Quinn's First Haircut

We took Quinn out earlier today to get his first haircut. Now, I will honestly admit...this was completely Buddy's idea. He will not be mad for me saying this. I was content to leave Quinn with his fly-away, won't-lay-down-for-nothing, cute little baby curls. Buddy, on the other hand, felt it was time to get a haircut.

We went to our local Great Clips, where I always go to get my hair cut. The lady in the black outfit is Shelly, who always cuts my hair. We met her because she knows our fire chief. As you can see, Quinn is pretty content to be in the chair. But not for long....



Here he is with his little fish cape wrapped around his shoulders. I'm holding him up...for now.


Here Shelly is showing him the clippers and is letting him hold the comb. (Her clippers have a leopard print design...very trendy!)



Now let the cutting begin. Quinn was pretty cool about it at first. He was just sitting there, letting Shelly cut away.




But, all good things must come to an end. I had to hold him in my lap, but as you can see, he is anxiously trying to get away from me. If you look closely, you can see tears in his eyes. From this point on, it got pretty ugly...crying, wailing, and screaming. And Quinn was pretty upset too! In all honesty, I didn't cry, but I did feel my eyes welling up. This was a big moment. My baby boy went from being a cute little baby with fly-away curls.....


....to the cutest little man I've ever seen. Yes, it really is as short as it looks! I guess it will grow back. I miss his curls already, but his Daddy was pretty pleased with how it looked. Quinn was pretty worn out when it was all over with. He pretty much cried the whole time, so he was glad to get his paci when the trauma was over.

And by the time we got home, all was right with the world! Isn't he precious. I think I can get used to the "new Quinn"!

Have You Pampered Your Chef Lately??

I went to my first Pampered Chef party this past Saturday. My friend, Alycia, was having one so we all went. Quinn and Buddy went upstairs to play with Alex, who is Quinn's BFF (best friend forever) and Ryan.

I had all intentions of taking pictures of all the Pampered Chef fun, but I was having too much fun to stop and take pictures.

The coordinator did her little talk about why she sells the product and why we should too. Then we got to do the fun stuff. She used some sort of roasting dish that can be used in the microwave to cook a whole chicken in 30 minutes (in the microwave). Then she baked a devil's food cake in a non-stick skillet in the oven.

While the chicken was roasting and the cake was baking, we participants got to "play" with all the cool utensils. (sorry in advance, but I don't remember all the names.) I used some sort of slicer to slice up bell peppers. We all got to take our aggressions out with the food chopper. I was really impressed with this garlic press, that diced up a garlic, while keeping the garlic skin inside!

Oh, and since I'm sure you'll ask this, I might as well tell you what I ordered. I ordered 3 different sets of bamboo spoons and spatulas. I've got one bamboo spoon that came free with a wok we bought several years ago. I love using it and the spoon sets were decently priced, so I got some more. Can't wait for them to get here.

Now the question is this....do I want to host my own party???

Quinn's Artistic Debut (aka The Not-So-Unlucky-Friday-the-13th)

Two fun things happened last week on the so-called "Friday the 13th".

The first thing that happened was that Quinn got an early Valentine's Day package from his Grandma and Grandpa (my parents). My camera happened to be nearby, so I couldn't help but grab these shots of Quinn and the package. I think the pictures say it all.


Here he is examining the contents....a fold out Valentine's card and a green shirt. He really liked the card! Look at how seriously he is studying it.


Plenty of smiles say that this gift was a hit!! And I love this picture, because you can see all of his teeth....4 on top, 3 on bottom, and molars top and bottom!

The second fun thing was Quinn's first piece of artwork! He made this Valentine for me at his school. It is proudly on display in our kitchen, on the fridge. Tours are available any time, but unfortunately, this artwork is not available for purchase.

:-)

It says "Mom, you've got something that no other mother has!"

"Me....Sorry I'm non-returnable" Notice the lovely crayon-strokes!! My future artist!

See, Friday the 13th doesn't have to be all bad. And we didn't even have to deal with broken mirrors, black cats, or walking under ladders.

Cabbage Dinner

Do you remember my horrible day?


After dealing with a call from daycare that Quinn got hurt and being in a minor car accident, I came home to supper burnt in the crock pot.

This meal is something I love to make and it is fairly inexpensive. I have tweaked it and figured out I can make it on the stove in my deep skillet, rather than using my crock pot and risk ruining it again. So I've decided to share it with you all!


I call this meal "Cabbage Dinner".

(If you don't like cabbage, thanks for visiting and come back tomorrow....this recipe is not for you....otherwise, keep on reading).

You will need 5-6 potatoes (not red ones), 1 medium to large white or vadaila onion, 1 head of cabbage, 1 smoked sausage (like Hillshire Farm or Smithfield), and 1 can (or 2 cups) of chicken broth. (Optional: 1-2 heaping tablespoons of minced garlic)

First of all, wash and scrub your potatoes. Then cut into bite-size chunks, with skin left on. I use a deep skillet, but you could use a dutch oven style pan as well.



Next you want to take your onion, wash it, peel the skin off, and cut it into pieces. You can dice them up, but I prefer to use bigger pieces. See below.



Next you want to wash your head of cabbage and the chop it into large pieces. I take out the pieces with the big ribs in them. You can cut around it, or leave it. Either way, cut the whole head of cabbage up.



Layer the ingredients in the pan: Potatoes, onion, then cabbage. Yes the cabbage will seem to be overflowing, but it will cook down.



At this point, you will want to add the garlic if you want it. I've done it both ways...I prefer the garlic. Also add the can of chicken broth. Put all this on the stove and bring everything to a steady boil. Put the lid on the pan, and then you can turn it down to medium-low and let everything simmer. Check on it periodically. When the cabbage begins to cook down and the potatoes start to get tender, you will want to slice the sausage into bite-sized circles and add it to the entire thing. I simmer this until all the vegetables soft, usually 30 or so minutes, maybe 45.

When it's done, it should look something like this....



.....and the leftovers are twice as good!!

Safety Tips of the Day

I've heard the most interesting things on the radio lately. The stories I heard this morning will definitely make you re-think how you do certain things....things that I know we have probably all done.

Story #1: The DJ told about a family who had been at a ball game and when they got to their car, they discovered it had been broken in to. The garage door opener and GPS unit had both been stolen. When they got home, they discovered their house had been robbed and anything of value was gone. The thieves had used the GPS to drive to the location stored as "home", then used the garage door opener to get into the house.

Morale of this story: Hide the GPS from view in your car, or take it with you!

Story #2: A lady had her purse stolen, which contained her credit cards, ATM card, and her cell phone. She used a pay phone to call her husband, to tell him about the theft. He told her he had gotten her text message and had sent her the PIN number for their ATM card, like she had asked him to. The thief had used her cell phone, texted the contact listed as "hubby" and asked for the PIN number. The couple went straight to the bank, only to discover that all their money had been withdrawn via the ATM 20 minutes before.

Morale of the story: If someone "texts" you for sensitive information: password, PIN number, etc; CALL them back and speak to them. Or better yet, DON'T GIVE THAT INFO OUT!!

The final thing they mentioned was to put an ICE contact in your phone...In Case of Emergency. I've heard about this before. It can be useful in situations when you are unable to call for yourself...injured, unconscious, etc. I don't think we've ever had to to do this on the scene with the fire department, but I can see how useful it could be.

We've got a GPS unit, and we have our "home" stored in the unit. On the visor above the driver seat in my car is my garage door opener. In my purse is my debit card and my cell phone.

Makes you think, doesn't it....

Prayer Request

I found out last week that my grandmother is having some tests on her heart in a couple of weeks.

Apparently she was having some vitals taken in anticipation of needing a routine colonoscopy. The doctor thought he detected a heart murmur, and wanted this checked out before he would do the procedure. So she went to see her family doctor, who also heard the murmur, and suggested she go see a cardiologist.

My mom took her to see my dad’s cardiologist (he’s had open heart surgery, but that’s another story). My parents trust the opinion of this doctor so they chose him for Grandma’s visit. Anyway, as he listened, he also thought he detected a “whooshing” sound in her carotid arteries. These are the ones that run through your neck towards your brain. He also thought her pulse rate was low, which made him wonder….if her heart rate was low while she is awake, how low does it go while she’s sleeping? So he made her wear a heart monitor overnight. We do not yet know the results of this.

He wants her to have an echo cardiogram on her heart to determine why the heart rate is so low. He also wants to do an ultrasound on her neck to determine what the “whooshing” is all about. Needless to say, the colonoscopy has been postponed.

Grandma is one of these people who "never gets sick." Sure she gets a cold from time to time...we all do. She is almost 89 years old, and is not having any major problems. She is the oldest of her brothers and sisters...and she is in the best health of all of them. She has had her gall bladder removed and a knee replacement surgery and did great with both of them. These procedures happened several years ago and she's had nothing major since.

She will be having these tests on February 19th and 20th. I am praying that she will get great results, and I’m asking you to keep her in your prayers as well.

Do you have malicious joy?

I was listening to the radio Tuesday morning on my way to work, like I always do. This particular station has a really funny morning show that I like to listen to. Every once in a while when I’m listening, I hear a “devotion” minute from a local preacher. I always enjoy if I catch this devotion because the preacher always has something good to say.

Tuesday was the first day that the devotion stuck with me all day. The preacher asked “Have you ever experienced malicious joy?” I thought, what in the world is he talking about? Malicious means spiteful, so how can joy be spiteful or malicious.

The preacher went on to give different examples.

--Hearing about another person’s misfortune or hardship and thinking, “Better them than me.”

--Seeing a co-worker, who is constantly doing the wrong thing, finally get caught by the boss, and feeling that they are “getting what they deserve.”

--Any type of happy feeling you feel when another person is in trouble, having a hard time, etc.

This really made me think about my own self. I can think of times in the past when I have thought these things. I have thought “better them than me”. I have thought that someone has “gotten what they deserve”. Have I been living with malicious joy?

Then the preacher went on to say that rather than think these thoughts, we should think of the real source of our joy, Jesus, focus on Him and pray for the people who are in the particular situation.

This has totally changed my way of thinking. I am no longer going to think these thoughts. When I find myself in a situation that could lead me to think these particular things, I am going to stop right then and pray for that person, in hopes that they too can know what true JOY is all about.

These things I have spoken to you, that my JOY may be in you, and that your JOY may be full. John 15:11

Are you still keeping up with your New Year's Goals??

I was inspired by some postings by Money Saving Mom on her different blogs. One post was about her personal goals for 2009, and another post was about her financial goals for 2009. She and her husband are actually trying to pay 100% down on their first home!

Anyway, I thought I would post about how I'm doing so far this year. I posted here about my own goals for 2009. Here's the update.

1. I wanted to do more Bible Study and decided to start reading the Bible all the way through. Buddy and I are reading together and are almost through with Genesis.

2. I want to be a better wife and mother. One way I thought I could do that is to start being much more frugal with our money. Buddy and I have a goal of becoming debt free. We eliminated some things from our budget that has helped us keep more of our money. We cut back to basic cable. That hurt! No more DVR, no more digital channels. Just the basic 10 channels. We have pretty much stopped eating out. We have started buying as much of our groceries at Aldi's, and then getting the rest at whichever store has the best deals of the week. Just this past week I "held up" the line at Walmart so the cashier could "price match" local grocery store deals.

I am so excited to say that since Jan 1, 2009, we have paid off 7 BILLS!!!! WOO HOO!!!! We have quite a way to go, but this is so encouraging to us!

3. I wanted to lose some weight that I still have since the baby was born. I started walking at recess with some of my students, but I have not progressed in this area as much as would have liked. Hopefully I can post an improvement in this area next month.

4. I wanted to do more paper grading at school. This is actually going well. I am trying to utilize my planning times more. Thanks to some extra work days this month due to the end of 2nd quarter, and some "snow" days, I am getting more done at school! This is great, since I have to literally run after Quinn these days. Yes, he is walking, running, you name it....and I'm not missing it because of stacks of paperwork!

I hope to post at the end of each month how I am doing.

Are you still keeping up with your New Year's Goals / Resolutions???