Rylan’s Hair- Before and After

All our boys had a chili bowl haircut… Bryce and Jayden got their “big boy haircut” at three years old. Rylan is our “baby” so he kept his just a little longer (he’s almost 5!) per my request.  Today he passed through a Baird Milestone and has the chili bowl no longer.

 

Don’t worry the Faux Mohawk is only temporary! 

A few random things…

1. I have never been able to run to save my life. I can remember how awful it was for me at Schimelpfenig Middle School in P.E… However, I am evolving (clears throat), and I need a fast way (like at the track in 30 minutes, 3 times a week) to get in shape here in my mid (ouch) thirties. So, I’ve dowloaded the Couch to 5K Running Plan on my iphone, and I began today.

2. Low carb… feeling great. Haven’t done this since 2004. I forgot how good it feels to get all that sugary stuff and stuff that turns straight to sugar out of the body.  Dan’s doing it, too, so that really helps me not be so tempted to eat a whole pack of Oreos for dinner.  On that topic, I made a Low Carb Tortilla Soup today. It was delish. Here’s the recipe.

Low Carb Tortilla Soup

Boil about 4 chicken breasts and shred, saving the water. Meanwhile, sauté about 4 ribs chopped celery in butter. Add anything else you have on hand (bell peppers, garlic) to the sauté mixture. I didn’t have anything so I just seasoned it with garlic salt and pepper.  Add the shredded chicken, a can of chicken broth and the celery to the chicken water. Add 2 cans of Rotel Tomatoes and about one rotel can full of heavy cream to the soup mixture.  Let it simmer for a while and then enjoy with shredded cheese and whatever other garnishes you’d like. 

3.  Backwards night… a couple pics of the boys before they left for Backwards Night at Awanas last night.

Aren’t they the cutest little backwards boys you’ve ever seen?  By the way, when they were getting ready in their rooms, Rylan came running out to us and said, “Is there a way to put your socks on backwards?  Jayden has been in there trying to figure it out forever!” We went ahead and let him know that it was pretty much impossible. 

Moment by Moment

Sometimes when I'm not even feeling particularly spiritual, and not focused on the things I should be, God works in mysterious ways and talks to me. Tonight it was on a friends' status.  This is what it said, "Much, much stress results from your wanting to make things happen before their times have come. One of the main ways I (God) assert my sovereignty is in the timing of events. If you want to stay close to Me and do things My way, ask Me to show you the path forward moment by moment. Slow down and enjoy the journey in My presence." (Jesus Calling, Sarah Young). Me? Get anxious about stuff? Nah! Try to plan out our life and freak out? Never! I wish that was true. What is God trying to teach me right now?  I have no idea, He is God, so how should I know? But, my best guess is that I am supposed to trust moment by moment.. so hard for me right now. What is specifically going on? Well, we've been here in Hooks for 1 1/2 years, so we're nearing a record of time over the past two years... I really like it here. Will we stay?  Only HE knows, which can be so frustrating at times, but I have to trust him moment by moment. I feel like that post was just for me.  It sure spoke to me. I mean, He sure spoke to me.

Menu Monday

I need to lose weight!!!! I have major issues about NOT wanting to have issues about weight... that's a whole other post. With that being said, I have really been packing on the pounds here in my thirties, so I've got to do something. Well, the only thing that has been effective in the past is a low-carb diet consisting mainly of protein and lower carb veggies, so I'm going to give it a whirl once again. Hopefully, once I see some pounds melt off, it'll motivate me to stick with it.  Here's the plan. And, in case you're wondering, this ends up being a pretty healthy way to feed my fam, because we eat a lot of green veggies and salads along with the protein.

Monday - Creamy Southwest Chicken Breasts and Broccoli
Tuesday- Bun-less Hamburgers with Cheese
Wednesday- Omelets
Thursday- Taco Salad
Friday- Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Breakfasts and Snacks:  Celery and cream cheese, Cheese Cubes
Lunches???? This is the hardest part for me b/c I hate planning ahead   have so much other stuff to worry about to get out us to school in the mornings, and on this plan, I have to think ahead about what I'm eating, and I'm usually doing well to pack lunches for the bambinos... I'd appreciate any ideas....

By the way, a nice reality check for me:   I weigh the same as I did as I went into the hospital to deliver my babies... that SUCKS!!!!!

Michigan, Part 4 of 4

On our last night in Michigan, we had a fun game night in my parent’s basement. We played darts, pool, and more and enjoyed some Margaritas.  Fun times and memories in the making. This was the first time Bryce and Jayden were allowed to play a little pool, so it was a big night!

I always pick out the same songs on the jukebox.

Notice the dart in the air and the shadow. Cool.

Mom either just sneezed or is afraid the dart might fly backwards.

My sis.

Something was extremely funny. Not sure what.

Rylan’s “look.”

Matt and Bryce playing pool.

I love the facial expressions caught on film while we’re playing pool. We’re an intense crowd!

Dad.

Brycie boy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dan the man

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My expression may win the prize… embarrasing!

      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We even played Dominoes and Speed.

Always time for a little photography.

So grown up… what happened to my baby?

 

    I had fun taking random shots into the mirrored walls.

 

Jayden gets pool lessons from his Big Mark.

C’mon Ang! I’m leaving tomorrow… smile, brat!

Always time for a little Disney Sorry on the side… I remember Bryce picked this out for my brother one year, with an ulterior motive of having him play it with him.

That’s all folks...the next day we were packed back up in the big, red truck and headed cross country. 

Laundry

I hate it when people overuse OMG… probably because I spend most of my life surrounded by junior high sized people! But, the never ending cycle (pun intended!) of laundry deserves a big, fat OMG!  So, this freezing cold Saturday afternoon in January, I sit folding clothes, and it will be a day,weekend, okay let’s just say it, life of laundry, and it drives me crazy, but it’s worth it because I am thankful for my sweet family!  By the way, my husband thinks doing laundry means putting it in the washer and dryer, and  if that’s all it was I wouldn’t mind it at all! It is the folding and putting away that makes me into a crazy person!   Three sons, and a coach husband = a zillion piles of dirty clothes… even though I loathe laundry, specifically the folding because it takes forever!, i do like decorating the laundry room. So, here are some fun pics to keeps us all motivated!

 

Love this one, and it would be awesome to have this many….

 

 

And if all your laundry was white, look how crisp your laundry room would look?

 

Or if all your laundry matched your wall color?

 

 

          Look at that backsplash in the laundry room. I’m in love.

Love this too! So organized, but again, what is with the matching laundry?

This is an European apartment where you gotta’ fit it all into one living space…

 

 

I absolutely adore this one!

Said a prayer to thank God for my dryer.

 

 

And, THIS is what i want someday! I love the see-through fridge for drinks! 

 

Love the wall color, all the cabinets, and the sign above the ironing board!

 

 

 

Love the blue wall color of this one and all the storage and the awesome striped floor!

 

Happy Laundering!

Since I don't want Green Eggs and Ham

 I have a plethora (how do you spell that word?) of leftover ham from our New Years' Day dinner, I may be making these in the next couple of weeks?

Ham and Cheese Sandwiches
Breakfast Egg and Ham Casserole
Ham, Broccoli Potato Cheddar
Casserole Ham and Cheese Quiche
Ham and Cheese Crescents

The Decade in Review

My sweet blogging buddy, Shannon,  inspired me with her adorable Decade in Review post, and I got straight to work on mine... It was so fun to read hers, and I enjoyed leafing through my scrapbooks and old pics and reflecting on the past ten years.

In February 2000, we welcomed our little Bryce Tyler. Born with a a full head of hair and olive skin, he looked just like his daddy. My world changed forever.  For me, nothing is better than being a wife and mommy.

Uncle Mark came to visit and did the Heisman pose with his first nephew. Only Mark would think of this, and that’s why we miss him so much. Who would have ever known that we only had roughly 9 more years left to enjoy Mark.

In 2000, we said goodbye to Grandma Smith. Dorothy Lucker Smith went to be with the Lord she taught us to love.  She did meet Bryce first, and we have a special quilt she made him. It is the softest thing, and all her Baird great-grandsons loved it as newborns.

In 2001, we bought our first house in McKinney, Texas.  We loved life as a family of three, well, four, because back then Mocha, our first “baby” was loyally with us almost everywhere we went.
 
Oh, Bryce! What a fun first child… he was and still is a “ham” enjoying every minute of eyes all on him. For three and a half years, that’s pretty much the way it was, too….

And, then in August 2003, the day of the big black out in the Midwest and East coast, we welcomed our second son, Jayden.  This was my most “exciting” birth… I worked all day, ate Chinese for lunch, went and got a pedicure, and then thought I had a tummy ache from the Chinese.   Well, it wasn’t a belly ache, it was Jayden, who came in a flash… no time for meds, almost no time to even make it to the hospital. And, Jayden is just that way… when he’s ready for something, he’s ready. There’s no rushing him, and then there’s no stopping him once he’s made up his mind about something.  By, the way, to our surprise, this time we got a blond-haired, blue-eyed baby… looks just like his “Marks”, my dad and brother.

Dan turned 30 in 2003

And, then things became a whirlwind… I continued to teach 5th grade, Dan was going to school part-time, working full time, and coaching AAU basketball teams, and I decided to try teaching in McKinney at a school closer to home. In August 2004, SURPRISE, I was already 11 weeks pregnant with Rylan when I realized it!  And, God knew I must slow down…. It was a rocky pregnancy during a stressful new job, and a layoff for Dan, and it was just too much for my body to handle. On Valentines’ Day 2005 (I remember it like it was yesterday), I was put on bedrest. I was only 26 weeks pregnant – I had a 4 year old, an 18 month old, and now I had to be flat on my back for at least 10 weeks.  Well, with much help from family and friends, we made it, and in April 2005, Rylan was born!  (This time with an epidural, thank God!)  If only I could have had drugs to take home with me as I went home to a young 5 year old, a 20 month old, and a newborn, and a husband who was never home because of school and work!   I’ve always been a generally happy person, but I was just not sure I could handle it all, and I remember crying a lot in the hospital (I’m sure it had a lot to do with hormones, too!), and the nurse kept asking me if I was okay… I think she considered calling the Psych ward….

Well, we made it and a month later, Dan graduated from the University of North Texas. This was the bachelor’s degree that he had started working on when he was 18.  He could only go part-time since we had married young, etc. etc… needless to say I was the proudest person at graduation!  And, yes, I was there with my three babies, but I did bring my mom along, too… Thank goodness…she is always with me when I need her. What a lifesaver.

Shortly after that, I turned 30, we sold our house in McKinney, Dan got his first teaching and coaching job in Aubrey, then his second one in Sherman, and then his third in Hooks. And, yes, since we were leasing homes until we knew where we for sure wanted to buy next (hasn’t happened yet, by the way), we moved three times… first from McKinney to Aubrey, then from Aubrey back to McKinney, and then from McKinney to our current location, Hooks, (practically Arkansas), Texas.  I celebrated my 10th year of teaching, and now am in my 13th year.  And, yes, I just went through about 5 years in one paragraph, but sadly, it has almost happened that fast.

I celebrated my 30th birthday. It kinda’ freaked me out, since I was the first daughter of young parents, I remembered clearly my own parents turning thirty. Oh, well, time marches on.

I have a better pic from this night at the Tigers’ game in Detroit, but this is more what it was like… Dan looking one way, me looking the other, and in 2006, we realized we were at a crossroads in our marriage. Some things needed to change, it was painful for both of us, but after several months and much, much prayer, we came to peace with some things in the past, and we decided it was worth working on, and we’ve made it another 4 years, and things seem better than ever.


Some other favorites from this decade -I went tent-camping for a whole week in New York!  This was the first “real” camping experience for me. And, to everyone’s surprise, I loved it!  (you know, for a once every five years kind of thing) 

We were able to go back to the Smith family reunion (Thank you Texas Legislation on later start dates for Back to School.) This is Dan and Mark as 2007 Champions of the Annual Smith Family Reunion Egg Toss.
 

In 2008, we did something we had never even thought of before, but when the opportunity presented itself we went for it and added an exchange student to our family for a year, and it was such a special time. Now we have an Italian daughter, Marianna. One of the best memories from that time was a fun trip to Branson with Mary and Mark. So many goofy, funny memories from that trip and the other two weeks Mark was here with us in 2008.
And, on May 16, the worst phone call I’ve ever had.  We miss you, Mark and I will never forget the three decades I had with you as my brother. I only wish we had longer…



Since Dan was to be all consumed with grad school and coaching adventures, I spent six important weeks in Michigan this past summer (2009) as we all leaned on each other, taking things one day at at time.  Such precious times. My grandmother, pictured below, who lost her husband when he was only 55 and I were talking about how I wasn't sure if we should go to the upcoming family reunion because it would be so hard without Mark. And, she said, "But, you go anyway. You do the things you've always done. That's how you get through." That may not work for everyone... grief is so personal, but at the time it made so much sense and was so helpful. I just love her straightforward, practical ways.

This year, my husband, has supported me emotionally in a way no one else could. His "story" includes a lot of loss and God knew when we met that he would be able to help me like no other in these days.   He has helped me so much.

And, now the memories we are making in this chapter, in Hooks… small town life… what will the next decade bring? 


I do know that I will do my very best to enjoy every moment with my babies, because it is going by so very fast.