Mornings

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 I love mornings...to an extent. I never used to be a morning person. Waking up for school/college was a drag and I hated being up that early. In my "older" years, I have come to realize the beauty and stillness of the morning. I love that morning light streaming through the windows. Listening to the sound of brewing coffee. Eating breakfast by the window and watching runners and walkers on the trail behind our house. Eating breakfast as a family. These are some of the things I love, but it doesn't always look like that in the mornings.
A lot of mornings are just running around trying to get everyone fed, things picked up, making the bed, getting dressed (if I'm lucky), cleaning up breakfast, and starting school. But I treasure those little moments even in the craziness. I still get to make the coffee. We always see people out on the trail no matter what the weather. I still get to sit somewhere and eat my breakfast. And I also love to light a candle in the morning. Kind of a little slice of peace in my hectic morning!
And I do cherish those precious Saturday mornings. The only morning in the week that doesn't involve school or church and we can just lounge around in our pajamas and do as we please. We don't make our beds that day, or get dressed right away in the morning. We sometime have a special breakfast, and the new Pioneer Woman cooking show is on. I love those mornings. Especially when Tad is off from work.
Ahhh, mornings. Someday I will get up earlier than my kids like I used to and really savor the quietness, the time with God before they wake, and my coffee before the craziness starts! But for now, I'll just take them when I can get them!

Life Around Here

 Well, life has been pretty crazy around here. We have been extremely busy! I must say, this is the busiest I have been as a mommy! We are doing Classical Conversation once a week (a classical, Christian homeschool education) and I am a tutor (which is the teacher of the class, they like to reserve the title "teacher" for the parent who directs their child's education), Maddy is taking ballet/tap/jazz class once a week, we have church, worship team, and many other things that fill up our schedule! And of course, we are enjoying being close to family who we can share all our adventures with!

Tad, Judah and Ruth hanging out at the park!

 Our weather is like the Ohio summers I am used to, so there are still lots of days we spend our afternoons outside or take evening walks on the path behind our house. We usually do that when Tad is working a double and we need to get out of the house!

 This is Ruth with her Aunt Lydia! She works at a salon and a bakery and goes to school, but in her "free time" she comes over and visits us, and we love it! I think they love Aunt Lydia more than they love me! And sometimes she brings the kids yummy stuff from the bakery! I seriously don't know what we will do without her next year when she goes off to college!

 It is fun being near family, and sometimes we get to go a little bit outside of our town and see extended family. On this particular day, we were invited to Tad's uncle's house to help build onto their house, and for a birthday party! It was so much fun to see family and the kids had a blast!

 Pops (Tad's dad) got a Spyder motorcycle and the kids were playing around on it. He even let Tad and I take it for a spin around the neighborhood; it was pretty fun! I can't wait until Tad can get his motorcycle fixed! We still have plenty of warm days left!

Ruthie is eating solid food 3 times a day now. Hmmmm. She must not like this one. But she is adorable! And she does like a lot of the baby food we feed her! She is probably my least picky baby eater out of the three!

Cute as a button! She looks like a little "who!" Her hair always seems to be in a mo-hawk. I can't figure out if her hair naturally does that, or if someone (AKA Tad) always puts her hair like that. Anyways...
Just a little bit of what we are doing around here! We have Classical Conversations for 2 more weeks and then we are off until around mid-January! So that will be a nice break and hopefully I can get some more things done and not feel as crazy busy as I am right now! I'm looking forward to the holidays, and we are excited to get our Thankful Tree going like we did last year! Hope this finds you all well!

The Most Amazing Thing Happened

Pioneer Woman, at Barnes and Noble outside of Chicago in 2009

Last week, we were out of town because I had a Practicum, which is a 3-day training to be a tutor (which is like a teacher) for Classical Conversations. They call it a tutor because the parent is suppose to be the child's primary teacher at home. It was really good training about a classical, Christian education, training in learning Latin, learning how to teach the Foundations class, which is what I will be teaching, and we got a chance to get all our books and materials!! Maddy got a chance to go to a Geography/Drawing Camp for those 3 days, and Judah was in the nursery when he wasn't napping. Tad got off for all three days, and so he was my "manny!" Major props to him because he took care of the kids so I could take notes, listen to the seminar, and get some really good training in!!
So yes, that was all fine and wonderful, but I have to tell you about the most amazing thing that happened. I went into the sanctuary on the first morning for training and noticed that there weren't too many people there. I wish I had packed some fancier clothes, because a lot of the women were in dresses, all dressed nice and ready for the sessions. I didn't pack any dresses. I saw one lady who was helping people get checked in and seemed to be in some kind of leadership, and she looked familiar but I don't know anyone from Bartlesville, Oklahoma, so I just kind of brushed it off. I noticed one lady in the back of the sanctuary who looked interesting. I noticed her because she was especially tall, had long red hair pulled back, and was wearing an interesting top. I didn't think anything of it until I saw the lady I had previously recognized walk up to the red-haired woman and say something to her. And then, it hit me.
Who do I totally admire and blog about? Whose recipes do I cook, who lives in Oklahoma, and homeschools? Who did I wait for 5 hours while 35 weeks pregnant to meet, and have her sign my cookbook?
If you guessed PIONEER WOMAN you are correct!! I almost peed my pants!!! And the first lady I recognized was Pioneer Woman's best friend, Hyacinth, who is in her cookbook, on her cooking show at times, and was on the Throwdown with Bobby Flay. Yeah, I'm not obsessed or anything!! Her nametag said Cindi which must be short for Hyacinth!! So I wasn't gonna talk to her, since I already met her in Chicago, and didn't want to bother her or seem like an obsessed fan, but the third day, after prodding from several people, I was gonna talk to her. But guess who didn't show up the third day? Yep. I almost stole her and her kids nametags though, when I saw them on the table when she didn't come!! One of her sons was in Maddy's class, one of her daughters might have helped in the nursery with Judah, and I saw the other ones around. So surreal. Because her family has been an integral part of her blog and tv show.
The first day when I went to go pick up Maddy from class, Pioneer Woman and I (I love the sound of that!) were 2 of the only moms standing, waiting to pick up our kids from the camp. Why didn't I say anything to her!!  So I got Maddy and she started to tell me all about her camp, and then she saw PW in front of us, and her eyes got real big and she said, "Is that the lady from that cooking show?" It was awesome. She was as star struck as me!! And she does claim that that is her favorite cooking show!
So in the subsequent days, she asked PW's boy in her class, Todd, if he liked being videotaped (ha ha), and what his favorite meal was his mother made. He said pork chops! Swoon.
So, in my opinion, going to the Practicum in Bartlesville was totally worth it just because I got to see Pioneer woman for 2 days in the sessions. She checks her phone a lot. Probably checking her blog! I loved it!

Yeah, that's Pioneer Woman and I, just chatting!!!!

 So, maybe I will actually blog about the Practicum or Classical Conversations, or starting school up soon, but first things first! Just had to tell you guys about it!! See, I guess it was worth it to move to Oklahoma!

New Ride

We have been a one car family since we got married. We lived in Chicago for 8 years total including school and then when we got married. We almost always lived downtown so we didn't need a second car. We lived close to Tad's work and so he would jog, bike, or skateboard to work!! We rarely used the car ourselves. We could walk almost anywhere. We walked to the playgrounds, the store, the bank, the lake, the mall, the coffee shop, etc. It is a walking city!
When we moved to Oklahoma, we quickly realized we needed a second vehicle but really didn't have the money for one. Tad started riding his bicycle to work, which was about 6-7 miles. He liked it at first, but it was a hot summer last year, and he rode his bike most of it. Once we started school, he has driven the car most of the year because we didn't need the car in the mornings while we were doing school. But we often rely on Tad's family who lived in the same town for rides when the other one needs the car. His friend at work was trying to sell his motorcycle, and Tad was looking around town for one. He ended up getting a really good deal on a Suzuki Intruder. It is a cruiser! He just got it yesterday and he is so excited!! It will take some getting used to as he hasn't ridden an actual motorcycle before. Before yesterday that is. He was cruising around the neighborhood trying it out!

So we officially have 2 vehicles. Of course the motorcycle doesn't really transport the family around, but it will be nice to have our Pacifica this summer so we can run around town in the mornings before naps! And Tad will have a blast riding to work and wherever else, and not have to always ask for rides to get places!!
Several guys have said they wish their wives would let them get one, or want me to convince their wives to let them get one. But we have laughed at that and said the reason I have been so for it is because it is actually a lot safer than him riding his bicycle on high-speed limit streets. So while it is more dangerous switching from a car to a motorcycle, it is safer for Tad because he is upgrading from a bicycle to a motorcycle!! LOL!

Try New "Adventures" Thursday - Hiding Out

It was kind of a crazy weekend here in Oklahoma. If you watched any portion of the weather, then you heard about all of the tornadoes that ravaged through towns, 2 of which were pretty close to where we live. Scary! Since we just moved here a little over a year ago, I am not used to living in a place that could so easily get a tornado. But the funny thing is that people who are from here don't really get phased about the threat of tornado. Some people do, but a lot of people just roll their eyes when I express my extreme concern!
We ended up packing up and spending the weekend with my in-laws, since they have 4 bedrooms in their basement. We slept there so we would be safer, and the kids were soundly sleeping during the storm instead of being woken up to hide in the closet or drive to Grandma's. We didn't hear much of anything down there. I heard a couple rumbles of thunder during the late-night feedings, but that's all.
We had just gone to the town of Woodward a couple weeks ago for a field trip. That's the town that got hit with tornadoes that destroyed about 89 homes, killed 5 people, injured a lot, and destroyed 13 businesses. They were taking volunteers on Sunday at church to head over to that town to help clean up the mess and move things. That's how real the threat was. That's how scary it was to live where the warnings were.
I guess I am really struggling with God being in control of the chaos. It doesn't mean that bad things won't happen, or that the tornado won't hit your town, or your house, or your kids. I am scared for my 3 kids and their safety, and my responsibility to keep them safe. And I know that this is just the beginning of tornado season. Basically our plan is to be at Grandma's with the basement during the really bad storms. I'd rather be safe there than sorry here in our house where we would all have to hide in our walk in closet. With 3 kids. Involving a newborn. No, thank you!
So, maybe God is really testing my trust in Him. It's hard for me to give this over to Him. To have peace in the midst of storms. I'm not sure what that looks like, releasing my kids to Him no matter what might happen to them. I am so sad for the 2 little kids who were killed in Woodward by the storms. It's real. I've got to get a hold on some peace or I might be a wreck every Spring that we live here! God will really have to work on me!

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Try New Adventures: Goats, Snakes, and More!!

We've been busy doing some pretty random things lately!! One of the fun things we got to do is go out to Tad's Uncle and Aunt's farm where they have goats who have had lots of babies!! When we went, they had about 26 baby goats!! Of course, the kids loved getting to hold them, pet them, and chase after them!! Pictured above are my two sister-in-laws holding baby goats!!
Their chickens laid eggs and each of the girls got one, although we ended up leaving them there for fear they would break in the car on the way home!!
They were like little puppies!!! Judah got such a kick out of them!! Grandma was helping him hold one!

Maddy was pretty good about chasing the goats and getting one that she could hold. She got to help Judah pet one!! She held about every baby goat I think!! She is an animal lover!!

Momma and baby goats!! They were fun to watch!!

They got a big, new dog!! It was bigger than Judah!! It just followed us wherever we went on the farm.

Maddy just loved it! This is her in her element! She has always loved anything involving animals!! Which reminds me of her "Aunt Jess" who loves animals as much as her!!
At our local art and science museum called Leonardo's, Judah got to pet a lot of their animals that they had in cages and aquariums. He loved it! Maddy has homeschool classes there, so Judah and I get to play at the museum during that time. He would pet it quickly and then say "in there!" and point to its' cage! Especially with the snake!!

They have lots of fun dress-up stuff there! Maddy got to come down and play after her classes!! I can't believe how big she is getting! And yes, you have to hear me keep saying it!!

The kids after bath time in their robes. They are such goofballs! And they love getting their picture taken together! These next few are just random pictures that I wanted to share!! They aren't particularly related!!

Daddy and Judah at the library in their cute kid's section!

Daddy and the kids feeding ducks at the park! Don't let Tad's attire fool you, it was actually quite chilly! He just doesn't really like to wear a coat! Below are the kids at the playground!!

Maddy and her tea parties! Sometime I should post pics of her when she was littler and using the same table and stuffed animals for a tea party!!
Judah at Grandma's house for game night. He was too little to play the games we were playing, but these dominoes kept him occupied for awhile!!

And the new baby! Just a few short weeks and we will be meeting our precious new addition to the family!! Her name will be Ruth ____ Davis! Any suggestions for a middle name?? I'm worried we won't pick one until the day of!! There are lots of names in the running!!

Hop on over to aliciashomemaking.com for other fun adventures around the blogosphere!!

Try New Adventures: City Exploring

On one of Tad's days off, we decided to go exploring in our little town of Enid, Oklahoma. We have only lived here a little over a year, and we have come across some interesting, fun little shops over the past few weeks. So we decided to take some time to go around and visit some of the places we hadn't been. We started out at this little, local health food store. We came from Chicago, the mecca of healthy eating with their 2 story Whole Foods store, Trader Joe's, Sunflower Market, and outdoor farmer's markets all throughout the city. So this was a bit small, but nice to find a little place that had some familiar stuff and things that the local grocery store probably wouldn't carry.

Then, continuing on in our health journey, there was a little bakery that people have been talking about that opened up not too long ago. If you blink you'll miss it because it's so tiny!! It's just that little building right there with the little purple sign. But don't let that fool you! There were some good eats in there! Tad got a sticky bun, I got a cream cheese filled croissant, the kids got cookies, and we got coffee and juice!! Yum!! I did think to take a picture before they were totally gone!

This is a cool painting on the side of one of the old buildings in town. Just thought it was worth a picture!!
Tad wanted to check out a couple of pawn shops and just see what was in them, and so we took turns getting out at some different places without the kids.

I went into this cool little school supply store and got Maddy a coloring book that teaches them the basics about the state of Oklahoma. They had lots of good stuff in there, and it was good to know that I had somewhere to get those specific things I will need for Maddy's school!

We just took a picture of this cool little bakery/restaurant. They served food for breakfast/lunch too, and since we had just had our bakery food, we didn't go in. But it looked cute!! You can't really tell from the picture, but hanging from the awning are jeans, like the tops of jean dresses or something. Unique for sure!! Hopefully we will go back and try this place!!
Another pawn shop that Tad perused. We have also found a cool antique shop, great thrift stores, random little shops with trinkets in them, western stores with awesome country stuff to decorate your home, and the cutest downtown you will ever see!!
And on another day, we got to go to our little yogurt place called Cherry Berry, and the kids had a blast at the little kid tables and their candy-filled ice cream!! So fun!!

I'm sure we will continue to find cool little spots here in town, and it is still such a breath of fresh air after living in downtown Chicago for 8 years!! Hope you are having some fun new adventures yourself!! Comment below if you have tried anything new in the past few weeks!! Makes life interesting!

Head on over to aliciashomemaking.com to read about other people's fun new adventures!!

Crazy Dog

In just a few short months, look how big Minnie has gotten!! We got her in August and by January this is how big she is! She has about grown out of her kennel and we will need to be getting one shortly!! She has been a pretty good dog, although, she isn't the indoor dog we thought we were getting. She is so hyper that she really needs to be outside all day to get her energy out, not destroy things in the house, and not jump all over the kids. She comes in and sleeps at night, and luckily, we have a little gated side yard where we put Minnie when the kids play in the backyard. She barks at all the neighborhood dogs, barks at kids on the path behind our house, and takes naps in the sun. And when Maddy left her doll outside once, it became Minnie's favorite outside toy! She has chewed off the hands and it looks disgusting and heinous but she plays with it everyday!! The cutest thing is that right when we brought her home, Maddy gave her one of her stuffed animals and she sleeps with it every night! She usually cuddles it between her paws or rests her head on it! I can't believe I have 3 "kids" who need their stuffed animals at night!!
She has "run away" 2 times, but luckily we got her back. Our gate broke and she got out, but once Tad went and got her in the car, and another time she came back to our front porch!!
She loves our local dog park. We hadn't been for awhile, but recently we went and had her run on the "big dog" side, which is huge, and she loved it! We have a medium-sized, fenced-in backyard, but it is nothing compared to the fenced-in dog park!!
Tad is going to start running with her, as he has been getting into running again and Minnie has tons of energy!! They thought she was a terrier/lab mix but we aren't totally sure. She is all puppy and a sweet dog, just a little much for this super pregnant momma to handle sometimes!! Like yesterday when she got ahold of my slipper when I was getting her food. I did not want to chase her all over the backyard, thank you very much, and I was not happy as I watched her feast on one of my new slippers in the backyard all morning. Tad rescued it when he got home from work, and now I have a slightly dirty slipper, but it still works!
One day, I hope to have a more mellow dog who will lay around or just walk casually around the house without mauling the kids, but in the meantime, she is a crazy, hyper outdoor dog! But we love her!!

Having the Husband at Home

This might sound crazy, but after 6 years of marriage, 2 kids, and one on the way, I still adore my husband and wish he could be home all the time. I just don't get that he has to be at work full-time, or more to make ends meet, and be away from us so much!! Growing up, I just accepted that this is what all families did, what all husbands/fathers did. But with being a wife to a man I am totally in love with, I just don't accept it!
I know, I know. I'm crazy. Of course he has to go and work so that we can have money so that we can support our family and I am so blessed that I don't have to work so that I can stay home with my precious kiddos! I get that! I'm just saying, if I had it my way, I would keep him home!
Tad's 30th birthday is coming up, and for his birthday, he wanted to take a crazy hiking/camping trip with his brothers and a guy from our church. They took about 3 days and went to Texas and went hiking, swimming, running, and camping. They had a blast! I am so glad he went and had such a good time!
But it was hard for me. Tad hasn't ever been away since we have gotten married! I have gone away with the kids to Ohio numerous times to visit my family. But we have never been the ones to be left. It wasn't so much that I couldn't handle the kids for the long weekend. I just missed him and was worried about him and his long drive. And I'm not used to being away from him for days on end with almost no communication!
But alas! He is home, safe and sound! It makes me appreciate my time with him so much more. And even though he is back to work, and I miss him again, I am so glad that he is only at work and not in another state with no cell phone reception!!
So, to end this rambling of a blog post, I will just say that I am so in love with Tad, and am grateful for every minute I get to spend with him! I'm so glad that I married someone who I can't stand to be away from, and not the other way around! Love you, baby!

Shrimp and Cheese Grits with Okra

You will not believe how good this meal is! I was drooling over the ingredients in this melt-in-your-mouth, unbelievable dish! Now granted, you have to love shrimp, cheese, grits, and okra to start with, but if you do, like we do, then you will love this! I have been cooking almost all recipes from Rachael Ray's magazines lately, and I have not been disappointed, let me tell you! It seems like every single meal I have made of hers is not just average, but delicious! And this is definitely one of them! I can't wait to make it again!

Shrimp and Cheese Grits with Okra
Rachael Ray Magazine October 2010

One 12 ounce can evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking grits
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese (about 5 ounces)
5 scallions, white and green portions thinly sliced separately
Salt and Pepper
6 slices bacon, thinly sliced crosswise
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 pound frozen cut okra, thawed and patted dry
3 tablespoons flour

1. In a large saucepan, bring 5 cups water and the evaporated milk to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low, stir in the grits, partially cover and simmer, stirring, until just thickened, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the cheese and three-quarters of the scallion greens, season with salt and pepper and cover to keep warm.

2. While the grits are cooking, in a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium-high heat until almost crisp, about 8 minutes. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper and stir into the pan along with the scallion whites; cook until the shrimp is opaque, about 3 minutes. Transfer the shrimp mixture to a bowl; wipe out the skillet.


3. In the same skillet, heat the olive oil over high heat. Season the okra with salt and pepper and toss with the flour. Fry the okra in a single layer, stirring occasionally, until golden in spots, about 3 minutes; drain on paper towels and season with salt.
4. Divide the grits among 4 bowls and top with the shrimp mixture and okra. Sprinkle the remaining scallion greens on top.

This is one of my favorite meals I have made! When I am craving something delicious, gourmet- tasting, and savory, this would do the trick! You will love it!