New Place

We went to a new place on Sunday - a winery in Defiance, MO. Gorgeous area right along the Katy Trail. We will definitely be back! The Florida Peach family was in town as well as Kevin and Kathleen so it was a fantastic get together. Kevin had not met Lila yet and being the good baby that she is, she went right to him.

Our sweet god-daughter, Megan. Goofin' off a little!

The boys...

My boy...he had a great time running around playing and of course causing mischief whenever he could.

The girls...sorry for the spot on Kathleen's head but it was the best picture out of the bunch.

My girl...she was a trooper with no nap until the very end.

Jason throwing the football with Avery...thanks to the Peach's for introducing us to these Missouri wineries.

Robert - so glad we got to hang out with him and his family! We miss them.

The kids having fun - thank goodness this fountain was right by our table!

Good time had by all and we were tired little ones when we got home. It's finally feeling like summer around here!

Recipe Monday

This is a great one for our family since Nate likes pasta so much. Very easy!

Easy Stuffed Shells (Taste of Home)

1 pkg jumbo pasta shells
1 jar spaghetti sauce
36 frozen cooked Italian meatballs, thawed
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain & rinse in cold water. Place 1/2 cup sauce in a greased 13x9 baking dish. Place a meatball in each shell; transfer to prepared dish. Top with remaining sauce and sprinkle with cheese.

Cover & bake at 350 for 35 minutes. Uncover; bake 5-10 minutes longer or until bubbly and cheese is melted.

Note: I only cook about 16-20 shells for us and it is plenty for dinner and leftover lunch the next day.

Enjoy!

Gardens, Reading & Bow

Friday was a beautiful day here in the STL. Not too hot, not too cool. Nate, Lila and I went to the Botanical Gardens for the first time this year. It, of course, did not disappoint. I did not take my good camera because although I don't like to admit it much, managing 2 kids, a stroller, and an already full backpack is all I can do. And since my new phone takes pretty good pictures, I thought we'd be okay. There were only a couple of times that I wished I had brought the other camera.

This is Nate the last time we were at the Botanical Gardens (September 2010) on his favorite rock.

This is him this year. Now I know the picture quality isn't that great, but I think he has changed so much in just that short amount of time.We found this chair in an area that we'd never been before. That's one thing I love about the gardens - we find new places every time we go. He was king for the day. Heck, who am I kidding? He's king every day.
This was another place we found that we had not been before. A table and chairs made from a tree stump and limbs. Since we had the stroller, we couldn't go on all the rock paths like we usually do, but Nate took it in stride. He did some by himself and others he skipped to be with us on the pavement.

I'd like to say that the kids took good naps after all the activity on Friday morning. But no such luck. There's always next week. On Friday night, we added reading books to Lila's bedtime routine. We started at 6 months with Nate, so we are continuing this practice. I didn't think she would tolerate it because she is usually so tired and hungry by bedtime, but she loved it. Nate had to join for the first time.

Sweet Sister Lou. She can finally wear a bow in her hair! The child has not lost any hair so she's growing a nice baby mullet in the back. If my stylist won't cut it next week when Nate gets his haircut (she's been telling me not to cut it), I think I might have to do it myself. It's getting out of control - like ponytail long!

Happy Memorial Day! Be safe!

Water Water Everywhere

I wanted to see for myself the area near my parents' house that filled up with water when the levee was breached. Selfishly, I'm kinda glad I waited until the water had receded some before going to see it. It was a lot easier to take. But just imagining where the water had been, from the water lines on the trees, to the stain lines on the houses and grain bins, was enough to make me sad. But there is hope ahead for the farmers in many areas. We even saw a few tractors out in the fields that were dry enough. Hopefully in the next few weeks, this area will see major improvements.

This is on the land that my parents/brother farm.

My parents were able to get out to the grain bins this week and my Dad measured 9 feet on the grain bins. Unbelievable. Everybody is safe, and that's the important thing. Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers the past few weeks. I have heard from so many of you and appreciate all of the concern for my family and hometown community.

Half a Year

Wow. Half of a year. How can it be? Don't I say that every month? Well, that's how I feel every month when she is one month older. She continues to bless us with sweetness every.single.day.

Here are some of Lila's notables for this month...

• She is sitting up unassisted! She lays her head down on the floor when she is tired, but can sit up like a champ. Sometimes she gets so excited she knocks herself over though...gotta work on it.



• Lila is rolling over very well. She prefers to roll from back to front. In keeping with tradition, she did this differently than Nate who rolled over from front to back first.



• Lila does not like rice cereal, oatmeal, bananas, pears, or apples. She will eat a few bites of sweet potatoes before she gags. She does however like puffs. So I guess she's not going to eat that slimy baby food. Awesome that I stocked up at Sam's anticipating her love of food.



• Lila had her first ear infection this month, but the doctor caught it early and the antibiotics worked like a charm.



• She is still sleeping pretty well. The sicknesses threw her for a complete loop but I still can't complain. Much. With the second child, letting them fuss in their bed is not always an option if you don't want Kid #1 to wake up. I'm seeing some ear plugs in Nate's future.



• She is playing with toys really well and they entertain her for while, mostly because she's trying to figure out how to operate them.



• Lila enjoys the exersaucer and the walker (that I finally located - thanks Mimi!) As long as she is not super tired, she will happily play in them when I need to get something done.



• Lila still loves her brother the best.



• She smiles when Scott drops her off in the morning and smiles back at the teachers when I pick her up in the afternoon. I'd say she's happy.



• She is starting to "thin out" - ha ha, I know what you all are thinking...especially those that have seen her in person. But she's actually going to probably be right on track with where Nate was at 6 months, so she has slowed down on the growth, at least somewhat. But that didn't keep a stranger at Grant's Farm from calling her legs hamhocks a couple of weeks ago.

We love her more and more everyday and can't imagine our life without her! I can't believe I will write her 7 month post next month. Say it really isn't so. It's going by too fast!

Flashback: Baby Boy Got Married

Yes, they've been married for almost a year, and I'm just getting around to making prints of their big day. I was just busy, that's all I can say. But going through the pictures again bring me back to that happy day.

The original 5 Corse Fam.

My beautiful and handsome siblings. Love them!

Weekend Wrap-Up

We started off our weekend with George coming over to play. Lila loved George. She would watch him wherever he went and hardly ate anything if he was around. George is such a sweet, well-behaved little boy and I was so glad for the opportunity to keep him. I dumped out all of Nate's trucks in my office and they went to town.

Jane Ellis has always tried to feed Nate certain things at her house (i.e. popcorn) so that he would like coming back. Well my food of choice was Pop-tarts. I think I made a friend!

On Saturday, Lila & I headed to Charleston to attend my good friend, Anna-Katherine's wedding. Lila hung out with my parents while I went to the wedding and reception. My mom even got her to eat a little something, which is a major accomplishment these days. Girlfriend is just saying NO to baby food.

Since I was solo, I went to the reception with Sarah & Hamil. I had to stand in the middle so that I could be in the picture. They are giants compared to me. It was such a fun night and I love hanging out with them. Sarah got to spend some good quality time with Lila too, which makes me so happy.

With my lifelong bestie, JE. It was like old times, dancing the night away!

Scott & Nate had a great time in STL while we were gone. They attended Taste of Maplewood and hung out with the Peach family. I think it was just what the doctor ordered for all of us to spend some one on one time with each other. Looking forward to the holiday weekend!

Recipe Monday

Now that I have my new handy dandy iPhone, I downloaded Big Oven...my favorite source for recipes. I tried this one last week and it was definitely a winner. Since Nate doesn't eat many things that are "together", I deconstructed his into chicken and broccoli.

Foil-Pack Chicken & Broccoli Dinner (http://www.bigoven.com/, Posted by hollyandj)

1 pkg Stuffing Mix, chicken flavor
1 1/4 cup water
24 ounce boneless skinless chicken breasts (6 oz each)
4 cups broccoli florets
1 cup Shredded cheddar cheese
4 slices cooked bacon crumbled
4 tblsp ranch dressing

Spray 4 large sheets of heavy duty foil with oil. Combine stuffing mix and water. Spoon 1/4 of stuffing mixture into the center of each foil sheet. Top stuffing with a chicken breast. Top chicken with 1 cup broccoli. Sprinkle with 1/4 cheese and 1 slice of bacon, crumbled. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon ranch dressing.

Bring up foil sides and fold to seal, leaving room for heat circulation inside. Place packets on cookie sheet and bake 25-30 minutes at 400. Let stand 5 mins - cut slits in foil to release steam.

Note: I had to cook for about 40 minutes to make sure the chicken was done.

Easy preparation, easy clean-up! Enjoy!

Raise Your Hand

This week has been a tough one in many respects. Nothing earth shattering, just a few challenges to face. One challenge in particular caused Scott & I to be talking nonstop one night. Nate was having a hard time with the fact that we weren't including him in the conversation. I don't know, maybe it's because he was an only child for 5 years or maybe it's because he's a tad bit on the high maintenance side. Who's to say.

Anyway, he was getting frustrated and I sat down and explained to him that Dad and I had a lot to talk about and that we probably would be talking a lot that night. He kind of got a sad look in his eye and said very meekly "Does that mean I don't get to talk at all?" No, sweet boy, I say, I was just trying to explain to you that Dad and I are trying to figure something out. To which he replied, "Okay, Mom. How bout if I just raise my hand when I have something to say?" Which he did for the rest of the night.

Lila & Nate before school - catching up on their reading. Lila making my favorite face!

Worth the Wait

I didn't really know it was missing, but I've waited a long time for something that recently happened. My sister became a mother. A wonderful, fantastic mother. My heart swelled with pride as my big sister experienced the joy of becoming a mother. Sometimes when you are on the other side of motherhood, you think you know how you will feel when you get inducted into the club. But you don't. At least I didn't. It's 1,000 times better and 1,000 times harder than you expected (at least in my experience:). But I still wished for her the unspeakable happiness that motherhood brings. And I got my wish.

Recently, Lila started waking up at night and Scott and I were racking our brains trying to think of what could be causing the sudden wakefulness at night. We were sort of at an impass at how to handle the issue because I'm terrified at giving back the night feeding, for fear it will never go away again. I was relaying our situation to my sister, because I know she's well read at this stage, and well, ya know, she's my sister, so I mostly tell her everything. After a complete discussion of the issue and my feelings, Scott's feelings, Nate's feelings and Lila's feelings about waking up night, she said "You know, Ab, it's probably her 6 month growth spurt." And it's okay to feed them more during this time because they need it. She does sleep at night so something must be going on to wake her up. And the growth spurt will be over in a few days. Wow. Duh. I did know about the growth spurt, I've been through it before, but I wasn't focusing on it as a reason for the waking.

And instead of being defensive that a mother with a shorter tenure than me was telling me about my baby, I was so relieved. My sister is so wise. And if she said it, I'll believe it. Because that's what sisters do. I'm so thankful to be able to share motherhood with my sister. And I can't wait to continue sharing with her as our children grow up.

Sisterhood is a cherished bond in itself, but sharing the bond of motherhood as sisters is definitely worth the wait.

Love, Love, Love

I think it is a good task to sit back and reflect on the things that make you happy. It beats focusing on the things that make you sad, mad, or frustrated! First off, I just love my kids. They make me laugh so much. You can get caught up in what they are doing, not doing, or puking on and fail to appreciate the happiness they bring on a daily basis. I love my kids -they are the best.

Moving on to lighter topics - and this is not a new love. But I do love me some Ben & Jerry's FroYo Half Baked. Something about FroYo makes you think you can eat as much as you want. Faulty logic.

This is a new love! And don't think less of me as I admit that I do watch some Real Housewives on BravoTV. One of the women on the show developed this drink and I love it! And anything with the word Skinny in it must be good for you, right??And last but not least, my wonderful husband and kids got me an iPhone for Mother's Day. I've been an iPhone hold-out but I needed a new phone and Scott just went and took care of it for me. I would have hemmed and hawed about it for 6 more months while my other phone died a slow death. The iPhone is great, but the fact that I didn't have to think about it is the real present. Scott knows this about me and I really, really, appreciate his thoughtfulness!

Disclaimer: I am not compensated in any way, shape, or form for the product loves published in my blog. Just straight from my heart to your computer screen.

The Many Faces of Lila

Lila just gets sweeter everyday. There is no denying it. I caught these faces the other night before bath while she was sitting up (yes! sitting up!) in her crib. They are complete with baby drool, thankyouverymuch. We love you Lulu Bell!

Recipe Monday

So here's an easy one. I got this from the Taste of Home magazine (great magazine if you like new recipes).

Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo with Veggies

2 quarts water

1 pkg (9oz) refrigerated fettuccine

3 cups frozen mixed vegatables

1 pkg (9oz) ready-to-serve roasted chicken breast strips

1-1/2 cups Alfredo sauce

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

In a Dutch oven, bring water to a boil. Add fettuccine and vegatables; return to boil. Cook on high for 2-3 minutes or until tender; drain. Stir in the chicken and sauce; heat through. Sprinkle with cheese.

Notes:

1. I used dry noodles instead of refrigerated and just cooked them a few minutes before throwing the veggies in.

2. I poached a couple of boneless, skinless chicken breasts and cut up into strips.

3. I used low fat alfredo sauce.

Quick & easy! Enjoy!

The Graduate

Yesterday was Nate's Pre-K Graduation. We are all ready for Nate to go to Kindergarten and I told myself that I would try not to cry...I mean he is only 5, we have many more years with him in our house. Well. It didn't work. I cried when they marched in the room. And I cried when they sang their songs and recited a poem. I'm not sad that he is going to Kindergarten, but instead just tremendously proud. We got Nate a gift to celebrate his graduation (of course it was Legos), and when I gave it to him, I told him that we wanted to tell him how proud we were of him - he hardly ever complains about going to school, he learns while he is there, and he never gets in trouble, but instead his teachers constantly tell us what a good student he is. I'm so proud of him. Words cannot describe the feeling you have for your children when they succeed, even if it is just Pre-K.

Receiving his certificate...I have many other pictures of him with his class, but in respect for the other children and their parents that might not want their pictures "out there" I have to save those. Just know he was the most handsome and the 2nd tallest boy in his class...this is for some reason important to me since Scott and I aren't winning any "tallest student" awards.

My little graduate!

He was fairly ready to go after the graduation was over, but we managed to "make" him take a few more pictures. Lila loved the singing and clapping. And don't they look cute in their matching outfits!!

Nate was shy and did not want to take a picture with his teachers. But I made him. And he did okay as long as I held him. We love Ms. M. and Ms. J.!

So on to Kindergarten we go!!

Springtime in STL + Boyle/Odom Visit

Well you may have noticed I've been a little absent this week, or maybe you haven't, which is okay too. We've been very very busy 'round these parts. Mimi, Aunt Amanda, Noah & Gavin came to visit us last weekend. It was lovely. It is so fun to watch the cousins together, especially since the boys are big enough to play with each other. I don't have any pictures of me, Scott, or Amanda, but we really were there. Promise.

On Friday, we attempted to go to the Botanical Gardens. But since it was National Garden Day (or something like that) and admission was free, the place was packed. So we headed for Plan B, which was Tower Grove Park around the corner. It was equally as beautiful!!

Mimi and her boys...

These painted butterflies were so fun! Believe me, I tried to get a picture with them looking at the camera, but no dice.

Sweet Noah...he is getting to be so grown-up! A great playmate for Nate. Thankfully he can stand Nate's bossiness. Most of the time:)

Mimi really wanted a picture with all of her grandkids. I had to promise Mr. Wizard's ice cream, but the kids did a pretty good job. Some of the pictures looked like this...

But most of them looked like this...

I thought this one was pretty good too...

The typical pajama picture...Lila didn't mind being held by her brother and cousins.

On Sunday, we headed to Grant's Farm for the first time this season. It didn't disappoint.

Sweet Gavin...he spent most of the weekend trying to keep up with the big boys. And he did a pretty good job!

Lila took a little snooze at Grant's Farm, but woke up to enjoy some of it. I'm sure we will be going back so there will be plenty of time for her to look around!

It was a wonderful weekend and we were all sad to see it go. Looking forward to the next time when we are all together!!

Too Big

This little boy will have his first graduation on Friday. Graduating from pre-K, how can it be possible? Although there will be a few other graduations in his life, this one is surely to make me cry the most. Or maybe not. Check back in 13 years. But the Kleenexes are ready for Friday, nonetheless!

Recipe Monday

I think I've posted this one on here before but it is worth repeating! I got this from www.allrecipes.com.

Slow Cooker Chicken Cordon Bleu

6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 can condensed cream of chicken soup

1 cup milk

4 oz sliced ham

4 oz sliced swiss cheese (I use provolone or mozzarella instead)

1 package herbed dry bread stuffing mix

1/4 cup butter, melted

Mix together soup and milk in small bowl. Pour enough of the soup into slow cooker to cover bottom. Layer chicken breasts over the sauce. Cover with slices of ham and then cheese. Pour remaining soup over the layers, stirring a little to distribute between layers. Sprinkle the stuffing on top, and drizzle butter over stuffing. Cover, and cook on low for 4-6 hours or 2-3 hours on High.

Note: I use dry bread crumbs instead of stuffing - makes it a little lighter.

Enjoy!

Happy Mother's Day!

We have had a wondermous weekend - tired, tired, tired, but happy, happy, happy now.

Happy Mother's Day to the mothers in my life from me and these kiddos that spent the weekend with me.