Happy 4th of July!

I know I'm a few days late, but hey, I still have the spirit.

First of all, Ethan's been a little bugger. Such a big attitude for a little guy. Last year, Gary stayed home with Ethan and I took Ty to the fireworks. This year, we were very wishy-washy on whether or not to take E until Gary decided at the last minute that, yes, he too, would like to see the fireworks this year. So about 8:30, off we went to the school. Mind you, both boys go to bed promptly at 8:00 every night. Ty is just fine to stay up late. Ethan has melt downs. Overall, the experience ended up enjoyable. Both boys liked watching it and E didn't cry until the whistlers were shot off. Gary ended up walking around with him and he fell asleep about 1/2 way through them.

Thanks to Illinois laws, the 4th of July is no longer what it once was. There are no more random, loud fireworks throughout the night, the weekend before and after the 4th. As annoying as I found it then, I really miss it now that it's gone.

We enjoyed a nice show on Friday night. It seems to keep getting better every year. Of course it would have been nicer if the air wasn't so heavy and the smoke just hung in the air. The company that shot them off did a good job of placing the fireworks so that didn't hinder watching them much. There were too many really bright ones with loud bangs. Okay, that sounds really silly, but they truly were way too loud and bright. Ty and I both had to cover our eyes for part of it.

Last night we had a bit of a staycation. We had friends over for a cookout and once they all went home, we built a campfire, roasted marshmallows and pitched a tent for Ty and Gary. Tyler really loved it. We all had a great time (and I enjoyed having the bed to myself for a night)!

Where has the time gone?

It's really hard to believe that yesterday my little boy turned one year old. It makes me so sad but so happy at the same time. I spent a lot of time thinking back to a year ago, from how uncomfortable but happy I was at my confirmation to how nervous I was before the surgery, how elated I felt when I saw my beautiful, healthy baby boy. Here are some pictures of my baby boy then and now:

My little red-headed boy, born April 9, 2007, 7 lb. 7 oz., 22 inches long:



And here he is now, with Daddy:



We had a mini-celebration last night, as Kenny, Rhiannan and Emma came over for dinner. We didn't have any cake, since my efforts were disasterous on Sunday. I tried to fix a gluten-free white cake from a box and it turned out exactly like frosted cornbread. I'm guessing that it was made from corn flour. He'll get to have more cake at his party on Sunday.

I'm sad that the year has flown by and my baby is already 1, but I'm excited for all the wonderful times yet to come.

Happy Birthday, Baby Ethan. We love you!

Pics!

Here's a sweet one taken of Ethan the other day:


And one of the 3 boys from a while ago:


And one that is quite old but I absolutely love it. Ethan loves to take a bath.

Updates!

Where has the time gone?! We have so much going on, it's crazy. All I want is a quiet, sane life. With 3 boys in the house? Not going to happen!

Ethan started walking last Thursday. Just a little bit. He'lltake 5-6 steps, then sit down. Or fall down, rather. We worked on it this past weekend and he'd take about 10 steps at a time. He's still very confident so it doesn't happen all that often. And, hey, when you're a champion crawler, why bother with that slow, unsteady walking stuff?

I've been on Spring Break all week and it has been nice. I've gotten the house clean, did Easter & Birthday shopping and went down to St. Louis today to grocery shop. Oh my gosh, I have found the BEST food, ever!!! I went to Andrea's Fine Foods in Chesterfield. She has a 100% gluten free kitchen and they gave me samples, to try too! EVERYTHING I tasted was WONDERFUL. Unbelievable. All of it tasted better than the "real" stuff. Funny thing, I really can compare since it has only been 7 months since I have eaten a piece of bread, had a chocolate chip cookie, I could go on and on and on. Well, I had a sandwich for dinner tonight. Which is really saying something to be able to eat a piece of bread without toasting it. I will be buying from Andrea's O-F-T-E-N. Today I bought a loaf of bread, Chocolate brownie cake, Chocolate chunk cupcakes with icing, yellow cake cupcakes with fudge frosting, 2 pizza crusts, a flour mix and some GF oats. So far I have eaten bread, 1/2 the brownie cake (it was a 2 piece size, honest!) and she gave me a chocolate chunk mini cupcake as a sample. They were all seriously delicious! I have put the cupcakes in the freezer and will pull one out for each time that we go to something that has cake, so I can have some, too! Perfect!

Tomorrow I am going to spend the day with the boys. I think we will go see Daddy at his office, visit with Grandma B, and run some other errands. After morning nap, of course!

Today is Gary's birthday. Happy, Happy Honey!

I will upload some pics soon.

In Memory

It's been a week since the the shooting at NIU. Word spreads really quickly among colleges. We heard about the shooting within minutes.

With Dekalb and the NIU shooting only a couple of short hours away, Springfield College - Benectine University had our own tragedy this weekend. Six kids were in a one-car crash in Logan County. Four of them died. The car hit a tree and burnt up. One of the girls that was killed was a student here and the two boys that did miraculously survive are also students. One, Zach, was our Adult Programs student worker last semester. He is still in horrible shape, but now upgraded to serious from critical condition. The flags are flying at half-mast in memory of the students at NIU, but on the campus of SC-BU, it also represents the memory of Katelyn McCarty.

Martha's Big Idea Bake Off... Oh, please!

I'm so stinkin' mad. Martha Stewart held a contest amongst her Omnimedia employees. She decided there were 7 great ideas so she put it up for vote by her viewers. On her show today, which was to announce the winner, she said there were over 650,000 votes. Lo and behold, there was a tie!!! REALLY??!!??!! Come on, Martha. A tie with over 650K voters? OH wait, then she clarified. The allergy magazine got "the popular vote" with 57% of the viewer vote. Seriously, explain that to me. So what tied with that was a pet magazine. Because we are all fond of our beloved pets. Give me a break. At last check, that had 26% of the popular vote. I just have one thing to say. Martha, if you wanted to pick something on your own, you should have just picked it ON YOUR OWN! Why the tease? Oh sure, great, "include" it with your other magazines. I'll be sure to NOT run right out and buy them.

On another note, sorry it has been so long since I have posted. I've been busy at work and at play. I voted. Ethan learned how to clap and say "bye-bye". Gary leaves for Chicago for a couple of days tomorrow morning. You're all caught up!

Here's a cute video of Ethan clapping!
http://s123.photobucket.com/albums/o288/Tylersmommy2003/?action=view&current=P1030138.flv

Home Economics 101

It's been a while, but we've been busy! Last night we braved the weather and used the Harlem Globetrotter tickets that G won on the radio. We had a great time! I think Tyler really enjoyed the show. Of course, he also enjoyed the sugar high from the cotton candy.

I have to mention, just because you know I can't cook, that I made some awesome chili for dinner! It turned out great! Here's my recipe:

1lb. browned hamburger
1 large onion
1 1/2 green peppers
5 cloves minced garlic
1 can dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can red beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (28 oz.) crushed tomotoes
1 small can of tomato sauce (I think about 8 oz.)
1 packet chiliman Chili seasoning
I also added some additional Chili powder
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Brown the hamburger with onion, green pepper and garlic. Put into crockpot and add all other ingredients. Cook on low 6-8 hours.

I served it with cheese on top (wish I had some extra onion to put on top) and with Fritos on it.

Yum!

The weekend comes and goes so fast

Week ahead - ready or not, here I come. Hopefully we won't be as busy at work this week as we have been the last three or four. Classes have started, so that will definitely help.

As soon as I got over the flu, I've gotten a cold that's keeping me down! I am so ready to feel good and healthy again.

I had to work today at the WNNS Springfield Women's Expo. It would have been much, much nicer if they had advertised it a little bit. As it turned out, there was no turn out. SCI-BU's booth was right next to DJ Brad Schroeder (the DJ from Gary and I's wedding) and across from Optimal Chiropractic (Dr. Martha Nessler) booth. I had a very nice time catching up with both of them.

For those of you who don't know, I credit Dr. Martha with my diagnosis of Celiac Disease. Gary happened to go over to her office to work on her computer and she was asking him about his family, etc. when he told her that I was very sick and no one could figure out what was wrong with me. She recognized the symptoms that Gary was describing to her and had me come in. She really pointed me in the right direction as far as diagnosis, eating and general health. I really think a lot of her.

The flu.

I haven't been around the past few days for very good reason. Mostly because I haven't been able to get out of bed! I caught the flu bug and it knocked me out of commission. It totally stinks because I really don't have time to take off work right now. Oh well, can't concentrate on students and puking at the same time.

On another note, this weekend we've had birthday after birthday. Cousin Jack turned 5 and had his party on Saturday. My sister Rhi turned 13 and had her birthday party today. Both were very nice.

I think the hardest thing is dealing with this darn Celiac Disease. I feel like such a burden to everyone who tries to cook for me, especially my Grandma B and my parents. They both try so very hard. I just get extremely stressed about eating somewhere else. I hope that no one takes offense, but it is just me being cautious. I don't think there is a such thing as overly cautious. Maybe someday they'll make a pill and I'll be able to eat anything I want. That would be worth the 2 week sickness to do the biopsy. I don't think much else would be worth that.

My big "oops" of the day!

This morning, Gary had to go to work early and Ethan decided to sleep in (which may have had something to do with not going to bed until 9:00 last night), so I had to get Ethan up, dressed and fed, then to the baby-sitters and Ty to school, all before 8:00 a.m. Well, I'm glad I decided to take Ethan to the sitters before I took Ty to school, because when I walked in, the babysitter's grandson, who is in Ty's class, came walking out in his pj's. Apparently, they didn't have school today. So, I'm really glad I didn't get Ethan out of the car in 3* weather, lug him and Ty into school, then lug them back out when I found out they weren't in session. Oops!

In other news... My cookies turned out really well. As well as they could being G-F! You kind of need to have icing on them so they stay together. Rice flour made them super crumbly.

I'm super stressed out at work. It is so very, very busy. I feel like there is no way in the world I could possibly get everything done that is on my desk. Hopefully it will slow down a bit in a couple of weeks. That's what I'm told at least. It hasn't slowed down yet in the 5 months I've worked there, so I'm not holding out much hope.

The way to start 2008

I just decided, completely on a whim, to start a blog. If you know me, you know I talk a lot, and I'm on the computer a lot (or so Gary would say), so why not put them together? I've thought about it for a while, so I might as well ring in the new year with a new blog.

Also, If you know me, you'll know that I won't keep this very up-to-date. Scout's honor, I'll try very hard.

I'm on a baking kick right now. Yesterday, Rhiannan and I went down to Trader Joe's and Whole Foods in St. Louis, since lil 'ole Springfield isn't big enought to support either of these grocery stores. They are fantastic places to pick up organic food and other stuff (like all my gluten-free food). Some of the stuff is so much cheaper to pick up there, that it is worth the gas money to drive down to St. Louis. Rhi and I also went to the Galleria to do a little shopping and had a blast. I should mention that we do have a nice organic store here in Springfield, Food Fantasies. It just doesn't have the selection that WF and TJ's has.

Anyhow, I am going to make cream cheese sugar cookies today. I got the recipe from kill.the.gluten. I can't wait to try them. I'll keep you posted if they're any good. I think everyone is getting tired of my 4 ingredient peanut butter cookies (PB, egg, sugar & vanilla).

Also, this past Saturday, I made roasted candied pecans, thanks to Aunt Sandy, who always sends Pecans up from Georgia for Christmas.

The boys are doing great. Tyler is now the big 4 years old. Ethan is almost 9 months. He hasn't been feeling well the past few days, but today he's in a much better mood. We're not sure if it is teething or not. Here's a picture we took of the boys right before Christmas: