, I'm not a big soup person. I will eat it but would never choose it but for some reason it looked really good. Maybe it was all the cheese. Anyway, I made it for dinner tonight and it was SO good and VERY easy.

1 small onion - diced (make sure it is small or it will be a tad too oniony)
2 large pimentos - diced
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1.5 cups chicken stock
1.5 cups heavy cream
3/4 cups Cheddar cheese - shredded
1/2 cup green onion - diced
salt & pepper to taste

Saute onions and pimentos in butter for 5-7 minutes.
Blend in flour and add stock and cream. Cook until thick.
Add cheese and stir until melted.
Add green onions, salt & pepper.

*I don't go out of my way to cook healthy meals which is why my favorite is Paula Deen. Life is too short.*

Weekend Alone

2010-11-08T17:49:00.005-06:00

It is deer season. Rett goes twice - opening weekend and Thanksgiving. So, last weekend was opening weekend. For some reason on Friday night I just knew someone was in our house. I checked every room and closet. Not sure what I was going to do if someone were in there. I go to bed and hear a noise. Then saw shadows - like someone was standing at my bedroom door waving for someone else to go in and kill me. I had moved the gun from Rett's nightstand to mine but decided if I opened the drawer they would hear me and get me. Then I was 2 seconds from calling 911. I decided even if no one was there surely they wouldn't get mad at me for checking it out. Eventually, I got out of bed and walked around the house and of course no one was there. I turned on the front and back porch lights and 1 light inside the house to make it look like people were up and about. I'm such a loser. I don't know how I will survive over Thanksgiving when he is gone like 5 days.

Also, on Sunday morning instead of waking up 1 hour earlier like I was hoping he would (daylight savings time), Jake woke up 2 hours earlier - 5:30. What a physco.

E-mail from Jake

2010-11-04T09:08:00.000-05:00

, ]4rfg7y

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‘z;006C’;’;[plf;lf’;[f’;[gf;’;[pgf’;[p-g
“\\\\\\\\\\\\;]
y--88888

bkb

Modern

2010-11-02T13:47:00.004-05:00

So, I redid the blog. Why? Because I'm redoing our guest bedroom. Right now it is basically what our room in our apartment looked like. Next it will be black & white with lime green accents. Yes, I'm going modern. I've been watching tons of HGTV lately and my design style is now modern. I'm actually ready to redo the entire house. Maybe we should just move and start from scratch. Going fabric shopping tomorrow. Get excited.

ROAR

2010-10-30T20:43:00.016-05:00

Jake was a triceratops for Halloween. We went to First Fest at our church. We walked around. Jake can't participate. We were social with friends who also have kids that can not participate. Good times.Jake likes to bounce. And by bounce I mean he gets in his jumper thing and head bangs for about 3 hours/day. This is him bouncing in the thing meant for bigger kids except we put him in anyway because of his bouncing skills.
Jake roaringish

Jake the happy dinosaur. Why is he sitting in the back of my car you ask? Well, because of his big tail he could not sit in his car seat and be a dinosaur so he had to be dressed in the church parking lot.

Jake and Karis Kiser. They are supposed to be in love...

Also, you have no idea how happy I am that the Rangers won tonight. Well, maybe not me but Rett. It has been a little rough around here the last few games. Rett is going to the game tomorrow night. It must be important for him to spend that kind of money on a baseball game.

Sweeping

2010-10-27T15:49:00.004-05:00

So, I usually vacuum our tile floor and then Swifer Wet Jet it. Jake is sleeping now. Today is floor day. What is floor day you ask? Well, instead of cleaning the entire house in 1 day like a crazy person I do one thing/day. Monday is laundry and grocery store (OK that is 2 things but that is my favorite day), Tuesday is dusting day, Wednesday is floor day and Thursday is bathroom day. This is also a easy day since the floors are already done :). Friday is chill day. That way I feel like I've done something productive everyday without getting tired :). Anyway, I had to sweep the floor outside his room. I do not know how to sweep. Sweeping sucks. This is my least favorite day. I want a smaller house just because of floor day. I think that will be the first chore Jake gets to do.

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-06T15:18:00.005-05:00

My way cool friend, Sarah Craig, with Fish Lips Photography took some really cute pictures of Jake while we were at the pumpkin patch this week!
Her prices are crazy low and she does everything - families, kids, engagement, newborn, head shots, etc. Also, she is the bomb.com to work with. Seriously. I'm pretty sure now is the time for Christmas card picture taking. So go to the website now - http://fishlipsphotography.com. And guess what? I have another friend who can do the card for you - http://www.littlebearsdesigns.com/. I've used her for baby shower invites and man are they cute. So, get on it.