All Fun and Games

Whenever I neglect to update regularly I’m stuck with one of two things: 1) Lots of blog-worthy pictures or 2) Lots of blog-worthy thoughts. It just so happens that today is your lucky day since I have oodles of both. I hope no one has anywhere to go, because this is gearing up to be a blog among blogs. Here we go!

There are lots of great parks in our county and three or four good ones within about three miles of the house. Needless to say, we manage to hit up a playground a few times a week. These two pictures are from early May when Juliana braved the bouncy bridge for the very first time. Despite her death grip on the bars and her rather grumpy face, she actually got a big kick out of the bridge and liked jumping up and down on it. I love how big brother is making sure to bounce extra hard and fast so as NOT to upset little sister at all. What kindness! We should all be so lucky.

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Behold! The masterpiece that is the finished 1,000 piece Thomas Kinkade puzzle. This puzzle was a toughie for a couple of reasons. First of all, it may be difficult to tell from the picture, but the sky pieces and the water pieces were almost interchangeable. VERY similar colors. Same goes from the grass and the trees. So basically once we finished the barn and the fence (and a bit of the bridge), all the other pieces looked like they could go almost anywhere. Second of all, with two little ones underfoot (three, if you count Lydia), there were always an abundance of tiny hands willing to grab pieces and drop them on the floor. It was a team effort though, so kudos go out to all the puzzlers. Glad everyone helped, but I have to admit, I was especially glad I was the one who put together the final pieces. I love puzzles!

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I was in Wal-Mart a couple of weeks ago and saw “Clueless” in the $5 bin. Seriously, only five dollars for what is possibly the greatest movie of my high school years. I was excited to watch it again and honestly, it was even better than I remembered it. So many good lines! As I watched it now, as an ever-rapidly approaching 30 year-old, I got to thinking that there’s probably a few references that the younger crowd just wouldn’t get.

Like this one: “Searching for a boy in high school is as useless as searching for meaning in a Pauly Shore movie.”

Do kids today even KNOW who Pauly Shore is/was? Probably not. And I think we can all agree, that’s their loss. Anyone who’s ever seen “Son-in-Law” knows what I’m talking about. That movie is Pauly Shore at his comedic prime.

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Whenever my dad does yard work, he often has an eager helper in Everett. On this particular day, Everett wouldn’t rest until HE could help the old man push the lawnmower.

That’s right Son, learn to love yard work now. I foresee many, many more years of grass cutting in your future.

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We bought Everett a Spider-Man baseball hat a few weeks ago. And surprisingly enough, he loves to wear it. So much so that when I was enthusiastically trying to get his attention for this picture I got this:

And then this:

In which one do you think I annoyed him more?

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As I was blog surfing a couple of months ago I came across my friend, Christianne’s, sister’s blog (did you catch that?). Her sister (I’m drawing a blank on her name – is it Kari?) was talking about a book called “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind” by T. Harv Eker. The way she described it seemed pretty interesting, so off to the public library I went. I was only on page two or three before I started telling everyone about it. It is an AMAZING book. It delves into one’s mindset about money and how to re-write your personal financial blueprint to maximum earning capability. Run, don’t walk, to your nearest library or bookstore and get your hands on a copy of this book. You will not be disappointed.

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Will’s cousin, Taylor, got married last Saturday. It was a sweet wedding and we are just so thrilled for the happy couple. I did a pretty poor job of capturing any photos, but I did manage to snap this gem. The lovely Laura with her brother and new sister-in-law, Kelly. Congrats again guys!

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Sometimes when I look through the pictures on our camera I find great shots like this one:

Awesome.

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Yes, my friends, I do live in the South. Born and raised, as was Will. Therefore, it’s only fitting for our children to be grits lovers. Grits, for those not in the know, are made from corn and, if seasoned correctly, are delicious. Grits are not meant to be sweet. They ain’t no Cream of Wheat or oatmeal nonsense. Grits need salt and butter to be delicious and judging from Juliana’s and Everett’s faces – that’s what they are.

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And finally, I was in prime Fun Mom mode last week and took the kids to some of their favorite stomping grounds. We started off at what Everett affectionately calls “The Choo-choo Shop” aka Barnes & Noble. In the children’s section of Barnes & Noble there is a Thomas the Train table, complete with 10-15 trains and lots of tracks. Everett (and Juliana, surprisingly) loves to go there and play around. It’s great for them and it’s a sweet deal for me since it gives me a chance to brush up on my celebrity gossip with such great reads as People, US Weekly and Entertainment Weekly. At this particular Barnes & Noble location there’s a cool fountain in the same shopping complex. Everett was in hog heaven trying to touch the water with a stick. And in a weather anomaly for May, in Georgia no less, it was quite breezy. I would even venture to say cool. In May! In Georgia!

Miss Sassy Pants is not much of a water fan. She wouldn’t even let me sit her on the ledge of the fountain.

I put this picture up to show how BLONDE Juliana’s hair is. How in the world did I manage to have two blonde-haired children? Genetics is amazing.

And after a fun morning at The Choo-choo Shop and the fun water fountain, we spent the afternoon over at the playground at Stone Mountain Park. I’m glad I have days like that where everything’s fun and the kids behave because it is definitely NOT an every day occurrence.

This was E’s first time reaching out and going down this pole all by himself. I wasn’t sure he was going to be ok, but the boy surprised me. He’s on a big kick of being a “big boy” these days. Because Everett is the big boy and Juliana’s just the baby (this is all according to his three year-old logic). Everett uses the potty because he’s a big boy, but Juliana goes poo poo in her diaper because she’s just a baby. He’s a big boy, that’s why he uses a booster seat. But Juliana’s just a baby that’s why she has to use a carseat. And on and on and on. This rationale is used repeatedly throughout the day. Every day.

So after Everett came down this pole, he jumped to the ground and yelled (for all to hear), “I did it, Mommy. I’m a big boy!” You sure are kid, you sure are.

My Fulfillment of the Summer Recipe Challenge

Something that comes with the blogging territory is the ever ubiquitous tag. I've tagged and been tagged plenty over my last three years of blogging. When I'm tagged I usually try to fulfill whatever has been asked of me pretty quickly. Usually.

Almost a year ago I was tagged by one of my very best pals, Heidi, to post a delicious, easy summer recipe. As I've mentioned before, when Heidi tags, she expects results. Well, I didn't have anything blog-worthy to post at the time, so I let the tag slip away hoping that Heidi wouldn't call me out on it. She didn't, but the guilt I've felt over the past 10 months for not fulfilling this particular tag has at times been overwhelming. Seriously! I just couldn't think of anything really outstanding to post.

Well, no more! I made this salad last week and I foresee it being made on a very regular basis for the rest of the summer. It's from one of my favorite cleavage-showing, Food Network chefs, who is also Italian (and I'll leave it at that. If you've ever spent any amount of time watching The Food Network, you probably have a good idea who it is). It's quick, it's easy, it's so incredibly yummy and it doesn't heat up your entire kitchen during those toasty summer months. Totally scrumptious! Plus, it's even better the next day. Go. Make it. And then come back here and tell me how much you love it too.

Orzo Salad

Ingredients:

4 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups orzo
1 (15-ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups red and yellow teardrop tomatoes or grape tomatoes, halved (I used grape tomatoes)
3/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves

About 3/4 cup Red Wine Vinaigrette, recipe follows
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Pour the broth into a heavy large saucepan. Cover the pan and bring the broth to a boil over high heat. Stir in the orzo. Cover partially and cook until the orzo is tender but still firm to the bite, stirring frequently, about 7 minutes.

Drain the orzo through a strainer. Transfer the orzo to a large wide bowl and toss until the orzo cools slightly. Set aside to cool completely.

Toss the orzo with the beans, tomatoes, onion, basil, mint, and enough vinaigrette to coat. Season the salad, to taste, with salt and pepper, and serve at room temperature.

Red Wine Vinaigrette
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Mix the vinegar, lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper in a blender. With the machine running, gradually blend in the oil. Season the vinaigrette, to taste, with more salt and pepper, if desired.

Yield: 1 3/4 cups (Like it says up above, only use about 3/4 cup of this on the salad)
This recipe serves six.

Easter Pictures - One Week Late

My lack of a prompt Easter post is not due to any failing to celebrate the wonderful Spring event, but moreso is due to a pressing project I'm working on that I need to finish muy pronto. I've been spending any spare minute I can find during the day and into the night working on this project, so things like blogging, reading for fun, watching cheesy movies and even going to see "17 Again" have all been put on the back burner. Oh the agony! Seriously, has anyone out there in Cyberland seen "17 Again" yet? I really hope it's as good/funny as the previews make it out to be.

Our Easter celebrations were really fun this year. Everett's finally getting the hang of stuff, which makes it easier for Juliana to jump on the bandwagon. We dyed eggs on Good Friday. Everett loved it and Juliana ate an ice cream sandwich and just watched.

The evidence is written all over her face:

Saturday afternoon we did the Easter egg hunt with the Roberts family. The cousins had fun and props to Will and Logan for helping their girls score a basketful of eggs. Oh, and major props to Everett for being ever the polite older brother and cousin and not ruining the fun for the girls. He gave them ample opportunity to get eggs and even helped them find some of their own. Yea Everett!




Everett picked out his soccer ball Easter basket all by himself. Thank you to The Dollar Tree for sporting such wonderful, decorative Easter baskets!

Lydia looking a little frazzled after hunting down all those pesky eggs:

Juliana and Will found the flower bushes and decided to have a little fun:

Ok, so when in the world did my kids get so old and big? Everett especially is looking more and more like a little boy instead of a little toddler. And it looks like Juliana is no longer my baby! Wow.

A classic, rumpled shot of the three of them:

Even more rumpled. Sweet.

My kids loved all the candy associated with the Easter holiday. Especially Juliana. She also loved to show everyone the love as well:

Sunday morning was a bit chilly, but almost sunny. Perfect for the pictures of the kiddos in their Easter duds. Glad they got the memo about looking at the camera.

Overall, it was a wonderful holiday. Everett really grasped on to the idea that Jesus Christ died and then was resurrected. When we were driving to church on Sunday morning we asked him what was special about Easter and he piped up with "Jesus Christ was resurrected." Alright! It's exciting to see that he's actually listening when we try to teach him these basics of the Gospel.

A Celebration!

Oh how I love this man! Here's to celebrating another year, another April 19th. We love you Will and are so glad you're with us!

(For more info on the significance of April 19th in the Giddens home, check out 2008's post or 2007's post.)

Real Life Musical

Man! Why couldn't I have been in on this?!? I've often wished that my life could be a musical and this would be a most excellent start. The next time I'm in Antwerp, I'm totally going to this train station.

Why Yes, I AM a Blogging Fool!

Thank you to all who left comments about how many blogs you have on your Google Reader/Bloglines. I'm glad everyone seems to love blogs as much as I do! I currently have 172 feeds on my Bloglines, which of course, doesn't include the 10-12 private blogs I try to check frequently. Plus the random blogs that I go to periodically. People I do and don't know but that I haven't felt compelled enough to actually put on my Bloglines. Just every couple of months or so I'll wander on over and see what I've missed. The brings my total to about 190 to 195 blogs. Yikes! Thank you, Natalie, for making me feel like that number is incredibly small!

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Through my fabulous friend, Kory, I found out that the NRA (National Rifle Association) is offering FREE one-year memberships. Although I myself am not huge into shooting guns, Will is and I do agree that 2nd Amendment rights need protecting. I'd hate to think that this administration, or any other, would try to limit, or even take away, the right to bear arms. I think it's great when responsible citizens own guns and treat that ownership with safety. Will has his concealed carry permit and I think it's great. So if you, or anyone you know, is interested in guns or trying to protect the right for others to own guns, definitely send them over to the NRA's Web site.

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Some of you have asked me some questions about my Blurb book. I took some pictures so you could see, but for any of you who may be on the fence about whether or not this is worth the money, let me emphatically say YES! Here's the cover:

And a few of the inside pages:

And there you have it. Blurb away, my friends, Blurb away.

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In family news, we are excited that it's April! Not only are we ready for some great, consistent spring weather, Easter and of course, white sandals, but it's also General Conference this weekend, plus Will's cousin, Taylor, gets home from his mission to Chile today. We haven't seen him in over two years, so we're excited to get to visit with him. When he left I was just a few months pregnant with Juliana. It's amazing how time flies!

I'm trying to get better about taking pictures of the kids, but it's still pretty sparse on my camera. Here's what I came up with to share:

My big girl coloring. I love it that she likes to color on her tummy. I mean, seriously, how completely cute and picturesque is that?

We made it back to the fun airplane playground. It was a beautiful day and I loved that I got the kids back on this little bouncy thing. Look familiar?

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And finally, I'm on the hunt for a graphic designer who knows php. Don't ask me what that means, since I have no idea. A few months ago Will and our friend, Clint, bought a Web site design company for a steal. Will's not the technical guy (that's Clint's forte), but when Will mentioned to me that they needed a contractor to do some work for them, I thought I'd put it out there in cyberspace and see what comes back to me. Also, if you have a business or organization that needs a Web site, I happen to know some folks who would be perfect for the job!

Is This Thing On?

I guess it's time I stretched my blogging muscles and got back to regular posting, right? This is the longest break I've ever taken from blogging since I started back in January 2006. And while it's been nice to not post, I have missed it and am sad that I haven't documented the last month and a half very well. Shoot, I haven't even been very good about actually taking pictures either. In 20 years it'll seem like the last half of February and most of March 2009 will never have existed...

Normally when friends take big blogging breaks I get suspicious that they're pregnant and feeling sick and therefore don't feel like blogging. Allow me to squelch any of these inclinations right here and now. I'm not pregnant; I've just been lazy!

As for a recap of what we've been up to for the past six weeks, I have to admit, it's not too exciting. One of the blogs I stalk regularly does bullet points and that seems fitting for today. So here we go...

• Everett's started sleeping in underwear at night and is doing surprisingly well. The boy can hold it!
• It snowed. In March. In Georgia. It was beautiful, as all snow is, as it was falling. And then it was dirty and slushy for the next few days and I was reminded yet again why I love living in the South. Snow is pretty to look at and maybe even vacation to, but why in the world would I ever LIVE in it? Give me warm weather eight months out of the year any day, please.
• Juliana has become a talking fool. She reguarly says hi, bye bye, Dad, please, thank you, no, uh huh, what's that, horse, dog, cheese, mine and cool. Personally, I think cool is the funniest. Especially when I think of her saying it dressed as she is here:
  
  
  
• Will flew to Philadelphia at the beginning of March for some training at home office for Penn Mutual. It was only for certain producers, so I was thrilled for Will that he was selected to attend. He had a great time meeting all the big wigs and learned tons. He came back on fire and ready to close some big business.
• Paula and I went and saw "He's Just Not That Into You" and "Confessions of a Shopaholic", both of which did their job and were entertaining. I actually liked Shopaholic better than the book, although in both instances I felt like having a heart attack reading about/watching her rack up that much debt. Ugh!
• Per Shanna's suggestion I read "Three Weeks With my Brother" by Nicholas Sparks. I am by no means a Sparks fan and incidentally think all the movies based on his books (yes, even The Notebook) are kind of dumb, but this book was fabulous! It's non-fiction and basically tells his life story. It was a fascinating read and I highly recommend it.
• Speaking of reading, I also read "Outliers" by Malcolm Galdwell. Another non-fiction, but so, so, so INTERESTING. Seriously. There's so much good stuff in it that is worth discussing, so run to your local library and get a copy so we can chat.
  
• I accomplished one of my 2009 goals and printed up all of my 2006 blog posts into a Blurb book. It was fairly easy and I'm pleased with the results, although I already have plans for how to do it a tad differently whenever I get around to publishing 2007's and 2008's posts.
• I'm annoyed by the new Facebook. I hate that I can't see everyone's statuses at the click of a button. And no offense to anyone, but I could care less about everyone's quiz results.
• Everett's new favorite movies are "Wall-E" and "Meet the Robinsons". "Meet the Robinsons" is pretty cute, but "Wall-E" gets on my last nerve! It is so incredibly liberal to me that it's like nails on a chalkboard whenever I have to sit there and watch it.
• I've started a new exercise routine. I've only been at it for just over a week, but I think I like it. I'll give more details in a few weeks after I see how I'm doing with it and if it's working for me. But, so far, so good!
• Am I weird? I honestly love to read people's blogs. Some of the blogs belong to close friends, friends, friends of friends and then some belong to people I've never met before in my entire life. Out of curiousity, how many blogs are on your Google Reader or Bloglines? I just saw how many I have and I'm almost embarrassed. Please leave me a comment and in my next post I'll divulge how many I read.
• Another reason it's taken me so long to post is because we just got Photoshop and I've been itching to have a customized banner. It's been a royal pain to try to figure out how to do it with a three column blog, but I've finally figured it out - a little. It's amazing the information you can find with Google. But, I'm in desperate need of some tips. Do you see how my picture is a little squished? How do I fix that?
• And of course, we've had our fair share of sunny days at the playground, birthday parties, playing in the sandbox, coloring on the driveway and riding Big Wheels. All in a day's work around here.

Gosh, it feels good to be back!

Well There Goes My Mom of the Year Award...

Dear Mom of the Year Selection Committee,

I would like to thank you for considering me for this year's Mom of the Year Award. There were times over the past couple of months when I thought I actually had a chance. I mean, I've been reading stories, baking cookies, painting butcher paper, singing songs, cuddling little ones and teaching life's lessons with the best of them. I really felt like 2009 would be some of my finest work yet!

So it is with much regret that I must respectfully withdraw from the competition. You see, we had a little incident in the Giddens household last week. It was nothing really. Just a little mishap. Well, ok, so maybe it was more than just an incident. More like a major catastrophe. But everyone's ok! I promise! And believe me, the pictures look worse than it actually is (sortof).

But you see, I have a very active three year old little boy. Who loves to get in to all sorts of messes. And touch things he's not supposed to touch.

And even though I try, I can't keep my eyes on him ALL THE TIME.

So I thank you for the honor, but since Everett figured out how to turn on a blowtorch and managed to burn his face. And singe his outer eyelashes. And some of his hair. I just feel like it would be inappropriate to accept any nomination, let alone an award, at this time. In fact, I may have to put myself out of the running indefinitely.

Regards,

Everett's Very Embarrassed and Remorse-Filled Mom

Fifth Anniversary Recap

Yesterday was our 5th wedding anniversary and it was fantastic! What was especially neat about this year's celebration is that the days of the week aligned the same they did five years ago, ie February 6th was on a Friday this year just as it was in 2004 when we got married. So all week I've been saying to Will, "Five years ago today was my last day of work before we got married", etc. It's been fun to stroll down memory lane and remember all the wonderfulness of our wedding and the past five years of happy marriage.

In the past, we haven't been in quite the position to properly celebrate our anniversary. In fact, the previous four years have been relatively low-key. But this year Will rang in five years of wedded bliss with a bang! It was an incredibly fun night and I am reminded again and again what a thoughtful, loving, kind and generous man I married. Not to mention totally hilarious (C'mon people, I KNOW you can back me up on this one!). And yes, I know I'm bordering on much too sappy for a blog post, but I'm in charge around here, so what I say goes! :-)

For anyone else who's planning an anniversary celebration, here are a few tips from the master himself:

Beautiful flowers, including one rose for every year of marriage:

One spiffied-up couple:


One incredibly FABULOUS restaurant where the food is amazingly wonderful and you are doted on hand and foot:


(Even Il Mulino's take home bags are fancy dancy!)

One gorgeous pearl ring:

And a movie (sorry, no picture). But seriously, watching Liam Neesom kick butt was totally thrilling.

We had a great evening and thanks go out to my parents for watching the rugrats. Everett threw quite the fit as we were leaving, but as I understand it, "Horton Hear a Who" will calm just about any three year old down.

Happy Five Years Will!

Juliana's Tips for Cruisin'

1) Find a cute boy with a cool ride (Real men aren't afraid to sport pink).

2) Look both ways before departing on your drive. You never know if the streets will be busy with other cruisers.

3) Don't be afraid to snuggle up close to your man if he takes the turns too quickly. They're called Opportunity Curves for a reason!

4) Always put the top down when you cruise. You definitely want to see and be seen by all the peeps out there.

5) If for any reason you have car troubles while cruisin', don't act alarmed. Just sit there nonchalantly while your date shows off his car skillz.

6) Most importantly, have fun! You're only young once - might as well let the sun shine on your face and wind blow through your hair.

*Many thanks to Oliver for being such a willing participant in this tutorial.