(Raegan must be in league with me on my Turn-The-TV-Off-Already-And-Do-Something-Outside campaign. lol)
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Practicing
Raegan has some new skills that she's learned this week. One is climbing. As soon as she learns how to do something, she loves practicing it over and over and over. And over and over and over.
I wish I could have gotten the very first time she got out of the chair on video, because she wasn't really sure what to do and basically face planted on the floor. She was not too happy about that one, let me tell you. :)
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Game 3
Alright, people. I really can't be expected to SIT for an HOUR!!!
Proof that Zane does make faces while he's playing!
Good sharp turn!
He kind of looks like he's speed skating the way his legs are positioned!
Saturday, September 25, 2010
New exercising buddy!
I stopped by a garage sale this morning after Zane's game because when we had driven past it on the way to the game, I had noticed this kid's toy mailbox that I thought would be neat for my classroom. Alas, it was gone, but I did find a nice pair of jeans for Raegan for 50 cents AND A WII FIT AND GAME FOR ONLY $50!!!!!!Super exciting to me, if you couldn't tell by my excessive use of CAPSLOCK. :) Apparently I have a new exercising buddy, as you can see from the following video.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Update
What a busy week it has been! It's that time of year when work is definitely a little overwhelming as we gear up for parent teacher conferences. I haven't had very much energy left for blogging by the time the night is over. Also, I've been battling a headache since Wednesday (I think due to all the time I'm spending in front of the computer at work) so I've basically just been vegging out and going to bed semi-early.
Raegan has taken a few more steps since Monday, but she's a smart girl and very aware that crawling gets her where she wants to be a lot faster still. There have been several times that she has let go of what she's been holding onto, taken a step or two, then dropped down sloooowly to the ground to take off crawling. When she gets in a couple steps she starts giggling like crazy, like she's saying, "Holy crap, holy crap, I'm doing this." She's getting a lot better at standing on her own, because I see her standing up against furniture without holding onto it, and standing alone for a couple seconds without dropping.
Raegan has gotten into a bad habit of waking up around 4:00 every morning this week. She's none too pleased when I change her diaper and put her back in her crib, but we're not going backwards to nursing in the middle of the night again. Hopefully she'll break this soon and we can go back to full nights of sleep.
Today while her and I were coming home from the store I had to pull over because she had pulled one arm completely out of her carseat strap. I put her all back together then got back in and took off. Raegan assumed I was letting her out, and she was none too pleased with me. She would say, "Mama" then growl (and not her growl to be funny - her angry growl!) She was making it pretty clear what she thought of me! lol
Zane is doing a great job of getting himself up and moving every morning before school. He doesn't poke around hardly at all anymore, which is good, because now that I have to get myself and Raegan both ready I don't have time to prod him anymore. I guess he makes up for it by poking around when it comes time to do his homework after school! And he may not be a fan of practicing his trumpet, but he sure is getting really good at it. Next month we start doing fundraisers for his high school field trip to Disney World (assuming he stays in band that long). The director said the trip is very pricey and even 6th graders should think about participating in fundraisers, so we'll be selling cookie dough, etc. next month.
I have only a few pictures to share. See above where I talk about being so busy. :)
Did I mention that Raegan is a big girl facing forward now?
She loves watermelon!
My belly!
If we leave water in Raegan's water table, Radar will drink out of it. (The picture is a little fuzzy because Luke had to take it through the screen window. Radar runs off if you open the back door like it's this big awful thing he's doing!)
Raegan has taken a few more steps since Monday, but she's a smart girl and very aware that crawling gets her where she wants to be a lot faster still. There have been several times that she has let go of what she's been holding onto, taken a step or two, then dropped down sloooowly to the ground to take off crawling. When she gets in a couple steps she starts giggling like crazy, like she's saying, "Holy crap, holy crap, I'm doing this." She's getting a lot better at standing on her own, because I see her standing up against furniture without holding onto it, and standing alone for a couple seconds without dropping.
Raegan has gotten into a bad habit of waking up around 4:00 every morning this week. She's none too pleased when I change her diaper and put her back in her crib, but we're not going backwards to nursing in the middle of the night again. Hopefully she'll break this soon and we can go back to full nights of sleep.
Today while her and I were coming home from the store I had to pull over because she had pulled one arm completely out of her carseat strap. I put her all back together then got back in and took off. Raegan assumed I was letting her out, and she was none too pleased with me. She would say, "Mama" then growl (and not her growl to be funny - her angry growl!) She was making it pretty clear what she thought of me! lol
Zane is doing a great job of getting himself up and moving every morning before school. He doesn't poke around hardly at all anymore, which is good, because now that I have to get myself and Raegan both ready I don't have time to prod him anymore. I guess he makes up for it by poking around when it comes time to do his homework after school! And he may not be a fan of practicing his trumpet, but he sure is getting really good at it. Next month we start doing fundraisers for his high school field trip to Disney World (assuming he stays in band that long). The director said the trip is very pricey and even 6th graders should think about participating in fundraisers, so we'll be selling cookie dough, etc. next month.
I have only a few pictures to share. See above where I talk about being so busy. :)
Did I mention that Raegan is a big girl facing forward now? 
She loves watermelon!
My belly!
If we leave water in Raegan's water table, Radar will drink out of it. (The picture is a little fuzzy because Luke had to take it through the screen window. Radar runs off if you open the back door like it's this big awful thing he's doing!)Monday, September 20, 2010
BIG milestone
Tonight Raegan took her first steps. I don't have any video to show, because who has time to find the camera and take a video when you are watching your daughter take her first steps? :) The funny thing about this is just this afternoon at child care when I picked up Raegan and saw a little boy almost two months younger than her take a few steps, I said, "You see that? You better get to work, sister." And tonight before supper, Raegan took a couple steps between Luke and I. Not just her pitch forward into someone's arms because the other person let go of her while she was standing, but some honest to goodness tottering little steps.
This mama may or may not have cried for just a second, because my baby is not a baby anymore.
What a wonderful Monday this turned out to be!
This mama may or may not have cried for just a second, because my baby is not a baby anymore.
What a wonderful Monday this turned out to be!
Saturday, September 18, 2010
For laughs
A fellow teacher sent this out in an email yesterday and I thought I would share the laughs. :)
Soccer game #2
Zane's game this morning also ended in a tie of 1-1. Obviously Parks and Rec does a good job of splitting the teams up evenly!His team scored their goal very late on in the second half, so we were starting to get a little nervous. :)
Daddy keeping Her Majesty entertained during the game.
Big hair! lol
Another set of kick shots....
Kapow!
Have I mentioned yet how much I love our new camera? I love being able to get good action shots of Zane - some of the running ones look like his feet are never touching the ground.
Daddy keeping Her Majesty entertained during the game.
Big hair! lol
Kapow!
Have I mentioned yet how much I love our new camera? I love being able to get good action shots of Zane - some of the running ones look like his feet are never touching the ground.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Beautiful evening
Before Zane's soccer practice tonight we stopped at the park at the soccer fields. Zane could only stay for a few minutes before he had to run over to practice, but Luke and I were able to stay and play with Raegan for about 20 minutes before we had to get home to start getting her ready for bed. It was a perfect evening to be outside!
Could she look any more onery?! :)
Could she look any more onery?! :)
Oh my gosh, I LOVE swinging!
Such a smarty!
Raegan got this ladybug for her birthday. She's already figured out how to push some of the shapes in and pop them back out again! :)
Sunday, September 12, 2010
S'mores Cupcakes
Here's one of my favorite cupcakes to make. I got the recipe from the Domestic Pursuits website and they've always turned out really good. They really are reminiscent of a s'more, which is a desert I don't have very often but I LOVE them. The recipe says it makes 30, but I think I might overfill my cupcakes a bit, because I usually get 25-26.
S'mores Cupcakes
yields 30 cupcakes
Graham Cracker Crust
1/4 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs
1/3 c. butter, melted
1/2 - 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Cupcakes
2 c. sugar
1 3/4 c. all purpose flour
3/4 c. cocoa
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1 1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
2 eggs
1 c. milk
1/2 c. vegetable oil
2 t. vanilla extract
1 c. boiling water
Topping
Marshmallow frosting (see recipe below)
Finely crushed graham cracker crumbs
chocolate sprinkles
-Heat oven to 350 F. Line muffin pan with paper cups.
-Combine 1/4 c. sugar, graham cracker crumbs and melted butter in small bowl.
-Spoon 1 T. of crumb mixture into the bottom of paper cups. Press crumbs firmly. Save remaining crumbs for top of cupcakes.
-Top crumb mixture with several chocolate chips.
-Bake crumb mixture for about five minutes, or until edges are firm. Set aside.
-In large bowl, stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
-In another bowl, combine eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Stir until well blended.
-Add dry mixture to wet mixture and mix on medium speed with electric beaters for about 2 minutes.
-Stir in boiling water. The batter will be very thin. (Like ridiculously thin - you're going to think you've done something wrong because no cake mix is ever this thin. But it's okay, trust me!)
-Fill prepared muffin cups about 3/4 full (about 1/4 c. of batter).
-Bake for 22-25 minutes. Cool completely.
Marshmallow Frosting
yields enough for 30 cupcakes
2 1/4 c. marshmallow creme (about 8 oz) - this sucks, because most marshmallow cremes come in 7 oz containers. True fact.
1/2 c. shortening
1/4 c. water
2 1/2 c. powdered sugar
-Cream together shortening and marshmallow creme.
-Beat in about half the water, followed by half the powdered sugar.
-Add the remaining powdered sugar and enough water to bring frosting to a smooth, spreadable consistency.
Assembling the cupcakes
1. Spoon a small amount of frosting onto the center of the cupcake and spread towards the edges with a knife. This frosting is very soft and will run down the edges of the cupcake if you use too much.
2. Sprinkle frosted cupcakes with graham cracker crumbs and chocolate sprinkles.
3. (This is my own addition) Warm in microwave for a few seconds before you eat. Mmmmmm......
S'mores Cupcakes
yields 30 cupcakes
Graham Cracker Crust
1/4 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs
1/3 c. butter, melted
1/2 - 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Cupcakes
2 c. sugar
1 3/4 c. all purpose flour
3/4 c. cocoa
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1 1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
2 eggs
1 c. milk
1/2 c. vegetable oil
2 t. vanilla extract
1 c. boiling water
Topping
Marshmallow frosting (see recipe below)
Finely crushed graham cracker crumbs
chocolate sprinkles
-Heat oven to 350 F. Line muffin pan with paper cups.
-Combine 1/4 c. sugar, graham cracker crumbs and melted butter in small bowl.
-Spoon 1 T. of crumb mixture into the bottom of paper cups. Press crumbs firmly. Save remaining crumbs for top of cupcakes.
-Top crumb mixture with several chocolate chips.
-Bake crumb mixture for about five minutes, or until edges are firm. Set aside.
-In large bowl, stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
-In another bowl, combine eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Stir until well blended.
-Add dry mixture to wet mixture and mix on medium speed with electric beaters for about 2 minutes.
-Stir in boiling water. The batter will be very thin. (Like ridiculously thin - you're going to think you've done something wrong because no cake mix is ever this thin. But it's okay, trust me!)
-Fill prepared muffin cups about 3/4 full (about 1/4 c. of batter).
-Bake for 22-25 minutes. Cool completely.
Marshmallow Frosting
yields enough for 30 cupcakes
2 1/4 c. marshmallow creme (about 8 oz) - this sucks, because most marshmallow cremes come in 7 oz containers. True fact.
1/2 c. shortening
1/4 c. water
2 1/2 c. powdered sugar
-Cream together shortening and marshmallow creme.
-Beat in about half the water, followed by half the powdered sugar.
-Add the remaining powdered sugar and enough water to bring frosting to a smooth, spreadable consistency.
Assembling the cupcakes
1. Spoon a small amount of frosting onto the center of the cupcake and spread towards the edges with a knife. This frosting is very soft and will run down the edges of the cupcake if you use too much.
2. Sprinkle frosted cupcakes with graham cracker crumbs and chocolate sprinkles.
3. (This is my own addition) Warm in microwave for a few seconds before you eat. Mmmmmm......
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Oh yeah, good stuff!
Another new skill that Raegan has picked up in the last few weeks is nodding. Sometimes, it seems like she's actually agreeing with what you say. She also nods a lot during meals, kind of like to say, "Oh yeah, this is good stuff!"
Zane's first game
Zane's first soccer game was this morning. They ended up in a tie (1-1). Zane played very well and ended up playing a good portion of the game (I assume because he was doing so well). He even got in there and tried to get the ball from this kid on the other team who is probably at least 5'8. (The teams are 6th-8th graders, but still. Yikes!)
I have this really neat feature on my new camera where I'm able to set it on "Sports Continuous" and all I have to do is point the camera at Zane and hold the button down. It will take picture after picture very quickly, so that surely I'll get some good action shots of Zane playing. No more blurry sports pictures! I'm definitely feeling like this camera was well worth the price, especially with the 15x zoom. It's neat to look back through the pictures because it's like you're watching a video frame by frame. The only problem is now I have like 150 pictures to delete off the camera. :) It was really hard to decide which pictures to put on here because they're all so good.
Raegan chillin' before the game.
I love this camera! Look at all the awesome action shots I got!!!
Getting ready to kick the ball...
Wait for it, wait for it....
Look at that kick! 
He really got in there after the ball!
Zane did a great job of always being where the ball was.
Walking back to the car with Granny and Grandpa afterwards Thursday, September 9, 2010
Poor kitty!
You may remember when I posted a few months back about how much Raegan loooooooves Radar. Raegan has really shown us what a GOOD cat Radar is. He puts up with so much from her, and very rarely does anything about it. The few times that he has batted at her or bit at her, he never uses his claws and barely touches her with his tetth. I'm probably a bad pet owner because I allowed this abuse to go on so I could get it on video, but oh well. It's entertaining! :)
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Boo on you Blogger!
Could someone tell me why Blogger's video uploader isn't working? Bah! I have this really cute video of Raegan torturing petting Radar, and I've been trying since last night to get it up and it will not load. So instead, I'll just blather on for a couple minutes, then post a couple random pictures.
Tooth #7 is slowly making it's way in on the bottom, second to the left. You can see the white bud right now, but I would expect it to poke through soon. I wondered if Raegan wasn't going to have another one come through soon by the way she was chewing on her finger all weekend.
Raegan adores peek-a-boo. First I cover myself with the blanket and she pulls it off, then I cover her and I pull it off. After doing it a couple times, she will put the blanket up against her own face after she pulls it off me, like she's telling me it's her turn. And she'll get real still and just giggle while she's waiting for me to pull the blanket off her. We did it for a good five minutes tonight, and it's just so much fun!
Yesterday was a horrendous day at work. Since this is a public blog, I can't really say anything, but trust me that it sucked. After we got home Zane was doing his homework and Raegan was sitting in her high chair eating a snack. I kind of leaned my face against the tray of her chair and she started feeding me some of her puffs. Not my favorite food by far, but she thought it was hilarious and who can resist that? Then we went out on the deck and played with the water table for awhile and played on the trampoline. Definitely a much better way to end the day.
Zane had his first playing test in band last Friday. They have to individually play a piece that the whole band has been practicing. In front of the director and the whole band. Yikes! Zane brought home his scoring sheet today, and he got a 100%! Awesome!!! He also got progress reports for three of his classes today, and he has A's in all three of them. He has a 99.14 in social studies. Good grief! :) But then on the other hand, he has a bunch of assignments missing in art because he failed to tell us he needs a specific type of folder to turn things in with. Sometimes, that boy....
Okay, a couple pictures: Never mind. Apparently there is something wrong with all of Blogger's uploading, so no videos and no pictures from me tonight. :(
Tooth #7 is slowly making it's way in on the bottom, second to the left. You can see the white bud right now, but I would expect it to poke through soon. I wondered if Raegan wasn't going to have another one come through soon by the way she was chewing on her finger all weekend.
Raegan adores peek-a-boo. First I cover myself with the blanket and she pulls it off, then I cover her and I pull it off. After doing it a couple times, she will put the blanket up against her own face after she pulls it off me, like she's telling me it's her turn. And she'll get real still and just giggle while she's waiting for me to pull the blanket off her. We did it for a good five minutes tonight, and it's just so much fun!
Yesterday was a horrendous day at work. Since this is a public blog, I can't really say anything, but trust me that it sucked. After we got home Zane was doing his homework and Raegan was sitting in her high chair eating a snack. I kind of leaned my face against the tray of her chair and she started feeding me some of her puffs. Not my favorite food by far, but she thought it was hilarious and who can resist that? Then we went out on the deck and played with the water table for awhile and played on the trampoline. Definitely a much better way to end the day.
Zane had his first playing test in band last Friday. They have to individually play a piece that the whole band has been practicing. In front of the director and the whole band. Yikes! Zane brought home his scoring sheet today, and he got a 100%! Awesome!!! He also got progress reports for three of his classes today, and he has A's in all three of them. He has a 99.14 in social studies. Good grief! :) But then on the other hand, he has a bunch of assignments missing in art because he failed to tell us he needs a specific type of folder to turn things in with. Sometimes, that boy....
Monday, September 6, 2010
Zane's poem
Here's the bio poem that Zane had to do in school a couple weeks ago. He got an A+ on it, which means I'm not just biased and it's truly awesome! :) I wish I could figure out a way to load his Power Point about himself that he did last week. It's better than anything I ever could have done. Seriously.
Since you probably can't read it very well, here's what it says:
Since you probably can't read it very well, here's what it says:
Zane
awesome, funny, smart
sibling of Raegan
who loves family, friends, and animals
who likes tigers, wolfs, and popcorn
who fears snakes, spiders, and college
who gets angry when some one takes my stuff,
when people are mean to animals, and when people
are mean to my cousin
who hopes to go to college, to be a Zoologest,
and get through middle school
Resident of 1200 E Ellsworth
Jones
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Water fun
My parents got Raegan a water table for her birthday. We've taken it out on the deck a few times this week, and she LOVES it! No surprise, because she's always loved playing in water.
She gets a big kick out of drinking out of that cup and crawling around with it in her teeth so it covers her face. That's what she's laughing about in both videos. Goofy girl!
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Our week
Picture-less update on the kids:
Zane:
Zane is doing really well in middle school so far. We were kind of worried because of his huge lack of organizational skills, but he seems to be doing well so far. He's only had one late assignment in the last three weeks, which is excellent for him. I took a peek at his grades online and as of yesterday he has all A's! He's never had a problem with understanding the material, it's just remembering to get everything done and turned in.
Soccer practices started this evening. We're doing something new this season since Zane is too old for YMCA sports. He's going to play on a middle school (6th, 7th and 8th combined) team through Parks and Rec. Luke said there's only a couple other 6th graders on the team, but I figure that will be good for Zane. Apparently there was a kid at the skills assessment last week who was over 6 foot tall. How do kids get to be that tall when they're in middle school? Jeez.
Zane has finally decided he wants a haircut. All I can say is thank the good Lord Almighty. He needed one about 2 months ago. :)
Raegan:
Raegan has slept through the night for almost two weeks now. She usually wakes up between 5:30 and 6:30 every morning. If it's closer to 5:30 I put her back down after she nurses and get her up around 7:00 to get dressed and walk out the door. I don't know if she was just really tired from her birthday party this weekend or if she's really playing hard at child care, but she's been in bed before 8:00 every night this week.
I'm slowly starting the weaning process. I've taken out the nursing in the late afternoon after we get home by giving her another snack as soon as we walk in the door. Today she ate a 4 ounce container of strawberry yogurt in one setting. And still ate a good supper. Next week I'm going to have Angela stop one of her bottles during the day. Slow and steady....
Raegan is a climbing machine! Today she climbed up on top of her Little Mermaid push toy and proceeded to climb up onto the couch. It seems to me like she can probably take off walking any time she chooses to. I think she's still just a little nervous about letting go. :)
We've been enjoying the much nicer weather. Last night we put the water table out on the deck and played in it for awhile. Tonight we went on a long walk. I hope that fall is here to stay! I can't wait to take the kids to the pumpkin patch next month! Fall is seriously my favorite season.
Well, that's about all in our neck of the woods for now.
Zane:
Zane is doing really well in middle school so far. We were kind of worried because of his huge lack of organizational skills, but he seems to be doing well so far. He's only had one late assignment in the last three weeks, which is excellent for him. I took a peek at his grades online and as of yesterday he has all A's! He's never had a problem with understanding the material, it's just remembering to get everything done and turned in.
Soccer practices started this evening. We're doing something new this season since Zane is too old for YMCA sports. He's going to play on a middle school (6th, 7th and 8th combined) team through Parks and Rec. Luke said there's only a couple other 6th graders on the team, but I figure that will be good for Zane. Apparently there was a kid at the skills assessment last week who was over 6 foot tall. How do kids get to be that tall when they're in middle school? Jeez.
Zane has finally decided he wants a haircut. All I can say is thank the good Lord Almighty. He needed one about 2 months ago. :)
Raegan:
Raegan has slept through the night for almost two weeks now. She usually wakes up between 5:30 and 6:30 every morning. If it's closer to 5:30 I put her back down after she nurses and get her up around 7:00 to get dressed and walk out the door. I don't know if she was just really tired from her birthday party this weekend or if she's really playing hard at child care, but she's been in bed before 8:00 every night this week.
I'm slowly starting the weaning process. I've taken out the nursing in the late afternoon after we get home by giving her another snack as soon as we walk in the door. Today she ate a 4 ounce container of strawberry yogurt in one setting. And still ate a good supper. Next week I'm going to have Angela stop one of her bottles during the day. Slow and steady....
Raegan is a climbing machine! Today she climbed up on top of her Little Mermaid push toy and proceeded to climb up onto the couch. It seems to me like she can probably take off walking any time she chooses to. I think she's still just a little nervous about letting go. :)
We've been enjoying the much nicer weather. Last night we put the water table out on the deck and played in it for awhile. Tonight we went on a long walk. I hope that fall is here to stay! I can't wait to take the kids to the pumpkin patch next month! Fall is seriously my favorite season.
Well, that's about all in our neck of the woods for now.
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