Ambushed!

I leaned in for a kiss and she licked me at the last second. Goofball!

The Pfunky Griddle

Last Saturday when we were in Nashville visiting family, my sis-in-law took us to this fantastic hole in the wall breakfast place called The Pfunky Griddle. The concept is that you make your own pancakes right at your table. Brilliant!! Every table has a griddle built in to the middle of it and you order your pancake batter by the pitcher (white flour or whole wheat). Then comes the fun part: the add-ins. You get one free add-in but can buy more and of course! because who wouldn't? There is a long list of choices which includes various fresh fruits, different candies, coconut, peanut butter, and too many more to mention. 

My brother Steve, and his wife April.

Hannah trying to decide what toppings she wants for her pancakes.

Cheers!

Eagerly awaiting his pancakes.

My mom ordered potato cakes and onions, cheese, and sour cream on the side. They brought her a heaping bowl of smashed potatoes and she made some for all of us. If you order eggs, you make them at your table also. I think the only thing you don't make at your table is any meat you would order.

My dad, the designated flipper.

Baylee wanted blueberries and m&m's for her pancakes.

Working hard to make their breakfast.

That's the seal of approval right there. She loved it! Well, really we all did. It was so much fun and I hope we go back next time we are in Nashville. So many of my friends travel through Nashville on their way to other places and many of them ask me about good places to go in Nashville. I will definitely be recommending this place to everyone from now on. SO. MUCH. FUN.

*(side-note: I accidentally scratched Baylee's cheek Christmas morning. It was just a little scrape; didn't even bleed. Since then, though, she has scratched it open twice and ended up with blood all over her face. I'm sick about this. I just know it's going to scar. I've been slathering neosporin on it but I think the damage is done).

around here

• Our fall decorations are up!

• I am trying to catch up on my study of the kings of Israel and Judah. They sure had some crazy names!

• It's time to drag out the holiday planner.

• Reading the story of Jonah and the whale. Over, and over, and over. 

• Working on new photo stuff. I'm really excited about what I have planned.

• Using a hanging plant basket to keep fruits in the kitchen.

• I'm really liking the way the license plates look on our freshly painted yellow wall. 

• 

Second chance day!

     Today we celebrate my husband's "Second Chance Day". One year ago today, my husband was in the emergency room. He had come home from work and asked me if his face looked funny. It did. The left side of it wasn't moving. He proceeded to tell me that he had noticed it the night before when his lips wouldn't close around a straw. I know, right??? He had hoped it would go away and went ahead and went to work. When it didn't go away, he got worried enough to ask me about it, but still not worried enough to do anything about it. After several phone calls, a trip to the Walgreen's clinic, and a few hours of me pleading, he agreed to go to the hospital.

   
     They ran some tests and gave us the news we dreaded, but expected; he'd had a stroke. He was admitted to the hospital for testing and further observation. As you can imagine, we were both scared (terrified). After the horrible blow our family had been dealt over the summer, this was too much. Over the next 24 hours, they ran tests and sent in specialists. His heart was fine and they couldn't find any blockage. The doctors were concerned that they couldn't find an obvious reason for the stroke. When Mike asked if it could have been caused by stress, the neurologist said yes, but it's rare and only under extreme stress. Mike then explained that he had lost his son just three months earlier when he was struck by a train. At that point, both doctors (the neurologist and cardiologist) looked at each other and agreed that was the probable cause. They explained that the stroke had occurred in his brain stem (one of the worst places for a stroke to occur) but because there was no physical cause for it, he could go home.
     We have learned all to well, how fragile life is and how quickly it can be taken from you. My husband was given a second chance that day and we will be forever grateful that God has allowed us more time together. We are jam packed with activities this weekend, but will be very aware through every single one, just how lucky we are.
   

What's that you say?

She sure has a lot to say! In honor of her turning 2 1/2 in a few days, I'd thought I'd share some of her regular "Baylee-isms" with you.

Things she is saying (with translations/explanation):

• "Awww, cuke!" (cute)
• Pooey Pooey (roly poly bugs)
• "Me do it" She is sooo independent and doesn't want help with anything.
• "Mmmm....smells like....apples!" She says this about everything, no matter what it really smells like.
• "Stop following me"
• "I'm sorry mommy, me too" This is said all in one sentence like she is not quite sure which part she is supposed to say.
• "Together Mommy" said when she realizes that she is not going to get to do something by herself.
• "Mommy... Mommy....Mommy" She sounds like Stewie.
• She likes to listen to "Choich muke" (Church music) on the local Christian radio station and "God stories" (stories from her Bible). She is just starting to make the connections between what we hear at church and what we hear and read at home.
• "Can I keep you?" Yes, you can Baylee. (This is my favorite)

Things I am saying:

• "What Baylee?"
• "What Baylee?" 
• "What Baylee?" 

I love you sweet heart! I want to keep you, too!

Cutting the Cable

     Well, we did it. We cancelled our cable. I had gotten to the point where I felt television was taking over our lives. We had gotten bad about having it on ALL. THE. TIME. We would leave it on during dinner, if we quickly ran to the store, sometimes we would even fall asleep with it on and leave it on all night.

     We had many discussions on the pros and cons of cancelling cable. I was hoping that it would keep the t.v. from being on all the time and it would save us around $100 an month. My husband was worried about the availability of sports programming if we just had local channels. In the end, we decided to try it. We figured we could stream Netflix or something similar through our smart t.v. and of course we could always have cable re-installed if we decided we just couldn't live without it.

    It has been five months and we are still here! The world hasn't ended and the sky hasn't fallen. We have spent more time doing things like this:

     I will say it is a pain not having cable. For various reasons we ended up cancelling our internet when we cancelled cable. No internet means no smart t.v., so we went and bought some rabbit ears and have been using those. They aren't very reliable. Sometimes we get six or seven channels, sometimes we get two and we only get reception in the living room. It has taken some getting used to and while I'm glad we did it, there are a few things I'm not happy with:

• The lack of children's programming: we are unable to get the local PBS station with our antenna and there just isn't anything available for Baylee to watch. Saturday morning doesn't even offer cartoons anymore! We have acquired more dvd's since cutting the cable.
• I miss watching the news. I am a NEWS JUNKIE and not being able to watch CNN or FOXNews is very hard for me. I've been getting all of my news (even local) by following various news agencies on twitter. Not quite the same, but it works. 

I know my husband wishes we had cable back. While he still gets most of the football games, he hates having to get up to adjust the rabbit ears when he flips back and forth between channels. I hate having to hear him grumble about having rabbit ears hooked to a $700 television every time he has to adjust them. The Winter Olympics will be on soon, so I'm sure something will have changed by then.

The Table

I've been wanting to update/upgrade our kitchen table for awhile now. I haven't been happy with the one we have but haven't been able to find one that I like to replace it. It's a farmhouse style table with a honey oak top and a white base. Think early '90's ~ that's when I got it. There's not really much wrong with it, it has a few scratches and the legs could use a fresh coat of paint. I really just wanted a new one because I felt like a change. I want a different look in our kitchen and this one doesn't really go with what I have in mind.

     But then I started thinking about this table and all the memories it holds (cue the music):

• As a single young 20-something this table was the first piece of furniture I bought (financed)for my first apartment.
• I served my first Thanksgiving meal on this table.
• The many meals with friends that have been shared around this table. 
• This table has been the setting of many deep conversations...and many not-so-deep conversations. 
• Birthdays...it has seen it's share of birthday cakes.
• Pumpkin carvings
• Many, many scrapbooking get-togethers around this table.
• Homework: both mine and the boys
• It became our computer table for a while and I still picture Mitchell sitting at it downloading songs to his iTunes list. 

The more I think about it, the more I think I want to keep it. The thought of sitting at this table across from Baylee as she does her homework or talks to me about boy problems makes the idea of keeping the table more meaningful.
     What about you, do you have any pieces of furniture from your past that you don't want to get rid of?