Lions, and Tigers and COBRAS---Oh My!!

ARGH!!! I've been intending to blog all week, but just never got around to it. Weiss and I left for Merkel last Sunday afternoon since it was Spring Break week here in Marble Falls and all activities were cancelled. I got to see lots of people I had not seen in awhile: the Whiteheads (just happened to run into them--Robert, Becky, Heather, and her little girl, Josie), the Hunts (Freddy, Linda and Brian), the Bellahs (everyone except Chase--who was at college and Pierre the tortoise--he's still hibernating), Monty and Debbie Howard, and Brother Jimmy and Dorothy, who was our pastor who recently retired. (And Mom---if I'm forgetting anybody, please let me know!!!!)

We all went to the Abilene Zoo on Monday, and Weiss had a great time. He was all about running around and being a toddler. They have recently done some renovations, and the snake/reptile/insect exhibit was moved to a new building called "Creepy Crawlers." We go in. And you know, every time I have seen snakes on display, they are usually not doing much. They're always curled up in a ball, or maybe you'd see an occasional flick of the tongue. Not with the Moroccan cobra, however. That snake was moving around all over his cedar-lined enclosure. They had some clay pots in the glass enclosure, I guess to make it look more "Moroccan-ish." The snake would crawl in and out of the pots, and it is amazing to see. However, that's not why I'm mentioning the snake. Weiss went up to the glass enclosure of this particular snake, and because of his size, his head was ground level for the snake. The cobra, seeing only Weiss's head at HIS eye level, rose up, even FLARING HIS HOOD OUT. Mom and Dad had moved on ahead to another animal, and I began saying, "get the camera, get the camera!" By the time Dad got the camera ready (lens cap taken off, camera turned on, flash turned on) the cobra had put his hood back down. As a mom, this was VERY freaky because cobras only flare their hoods when angry, excited or intimidated, and Weiss made him feel bizarre enough to flare his hood out. Anyway, thank heavens for the glass and several inches that separated that venomous snake from my Pookie Bear. We saw other animals--giraffes, a jaguar, bears, a panther, lions, and the Abilene Zoo is getting a white tiger, which will hopefully be there the next time we go! Afterwards, we ate at one of my favorites, Chick-Fil-A, which I am majorly missing here in Marble Falls. Weiss had a great time playing in the children's play area afterwards, for about 30 minutes or so. That child has endless energy!

On Tuesday we went to the Grace Cultural Museum's Children's Museum. Weiss LOVED this.... He ran around like a wild banshee, climbing all in their toddler area. He was NOT ready to leave, even having a major meltdown. We had a quick lunch and ran some errands afterwards. That evening, we all went back to Abilene, meeting Monty and Debbie Howard for dinner at Logan's Roadhouse. (Weiss called them "Mommy and Daddy," which I thought was funny. Hey---that's kinda the way their names sound, huh?) When we got home, he was NOT ready for a bath. He heard me running the bath water, and he was stripped down to his diaper. He got behind Dad's chair, against the wall where I could not reach him. To bribe him out, I asked, "Can I have a hug and kiss?" He came out with a smile, saying, "No bath? Okay!" He then proceeded to give me a big hug and kiss. We all cracked up. (He often does that---Weiss will ask a question and then answer his own question. "No milk? Okay.") 

On Wednesday, I left Weiss to come back to Marble Falls to get some work done around the house. I cleaned when I got home and grocery shopped. On Thursday, I worked in the yard and painted some of our bedroom. Thursday evening, there was the "premiere" of Logan and Dickey's temporary office at the Gateway building. The Marble Falls Chamber of Commerce hosted an open house for the entire building, which is a new medical office complex. There is a husband/wife doctor's office, a place for skincare called the "Skinstitute," a hospice office, Logan and Dickey's office, and Hill Country Pediatric Dentistry takes up the second floor with our friends, Dr. Bobby Walker (Steve's office manager), Dr. Steve Hernandez and my friend, Dr. Hannah Burns. (aka "Phia's Mommy"). It was a fun evening and a good time to meet and greet. Although the office is beautiful, this is their temporary location; the new office is right down the road on the corner of 1431 and 281, overlooking Lake Marble Falls. Anyway, enough about that.....

Today I have been doing homework and getting stuff done around the casa. I will post some pictures soon of Mr. Weiss. Mom and Dad are coming tomorrow to keep him here until Sunday, BECAUSE..................

Logan and I are going to the ELTON JOHN and BILLY JOEL concert!!!!!!!!

Yes, two of my most favorite performers of all time, performing TOGETHER and singing TOGETHER!!!!! I have seen them play together in 2002 and I saw Elton alone in Vegas in 2004, but Elton and Billy are BACK!!!!!!!!!! SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!!

And no, I don't care if they play exactly what they played in 2002; I'm just gonna be glad to see them!!!!!! I'll keep you all posted!!!!!!!!!

What I'm Reading.....

This is the book I just finished reading and it's great. I couldn't put it down and would find myself going to bed earlier and staying up super late (I wouldn't even get tired when reading!). What made me choose this book is that I've seen so many people reading it over the past year or so, and I was curious. It is extremely well researched and the characters are well-developed. It's the story of young veterinary student, who for reasons in the story, leaves Cornell veterninary school and ends up working for the Benzini Brothers Circus before the Great Depression. The story flashes back between Jacob as a 93 year old man in a nursing home/assisted living and as a young, naiive man with a wonderful story plot surrounding him. The research author Sara Gruen is evident within this book; the "circus jargon" (yes, it's like a whole other language), the oddities of yesteryear's traveling circuses, the plethora of animals, and the drama that unfolds around young Jacob.....It is wonderful and highly suggested! 

What We've Been Up To....

It has turned out to be a dreary, cold, wet week. Hopefully this will be the end of the "wintery-like" weather, but we certainly needed the rain. (Especially my baby plants I just put in the ground---God's timing was perfect!) 

Because I want to be in better shape for Sunny Riggan's wedding in mid-April, I have been doing more arm workouts (I want Michelle Obama's arms!) and trying to watch my intake of empty calories. I have been on a kick in the last two months or so drinking those 100 calorie cans of Coca-Cola..... So random, considering I have never really been a big soda drinker growing up. Anyway, I am--for the moment--keeping a food diary for Weiss and I to monitor what we are eating and how much exercise we are getting. If I stay faithful to jot down what I eat/drink, I'm sure it will help; it's much scarier seeing the list of stuff you've eaten on paper than just shoveling it down the hatch... ANYWAY--this leads me to my next story.

I told you I am also keeping track of my runs/exercise and the like in the diary. Because yesterday was so dreary and cold, I didn't leave the house for a run. The day before I took Weiss out in the jogging stroller, but yesterday was way too cold, coupled with the wetness in the air. So after we got home from Mom to Mom, I tried doing a "Pilates type" home workout with DVD and a bar with stretchy cords attached for your feet. After about 10 minutes of this, Weiss kept laughing, so I had to stop. (Yes, he was really laughing at me!!!!) I figured I could try again after Weiss went down for the evening. However, I also thought on a full stomach after dinner, my lack of willpower would probably get the best of me and I would poop out on my exercise. So I just decided I would clean house. And man, did I get on a tear! I vacuumed, mopped, did sheets, the laundry, washed rugs, scrubbed toilets/showers, dusted, and even cleaned the blinds! I also have sooooo many books lying around in our bedroom and bathroom area, so I cleaned all of these up and reorganized my vanity and Logan's, as well. I put new globes on our light fixtures. I moved a chair and ottoman that had been our temporary furniture in the living room back to our bedroom, where it was "supposed" to be. I got out a new rug and put it in the bedroom. I was really getting after it. And man, today, I am so glad I did. I am actually sore from all of the "exercise" I got! (I'm going to count it as such, because I certainly did not have time to sit down since I did this all afternoon!)

Anyway, while I was exercising, I was going through the house in an ancient pair of shorts (from high school cheer camp, orange with paint spots on them from painting the half-bath) and a turquoise sports bra. To top it all off, I had pulled my hair back with a tacky headband and put a bright green "Queen Helene Mint Julep" face masque on, which I left on my face from noon until my shower last night at 9:00 PM. (What?!?! I was staying at home all day....) Anyway, I hear the doorbell ring. I step out into the hall. The UPS man sees me in all of my glory. I run back to the bedroom to throw a shirt on over my sportsbra. (I have no clue why he didn't just leave the package after seeing me and go--it wasn't anything that had to be signed for or anything.) Anyway, so I go back to the door--WITH a shirt on--saying, "You sure do see everyone in all their glory..." Anyway, later my neighbor comes by to give us their contact info for when they are on vacation this week. (I wasn't embarrassed this time because I learned my lesson and had a shirt on over my sportsbra.....Even though I still had my Martian green masque on, it wasn't as big of a deal. And it was Russell, whom I know.) 

So Logan gets home late yesterday evening. Weiss was already bathed and dressed for bed. I didn't tell him how hard I had worked cleaning, but he opened up the bedroom door and his eyes bugged out of his head. (In Loganspeak, that means he's impressed with what he sees...) 

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Recipe Post...Sweet Potato Chili

Okay, Katie K! This is for you. (Well, it's for me, too, so I don't lose the paper copy.......) And yes, it is very good if you like sweet potatoes and some spice. It came from a "friend of a friend", but the recipe's creator is Joe Russo of Whole Foods. It's low-calorie, high protein and YUMMY!!!! I also put in the substitutions I used. And, as with any soup/stew/chili, it's better on the second day. So if you've got company coming or just want it to be REALLY good, start it early and let it simmer on low for several hours!

Sweet Potato Chili

--1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO, for you Rachel Ray fans!)

--1 medium onion, chopped

--1 large red pepper, seeded and chopped 

(NOTE: I subbed in a package of Nature Ripe Cherub tomatoes cut in half because I didn't have a red bell pepper. It was really good, as well.)

--1 large clove of garlic, minced (or 3/4 tablespoon)

--1 pound boneless, skinless, chicken breast, chopped 

(NOTE: Sherri used and suggested I try chopping a rotisserie chicken into the chili instead; I cut up the whole thing, sans skin, and it was great!!!)

--1 (15 oz.) can of cannellini beans, drained 

(NOTE: it really could have used 2 cans, I think. These are white kidney beans.)

--1 cup chicken stock

--2 1/2 cups cold water 

(NOTE: I used 3 1/2 cups of chicken stock total, and no water. Logan and I are all about the

flavor, baby!)

--2 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

--1 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced, or 2 ounces of canned, diced green chilies

(NOTE: we used the jalapeno)

--2 teaspoons crushed red chili flakes 

(NOTE: I left the chili flakes out because of the toddlers (Sophia and Weiss) eating the meal, and it still had a "kick." But if you want extra heat, keep this ingredient in....)

--1 teaspoon cumin

--2 teaspoons chili powder

--1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

--1 bunch of scallions, mnced

--sour cream (for topping) 

--fresh cilantro (for topping)

In a large pot, heat the EVOO over medium heat, and saute the onion, red pepper, and garlic until firm-tender. 

Add the chicken breast and saute for 2 minutes, until opaque. Add the beans, stock, water, potatoes, red chili flakes, cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper and chilies. Bring water to a boil, reduce heat, ands immer uncovered for about 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Garnish with the chopped scallions. Top the chili with a dollop of sour cream and some cilantro, if desired.

NUTRITION: (Per 1 cup serving)-----170 calories (25 from fat), 13g protein, 24g carbs, 2.5 total fat, (.05 saturated fat), 25 mg colest., 110 mg sodium, 15% DV calories from fat 

Sweet Berry Farm and Something Not So Sweet....

Checking out the new baby goat with "Sweetheart" and Mrs. Glenna.

Weiss is finally understanding what the word "Cheese" is for.......

Starting to pick the berries...... Can you tell he's already been eating them????

Hello, all! We have had a fun week so far, however, as of yesterday and ESPECIALLY today, the lovely spring weather has transformed into cold, wet, wintery weather (low 40s and mid 30s tonight... It's not supposed to freeze, and I certainly am hoping so, because I have now planted nearly everything in the ground!). On Sunday, we went to church--groggily, due to Daylight Savings Time--and came home for leftovers. We went to church Sunday evening and Pastor Steve Peace of Marble Falls FBC resigned after 8 1/2 years of service. Please keep this church in your prayers; we are not members yet, but are visiting there, and pray for a visionary pastor who can lead the church and its future generations forward. Please pray for Steve and Celia and their future church home, as well. Weiss and I got home and began planting. Little did I realize it still gets dark early until LATER in the spring. Oh well.... We still got a lot accomplished! 

Monday morning, Weiss and I woke up and went out to Sweet Berry Farm. I have gotten to know Mrs. Glenna Copeland through choir/piano, and she is such a kind woman with an effervescent personality! She took us to see the baby goats and showed us exactly "which" strawberries to pick. Weiss had a great time riding in the wagon, checking out the goats, and picking berries. He---or should I say "we"---have already eaten two pounds worth, so we are planning to go back at the end of this week if the weather gets better! As for the "something not so sweet" I mentioned in the title of this post, Weiss had a blowout on the way home, in his carseat. I thought this was only reserved for those parents with sick kids or newborns.... Boy howdy, was I wrong!!!! I had to take apart the carseat and clean it all out, not to mention give Weiss a bath right when we got home! Weiss took a long nap and then Kaili came over to keep Weiss so I could go to YoungLife. There was a great crowd of kids there on Monday; we had a "Scottish Games" night, complete with kilts, bagpipe music, a cabor toss, and tug-o'-war.

Tuesday morning was Kingsland Bible Study, and it RAINED when we were there! Awesome! We had been praying for rain, and it came during the lesson. We took a jog in the jogging stroller when we got home, and Weiss seemed to have a good time. It was nice and cool, upper 60s. We had a nice and relaxing day and spent lots of time in the late afternoon out in the frontyard. Weiss has really been enjoying sidewalk chalk. 

In the middle of the night, I woke up because of all of the noise from the wind and rain. This cold front that is here today hit, and it was QUITE cold outside! However, when Weiss and I got up, it was cold, but with no rain. Oh---and he has a new trick. Whenever he has a dirty diaper, he has to tell me, "yucky, Mama" or "gross" or "stinky, Mama" or something of the like. However, Weiss has figured out his own way to check his diaper HIMSELF. The way the parent traditionally checks diapers out--you know, using your index finger to look down the back of the diaper to see if there is a "surprise" inside-- has been mastered by Weiss. He now uses his hand/finger(s) to show me or Logan what he is hauling in the back of his diaper. So when he says "Yucky, Mama," he is backing up to me, pulling his diaper top by his bum back for me to take a peek. (Yes, it is gross, and yes, this is a sign we need to start potty training.) This is all fine and dandy, except sometimes he sticks his finger(s)/hand in a little too far...... You get the idea. (Hey, I know this is graphic, but I am using this blog to document all of Weiss's little details for him so I will remember them when I am a little old lady. And YES, I want to remember even the gross stuff.) Sorry about the random thought interjection. That's the way I work. Anyway, WHY am I telling you this?!?! Because he did this first thing when he woke up this morning. I had to clean him up before our jog.

SO---We took another jog around the neighborhood with the jogging stroller, in the cold. (I'll have a future post about that.....) Weiss didn't want to wear a jacket, but I forced him to. He saw me get his hooded Texas Tech sweatshirt out and he began saying, "no jacket, Mama, no jacket!" When we got home, he looked like Rudolph. It was colder than I thought! We got home, cleaned up, ate lunch and headed to the library. He is busy taking a nap at the moment. I have some pictures here from the strawberry patch.....

Weiss Has Found a New Obsession....

Not much has happened this week.... We went to the park this week and enjoyed feeding the hissing and tempermental Canadian geese, choir practice, Mom to Mom, piano lessons with McKenna, and dinner with the Burns family. We always enjoy getting together with them, (which has been a while!) and Weiss loves "Fia." He gets so excited to see Sophia and Gabriella/Gigi/Giggles. (Hannah, I had to refer to all three names because they are sooo cute!) Anyway, we had a new recipe Sherry (Lexy's friend from church and and our running buddy) for sweet potato chicken chili, which was really, really good and really healthy. Anyway, I was supposed to go to a baby shower last night, but the grandparents were out of town and my babysitter was busy. Logan was at a Rotary event, and so Weiss and I went in to Austin. I had a major Chick-Fil-A craving (I MISS IT SO MUCH) and wanted to go to Baby Gap for Weiss. My goal was to do the errand really quickly and then go to Chick-Fil-A. Weiss had fallen asleep, so I thought this would work. However, he woke up at Barton Creek Mall and was hungry ("I hungee Mama!"), so we ended up eating at Nordstrom's eBar. He messily ate a chicken salad croissant (I forgot how good "real" croissants are!), cream cheese brownie, and a pomegranate shake. (Well, we split the meal.) A mother/son date! 

Today I got up and ran 9.3 miles with Lexy and Sherry. Well, they went a full 10, but I stopped at Lexy's mailbox because I hadn't run in TWO WEEKS!!!! I am NOT going to do that to myself again; I am going to run more this week. However, we had a good time, and I have the "runner's high" again. I came home, cleaned out my car and vacuumed it. I washed the floormats; they got soup on them from the Coleman's meal sitting in the floorboard the other day. We then cleaned up and went to Gabriella and Casey Burn's "dual" birthday party. Weiss started out in not so great of a mood; he was not too happy with Logan for going off and leaving. (Logan had the annual Rotary Golf Tourney today; this weekend was full of Rotary festivities.) He finally stopped crying and whining and wanted the kitty cat cake Hannah's mother had made. I got to meet all of Hannah's family, which was great. There were many little girls there, and Weiss was the only boy! We got home, took a long nap, and went outside to plant some more. We got 10 hollyhocks and some canna bulbs planted. Tomorrow we have much more to plant....Yesterday I planted 5 rosebushes, so everything is coming along. Now, only if it will rain..... Thank goodness we have a sprinkler system at this house, because my efforts would be futile if we didn't---but "free" water would be nice. Pray for rain all across Texas..... Weiss and I had planned to go to Merkel this week to go see my parents and also to the Grace Museum and the Abilene Zoo, but they got "busy" in the funeral home. We plan to leave next Sunday. 

As for Weiss's new obsession, I got a DVD in the $5 bin at Walmart with four episodes of the Doodlebops. I had seen them flipping through the Disney Channel before, and some of my friends have mentioned their kiddos watching. I didn't realize how ANNOYING they are until I watched them!!!! Especially the blue one!!! Weiss saw this DVD for the first time yesterday, but he BEGS for it now! "Doole Bops, please Mommy!" I thought Barney was annoying, but this group takes the cake. Mothers, beware! It's mainly music and it does promote eating your vegetables and sharing, but it drives me loca! 

It's Been a Long Time...

Man!!! I was doing so good with keeping up with the blog, and I dropped the ball this last week. Not that I have been super busy, but we did have some stuff going on. My finals have also been this last week, so I have been preoccupied with them, as well! Anyway, we had our normal week, but the weather was SOOOOO nice the first part of last week that we replanted ALL of the flower beds in the front of the house Tuesday after Bible study at Kingsland FBC. I had a movie going inside, and Weiss went in and out of the house as he pleased, while I was covered in dirt and sweat (it was in the upper 80's!!!). I planted from lunch to about 5, and also planted some more on Wednesday. I have some more to do in the back; we have a low metal fence, which is really nice, but the neighbors can see EVERYTHING going on in our house and backyard. No privacy whatsoever. I plan to line the fence with cannas, lillies, hollyhocks, roses and elephant ears. 

We've had LOTS of new babies in our Sunday School class here (yes, CBC friends, there was a baby boom here, as well!), and after the Murray's, I took a meal to the Koziel's last week (baby Lilly) and the Coleman's (baby Pierce). On Friday night, we had the Homeyer's over, who have a bun in the oven themselves! It's only like a week and they find out if Weiss has a hunting buddy or a girlfriend (sorry Matt and Kelley---we would approve!). It was an exciting week for them, as well, because Matt is the pastor of Fellowship Baptist, and their brand new church opened Sunday! Anyway, it is always fun to see the Homeyer's and of course, EAT. (Weiss was at Kingland with Mia and Grappa living it up....)

On Saturday, Logan and I went to a Focus on the Family marriage conference in Austin/Lakeway. Although it was a teleconference, it was really good. (I am not big on watching people on DVD/TV--I really like reading or hearing someone live!) Gary Smalley, Beth Moore, Del Tackett, Gary Thomas and John Trent all spoke for about an hour each; Jeremy Camp provided the worship. It was broadcast out of Colorado Springs. I really enjoyed Gary Thomas, although they were all very good. He just had something especially for me on Saturday. After that, a group ate dessert at Mimi's Cafe and then Logan and I went to the Hill Country Galleria. We went to Backwoods outdoors store and stayed there for about an hour and a half and then to Dillard's. We got Weiss several outfits for the spring/summer because he is GROWING UP.... We then went to Best Buy and Petsmart for Zoey some more dog food. And speaking of Zoey.....

When we got home, we opened the door to destroyed crayons EVERYWHERE in our living room. Weiss has an artist's easel with a big roll of paper and a big bin for crayons, and Zoey took out EVERY crayon she could get to. (I had just opened up a brand new 24-pack of crayons the day before, and he already had a 16-pack out and a 24-pack of plastic Crayola "Twist-Ups..." you do the math....) There were only about 5 crayons left when her antic was all said and done.... Zoey had left the paper, crushed plastic, broken colors, and to top it off, a HUGE pile of Crayola crayon puke in the most obvious spot in the floor. Anyway, I was NOT happy with her. OH---Monday evening, I went to "restock" Weiss with crayons and to find something to clean up Zoey's HUGE purple stain on the carpet. (Just an aside, all the crayons were washable, but I guess dog puke is an exception...) I got him another 24-pack of the triangular Crayolas and some more plastic Crayola "Twist-Ups" (also a 24-pack). Weiss and I got home today from a quick trip to Walmart and Zoey had DONE IT AGAIN!!! (She only got about 4 crayons.) This time, thankfully, there was no puke. I was very frustrated because Hannah, Sophia and baby GiGi were coming over to play ANY MINUTE.... Bad, bad dog!

Anyway, for all of you moms out there that have dogs in the house, I have talked so several people about the "crayon incident," and they have all said their dogs like crayons, also. I tried about 4 different products I had around the house on the stain, and nothing was getting it out. Before calling a professional carpet cleaner (1-800-STEAMER......haha), I went to Walmart (on the new crayon trip) and got something called "Krud Kutter" in the paint/home projects area. It is awesome! And it is water-based, which is a good thing, especially for homes with small children. (Which means it's not TOO toxic....) Anyway, my taupe carpet where she puked is not "concord grape purple" anymore; it is a shade of "soft lilac." I highly recommend the product. I do not highly recommend leaving a devious goldendoodle alone with Crayola products, however. Her idea of "fine art" is more like her own version of a Picasso on the rug....