To love and to be loved...

Valentines Day... perhaps it was Hallmark's way to make more money...but I am grateful for making a big deal about loving people. My Gav was raised by a mother that makes each holiday pretty special...and he learned a few tricks from it all. I awoke this morning to cute cards and treats Gav had put out for the boys. And my loot was on the counter...but there was an explaination needed. He had been up until 3am trying to make my new digital keychain work...all to no avail...so instead he had spent time making a slideshow online with pictures of us two (music and all). This is huge for a man who HATES intricate technology and time consuming projects. Anyhow...I was really impressed. I just feel bad that he missed out on so much sleep for something that took me all of 20 minutes to work. It just makes the gift all that more special!

We also received cute homemade valentines from Christian saying "I love you Mom" and "I love you Dad"...he's so big. And he was so pumped that today was Valentines Day.

Gav and I got to sneak in a movie and a meal together with no kiddos...thanks to my lifesaver and one of the best things here in Corpus, Shirley!....Have you ever found a friend that you know you were always supposed to meet? Yep, that's her. I've met a lot of great people in our travels around America...and I am continually amazed how we are put in people's paths at certain times and are so enriched by strangers that soon become life-long friends. Thanks Shirley!!

Happy Valentines...we love y'all too!!!!

You know you're a bad parent when....

...there are SO many things I could fill in this blank with...but the most recent flaw was the fact that our little guy, Shane, turned 2 on New Year's Eve and we never posted any record of it. In fact, we actually didn't even buy him a present, per say. We had a family gathering for him in CA while we were there...but that was it. And on his actual birthday, we were saying our goodbyes and flying back to TX...so he kind of got gypped!

The good news he is only 2 and will never know nor care (until he reads this blog in the future= )

It seems he has an internal clock. When he turned 1, it was like that clock went off telling him it was time to walk...and he did. Now that the clock went off for his 2nd birthday, he all of a sudden has become more talkative (or mimicky would be more like it). But its really endearing. I hear Christian calling "Mommy, Mommy" downstairs and right behind him is his little echo "Mama, mama!" and then giggles of delight. Oh...and his little baby-ish "DaDa" has now become just "Dad"...as if he's a grown man! He has also picked up a sensitive side...he gets embarrassed quite easily. And will burry his head until he feels the threat (a laugh or a smile) has gone away.

So...there you go...I haven't forgotten my second born...just delayed his celebration a bit. Its true...the second child doesn't get the fuss the 1st got. Parents get wise after the first. And in the same breath- what would we ever do without our Shaney, our sweet little miracle?!!

Pure Exhaustion...

This morning we were ecstatic that all the things that were going to bog down our Saturday had been changed, cancelled or just plain avoided. So, we contemplated what to do. Its a lovely 72 degrees, intermittant sun and clouds, a bit windy. The final decision was to go on a family bike-ride...our first since being here in Texas. I lead the way...thinking I'll take them on one of my running routes...because its SO much easier/quicker to ride a bike than run. Half way on the route...already complaints and tiredness beginning. So Gav introduces the idea that we need to re-route and go to the new McDonalds down the road we passed a while back....so we backtracked and headed to gross greasiness. Its new and clean and has a pretty dope play place. So I get the boys all food and Gav mentions that there is no way we are going to make it back home on bikes with lazy, whiny boys ( and Shane has a little fever)....so I rode the rest of the way home and got the truck to pick up my lazy boys.

We get home...and I make my shopping list and head to a Superbowl crazy market. When I return I find my boys like this:

Wow, I really did wear them out...what a bunch of weenies~ can't hack a girl bike ride!! But they all looked so cute, I just couldn't bring myself to wake them to help with the groceries...

Slowness in the world of Blogging

So, I have noticed lately that many people haven't been blogging lately because they say there's nothing to post...nothing exciting happening. I think the holidays wear us all out and January is spent recovering from all the fun, anticipation, food and chaos. I guess its just back to the grind...same old errands, school, church, chores, meetings,etc...Not that we're complaining, right?

Anyhow, here are a few random pics I caught of the boys:

Shane LOVES Peanut Butter Toastie

By request, Christian decided the Bro-hawk was the way to go

They look so cute dressed up

My 3 favorite boys!!

Watching "Choo-Choo", legs up, snack on hand, unloaded the sofa...relax time!!

Bringin' SD Comida to Tejas...

I am by no means a gourmet cook. Actually, my motto is usually, the more convenient and simple, the better. However, I have had a craving for something that just is not available at any place that I know of here in Corpus. In San Diego, our favorite restaurant is Sammy's Woodfired Pizza...but we love it for their yummy salads and appetizers...ok, actually the whole delicious menu. Long story short, I wanted their Chicken Chopped Salad. So I made it myself. I found a knock-off recipe off the internet and adjusted it a bit to my liking...and it tastes SO much like Sammy's I would venture to say its identical.
Here's the dressing:SAMMY'S BALSAMIC BASIL DRESSING
1 cup balsamic vinegar ( I used a little less)
2 cups canola oil
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons fresh chopped basil
Add all ingredients to blender and blend. Refrigerate. Makes 3 cups (which is actually a TON!!)

Here's the salad:
Finely chopped iceberg and romaine lettuce
diced roma tomatoes (as tasty)
grated fresh mozerella (Gav likes this on the heavy side!)
fresh chopped Basil
fresh Grilled Chicken Breasts chopped into slices/or dices
Optional: sun-dried tomatoes or specialty olives (neither of which I care for...but some might!)
The salad ingredients' portions are up to your disgression...if you like more lettuce and just a few tomatoes and a hint of cheese... you get the point. Then apply dressing and toss....

VERY tasty...if I do say so!! ENJOY!!
This cooking endeavor gave me an itch to try other yummy dishes we cannot get down here on our secluded island of Corpus Christi... stay tuned.

Vile and yet great...is that possible?

Gavin and I have often talked about TV being so great and yet so vile at the same time. We can be watching a great and funny show...and on the same network they will chose to advertise a more vile show. Disappointing. So Christian and I were watching the game show network...watching Family Feud (pretty wholesome)...and the commercial in between was for a Hollywood matchmaker. Long story short...it advertised that one of her rules was "No sex". So Christian turns to me and says "Uh, Mom, what was her rule?"...instinctively I say " No kissing or something like that." Another case in point, how do you explain to your innocent children when they see on tv or on the streets why a guy is dressed like a girl?? We certainly live in a different time as parents than our parents had to deal with. I'm still teaching my children that "stupid" and "shut-up" are bad words. I guess we do our best...and filter out the majority. I love the parental control abilities we have now-a-days.
And yet, when in history have we had so much good and protective information available to us universally. Christian has learned some wonderful things from some of his programs. And honestly, I will not deny that the tv is a great babysitter so I can actually shower during the day or accomplish anything for that matter...hmmm...just some thoughts!!!

This is what you call "Work"...

As a flight surgeon, I get to fly with the pilots in my squadron....pretty cool benefit. Here are some camera phone pics from the last flight I was on. It was a formation flight where the planes are pretty close together the whole time. Again, pictures are worth a thousand words (and girls always write way too much = )

"There's no place like home..."

...the journey continued...

There are many reasons to go to CALI. A few for our most recent visit were the return of Elder Uncle JOE ( the MAIN one), cousin wedding, see Gav's fam, surf, eat good food, see all the cousins, uh,surf....and to feel at home!! Seeing Joe was the highlight of our trip to CA...he is the epitome of a perfect brother. And 2 years on the mission just made him even better. We love Uncle Jo-Jo. Plus, it was a perfect way to see a whole bunch of family all at the same time.

Then we celebrated Shane's 2nd birthday on an airplane back to Texas ( much to Christian's dismay). We all miss that comforting feeling that being home in San Diego near family and life-long friends...and being near everything familiar...even driving down I-5 brings back great memories (pathetic, I know!).

Family + Holidays= Magical Memories

I'm a pretty mathmatically logical person...hence the equation title. It makes perfect sense to me. We've had holidays with family and some without...each with their memories. But this was a special season for my family to be together...and to be united. Christmas in Arizona was awesome. It was chilly...which I enjoyed. And my sister and her family made everything so accommodating and perfect. Besides the boys dissappearing for 4 hours on Christmas Eve to go to the shooting range...we hardly had a glich....ok, and maybe finding a suitable hill to sled down in Flagstaff. But, minor details, huh?! Christian and Shane (and Gav) got to experience a tradition I grew up with...waking up EARLY Christmas morning and "watching" Santa bring in the gifts. The look in Christian's eyes was priceless...the deep "Ho-Ho-Ho" repeatedly from Shane was comical...and Gav, my kid at heart, trying to figure this all out, hilarious~! As always, we were spoiled by all the gifts...hence the 48 lb box shipped home. And AZ wasn't the end of our holiday journey............

CAUTION: Objectionable Material!!

I apologize in advance for the embarrassment Shane will feel when he is about 10 years older and sees that his mom posted his manhood all over the blog... but we are so proud of our 1 year old potty training!

Thanks to the help of our friendly "Melmo"...Shane has taken a liking to sitting on the potty and going tinkle. Most men will probably sigh and run away from this post saying something like "YOU mothers!" or "isn't there anything sacred anymore"....but as a Mom, we take pride in our big achievements. Getting a kid to LIKE to potty-train is a momentous occassion in our Mommy life!

Priming the pump!

The Studious "Pee"er