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What’s the worst Halloween Candy?

Fri, 16 Sep 2022 13:43:45 -0500

Some of our friends were chatting this morning about the worst Halloween Candies. I figured we could make this scientific with a real poll and everything.

What are the three WORST Halloween Candies?

Licorice (18%, 8 votes)
Heath (13%, 6 votes)
Candy Corn (11%, 5 votes)
Circus Peanuts (11%, 5 votes)
Anything Banana flavored (11%, 5 votes)
Tootsie Rolls (9%, 4 votes)
Black and Orange Peanut Butter Chews (9%, 4 votes)
Dum-dums (7%, 3 votes)
Butterfingers (4%, 2 votes)
Smartees (2%, 1 vote)
Almond Joy/Mounds (2%, 1 vote)
Milk Duds (2%, 1 vote)

This poll is archived; voting is closed. Results are preserved from the original post.

10K?!!!!

Wed, 07 Sep 2022 10:24:09 -0500

I just wanted to post a quick update. I’ve now run unofficial 10Ks twice this week! Each are long runs and I’m totally spent when I’m done, but I am so happy I can do them.

Also, I figured out how to string multiple workouts together in my Watch. Starting on Tuesday, I used an Outdoor Walk Workout as my warmup and cooldown walks. That’s why my first and last splits have decent times. Previously, I did those 5 minute walks as part of the regular Outdoor Run and the first and last splits always had bad times. I definitely like the new way better, but it looks like I ran half a mile less on Tuesday. Vanity is still the devil’s favorite sin.

From that day on, if I was going somewhere, I was running!

Sun, 28 Aug 2022 19:59:07 -0500

Sometimes when I look down while running, I get this weird feeling–it’s hard to describe it–but I’m surprised that it’s really my feet that are doing the running!

I’ve never been a runner. As a kid, if you had asked me what my least favorite thing to do was, running would have likely been the answer. Short distances? Nope. Long distances? Are you kidding me? No way!

So what makes a 43 year old version of me start running for pleasure? Let’s start with that. Initially, I wasn’t doing it for pleasure.

Now It's My Turn

Sun, 28 Aug 2022 19:05:52 -0500

I got Covid.

I am almost certain I got it from Samantha even though we never tested her. There have been a lot of kids testing positive with it in the HHS Band and she woke up with a little cough and sore throat at least once early last week. She still occasionally has a bit of both now two weeks later.

I’ll now do the thing where we didn’t think she had it. We have been having new basement steps put in. They have oak treads and the carpenters were here early last week sanding them and the oak hardwood floors they put in on the landings. There was a LOT of sanding. They used a shop vac with a bag, but somehow we still ended up with a layer of dust in the kitchen and about five layers of dust in the basement. We assumed her allergies were unhappy with that dust. It also seemed like she was worse at home than she was at school.

Cursed at Cramton?

Sat, 20 Aug 2022 16:08:00 -0500

Normally it rains. Actually I was told normally it’s a ”monsoon rain and hurricane force winds at 7pm”.

This year, it didn’t rain, but boy did we struggle. We might really be cursed at the Cramton Bowl.

This is Samantha’s first year of high school and she’s in the Hoover High School Marching Band Percussion section. Twenty one of the 35 kids are in the pit, which means there’s a lot of instruments and equipment to move.

Ellie-ism for the day

Wed, 06 Jul 2016 11:08:03 -0500

“I want to be like the Pope because I want to teach everyone about love, love, love. And I want to ride around in a tiny car that is red.”

A little more Magic

Tue, 31 May 2016 18:48:58 -0500

We went and did it again.

Ellie's 6th Birthday

Sun, 22 May 2016 18:43:48 -0500

Happy Birthday sweet girl. What a joy you are.

Samantha's First Communion

Mon, 02 May 2016 18:42:43 -0500

Congratulations!

Strawberry pickin

Sun, 10 Apr 2016 18:39:19 -0500

Yum!

Camping

Fri, 01 Apr 2016 17:41:54 -0500

What fun we had at DeSoto State Park and Little River Canyon. We will need to go back! Our first real camping experience was a treat. The girls made friends in the camp ground (is anyone surprised by that?), so they had a blast having “free time” to explore the camp ground. It was super cold at night (38*), and with the wind howling up the side of the mountain, we stayed cold all night.

Easter 2016

Sun, 27 Mar 2016 17:38:55 -0500

Happy Easter!

Entering the world of swimming

Fri, 25 Mar 2016 17:29:25 -0500

Samantha loves to swim. I’m not sure how that happened because she was terrified of the water for several years. We had some good lifeguard swim instructors from ages 3-5, and she slowly began to enjoy the water. I had no idea just how much she would enjoy it.

At the end of summer 2014, she was so sad to say goodbye to our neighborhood pool. We had been bouncing around at sports, so we decided the next sport would be swimming. After calling around and ending up at the Y, we started in this weird world of swimming.

Merry Christmas 2015

Fri, 25 Dec 2015 08:11:46 -0600

We hope you all have a very peaceful Christmas!

Mammoth Cave

Sat, 28 Nov 2015 14:02:40 -0600

We took a little trip again this year before Thanksgiving. This year, we hit up Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. I was a little concerned about the weather since we were heading north, so we took the easy route and stayed in a hotel. I’m glad we did because it was very cold that week! We had a great time though, and I was glad to have some outdoor time. If you ask the girls what the best part of the trip was, they will tell you that it was the hotel pool. Oh well – you win some and you lose some.

Ellie's Thanksgiving Program 2015

Fri, 20 Nov 2015 13:59:08 -0600

Ellie was a Native American for her Thanksgiving program this year. She had to memorize 2 lines, and she did a great job. She sang many songs and waited patiently for her part. Afterwards, we all joined her in the Kindergarten Thanksgiving Feast!

Samantha

Thu, 15 Oct 2015 21:17:47 -0500

One of the reasons that fall is so busy is that this little nut has a birthday!

She’s not so little anymore though. For some reason I think that being 8 years old is this magic number when she can start doing things on her own. I can remember being 8, so maybe I’m remembering what I did. Either way, we are here.

She’s creative, fun, and thoughtful, and I can’t wait to see what she’ll accomplish this year.

I hate to ask, but

Wed, 07 Oct 2015 19:51:50 -0500

Is there anyone out there who is not selling Innisbrook wrapping paper this year? If you would like to buy something to support Prince of Peace school, please check out all they have to offer. You can order online, or send me your order. Thanks!!

Fall Ball started

Sat, 03 Oct 2015 21:00:31 -0500

We have 2 playing soccer this fall. Ellie has been dying to play ever since Samantha started two years ago. Mean ol mom wasn’t ready for it though. They are both doing well so far. Ellie took some adjustment to having a late night practice after a full day of school, but otherwise, she can run with the best of them. Samantha and her teammates are finally using some basic skills that the coaches have been hammering in for years now. She can dribble!

Fire!

Tue, 29 Sep 2015 20:55:35 -0500

I would advise you all to check manufacturer recalls on your appliances. Our refrigerator was recalled in 2009, prior to us buying the house in 2011. It was recalled due to fire hazard. Yep. I can understand that. And let me tell you, when there is smoke in your house, the fridge is not the first place one would think to find the fire.

Eclipse

Mon, 28 Sep 2015 20:52:26 -0500

Brian and I hung out on the driveway and watched the eclipse. It was a nice evening, and I thoroughly enjoyed gazing up at the sky with our camera. Happy Anniversary Brian!

Testing the Waters

Sun, 13 Sep 2015 20:46:50 -0500

The girls both have tents, and we have talked about camping for quite a while. We never had the time to do it though. Before the fall got too crazy, there was a cold snap that hit our area. We decided to try out camping in the backyard. I wasn’t sure how they would do, especially since they insisted on sleeping in separate tents. Naturally, my fears were not founded and they did great. They did get cold during the night, and were up at about 6am the next morning, but otherwise, they loved it. I think it’s safe for us to venture outside of our yard next time.

A Little Project

Tue, 08 Sep 2015 20:34:15 -0500

Right as school was starting, Brian and I took it upon ourselves to do one final project on the house before we got too crazy into the fall. We hired some Lackeys (yes, that was their last name) to remove the popcorn ceiling out of the living room. It was the final room on the main level to have popcorn. Brian said that once the popcorn was down, we could start on the hardwood floor. I didn’t realize it would all happen at the same time, in the whirlwind of school starting, but hey, what’s another project?

Together, again.

Thu, 13 Aug 2015 15:18:19 -0500

It has been a long time since the two girls have been at the same place, with the same hours. We have arrived, at last, again.

They are pumped to be starting school, and are looking forward to a great year.

Ellie at 5

Sun, 10 May 2015 19:57:38 -0500

It seems that Ellie is the last one in her class to turn 5. She feels like she has been waiting and waiting and waiting to turn 5. She finally made it!

She asked for a Rapunzel cake yet again. Given that this is the 3rd year for her to ask for one, I felt like my substitutions have not been working. I bit the bullet and did it. Considering that it didn’t fall over, I call it a success. Maybe she won’t ask for one next year.

May Crowning

Tue, 05 May 2015 10:38:33 -0500

Ellie turned 5 on Saturday. I will have a post honoring her 5th birthday soon (hopefully), but I wanted to highlight something she said this morning.

Today is May Crowning for the preschool. I have never figured out why it is on a different day than the main school, so we continue to live in 2 different worlds. Ellie came downstairs this morning and discovered a few flowers in the kitchen. She ran back to my bathroom to ask me if I had bought them. (She delights in all things “lovely.”) She was thrilled that we had flowers in the kitchen. I told her, while toothbrush in mouth, that they were for May Crowning.

Easter 2015

Sun, 05 Apr 2015 12:02:06 -0500

We started our long Easter weekend with some egg dyeing. Don’t mind all the scaffolding and ladders in the background. It’s a never-ending construction site at our house.

On Easter morning, the Easter bunny was clever in hiding baskets. The girls searched and searched for their baskets. Samantha found hers first. It was in the dryer.

Ellie could not find hers.

But all of us pitched in to help her. She was finally successful! It was in the oven.

Potato Head Family

Mon, 09 Mar 2015 17:00:34 -0500

Who knew that the Potato Head family was catholic?

today

Thu, 19 Feb 2015 14:48:52 -0600

Happy Birthday, big brother!

Welcome home, mom and dad!

Obsession

Sun, 25 Jan 2015 05:58:28 -0600

There is a certain 4 year old at our house who is obsessed with Rapunzel. It started when she was about 3 and has been going strong since. Nothing is off limits, but currently, we have an abundant supply of dolls. She loves them.

I remember when Samantha had a Lightning McQueen obsession at around the same age. Hers did not last as long as this one has.

1st Grade Nativity Play

Sat, 20 Dec 2014 07:15:30 -0600

Samantha was a Narrator for the 1st Grade Nativity Play. She was very nervous, but practiced and practiced. It was quite a production, and the entire school attended. She did such a great job! I was proud at how well she enunciated and read her lines.

Disney

Tue, 25 Nov 2014 18:48:59 -0600

We took the plunge and spent part of our Fall/Thanksgiving Break at Disney World. The girls had a great time, and they were SO good while we were there. Despite spending the evening in the emergency after-hours clinic with Ellie the night before we left, she plowed through.

Each of the girls had been on an airplane before, but neither would remember. They were thrilled to take the short trip down to Orlando! We spent the rest of that day at Epcot. Samantha’s most desired To Do was to ride Test Track. In the end, her favorite thing was the Tiki Room at Magic Kingdom.

Ellie's 4K Preschool Thanksgiving Program

Wed, 19 Nov 2014 18:24:07 -0600

Ellie was sick for her Thanksgiving Program, but I didn’t realize it until later that day. As evidence by her profuse yawning, and other tale-tell signs of sickness, she probably should have stayed home. But, she did a great job fighting through and singing her best. This year, she was a pilgrim.

And an excerpt from “He’s My Turkey.”

Soccer Fall 2014

Fri, 07 Nov 2014 06:07:22 -0600

Samantha played soccer again this season. This age group was an all-girls group. She enjoyed it, and seems to get better every season.

Halloween 2014

Tue, 04 Nov 2014 05:35:01 -0600

I don’t know what Halloween is like at your house, but it is SO exciting around here. Painting and carving pumpkins, eating mummy pizzas, having permission to go talk to your neighbors, dressing up, getting candy, it’s all just too much.

Samantha’s pumpkin was decorated with an Angry Bird kit. Ellie’s pumpkin started out very thoughtful, but ended up in an all-over grey color, and I used my 45 minutes to quickly carve a ghost. Nothing fancy, as each year I seem to have less and less time to do it.

Opening the Box

Wed, 29 Oct 2014 13:41:34 -0500

The excitement this morning, as we opened the box, was palpable.

Samantha, lately.

Thu, 23 Oct 2014 21:36:58 -0500

Samantha lost another tooth yesterday. I think that makes 8 or 9. It still doesn’t get any easier, and there are many tears shed before/during/after it comes out. You can see the hole really well in the following picture.

In other news, she turned 7 years old last week. My how time flies. She is a goofy girl, with loads of wisdom for her age. She is bright, caring, eager, and friendly. She never meets a stranger, and she deeply loves her sister. She loves to read, draw, and make crafts.

Sam Lost Another Tooth

Wed, 01 Oct 2014 13:13:34 -0500

I think she’s now lost seven or eight teeth now. Once again, she wouldn’t let us pull it despite it causing her pain when eating. We’ve been asking for almost two weeks now. Finally this morning, she let me pull it. There wasn’t any pulling involved. I merely picked it up. I think the only reason she didn’t swallow it is because it was caught between the two teeth beside it.

Targeted Snail Mail

Tue, 30 Sep 2014 09:42:26 -0500

It’s nice to see that targeted advertising isn’t that good yet. Yes it’s spooky that they know our names, address and anniversary date. Thankfully they don’t know Janie’s taste in jewelry yet because this is tacky.

Happy 12th Anniversary, Janie!

I'm Not Happy Right Now

Thu, 25 Sep 2014 20:32:15 -0500

In the first place,

I’m not happy right now. Thank me some time.

In the second place,

Ellie licked the batter!
She gets to make the cake!
I was doing homework!
Ellie’s happier.
I’ve got no time with you!

We really don’t know how this kind of note-writing started; we don’t leave notes like this. Sam’s note is very clear. She makes a very reasoned and complete argument as to why she’s unhappy. I’m not sure who taught her contractions, bulleted/numbered lists or the first and second abbreviations.

Swim Team

Sun, 07 Sep 2014 16:04:32 -0500

I try to encourage an active lifestyle for the girls, although I don’t do a good job myself. We have been trying to find a sport for Samantha since she was 2.9. We’ve tried 3 sports so far, but none have really been her thing. However, each summer, we swim and swim and swim. Lots. She loves it. Because she has become so confident this summer, I decided to give swim team a go for the fall. We are already doing soccer, but I keep telling myself that soccer is only 8 weeks…

Ellie's First Day of 4K Preschool

Tue, 02 Sep 2014 17:15:34 -0500

This is our last year down the preschool hallway at school. It feels a little strange. I’ve been sitting in the preschool carpool for 4 years now, so it’s a little “been there, done that.” It will be strange to have them both in elementary school and in uniforms, but that’s a whole year away.

This little nut had a hard time at the “Meet the Teacher” last week, but she got out of the car like a old pro this morning. The principal looked at me, in the driver’s seat, like “Ok. well. Crisis averted.” She had a great day, and asked that I put orange circle chips in her lunch next time. If that’s the only thing bad/unusual, I think we’ll have a great year!

Lemonade $tand

Sun, 24 Aug 2014 21:57:20 -0500

All summer, Samantha has been dreaming of operating a lemonade stand. I think she got the idea from one of her Highlights magazines. But, there is a young girl who lives a few streets down from us who has a lemonade stand once or twice per summer. I always stop on my way to/from the pool when her stand is open. The girls find it hilarious to stop and get lemonade.

And We're Off!

Mon, 11 Aug 2014 14:57:53 -0500

First Day of First Grade!

Today was only a half day, so she came home hungry and grumpy. Maybe tomorrow will be better. I’ll be sure to pack more in her snack too.

The Final Countdown

Tue, 05 Aug 2014 18:43:38 -0500

We started out the last week of summer excited to finally get to the beach. Unfortunately, Brian came home on Friday afternoon late, and told us that he didn’t think he could come with us. Work gets in the way of life. Can I get an Amen? I attempted to get a few others to join us at the little apartment, but just decided to go on my own. I am so glad we came.

Summer 2014

Tue, 05 Aug 2014 12:14:54 -0500

On Friday, August 1st, I thought to myself, “Whew. I made it.” Months in advance, I have to plan out the summer, arranging for camps and activities for the kids. We are on the home stretch now, as the last week of summer is Mom Camp. More on that later.

We started the summer with the Balloon Glow.

And some dress up from the favorite new movie.

We’ve done A LOT of this:

The Ferris Wheel

Tue, 17 Jun 2014 17:30:49 -0500

My dad built a Ferris wheel out of mainly scrap metal for his grand kids. It’s about 12 feet tall and painted to match other playground equipment that his father made. It looks awesome and Samantha and Ellie will tell you it’s the highlight of the trip home to visit Nana and Papa.

One of the tricks was finding an oven large enough to hold it. He disassembled it and after three or four trips to the powder coating shop, it was done. The wheel only had about half an inch of space on each side of the oven.

Painted Ladies Round 2

Thu, 12 Jun 2014 18:21:22 -0500

Samantha received a butterfly kit for her birthday last fall. I chose not to redeem the coupon for the mail order caterpillars because I was afraid that by the time they turned into butterflies, it would be too cold. Instead, we waited until spring. (Also, I wanted to hear about why we couldn’t order the caterpillars every. day. during the winter.)

When the caterpillars arrived, we thoroughly enjoyed watching them grow and turn into Painted Lady butterflies. We released them in the front yard, but I don’t think we’ve seen them since.

My Mother's Day

Mon, 12 May 2014 20:40:24 -0500

I had a great Mother’s Day hiking around Mt Cheaha. I didn’t really know what to expect since we had never been before, but it turned out to be a great day. The hikes were all pretty short, with some decent views, so we got to enjoy most of the park. Thankfully, the girls love to hike. Climbing up the Observation Tower was another story though. Samantha was very nervous. I think she might be afraid of heights (like some unnamed father of hers…). We stumbled upon the best view while on the Rock Garden Trail, so we decided to have our picnic lunch looking out towards the lake and the waterfall. It was lovely. Thanks Brian and girls for making my day special.

Mother's Day by Ellie

Sun, 11 May 2014 08:02:00 -0500

Happy Mother’s Day to all my mother readers today! I hope you have a lovely day.

Ellie answered some questions about me during school one day. They are good for a laugh. (Click for full size.)

Samantha answered these questions too. Here they are, if you would like a refresher.

Ellie's 4th Birthday

Sat, 03 May 2014 22:03:05 -0500

When did this houligan get to be a big girl? She’s spunky and fearless, and definitely a hoot. I hope she keeps up that great sense of humor.

Her party was very low key, but it did include a fun round of “Pin the Kiss on the Frog.”

Her cake was supposed to be a “Frozen” cake, however, I was pretty disappointed in the result. It certainly tasted good, but it was lacking in the characters and scenery that would have made it much better for the birthday girl.

Social Media from a 6 year old

Tue, 15 Apr 2014 21:05:41 -0500

Samantha’s teacher had a baby last week. She asked me if I could go to Facebook to find a pic. I replied “No,” without getting into why. Immediately, she said “What about Twitter or YouTube?”

I was shocked that she knew about those social media outlets, and that she lumped them together as a group.

A River Runs Through It

Mon, 07 Apr 2014 14:05:40 -0500

My dad titled it appropriately. This video was taken around 6:30 AM in our backyard, but it looks much the same now at 2 PM.

We received at least 5″ of rain during the night last night. We always have a small creek about 24 hours after it rains, but this is the most I’ve ever seen. It’s Mauter Reservoir.

I did it!

Sat, 05 Apr 2014 13:39:34 -0500

My first official 5K was for the Junior League of Birmingham 5K for Kids. A colleague is Race Day Chair, so I thought I would join in and support her cause. It was a great first race, with almost perfect weather! My official time was 32:33, and I placed 19th in my age group. Samantha was disappointed that I didn’t win, but I had to explain that it’s ok because I tried my best and I was proud of myself.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Mon, 17 Mar 2014 08:18:19 -0500

I found out that St. Patrick is the Patron Saint of engineers!

Engineering Go Bragh!

Alabama Gymnastics

Tue, 11 Mar 2014 16:35:11 -0500

We love gymnastics. Ok, maybe it’s just me. And Alabama gymnastics? Those girls are always talented. They make it easy to cheer for them.

This year we went to the Georgia and Stanford meets. I’m considering going to the SEC Championships or National Championships, both of which are here in town.

I loved the photo cutout at the Stanford meet. Clever.

Every Praise is to Our God

Fri, 07 Mar 2014 12:38:52 -0600

Wow, I feel late to the party, but I just have to share. The Prince of Peace choirs are all working on getting this song ready for Easter. I bought it on iTunes so I could practice with it, but out of curiosity I wanted to see if there was a video, so off to YouTube I went. Can you figure out where it was shot? Well done, Cheri.

The easiest cape ever

Thu, 27 Feb 2014 16:49:41 -0600

I had seen a cool looking cape at gymnastics practice a while back. I talked to the mom, and she said her teacher had made the whole class a cape at school. And it looked easy. I’m talking: e.a.s.y. That’s my kind of project.

It took me a long time to buy the $3 shirt, but after I did that, it took about 2 minutes to complete. I didn’t add any embellishments to it. It was immediately taken and used since then. Now I have a new addition to the family. Super Blue Girl to the rescue!

All She Wants for Christmas

Thu, 20 Feb 2014 20:35:16 -0600

Sam lost her other top front tooth at school. Apparently, she bit down too hard while at lunch and her tooth started bleeding. It caused issues with the other Kindergarten teacher and the PE teacher. I couldn’t get a clear picture of the whole story, so I have no idea why the PE teacher had anything to do with it.

The permanent teeth are no where to be seen, so for now, we tease her by asking her to say things like “first,” “three” or “frozen.” But, she takes the little teasing because she gets to use 2 straws!

More Snow

Fri, 14 Feb 2014 16:40:18 -0600

The third time it snowed this winter, we were a little done with snow. Been there, done that. I couldn’t even get Samantha to go outside and play in it for long. We had all missed tons of work (and school) by then, so it was a challenge coming up with creative things to do and more guilty feelings about staying home from work.

But, we got to build a snowman with a cool kit from MamaLinda and Pop! I had fun with it, at least.

Playing

Sat, 01 Feb 2014 22:19:50 -0600

After being cooped up in the house for 4 days while we waited for the snow to melt, we had to get out and enjoy the more normal January temperatures.

The girls seem to be playing better with each other now than they ever have been. I’m grateful.

Only a Dusting

Fri, 31 Jan 2014 22:22:24 -0600

At 9pm on January 27, 2014, we were predicted to have a dusting of snow for the following day. Schools remained open, everyone went to work, and life carried on like normal. Oh. Boy. Here are the highlights.

Overall, we faired very well. The girls were picked up from school by the hero, Aunt Lauren, and taken home. Brian and I finally arrived a few hours later. By some freak of nature, we both had plenty of gas, water bottles, coats, all the necessities needed in the event we got stuck. I was supposed to go to Nashville later in the week, so I had a decent amount of food in the house for Brian and the girls. I had even gone to the grocery store on Tuesday morning after I dropped Ellie off at school. Had I known that it would have been a significant trip, I would have bought a few things differently.

Lost Tooth #3

Sat, 18 Jan 2014 21:58:24 -0600

Samantha received another visit from the Tooth Fairy last night! The top front tooth had been wiggly for months, it seemed. She was not willing to pull it out, but occasionally complained about it hurting when she was eating. Duh! Finally, I convinced her to let me pull it!

After going to the dentist, they said the other top tooth is wiggly too! It will be a while before it comes out, knowing my girl. That’s ok. The permanent tooth isn’t coming in yet on the first one.

Blackmail

Sat, 04 Jan 2014 21:48:27 -0600

Yes, she will hate me one day. On the other hand, this cannot not be shared.

I present a sword wielding cowgirl Rapunzel.

And a traditional Spanish witch.

New Year's in Gatlinburg

Thu, 02 Jan 2014 21:24:24 -0600

After Christmas, we headed to Gatlinburg to celebrate Christmas and the New Year with the Mauters. The weather was cloudy and cold, but we did see a little blue sky.

I finally remembered to pick up some National Park passports so that we can begin tracking our National Parks. Too bad I forgot to get them while at the Grand Canyon a few months ago…

Overall, we had a great time, and even got to celebrate a 1st birthday! Happy Birthday Wesley!

Christmas 2013

Wed, 25 Dec 2013 20:48:28 -0600

The girls didn’t ask for much this Christmas, so Ellie was showered with Rapunzel and princess gear.

Samantha got a Rainbow Loom, and some headgear. Both girls got luggage, which they love dragging through the house and packing up.

Brian got a hot dog fork and some clothes.

And I got a new bike (as seen behind Samantha above) and some new kitchen supplies. Overall, we had a great morning!

Christmas Eve

Tue, 24 Dec 2013 20:02:08 -0600

We stayed at home on Christmas Eve and started our day making sugar cookies. Samantha has been begging me to make some, so I thought we’d spend our day off making treats for our neighbors and for Santa!

Brian does a good job rolling out dough. I always make it too dry.

And I helped with the decorations.

Then we took our Reindeer Food outside to sprinkle in the yard. The girls LOVE doing this every year. Luckily, they both came home with a pack from school.

First Day of Christmas break

Mon, 23 Dec 2013 19:08:01 -0600

We spent our first official day of Christmas break at the McWane Center. Our membership expires at the end of the year, so we figured we’d get in one more day.

Ellie wanted to ride the zip line this year. She LOVED it! What a thrill! After seeing Ellie have such a great time, Samantha wanted to try too. After some initial concern, she faced her fears and rode down the zip line too. They had a blast!

Decorating the tree

Sun, 15 Dec 2013 17:31:25 -0600

Brian prepared a time lapse video of us as we decorated our Christmas tree. Note the clock on the mantle.

Zoolight Safari 2013

Sat, 14 Dec 2013 20:59:57 -0600

We love going to the zoo for Zoolight Safari. It’s usually pretty cold, but we bundle up and tough it out. New this year, they brought in a large Christmas tree and have a nightly tree lighting.

The girls love visiting Santa here. I thought Samantha might be over her fear of Santa, but no. She likes Santa at the zoo, but when Santa came to school for breakfast a few days earlier, she wanted nothing to do with him. Ellie was thrilled to be able to share her wish. The girls each told Santa one thing. I was impressed that it was only one each. Samantha asked for a Rainbow Loom, and Ellie asked for a trunk full of princess dresses. We’ll see if they’ve been good.

Brian's Birthday

Wed, 04 Dec 2013 20:39:37 -0600

Happy Birthday Brian! Good luck on your campaign for president!

Ukelele Girl

Mon, 18 Nov 2013 19:16:43 -0600

Samantha's Thanksgiving Play

Thu, 14 Nov 2013 20:29:24 -0600

The Kindergarten classes have a Thanksgiving play followed by a feast with parents. Samantha was a Native American. She had to say one line, and sing many songs as part of the play. The highlight was the “Wacky Gobbler” song where two girls dressed as turkeys danced around the audience.

Ellie's Thanksgiving Program

Wed, 13 Nov 2013 19:44:45 -0600

Ellie was a Native American in the 3K Thanksgiving program this year. She did a great job singing and listening to the other classes sing their songs.

Soccer 2013

Sat, 09 Nov 2013 21:12:31 -0600

Samantha wanted to play soccer this year! I decided that she was old enough to add another activity, so we thought we’d give it a shot. I was a little overwhelmed at the beginning of the season because it was twice a week, in addition to gymnastics once a week, with the newness of Kindergarten too. Whew. We made it though.

At the beginning of the season, she was intimidated by the ball, and wanted to play goalie. There are no goalies in her age group though.

Halloween 2013

Fri, 01 Nov 2013 20:15:56 -0500

Halloween is so fun. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the kids’ excitement as they run from house to house. But I marvel at the candy it brings.

Samantha painted her pumpkin again this year. I was pretty shocked that she painted a face on it instead of the usual cover-the-pumpkin-all-the-way scenario. Painted pumpkin from 2012, 2011, 2010.

2013:

I usually try to have a quick dinner, but it usually doesn’t turn out like that. I thought the girls would enjoy mummy pizzas for dinner though.

Just Dance

Sat, 26 Oct 2013 22:01:56 -0500

We went out on a limb and got Samantha another video game for her birthday. She loves to play Mario Kart Wii, but I’d rather she not sit and play video games all afternoon. Mario Kart, by the way, is what brought this recent obsession with everything Mario. Brian suggested the game Just Dance.

Oh boy.

Words cannot describe how she squealed with delight at the first time she danced alongside the game. I can’t say I’m too thrilled about her dancing to K$sha, Nicki Minaj, or (I can’t believe) her favorite, Psy. She loves to play, and I love that it gets her moving. It’s a win-win.

First Field Trip

Fri, 25 Oct 2013 21:56:16 -0500

Samantha’s class went on a field trip to the Grand Ole Pumpkin Patch this year. We didn’t go as a family this year because of that. However, Samantha probably got to do more with her class than she does get to do with us. (What can we say? We’re cheap.)

Here she is in the petting zoo, feeding the goats.

And she came away with Daddy’s “bumpy pumpkin.”

I think it turned out to be a great day!

Samantha's Birthday

Thu, 17 Oct 2013 21:38:11 -0500

Samantha (specifically, no longer Sam) is older than her years. She is growing into a young lady quicker than I’d like.

We had a great time at her birthday party: coloring masks, bobbing for (golden delicious) apples, and playing at the park.

Happy 6th birthday, sweet girl.

I'm famous.

Mon, 23 Sep 2013 22:22:34 -0500

The Google Streetview car followed me on the way to the pool one day. Thankfully it didn’t actually follow me all the way to the pool.

Grand Canyon

Mon, 23 Sep 2013 20:32:05 -0500

It was certainly a whirlwind trip, but well worth it.

We saw LOTS of elk. Lots. Most of the time, like this one below, we accidentally walked up to them without realizing it. This one was at the Visitor’s Center just as we got off the shuttle bus. Otherwise, we saw a lot of Abert’s squirrels, a couple of families of mule deer, butterflies, ravens, and vultures. I was hoping to see condors, but no luck.

Good Morning from 10,000 Feet

Wed, 18 Sep 2013 08:05:12 -0500

I got to watch the sun rise this morning.

First Day of Preschool

Tue, 03 Sep 2013 07:40:07 -0500

Ellie’s first day of preschool was today. I’m glad to get her back into a routine – she’s had a tough time over the last month adjusting to here, there and everywhere. However, she seemed excited to go back to school.

Happy Labor Day

Mon, 02 Sep 2013 10:47:52 -0500

First Day of Kindergarten

Tue, 13 Aug 2013 08:32:38 -0500

Well, we made it through the summer. We’re still hobbling along with Ellie, but Sam’s first day of school is today. She is very excited, but a little nervous too. I know she will do well. That’s my girl!

Need to split a multipage PDF into individual files?

Sun, 11 Aug 2013 21:18:07 -0500

Ghostscript and bash to the rescue. I found out ahead of time that there were 136 pages in my source.pdf.

for i in {1..136}; do
 echo $i;
 gs -dBATCH -dNOPAUSE -sDEVICE=pdfwrite -dFirstPage=$i -dLastPage=$i -sOutputFile=$i.pdf source.pdf;
done

Lego Mini Build

Tue, 06 Aug 2013 20:20:23 -0500

Thanks to Lettie, we discovered that the Lego Store has a free Mini Model Build every month! Last month was a crab, and this month was a flamingo. Next month, there are two free builds (a pirate and a castle)! We love it! Thanks Aunt Lettie!

Lunar Moth Cocoon

Mon, 29 Jul 2013 20:39:27 -0500

We had some dead trees / limbs cut down this past weekend. I don’t think it looks drastically different, except out the kitchen window. There is still plenty of shade. Maybe next year we can afford to cut some pine trees. So, I was outside looking around when I heard a clicking sound. I thought it was another chipmunk digging in my rock wall. (Which, by the way, there is some type of hawk that recently inhabited our woods. It’s keeping the chipmunks down, thank goodness.) But, I finally discovered that it was a cocoon. I knew that it was close to hatching if it was making that noise. I quickly gathered it and called to Sam to get her bug jar. The next day, it hatched into a lunar moth. She had a hard time leaving it alone: “But it needs food and water. I want to hold it.” Poor thing. It had just hatched.

Another visit from the Tooth Fairy

Sun, 21 Jul 2013 20:35:10 -0500

Sam had another tooth coming in. The second one on the bottom. It was coming in way, WAY behind the baby tooth, so the baby tooth took a long time to loosen. Finally, the baby tooth was loose enough to pull. I think it was a little more traumatic this time judging by the amount of tears. (Take a look at the Before and After shots below.) But, a reminder about a visit from the Tooth Fairy seemed to help.

Swimming

Sat, 13 Jul 2013 22:12:41 -0500

We’ve been doing a lot of swimming this summer. There is a community pool about a mile from our house, so getting there is easy. We have been going to this pool for several years because it was the babysitter’s pool, and they offer lessons even if you are not a member.

This year, I tried all summer to get lessons, but it hasn’t worked out so far. However, since we go 3 or 4 times each week to the pool, the girls are doing great! Sam has learned to swim underwater, jump in, and tread. Ellie jumps in (she did it before Sam), is a great kicker and uses her arms a good bit too. She still uses a float, but likes to practice with a kick board.

Happy Birthday to me.

Sun, 07 Jul 2013 20:31:26 -0500

Ellie helped blow the candles out with me.

Independence Day

Sat, 06 Jul 2013 06:18:00 -0500

July passed by in a rainy blur. We spent the 4th of July at the lake. In between storms, we ventured out for some quick trips, but mostly, it just stayed wet.

The kids attempted to fish in the pond, but I don’t think the fish liked the rain either.

But wait a minute. What is this one doing?

Oh. ~~Torturing~~ Playing with the bait.

Finally, Patrick was successful! Way to go!

Safari Greg at the Hoover Public Library

Wed, 26 Jun 2013 08:36:13 -0500

Tuesday nights we head over to the library for a free show. They always bring in really entertaining acts. This week was Safari Greg. He brought a Milk Snake, a Cayman, a Boa Constrictor and a Milk Snake to show. He also does a bit of magic. The room erupted with screams when that funny helmet lamp lit up no matter how many times he blew it out. At the end of the show, he let everyone sit with the Boa Constrictor. We waited for over half an hour, but it was worth it.

Seagrove Beach

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 16:03:02 -0500

We had another great trip to Seagrove with the Betbeze family. The weather wasn’t great beginning on Sunday, but the water was beautiful! Many of the family were not there, so the house didn’t seem nearly as crowded.

These two are becoming fast friends. I wonder what they were talking about. (Sorry the colors are wonky. The white balance was set on a funky level.)

Oops!

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 22:05:50 -0500

I got a call from the director of Ellie’s day care today. I never get a call unless something is wrong, so I was preparing to immediately leave work and head over there.

She told me that Ellie’s class had begun to use scissors, under supervision. (Again, I’m thinking that Ellie has chopped her finger off or something of that nature.) Apparently, Ellie decided to cut her hair in a 2-second time that her teacher turned around. Boom. It has taken 3 years to get a thin head of hair on her, and she chops it off in one swoop.

Fishing on Memorial Day

Mon, 27 May 2013 15:40:00 -0500

(One could safely say that I am behind on posting pictures.)

We made a quick trip to the pond on Memorial Day. We were not too successful. Ellie briefly caught a bluegill. And a fishing trip with a toddler would not be complete without a hook in someone’s hair. Good times.

Happy Memorial Day

Mon, 27 May 2013 08:22:27 -0500

Fort Walton Beach

Sun, 19 May 2013 22:24:57 -0500

After graduation, we made a fairly spontaneous trip down to Fort Walton. Once we got there, I realized that we had never been to the beach with just the four of us. It was a great trip, with fantastic weather. The condo was perfect for us: 2 bedrooms with bunk beds in the 2nd bedroom. It had an indoor and outdoor pool, right on the beach. We couldn’t have gotten a better place to stay. (And I got a smokin deal!)

Preschool Graduate

Thu, 16 May 2013 21:30:39 -0500

Yes, I thought graduation from 4K was a bit silly. However, Samantha was nervous and excited at the same time. It is a big deal because the Kindergarteners are in a different building, they wear uniforms, and go to school all day. So, we said good bye to preschool. Kindergarten, here we come!

She received a diploma from the principal and a Dove pin (the school/church mascot) from her teacher. They processed in and out to Pomp and Circumstance, and sang a few songs in between. I can’t believe she’ll be in Kindergarten in a few months! Where have the years gone?

Reader

Thu, 09 May 2013 21:59:24 -0500

Sam met her Kindergarten teacher today. She has been really nervous about going to Kindergarten, but after today, she is super excited. So excited that she decided to read Green Eggs and Ham to me tonight. She’s been reading for a while, but she doesn’t ever like to read books before bed. I guess that’s because we have always read to her, and she doesn’t want to flip it around. I don’t know.

Happy Birthday Ellie!

Sun, 05 May 2013 22:02:49 -0500

Can you believe this little runt turned 3 last week?

Ellie is full of laughs and energy, independence and compassion, nerve and courage. She loves her froggie, her big sister, and Rapunzel. She just moved up to a big girl bed and hasn’t had any trouble adjusting. Her favorite colors are green and purple. She’s a lefty. She eats at least two breakfasts, a decent lunch, and not much for dinner every day. She loves corn (all kinds including popcorn). She drinks way more than the rest of us (milk, juice, water, you name it).

What Is It With Animals These Days?

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 18:05:36 -0500

I found a Ringsnake today as I was killing a Carpenter bee drilling on the play set.

Again, animal kingdom.

Here, the girls are giving it some voodoo with their lovies.

Molly came home today. She’s been at the vet for a few days. She wasn’t keeping anything down. Because she is 10 years old, we were concerned. However, she seems to be fine. We will keep her isolated for a few days to make sure she and Maddie don’t get into any midnight fights.

Bee Free

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 10:13:29 -0500

We are now honey bee free, and honey free! The roof has been repaired, so now we can move on to the other tasks that have popped up.

As shown below, the bees were ferociously making honey combs to lay eggs in. The queen was gearing up for a big summer season. The honey was made to feed the larvae and the bees themselves, but they weren’t making enough yet to store for future purposes.

Some Sewing

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 09:16:09 -0500

I got the sewing bug a couple of months ago. I have made several skirts, a shirt, a dress, with two more dresses in the works. When spring and summer start to roll around every year, I get the itch to make dresses and skirts.

This year, Sam had to wear a Pirate costume for the letter X at school. They went on a treasure hunt, made a parrot clip for their shoulder, and had lots of pirate activities for the day. I got the idea to make a Circle skirt a while ago, and finally decided to put it to good use. I used a red chevron fabric, and with some consultation with Mom and Lizzie, I think it turned out great!
I also made the white peasant blouse. I think they turned out cute when putting the whole thing together.

Exasperation

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 13:33:10 -0500

This week began with a honey bee infestation and ended with feline urine, but had a stomach bug thrown in for good measure. The animal kingdom is exasperating.

Pollen Alert

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 14:47:03 -0500

But that means everything is beautiful.

Easter 2013

Sun, 31 Mar 2013 20:10:27 -0500

Happy Easter!

We started our Good Friday with some Easter coloring, a trip to a fabric store that I never get to go to, the park, and lunch. (What kind of business can they run with hours M-F 9-4? I get to go once every few years!) More on what I bought later. Then, home for a nap and some egg dyeing. Sam loves it. I do too.

Sam got a kit from Build-a-Bear (thanks, MamaLinda!) so we used the drops rather than food coloring. It also came with stickers and glitter!

Ellie's First Haircut

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 20:13:21 -0500

Although Ellie’s hair is still very thin, the rat-tail-turned-mullet needed some work. I still haven’t found a good kid-friendly place to take the girls. The salon that we used with Sam closed long ago. I decided that you only get a First Haircut once, so I would splurge and take her to my salon. Sam, in a very matter of fact, big sister way, tried to prep her on the way in, “Listen Ellie, you are going to cry, but it doesn’t hurt.” Ai yai yai.

Ellie from Spring Break

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 18:38:00 -0500

Sam spent her Spring Break with grandparents (a heap of thanks, guys!), so we got to have some only-child time with Ellie. She is a character. She is definitely a fierce two-year old. She is very compassionate, but also incredibly independent. Raising two assertive girls is proving to be very challenging. Having a week with Ellie was a nice change. I enjoyed my time.

Spring Program

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 18:09:37 -0500

Just before Spring Break, Sam had a Spring Program and Art Show at school. She was chosen to speak in the microphone with another student to say the Pledge of Allegiance and the Guardian Angel prayer. She must show as much confidence at school as she does at home!

During regular carpool time in the mornings, the whole preschool sings songs as the students come inside. This show was a “Greatest Hits” of those welcoming, good morning songs. I’ve been hearing bits and pieces for two years, so I was glad to hear them all as a whole.

It's Official!

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 17:23:17 -0600

Sam lost her first tooth this morning! She’s officially a big girl now. (And I’m still not believing it!)

As I discovered last weekend, I knew her tooth was loose. I hadn’t been wiggling it all week because I wasn’t quite ready for it to go. I would ask her if it was still wiggly though. I bought some material earlier in the week to make a Tooth Fairy Pillow. I finished it last night and gave it to her this morning. She was excited as I explained the process to her. Then, as she was eating her last bite of breakfast, she bit down on it. It must have really hurt, because she started crying and after examination, it was bleeding. I asked if she was ready for me to pull it.

Beautiful Sunday and a tooth

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 22:08:04 -0600

What a great day today! The weather yesterday was lousy (woohoo for finishing our taxes on a rainy February!) so we spent today outside and soaked up some vitamin D. We had a picnic at Aldridge Gardens. Boo to Aldridge Gardens for requiring a permit to take pictures there now. Then, we spent the afternoon at Moss Rock Preserve. Sam took me on a trail that I had not been on before. It was complete with a “booger bear” cave (sounds like Pop) and a bat house. She failed to mention the awesome waterfall at the end. It was a super short hike that we took after our normal hike.

Turkeys

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 08:48:38 -0600

We’ve had a group of turkeys in our backyard all winter. It looks to be 1 male and 2 females. They usually don’t get close enough to get a decent picture. This morning, Molly was on the back porch and was deeply intent on something in the back yard. I never looked to see what she was looking at, but I knew she was focused because she was not bothered by the girls knocking on the glass windows. Brian suddenly yelled from the back bedroom “There’s a huge turkey in the back yard!”

McWane Center

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 21:48:47 -0600

We spent President’s Day at the McWane Center. Although the Clifford Exhibit was being taken down (drat – I feel bad that we missed it), I’m sure there will be much more to see during our next trip. The girls always enjoy the Light Brite, petting the sharks, and digging for fossils.

Day at the Lake

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 21:32:13 -0600

We spent the day at the lake. While on a walk, we came across my Great Uncle Merrill. He reminds me of his brother, my grandfather, Papa.

Ellie likes to wear her hood whenever she has one. And in this case, she then wanted to ride her tricycle. So, she spent the rest of the morning wearing her helmet (with hood).

Signs of Spring

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 16:30:37 -0600

It’s 65 and sunny today, so that means we’ll have at least one more bad freeze before it’s officially spring.

Monkey

Sat, 02 Feb 2013 21:26:59 -0600

Ellie is definitely more agile than Sam. She watches Sam do gymnastics every week, and longs to be a part of that. We plan to enroll her for next year when she’s three. In the mean time, we went to a birthday party for Chloe and Jolie (happy birthday girls!) and she had a blast playing on the equipment.

Mauter Girls Go Skiing

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 18:20:51 -0600

Gymnastics

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 21:16:56 -0600

We went to a gymnastics meet with the Grissoms. UA versus LSU. It was a great meet, and despite the seat-swapping and the fact that our seats were double-booked, we had a great time! We won by a point or so.

Ellie's hair

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 21:11:09 -0600

We finally got a ponytail in Ellie’s hair! Her hair is still barely coming in, so no, she is 2.5 and has still not had a hair cut. Unfortunately, it goes forward: toward her face. I’ve been programming her to wear it back, but she is beginning to fight me on that. I might have to cut bangs after all. Here she is giving her baby a bath with a wipe.

Snow

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 20:39:28 -0600

We actually got some snow today! We played outside in the afternoon, but Sam was more interested in drinking hot chocolate. Eventually, the snow turned to rain, so it was a pretty wet afternoon.

No more excuses

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 21:55:24 -0600

Some of you might remember that I hurt my toe about 18 months ago. I thought I broke it. It hurt tremendously. You might not know that I sucked it up into the carpet cleaner beater brush of our vacuum. Yes, internet, I beat my toe with a vacuum. Well, it turned out to be fine, after several trips to the doctor. However, I have refused to vacuum since then. I did not want to subject myself to the torture of that machine. Brian graciously has done all the vacuuming since then. Honestly, he had always done the majority of it, but I could do it occasionally when it was needed.

Yes, I got upgraded.

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 16:53:44 -0600

Brian got me an iPhone 5 for Christmas. I wasn’t really expecting it, because I figured I could last a few more months on my old phone.

My brother asked me what 5 things I liked about my new phone. At the time, I had 2. (Keep in mind, I had had it all of 3 days and that was over Christmas when I wasn’t using it much.) I now have my 5 things.

And her heart danced

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 06:52:47 -0600

On Friday, we went to the cardiologist to get a check up on the ASD in Ellie’s heart.

Sam heard me talking earlier in the week about taking Ellie to the doctor, and she had lots of questions. She was very concerned for Ellie and was sure the doctor was going to “slice her.” Yes, those were her words. When Ellie got up from her nap that day, the first thing Sam did was tell Ellie that she was going to the doctor to get sliced. Yikes! I began telling Ellie that we were going to the doctor to get a picture of her heart. She said “No, Mommy do it.” I apologized for not being able to do it. She said “Daddy do it.” I again apologized and said that the doctor had to do it. She said “ok.”

Decorating Our Tree

Sun, 09 Dec 2012 13:32:32 -0600

I’ve been wanting to do a time-lapse video of something around here. Decorating our Christmas Tree seemed like a perfect fit for such a project. I put the camera and laptop on the piano and using EOS Utility I shot tethered every 10 seconds. I used ImageMagick to crop and resize the images to 1920×1080 and then finally to sequence them as an MPG.

Gatlinburg 2012

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 22:21:32 -0600

We had been talking about a trip to Gatlinburg all year. It was our 10 year anniversary this fall, and I wanted to go somewhere. I’m always up for a trip to the mountains. I just had to convince Brian to go with me. 🙂 The girls did great during the whole trip, even though we missed a few naps along the way. So, I discovered how Ellie behaves without a nap: crazy hyper.

Sam's Iron Bowl Prediction

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 15:00:40 -0600

From left to right:
Alabama football player
Goal post with football
Me
Sam
Auburn football player
Two Auburn fans

Her prediction is 81 – 1, good guys.

What a View!

Sat, 17 Nov 2012 16:17:58 -0600

The living room of our chalet has a 12 foot glass sliding door that has this view

Sweden has Rednecks too.

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 13:06:03 -0600

Headline stolen from Jim Dalrymple. This is just too funny not to repost.

Striped Saturday

Sat, 03 Nov 2012 16:10:20 -0500

Samantha loves rainbows. It’s like she’s noncommittal or something. If you ask her what her favorite color is, she goes through a litany of colors. Therefore, she loves stripes. She has a set of clothes that she reserves for Saturdays. Why she wears them on Saturday, I’m not sure. But, throughout the summer, if we have traveled on the weekends, she made sure that I knew to pack her Saturday clothes. Silly.

Halloween 2012

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 21:12:20 -0500

We played cat and mouse this year. A black cat and Minnie Mouse to be exact. I had help carving my pumpkins too. Another cat and a ball of fire.

Fall Fun

Sun, 28 Oct 2012 15:50:21 -0500

Most of the time, I love living in the trees. This time of year requires constant sweeping/raking/blowing, but I still like all my trees.

Granddad's Birthday

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 15:43:44 -0500

Today is my granddad’s 81st birthday! Hope you have a great day. We enjoyed celebrating with you at the lake!

Back to the Pumpkin Patch

Sat, 20 Oct 2012 21:34:37 -0500

We had a spare moment in between birthday parties, so we headed South, to the Grand Ole Pumpkin Patch.

Wow, we had fun. The weather was perfect, we got a hayride to and from the pumpkin patch, we got the two best pumpkins there and the girls probably spent an hour jumping on the inflatables.

Sam went on a three story tall slide and came down so fast she landed on the ground kinda hard. I think that was a sufficient enough negative outcome to make her terrified of trying it again. She much preferred the obstacle course. Have a look at the pictures, you be the judge.

Happy 5th Birthday, Beautiful Girl!

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 21:10:20 -0500

We had so much fun at the zoo on the Saturday before your birthday. You were careful to point out that you weren’t five yet, but that we were just celebrating your birthday on that day so everyone could come. We met everyone outside and then you got to parade in as the line-leader. You got to pet a tortoise and a ferret and because the zoo was already geared up for Boo at the Zoo, the carousel went around backwards!

We are a Utility Sink Household

Wed, 26 Sep 2012 09:16:01 -0500

Yeah, yeah, it’s been 366 days. I can’t come up with a good excuse. I’m a horrible person, yadda yadda yadda.

While the finished product would’ve probably looked a lot better had a professional did it, I’m pretty happy with the way it turned out.

One Friday when Janie and the girls were out of town I decided to completely remove the bottom bit of sheetrock instead of just patching the holes we already had. I’m glad we did because some of the insulation needed to be replaced as it had suffered water damage too.

Still working

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 21:13:43 -0500

It has been 366 days since this happened, but who’s counting? It turned into a majorish project for us. We’re still working, but we hit a major milestone tonight. We’ve been to a home improvement store six times in three days. This project WILL get finished this week.

Indigo Girls with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 06:43:39 -0500

We have been season ticket holders for several years to the ASO. Over the years, we have decreased the number of shows we go to. We also switched from certain tickets to passes to any show. I have always enjoyed the shows. Samantha even went with me once last season and she loved it too!

However, on Friday night, I went to one of the best shows. The Indigo Girls were in town. Their music was arranged for an orchestra, and they played together. It was amazing! I have been a fan for a long time (but haven’t followed their career in the last 15 years or so…shame on me). They played a few new songs, but mostly it was oldie goldies that I knew. Brian didn’t want to go (which saved on babysitting) and I just wanted a night to myself, so I went alone. Strangely enough, that was in keeping with my trips to the Alabama Theatre.

French (or Dutch) Braids

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 15:32:44 -0500

I have been working on French Braiding since here. During this process, I realized that I braid backwards. I never even realized there was a right-side-up or up-side-down method! Instead of a braid that is inside (next to the scalp), the braid is on the outside (popping out from the head). I’ve seen this called a Dutch Braid, but I don’t know if that’s standard. (I do wonder what the Dutch did to deserve this under/outside braid, as opposed to the French with an top/inside braid… A side story I guess.)

First Day of 4K

Tue, 04 Sep 2012 16:42:20 -0500

Samantha has spent this summer at Ellie’s daycare, but today was the first day of 4K back at Prince of Peace. Here is last year’s picture.

Fundraisers

Wed, 29 Aug 2012 16:08:51 -0500

For wrapping paper and other Innisbrook items, go to www.innisbrook.com/credits/index/studentlink?id=R107862H. If that doesn’t recognize Sam, go to www.innisbrook.com and use the School Code 107404. Samantha’s seller number is R107862H.

For Otis Spunkmeyer cookie dough, brownies, and pretzels, go to Otis Spunkmeyer to view the catalog. Let me know what flavor you want, and I can add it to the list.

Neurotic to the bone, no doubt about it.

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 10:41:10 -0500

I have long been a cat person. I grew up with them and have always enjoyed their company. Dogs are boisterous and slobbery.

At this point though, I’m almost ready to defy all my previous thoughts and throw my cats to the curb. I always wondered how people could live with an animal, then just get rid of it.

When we moved to this house, we bought a new mattress for ourselves. A few months later, a cat peed on our new bed. Over the last year, it happened another 3 times. I tried to eliminate the variables: did I change litter recently enough, did the kids torment them recently, had we been out of town, etc. Last week, it happened again. I felt like I had done all I could do, so a trip to the vet was in order. For my 2 neurotic cats, that’s a really big deal.

Oh?

Wed, 15 Aug 2012 20:23:43 -0500

Handy Smurf Has Been Busy In Our Yard

Wed, 15 Aug 2012 20:22:21 -0500

Your Mac Can Speak Roman Numerals

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 14:26:24 -0500

The Mac speech synthesizer has to be aware of context as it speaks. Otherwise, if you had “$1000” in your sentence it would say something like “dollar sign one thousand”. I get that.

Did you know that it can speak roman numerals? We stumbled on one phrase that triggers it: “Mac OS X”. Specifically “OS” triggers it. The numerals must be uppercase as well. I imagine that when Apple demos the Mac speech synthesizer, they want it to be able to say its name correctly. However, you can also substitute any other valid Roman Numeral for the “X”. How sophisticated is the Roman Numeral processing? 1987 seems to be complicated enough for me, but my Mac handles it with ease.

Travel

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 09:57:59 -0500

My parents are heading to Hawaii today to celebrate a milestone anniversary and a milestone birthday. Please keep them in mind during the next 10 days as they island hop.

From my kitchen window

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 17:39:27 -0500

My view from the kitchen window is nice. Now if I can just keep the deer out of my yard so I can have some flowers.

A List or two

Sat, 14 Jul 2012 09:32:07 -0500

At school these days, if Samantha gets a smiley face every day, she gets a “treasure box” on Fridays. This week, she picked a pad of paper.

She came home and drew all over the papers, taking the bunny to a vegetable patch, and a flower patch. Then she started making lists. She made a list of what she wanted for breakfast. It was butter, eggs, milk (we get 1% milk at Publix, which is purple), and sprinkles to make pancakes. She also made a list for the grocery store: pizza, apples, and pears.

We can finally play in the rain! And a poem.

Fri, 13 Jul 2012 17:45:22 -0500

“RAIN”

Where have you been?

We’ve missed you so.

Come back again.

Sam says Thanks

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 20:13:53 -0500

View the entire collection of cards.

Independence Day at the Zoo

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 15:03:25 -0500

We headed over to the Zoo for July 4th. It was hot, but it worked well for us to go in the morning then splash around in the fountains for a while.

We looked at the birds, but skipped the reptiles. We caught Farley, the sea lion, and his show.

Then we visited the kangaroos and wallaby. I had walked into the habitat before, so I was hoping to do that again. The keeper gave us a brief talk, so we just sat and listened.

My friend

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 20:33:16 -0500

This little guy has been living in the tree outside my bedroom window. I often see it sitting in its nest, eating bugs from nearby spiderwebs, or shooing away other birds. Really, I’m surprised at how often it is just in its nest. Stay cool, my friend.

My Dream

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 09:01:19 -0500

I used to remember my dreams when I woke up, but in the last few years, I haven’t been able to. Last night was different. I had a nightmare.

I dreamt that I was driving somewhere in the country – think on the way to Smith Lake. Samantha and Ellie were in the backseat. Something happened to Sam and she needed to change her clothes. I pulled onto a side road. I got out and got Sam out (and Ellie was somehow out too). We changed her clothes and were getting ready to get back in the car. I had walked around to the other side of the car to put the spoiled clothes away and to put Ellie back in her seat.

Sam Goes to the Dentist

Tue, 26 Jun 2012 15:48:05 -0500

Sam has been to the dentist a few times. Each time she goes, she behaves more wildly than the last.

Her checkup a few weeks ago was no exception. She wailed and kicked and screamed, and her flip-flops went flying across the room. Someone had to come help me hold her down! All she had to do was lay down and watch Madagascar, which was playing on TVs all over the ceiling.

Ceiling Fans

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 19:52:30 -0500

Every bedroom has a ceiling fan now! (There is only one wall switch, which is super annoying, but maybe we can remedy that.)

The Drab Bathroom

Sun, 17 Jun 2012 17:18:16 -0500

The upstairs bathroom is finally getting some work. It’s just too drab for me to spend any more potty-training time up there.

UPDATE:
Here is the finished color (with a different view).

Beach 2012

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 16:56:58 -0500

The beach week has come and gone again. The memorable parts were rain, clouds and jellyfish. But, we did have a good time. Samantha really enjoyed the pool more than the beach and wanted to spend all her time there. Ellie enjoyed both.

Swimming Lessons

Mon, 04 Jun 2012 09:21:32 -0500

Samantha is deeply afraid of getting her ears wet. In the bath tub and, now that it is summer, in the pool, this presents a problem.

We started swimming lessons last week, and she made significant progress in the 3 days of lessons. We will continue this week in hopes of solidifying her independence in the water. Let’s just hope the weather holds out.

Library Visit

Wed, 30 May 2012 13:28:46 -0500

It’s been a while since we’ve posted anything (especially long for me). I found this picture of the girls at the Hoover Library and thought I should share it.

Mother's Day by Sam

Sun, 13 May 2012 14:05:56 -0500

My Mommy by Sam

That's better

Sat, 12 May 2012 15:52:29 -0500

I got to plant a little bit today. That looks much better.

Special Breakfast

Wed, 09 May 2012 07:04:03 -0500

For Samantha’s 4th birthday, she got a subscription to Highlights High Five magazine. She loves it. Not only does she read it from cover to cover constantly, there are also games, crafts, and recipes that she wants to try. Every. Month.

This month’s recipe was Breakfast in a Glass, so we tried it out yesterday. She liked it.

Yogurt (in place of cottage cheese), peaches, bananas, granola, and blueberries

Happy Birthday Ellie!

Wed, 02 May 2012 14:10:03 -0500

How time flies!
I took Ellie to the doctor today for a check up, and she’s doing great! She still has a slight murmur, from the ASD. We go back to the cardiologist in December for a check up. (We last went when she was 6 months old.) Otherwise, she’s a regular long, tall Sally in her stats.
We took her to the mall for lunch and to Build-a-Bear afterwards. She was so happy looking and picking out animals. (And I think her favorite color might be purple from all the purple things she picked out.) We were going to go all out and stuff an animal, but decided to get a smaller one that was already stuffed. It’s a purple giraffe. Neato.

Playground

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:45:08 -0500

Well, once again, I am woefully behind on pictures and updates to the blog.

At the end of March, we decided to make use of the slide that Santa brought to us. It had been on the back porch since Christmas morning, and it was getting plenty of use there. However, the slide was propped up on the arms of a rocking chair, so it wasn’t very stable. The girls loved bouncing and going down it every sort of way possible. But, we have a great place for a playground and I wanted to give the girls more reasons to go outside and enjoy the outdoors. The prep work was not without some drama, but we did the majority of it during one weekend, with a little bit before and after. I’m very happy with the end result, and I think the girls are too.

Easter 2012

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 20:15:44 -0500

We had a great Easter this year! We stayed at home and did Easter crafts on Good Friday (both girls were out of school). We dyed eggs, made Easter Egg Hunt cookies and decorated a tree on Holy Saturday. The Easter Bunny hid baskets this year, so after some early morning hunting (for Sam at least), the girls dug through their baskets then we skirted off to church. We had to take the obligatory family picture (which I think had some tears) then we hunted for Easter Eggs all day. And I mean all. day. It was relaxing and fun to spend the day outside playing.

Ugh

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 09:58:17 -0500

Still not finished. I blame the mortgage company of our previous house that has since gone out of business. It has nothing to do with our procrastination.

Taste the Rainbow

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 15:42:55 -0500

It’s nearing the end of Lent, and I’m running low on no meat ideas for Friday dinners. I’m fine eating a bowl of cereal (yum!) but I don’t think my meat-eating family would like that every week.

In an effort to jazz up the lunch box when Samantha started taking her lunch to school last fall, I started reading a few lunch box blogs. It takes only a little more effort to make lunch special, which then means, it will get eaten. I have to admit, these days, Brian usually makes her lunch. However, Samantha has always been pretty good about eating vegetables and fruits of all kinds. (Her favorite vegetables are peas and beans. My least favorite!) The common theme in getting kids to eat healthier is fun. We had some discussions about superpowers. For example, carrots make you have super sight. I make Ants on a Log and arrange food playfully on the plate.

Look What Sam Found

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 10:37:21 -0500

I’m no snake expert, but I think this is a Black Rat Snake. It’s shiny black with a white belly. Janie: “It’s got a big ole hole in the mouth.”

Absent

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 15:52:59 -0500

I’ve realized that I’m using twitter (@janiemauter) to update the world on my life instead of this here blog. Apologies. I’m trying to update, so some posts are back-dated. If you’re reading from the web, go back a page or two to make sure you get them all. If you get to the Guatemala post, that’s far enough.

Copy Cat

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 15:32:49 -0500

Ellie is a such a sponge. I can hardly believe she’ll be 2 soon!

UA Gymnastics

Sat, 10 Mar 2012 15:53:14 -0600

Samantha and I went to a gymnastics meet back in early February. She has loved her gymnastics class so much (really, just the trampoline) (despite having a new teacher every few weeks) that I thought she’d enjoy the meet. She did. She learned a couple of cheers like “Go Go Go Alabama” and “B-A-M-A Roll Tide Roll.”

About a month later, we went again as a family (and the Grissoms were supposed to go with us, but their attempt was foiled yet again by sickness). Sam was an old pro this time. She asked for popcorn until I conceded. I got the family tub, and discovered that Ellie can put us all under the table with her popcorn eating. (That blur down there is one reason I didn’t get to watch much of the second meet…)

Sam + Brick Wall = Doctor

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 16:16:58 -0600

After 4.5 years, we had our first real encounter with a trauma accident. (I’d say that’s not too bad!) Sam was at school playing with bubbles on the playground when she tripped and fell into a brick wall. She put a pretty good hole into her forehead. Obviously, head wounds bleed a lot (Alex, maybe you should stop reading here) and she was rushed to the office. They cleaned her up as much as possible, gave her a popsicle and called me. They told me that she’d probably need stitches. So, off I go to pick her up.

Spring

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 11:32:23 -0600

The one and only blooming azalea at our house is trying to bloom again. It tried earlier, but was foiled by the cold snap.

Catechism Quiz

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 08:48:53 -0600

You are a 95% traditional Catholic!

Congratulations! You are more knowlegeable than most modern theologians! You have achieved mastery over the most important doctrines of the Catholic Faith! You should share your incredible understanding with others!

Do You Know Your Baltimore Catechism?

Sam: "oh look a mailboxer!"

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 13:02:08 -0600

Sam was talking about a mailman.

Valentine's Day

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:11:22 -0600

I got resourceful this year and made valentines with Sam (and by myself for Ellie). I didn’t want to do too much candy, but I think I can do better next year. I have since seen some really cute non-candy valentines that I’ll have to keep in mind.

Sam handed out tootsie pop butterflies to the girls and bugs in a bug jar to the boys. Ellie handed out one-eyed monsters.

Fire!

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 16:04:18 -0600

I’m not sure if it was the Burns’s fire drama, but Brian wanted to burn all the downed logs/limbs that were in the backyard. It was a cold Saturday, so the fire was nice to warm up against. I stayed inside all day because it was too cold for me. Sam helped too.

Guatemala Recap

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:10:46 -0600

I’ve been back from Guatemala for almost 3 weeks, so I guess it’s time for a recap. In one word, I’d say incredible fits the bill. I had a great time and would certainly consider another humanitarian mission IF the circumstances were right. (Yes, that’s a big IF. My family probably wouldn’t like it if I did it too often!) In the meantime, I’ll continue working on Habitat for Humanity houses destroyed by our prolific tornadoes or reading to young kids through Better Basics.

Beautiful Spring Day

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:30:26 -0600

And it’s just January!

And I was looking forward to hot water

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 07:13:59 -0600

Our water heater ruptured last night. We have about 45 more days on our home warranty.

Janie Experiences a Carole King Song Firsthand

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 13:32:03 -0600

“I feel the earth move under my feet…”

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usc0007pnj.php

Hopefully there’s no sky tumbling down.

Antigua

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 09:52:01 -0600

Mount Pacaya from Hotel Aurora
Correction: Volcan de Aqua

Janie is in Antigua

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 07:11:14 -0600

We drove all day today to get to Antigua from the Valley (about 10 hours). I have wifi now although my inbox is seriously scary. Tomorrow I might go up to a volcano (mount picaya) or do a tour here. I’m going to try to go to church tomorrow night at Santo Domingo. It’s built around Mayan ruins, and promises to be cool. Leaving the Valley, where there is no electricity, makes me feel like I’m ready to come home. It’s a different world up there. Anyway, I’ll have more when I get home.

Janie Has More Email Than You

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:35:00 -0600

I don’t have time to read through my massive inbox, so I’m not reading replies.
We’re still working hard in the Valley. It’s not going as fast as the coordinators hoped, so we might stay here another day before going to Antigua for the weekend. It’s just so incredibly wet. I knew it was a rainforest, but goodness it rains 1″-2″ per day.
Otherwise, doing well.
jbm

mauter.com Protests SOPA/PIPA

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 08:41:57 -0600

Congress is about to vote on the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). If passed, this bill will allow the United States government to censor the Internet. Many sites on the Internet are protesting on January 18 and we’re joining them.

Janie Took a Shower

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 21:10:59 -0600

Hey,
I’m tired and have been waiting in line to use the iPad. We had a hard day today working in the rain all day. “chippy chippy” is a constant misty rain. I probably butchered the spelling, but that’s how you say it. We’re fine and I finally had a warmish shower tonight. I had the same clothes on since Saturday. But, we’re doing well and eating well.

jbm

Janie Has Reached Camp

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 21:30:43 -0600

We are here at the camp and just set up our beds. We stayed last night at a hotel in Coban and had hot showers this morning. The drive here was so bumpy. I mean bumpy. For hours. We laughed and laughed. We worked a little this morning. And after lunch we hiked up the mountain behind the bodega. There were some banana trees at the top and we wanted to see the view. The clouds moved in at the time so we couldn’t see the valley below, but it was nice. It started raining after that and has been cold since. We’re doing well. It’s nice.

Janie Has Safely Landed

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:35:39 -0600

Janie’s flight to Guatemala City landed around 2PM central. I got a message from her a few minutes ago:

This is Janie using Kris’s phone. We have arrived safely and are making our way out of the city. It’s a bumpy ride.

Janie

Sunrise

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 08:02:38 -0600

From 35,000 feet

Happy 4th Birthday, Chloe!

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 14:03:13 -0600

Lots of cool things happened on January 11. Here’s some.

Alabama seceded from the union in 1861.
Amelia Earhart flies solo from Hawaii to California in 1935.
Los Angeles’ first snowfall ever recorded in 1949.
Chloe Mauter born in 2008.

We hope you have a great birthday and eat lots of cake.

Love, Uncle Brian, Aunt Janie, Samantha and Ellie

I Forgive You Coach

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 23:20:23 -0600

Well I must say that I was very disappointed when we lost to LSU in November. I blogged that I blamed Coach Saban. All is forgiven now. Shutouts are awesome.

Ellie's Stocking

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 18:41:11 -0600

It’s a good thing I finished Ellie’s stocking a few weeks ago. It only took me 2 years.
I still can’t decide if I like it or not, but Samantha likes it so that’s a good indication that Ellie will. She thinks it’s silly that Santa is popping up, and the bells are fun.

Merry Christmas

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 22:08:26 -0600

This Christmas is a shaping up to be a little different for us. We were planning to be gone most of the week after Christmas visiting various family.

However, Ellie has had a high fever since Thursday 12/22 at 5pm. We visited the doctor Friday morning and discovered that she had a moderate ear infection in one ear. Then, the worst hit later that morning. We’re still in the midst of it, although there were a few hours this morning when I thought the worst was over and our little girl came back. Otherwise, she’s sluggish, puny and pretty dog gone pitiful.

Baby Jesus

Sun, 18 Dec 2011 15:49:13 -0600

Samantha likes our Fisher Price Little People Nativity set. She carries baby Jesus around and I find him in all sorts of places. Today’s place? Under the foam sticker Christmas tree she decorated.

Pedialyte

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:37:31 -0600

I have never given my children pedialyte. However, I got an email a while back for a coupon. The email was pretty graphic, so I saved it so I could show all of you. (Lucky you!) I just couldn’t believe they would use images like that.

Here’s the email in webpage form. And the images:

Strangely enough, we could have used it during Thanksgiving when Ellie got a bug. Ew.

Locking the Screen with my Keyboard

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 10:54:07 -0600

I’m a big fan of keyboard shortcuts. In Windows, I knew that I could hit Ctrl-Alt-Delete and then Spacebar to lock the screen in WinXP. I used that every time I walked away from the computer.

I switched to a Mac at work in 2006. I never could find a way to use the keyboard to lock the screen without installing and running some extra software (yuck–RAM is precious) or using an Exposé Hot Corner. The Hot Corner works, but it’s not great. If you accidentally move your mouse to that corner, you have to quickly move it away or else you’ll be entering your password just to get back to work. If you accidentally move the mouse shortly after triggering the screensaver, it immediately goes away without prompting for a password. I’ve made do with the Hot Corner until today.

The Chin

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:45:19 -0600

Samantha must think that the chin is a prominent feature on the face. In every picture that she draws of a person, a chin is present. In this picture, she drew herself.
She also draws hands facing downward.

Preschool Thanksgiving Program

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 10:41:44 -0600

Samantha had her Thanksgiving program at school this morning. She has been singing songs about Thanksgiving for a week or two. (Before that, it was silly songs about pumpkins and Halloween.) The latest song that’s in my head is “We Are Thankful” to the tune of “Frere Jacques.”

We are thankful
We are thankful
For our food
For our food
On Thanksgiving Day
You will hear us say
Thank you
Thank you

Losses x3

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 22:36:58 -0600

It is said that bad things come in threes. I’ve had mine, so the near future looks bright.

Friday morning right before I left for work, a giant plant reached out and stabbed me in the eye moaning “Feed me, Seymour!” Well, in reality, I reached for a toy that Ellie dropped and as I bent down one of the plants by the kitchen window introduced itself to my cornea. Dr. Candice Turner, a friend of ours from Prince of Peace, got me all fixed up. She said it was an abrasion–much like how you skin your knee on the concrete–only this was my eye. Since it was vegetative, they couldn’t patch it up. I had to let it heal on its own. We don’t want fungal infections now do we?

Check ups and animals

Sat, 05 Nov 2011 14:13:05 -0500

I took both girls to the doctor this week for some check ups. Samantha had a 4 year check up, and Ellie had her 18 month check up (is she really already that age?). I am reminded why I don’t take them together. I hardly remember what we talked about, and certainly didn’t remember to ask any of my questions.

The doctor tried to look into Samantha’s ears first thing, which she has always been resistant to let anyone do. She has always been very sensitive about sounds or ANYTHING in/near her ears. So, Ellie went first so she could be the example for Sam to watch. Ellie is still long and tall, but is evening out a little. She’s a little slow on speech, but can understand a surprising amount of what we tell her. It’s surprising to me, but I’m sure it’s normal. Just the same, it’s that amazing? Sam was the same way.

Halloween 2011

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 14:54:09 -0500

As usual, Halloween was even more fun this year. Samantha ran up to each door with great gusto and yelled as loud as she could “Trick or Treat!” Unfortunately, she never rang the doorbell first. When the door was finally opened, she forgot her manners when a bowl of candy was in front of her! Ellie rode on Daddy’s shoulders, so didn’t get into it a lot and was still tuckered out by the end of the night. It was also Brian’s first time at true Trick or Treating and I think he enjoyed it too!

Braiding

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 11:29:15 -0500

I’ve been wanting to learn how to French Braid. My subject is somewhat cooperative, but not enough for the amount of practice that I need. I’ve been watching YouTube videos, and there’s a lot of really cute hairstyles out there. I found this blog, which I think I might add to my RSS. Anyway, if someone (ah hem, MOM) knows how, maybe I can learn better. My fingers just don’t cooperate!

Pumpkin Patch 2011

Sat, 29 Oct 2011 13:34:23 -0500

Naturally, we headed down to the Grand Ole Pumpkin Patch this year for some pumpkin patch fun. It took longer to get down there than expected, so our actual time at the patch was a little short. But, we still had a great time scouting out our pumpkins. Samantha and I walked the whole place looking for the perfect pumpkin, while Ellie was content with a graham cracker in her hand.

Party at the Lake

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 15:10:55 -0500

My granddad’s 80th birthday party was at the Lake this year. It was lots of food, family, and great weather. Even though the day started out with a major mishap involving a blueberry pie, I think all the evidence has been cleaned up by now.

And check out this great picture from Lizzie’s blog. Boy, Sam sure does love pumpkins. I guess it’s good that she’s an October baby.

Baby

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 19:20:24 -0500

Well, I think it’s official. We haven’t seen Baby (Brown Baby, Bae) since last Thursday night or Friday afternoon. This is as long as he/she has been missing. I’m fearing the worst, although I think Brian and I are more upset by his/her disappearance than Sam is. I’m betting that while playing in her room on Friday, during the time previously known as nap time, he/she got stuffed somewhere. But, I really can’t be sure. I just know that she had him/her when she went to bed on Thursday night, but not on Friday night.

Samantha's 4th Birthday

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 15:21:07 -0500

Can you believe it? Samantha turned 4 on Monday. We had an easy party at the park with friends, family, and shade. What a great day!

We started out by playing hard, so after a while, we had to take a break.

Then, Batman showed up. Seriously, Samantha asked me later “Why did Batman come to my party?”

We enjoyed pizza and fruit. (Easy, right?)

@bmauter

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 22:26:27 -0500

I caved. I joined a social network. *GASP*

The force of Apple’s iOS5 compelled me.

Yes, I’m on Twitter now. I have a fascination with amusing hash tags, so look out for my silly attempts at making some of my own. If you’re on Twitter, then do the right thing–follow me please! You may just be granted a follow in return. 🙂

Nutella

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 08:54:06 -0500

Over the summer, I saw several commercials for this stuff called Nutella. I had never heard of it before, and it looked like something I would try. At some point, I saw it in the grocery store and decided to try it out.

Wow. Hazelnut, meet chocolate. Yum. I’ve been spreading a bit on some toast every morning for breakfast.

The weird thing is now I see Nutella everywhere. Jasmine Star wrote a post about it last week. It was on Modern Family recently. I guess I’m caught up in the trend.

Try? Fail.

Sat, 08 Oct 2011 14:28:31 -0500

We tried to get a family picture today. This about sums up the morning. (This picture has not been cropped.) I think we have entered the phase when it’s easier to hire a photographer.

Project Ulpan

Sat, 01 Oct 2011 09:09:27 -0500

This is something that I’ve wanted to do since college. I just didn’t know how to go about doing it.

There are great organizations like Engineers Without Borders and Water For People, among others. I didn’ t know about them until the last few years. I only knew about the PeaceCorps, and I wasn’t sure I was up for that. (Now, UA has a chapter of Engineers Without Borders. I’m jealous of current students who are able to participate.) This summer, I worked alongside a group from AmeriCorps rebuilding a Habitat for Humanity house destroyed by the April tornadoes. It sounded like a great organization too!

Doctor Dolittle

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 07:54:50 -0500

During the summer, Brian decided that he would start reading to Samantha (and inadvertently, Ellie) from a big book. We were collecting points during the library’s summer reading program. A big book would mean more points, right? Brian went rummaging through my boxes of children’s fiction (yes, still boxed up from the move) and picked out the first book in the Collection of Doctor Dolittle. He started reading The Story of Doctor Dolittle with a chapter on most nights. I thought it was a fantastic pick, all about animals and travel! We keep a globe in the living room, and it came in handy when talking about the doctor’s travels. (It also comes in handy when showing her where our family lives, where they travel, and where current events are taking place. I would highly recommend it.) The chapters were short, but Samantha wouldn’t sit still for most of it. (There’s hardly any pictures!) I think both of them got a little frustrated and stopped about halfway through the book.

Unexpected

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 23:15:57 -0500

Weekend (or longer) project. Oh yeah, and Brian is going out of town for 4 days next week.

Sleeping Arrangements

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 11:31:10 -0500

We have plenty of room in our new house. We each have our own space and own bed, but that doesn’t mean a soon-to-be-4 year old can’t use her imagination.

I bought 2 booster seats recently (online of course) so we had a few big boxes laying around. One of them got 2 eye holes cut out and is used as a box monster. One got used as a present that we open up, revealing said soon-to-be-4 year old. And the other? It got taken upstairs and is now used as a bed.

15 or 16 months

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 18:07:59 -0500

I’m behind on getting news out about Ellie. Typical, I know.

Ellie had her 15 month check up a few weeks ago. She’s a whoppin 19 lbs, which puts her in the 3rd percentile. However, she’s 31″ tall which is about the 95th percentile. She’s a regular Long Tall Sally. I still have her turned rear-facing in the car, but Brian has yet another car seat in his car so she can ride face forward.

Some Summer Happenings

Sat, 03 Sep 2011 14:37:23 -0500

I can feel the ever so slight easing of heat around here. We’ve had glimpses of some nice fall weather, so you know summer is wrapping up. Here are some pictures from our summer.

Swimming at MamaLinda’s

Walking in the rain

Trying on a Burger King crown

Visiting the McWane Center

Celebrating a 90th birthday

Time for School!

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 16:59:52 -0500

To say that Samantha is excited about school is an understatement. She started at “big girl” school today.

She was eager to get out of the car during carpool and had to be prompted to turn around and wave goodbye to me. It’s a good thing I got my hug and kiss before then!

When I picked her up, she told me the things she did today.

Learned how to sit criss-cross applesauce.
Read a book about a panda.
Learned how to raise your hand.
Colored with crayons (but not paint or pencils).
Played on the playground (slide, but not swings).

Her lunch was mostly eaten, and I was left to clean up that used-to-be-shiny-just-hours-before lunch box. I just read today about a few lunch box ideas so we won’t get in a PB&J rut. I haven’t fully checked them out yet, but maybe they will help: ThisLunchRox and Wendolonia.

Nearing the End of an Era

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 15:41:29 -0500

I think we’re approaching the end of an era. The “Brown Baby” era. Brown Baby has gone everywhere with us for years. He’s in all of our pictures, he’s been a staple for trying new things, he’s part of our family. For a while, Sam changed his name to “Bay.” And I think he‘s now a she. I bought a substitute (he needs to get washed every once in a while!) when she was about 24 months old, but she knew the difference and would have nothing to do with the new one.

Ellie is a Real Girly Girl

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 19:36:14 -0500

Next Samantha Quotable

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 08:36:54 -0500

Samantha’s school hasn’t started yet, but she seems to be very excited about it. (Not quite as excited as she is every Thursday when it’s time for gymnastics. Whoa boy. She loves it.) The other night when I was putting her to bed, we were talking about school. I mentioned that we were going to meet her teacher next week. Then she got down to business.

Q: “Is Ellie coming to meet my teacher?”

New Samantha-ism

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 17:41:18 -0500

Tonight, on the way to visit Ellie’s new teachers, we were talking about letters. Samantha said “b and d is for Bandaid. Did you hear the difference? B is for Ban. D is for Daid!”

Ellie Dancing

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 08:43:35 -0500

I love Pandora. I have a Deadmau5 station on it and I started it the other night on the TiVo. Sam and Ellie started dancing to it. I guess kids like techno. I’m sorry for the long video, but I just couldn’t cut it down to 30 seconds.

Ellie Update

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 18:32:55 -0500

Now that I’m not doing the monthly update on Ellie, I’ve got quite a backlog.

During the week we went to the beach (13 months), her 4 top teeth finally popped through. She’s always such a trouper.

She’s been walking increasingly more, but I’m going to say officially started walking on July 5 (14 months). Here’s a glimpse.

During the past week or so (14.5 months), she added “Uh-oh” to her vocabulary. She uses it regularly and appropriately, since she drops things quite often. She already says mama, dada, and ni-ni (night-night).

Another No Photo Post

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 09:42:17 -0500

When we switched Samantha to a twin bed last year, we didn’t buy new bedding for a number of reasons. We gave her some hand-me-down bedding. It was blue, so she liked it.

At any rate, she has been doing very well without a diaper at night. And now that we’re in the new house, we decided it was high time to reward her by getting her some “new covers” and begin decorating her room. We had begun looking online and in a few stores. She had picked out some red with stars from Pottery Barn (of course!). I’ve been buying bits and pieces, but finally put the quilt on her bed last night.

Bye For Now

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 13:17:44 -0500

I’m upgrading our mac mini (the machine this blog is on) from Debian 5 to Debian 6. Hopefully it comes back.

brian@minimac:~$ uptime 13:16:58 up 100 days, 1:11, 1 user, load average: 0.70, 0.64, 0.36

See you on the other side. 🙂

UPDATE: We’re back! That was easy. I love Debian.

The Library

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 11:06:11 -0500

We love the Hoover Library! They always have lots of stuff going on for kids (and adults, remember, the rain barrel?) but this summer, it seems jammed packed with fun shows! Check out the Kids Events or the main library calendar if you’re local. I’m sure you’ll find something there that’s interesting! Ellie absolutely loved the Aaron Nigel Smith show yesterday. We’re looking forward to Roger Day coming soon!

I'm a Baby.

Sun, 19 Jun 2011 08:24:22 -0500

I think I broke my toe yesterday. It hurt. I cried. Brian says I’m not to put a picture of it on the website. (You can thank him later.)

Happy Father’s Day.

Beach Vacay 2011

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 14:03:10 -0500

We’re still working through all of our pictures, but here’s one for proof. We had lots of fun.

UPDATE:

What a trip! We stayed in the big house again, and it seemed like there weren’t as many people there as usual. I guess that’s because there wasn’t.

Sam enjoyed the water this year, but was still a little anxious at first. Every year, it takes less time for her to get used to the water.

Yes, Rolling Stone

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 21:15:21 -0500

A few of you noticed that we have our Amazon show case on the right side of our website again. Fewer still called me out on my “Kardashian Konfidential” book. No, I really don’t have (nor have I read) that fine piece of intellectual fodder. I did recently subscribe to Rolling Stone magazine though and that has now taken the place of Kim’s, Khloe’s and Kourtney’s collective life story.

I subscribed because of an article written by Matt Taibbi. It’s called “The People vs. Goldman Sachs“. Cringely actually pointed me there since I read his blog regularly. We have hard proof of wicked deceitful actions from the lowly brokers all the way to the very top at Goldman yet big media isn’t writing anything. Like Cringe, it seems the only explanation is that big media doesn’t want us to know about it. These people are criminals but because they grease our politicians they don’t have to live by the same rules we do. We would be convicted of fraud. Case closed.

My new sunglasses, according to Sam

Tue, 07 Jun 2011 18:00:45 -0500

Sam: “Do you have new glasses on?”
Me: “Yes ma’am.”
Sam: “Oh! They are pretty! They are super-pretty!”
Me: “Thank you!”
Sam: “They are so cute. I want some glasses just like yous.”

The Most Useless Machine Ever

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 12:45:12 -0500

Todd just sent me this link. Must be a slow day here at the Cloud.

Records

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 08:13:02 -0500

Oh boy! It’s hot again!

April 27

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 16:36:17 -0500

In the month following the prolific tornadoes, I’ve driven around only a little. I see the landscape completely changed and it breaks my heart. I haven’t been to the supposedly hardest hit areas, but areas all around us got hit by the storms that came through that early morning (6AM). The thing is, the storm didn’t let up all day, you know? I mean, it just hammered the whole state All. Day. Long. The storm that hit Tuscaloosa and Pratt City was around 5PM.

Hydrangeas

Tue, 24 May 2011 14:21:12 -0500

If you saw our house during the winter, you would certainly notice all the twiggy things that make up the front yard. Almost literally. Right now, they are no longer dead-looking twigs, but oakleaf hydrangeas in full bloom. I never knew they had a scent to them, but we have so many, that they definitely carry a scent.

A Very Hungry Caterpillar

Thu, 19 May 2011 15:46:35 -0500

We’ve been housing our own cocoon, thanks to my dad. He “harvests” cocoons and hands them out to his grandkids so they can enjoy the process.

One of our cocoons has been making noise for a few weeks, but had gotten sadly silent in the last few days. I checked on them every day, knowing that the time was coming soon. Finally, sometime last night, one of the cocoons hatched!

Swimming Lessons

Thu, 19 May 2011 14:41:59 -0500

I have been behind on getting Samantha prepared for the pool. She spends a good deal of time around one during the summer months, but she’s never had lessons. This summer, it’s time. We’re starting with a class at the Lakeshore Foundation through Swimwell. I hope to have an additional class throughout the summer, but we’ll see.

There was some of this:

But also some of this:

Hopefully, we’ll have more of this:

It's easy going Green

Tue, 17 May 2011 14:40:05 -0500

Yes, I’m jumping on the bandwagon. The green one.

My friend Kris told me about this class at the Hoover Library on How to Make a Rain Barrel. During the class, you were given all the supplies and actually came home with one. $30 for a rain barrel isn’t a bad price I didn’t think. So, here I am, going green.

I still need to paint it so it doesn’t promote algal growth. But I’m thinking of leaving the Corrosive sticker visible to discourage drinking. (The barrels originally contained Phosphoric Acid and were obtained from a local Coca-Cola bottler.)

Ellie at 12 months

Thu, 12 May 2011 16:08:49 -0500

We’ve been talking a lot about Ellie these days. I guess that’s what a first birthday is all about! Here are some shots from her 12 month pictures.

People are always struck by her eyes. I get loads of comments about their color and their depth.

When Ellie Laughs

Wed, 11 May 2011 08:57:57 -0500

Before I show you Ellie’s 12 month birthday shots, I have to show you what happens when Ellie laughs.

Mother's Day

Tue, 10 May 2011 15:47:39 -0500

Look what I got for Mother’s Day!

A Lens Pet! I love it!

And look what happened:

From the Archives

Fri, 06 May 2011 15:53:18 -0500

Where the West Lives.

And where the buffalo (or bison or whatever that is) is covered in snow.

Just something to remember since I got badly sunburned yesterday.

Sisters at breakfast

Wed, 04 May 2011 16:49:01 -0500

Happy Birthday to Ellie!

Wed, 04 May 2011 15:50:09 -0500

Wow. Can you believe it? Little E is the big ONE!

She was so little when she was born! (The size of Brian’s hand!)

But now she’s a bustling one year old!

She is so sweet. She loves baby dolls and cuddly toys. She will not hold her bottle voluntarily, but prefers to keep her arms completely outstretched while drinking. She does not like the texture of table food, but loves baby food.

Easter at the Lake

Mon, 02 May 2011 16:25:55 -0500

We headed to the Lake this year to celebrate Easter. The kiddos were excited to have an Easter Egg Hunt and play on the new swing set. Whenever these 3 get together, it’s bound to be exciting!

Easter Baskets

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 11:09:54 -0500

The Easter Bunny delivered a basket of goodies to my girls! What a fun morning!

Ellie was more enamored with the bag of balloons, so I couldn’t blow them up until later.

Obligatory Family Picture

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 10:39:32 -0500

Growing up, we always had to take a family picture on Easter. Always. It was usually a disaster. Someone usually ended up storming inside the house in tears. Today, we joke about it.

Luckily, my little family isn’t to that stage yet. I can remain hopeful that it won’t happen…cough.

Dyeing Eggs

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 10:36:06 -0500

I decided to dye eggs this year. As a kid, I always remember doing it with our eggs to be deviled. I used regular food coloring, so they turned out bright! Sam had a ball!

Happy Easter!

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 16:35:24 -0500

(from an unusual dogwood in the front yard that gets green leaves before it blooms)

Shout from the Rooftops!

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 09:09:36 -0500

I know this might be Too Much Information, but I think Samantha might be totally and completely finished with diapers/Pull-Ups!! We are so proud of her! For my own recollection sake, we started potty training just over a year ago!

She is such a big girl with her comprehension and expressions! Lately, she is big into pretend play and using her wild imagination. A big excuse for anything is “But Mommy, I’m pa-tendin!”

Finally, a swingset!

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 22:52:32 -0500

One of the benefits of a bigger yard is a swingset! I’ve been working on getting it presentable. It still needs work, but in general, the area is now much better. While pulling up poison ivy, I told Sam not to touch anything. “Why?” is the first thing that comes out of her mouth. I told her that these were mean plants. Since then, she likes to talk about mean plants. The girls are loving their new swings!

Samantha and Jennifer

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 20:05:23 -0500

Samantha has a new friend named Jennifer. Jennifer is real, unlike Sicka, Goodoo and Funny.

Jennifer bought our old house.

Jennifer came over to the house before we moved out to get a tour. Weird, right? She was a first-time home buyer, but even still, she wanted to walk around and look at things like speakers, ethernet plugs and sprinkler system valve boxes. Oh, and how do you turn on the fireplace? Try that random switch right by the fireplace. Anyway, Samantha was at home and met Jennifer and all of Jennifer’s entourage. Again, weird, right?

Ellie at 11 months

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 22:05:08 -0500

I don’t have much to report for Ellie’s last month. She just continues to grow and get so big! She started pulling up to a standing position. (Thank goodness we lowered the crib all the way when we moved – it was still pretty high!) She hasn’t started crusin’ the furniture yet, but did walk a bit today with her walker.

As a side note, Brian dropped our camera over a year ago (or maybe longer). It was fine except the onboard flash broke. Completely. I honestly have never missed it during all this time. Except for today. Ellie was so thrilled to be outside, but I couldn’t get her to face the sun (or even close), so I was left with a dark face. (But don’t you love the glow!)

I'm Addicted to Angry Birds

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 21:29:45 -0500

Thanks a lot Alex. Last year at the annual Betbeze Beach vacation, Alex asked me if I had played “mad birds”. I got the demo and about three minutes later I was hooked.

So far, I have the following versions:

Angry Birds FREE
Angry Birds
Angry Birds HD FREE
Angry Birds HD
Angry Birds Seasons FREE
Angry Birds Seasons HD FREE
Angry Birds Seasons HD
Angry Birds Rio FREE
Angry Birds Rio
Angry Birds Rio HD FREE

In case you’re counting, I’ve purchased four different versions of the game.

"That's not so silly, Mommy."

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 21:05:46 -0500

Janie was finishing up bathtime with Sam tonight when I stopped just outside the bathroom door to listen in.

Janie had just told Sam to get out of the tub and to be careful that she not slip and fall like she did a few minutes ago. Once Sam got out of the tub, she asked her mommy, “Mommy do you remember when I slipped and fell on the steps? Do you remember? I didn’t hold the handrail and I slipped.” Her tone was amazing. Janie was laughing. Sam sternly said, “that’s not so silly, Mommy.” Janie explained to Sam that she was laughing because of how grown up she sounded.

Emergence

Sun, 20 Mar 2011 13:12:33 -0500

We are slowly emerging from our land of boxes. We still have plenty to go, but I do feel like most everything we use/need daily is unboxed. We are tackling some projects here and there. This house is almost 31 years old, whereas our last house was new, so it’s definitely a different world over here. For a while, everything we touched inside seemed to fall apart. That was a bit discouraging. Last weekend, we worked outside, and everything we touched outside seemed to fall apart too. I actually leaned up against a tree at one point and it fell over. A Tree! Anyway, we still have a long, long way to go to make it feel our own, but it’s growing on me.

Ellie at 10 months

Sun, 20 Mar 2011 12:49:11 -0500

Ellie turned 10 months old during our move. What a crazy week (and weeks since) it was! Ellie can really get to where she wants to go by crawling. She’s getting into everything! She finds exactly what she’s NOT supposed to play with (like computer cords) and wants it. She has recently taken a liking to baby dolls (which Samantha never really did). She’s still very sweet, but is showing more and more of her fiesty personality every day!

Address

Mon, 28 Feb 2011 11:50:53 -0600

It’s official! We’re homeless (for a few hours anyway)!

We closed on our house (selling) this morning, and we’re closing on our house (buying) this afternoon. We’ll be moving all week, so if anyone wants to stop by, feel free! We’d love the extra help!

Help Nathan Buy Firefly

Wed, 23 Feb 2011 13:39:56 -0600

Firefly is a TV show that only lasted for 14 episodes which had a super-passionate fan base at the time it was cancelled. Actually, its fan base has only grown both in size and fanaticism since. It’s a space western. (HOW AWESOME, RIGHT?) Star Wars meets John Wayne. Star Trek mixed with Tombstone. Fox didn’t really know what they had and consequently didn’t know how to market or place it.

IBM Still Can't Get Toronto Right

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 10:48:13 -0600

I have really enjoyed watching (and cheering on) IBM’s Watson on Jeopardy the past three days. I agree with Ken Jennings–“I for one welcome our new computer overlords”. Watson was impressive.

During Final Jeopardy on day two, the category was US Cities. The clue was “Its largest airport was named for a World War II hero; its second largest, for a World War II battle”. I guessed “What is Washington D.C.” because the airports there seemed to fit the description–a person and a place (Reagan and Dulles). I would’ve lost my wager. Ken and Brad did not. They correctly questioned “What is Chicago”. Watson, however, got it wrong. Actually, it got it really wrong. Watson answered “What is Toronto?????” Not only is Toronto wrong, it’s not even a US city. They told us that the multiple question marks in its answer means that it wasn’t confident.

Latest from my phone

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 16:30:37 -0600

Driving down Valleydale Road one Saturday, we see this strange sight in the truck in front of us. I tell Brian, “Get closer, get closer! I want a picture!” It looks like a mannequin (do you see the feet up by the ear?) and an animal (we couldn’t decide if it was a dog or a deer) in the back.

The Uke Fest in Denver with the Leftover Cuties. This guy played the piano and either the trumpet or the accordian at the same time. Yes, he really IS a one-man band. It was pretty cool.

Denver

Mon, 07 Feb 2011 17:03:13 -0600

Early morning at Lizzie’s house.

Golden

Sun, 06 Feb 2011 19:18:06 -0600

Ellie and I are visiting my sister this weekend in Denver. We took a quick trip over to Golden, CO for a walk. It’s been snowing for a few days, so we didn’t want to venture any further up the mountain.

Ellie at 9 months

Wed, 02 Feb 2011 16:13:34 -0600

Ellie is crawling

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 15:09:05 -0600

Just short of 9 months, she started really crawling this weekend. She also popped those 2 bottom teeth out. She’s been working hard!

Samantha's Bicycle

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 14:06:37 -0600

Samantha never really took an interest in her new bicycle at Christmas, so Brian and I were a little bummed. She certainly liked them in the stores where we test drove them. At any rate, she finally decided on Thursday afternoon that she wanted to ride it. She and I went outside to test it out. Baby rode in the basket up front, naturally.

She didn’t peddle like she normally does on her tricycle, but I know she’ll get the hang of it in time.

Ellie at 8 months

Wed, 05 Jan 2011 14:51:49 -0600

Oh boy – Ellie has discovered her tongue! She loves to stick it out at you for a greeting! Sadly, I couldn’t capture a good image of her newly found skill. She has started to get up on all fours, but she’s not to the rocking stage yet. I know crawling won’t be long!

Welcome Baby!

Tue, 04 Jan 2011 20:31:38 -0600

I have a new niece! Amelia Caroline was born Monday, January 3, 2011. She’s a tiny 5 lbs 13 oz.

In other news, check out the CPSC’s new standards on drop-side cribs.

Merry Christmas! Part 3

Tue, 04 Jan 2011 19:45:36 -0600

After a few days with Brian’s family, we ventured across the state again to my family. Luckily, there was still some snow on the ground (from Christmas morning that somehow missed Brian’s parents’ house).

Sam wanted to make “foot holes” in the snow.

We also spent a day at the lake. I haven’t been there since this picture, taken at Thanksgiving 2007. (Brian is holding a 4 week old Sam.) The lake has changed a lot in some ways and not much at all in others.

Merry Christmas! Part 2

Tue, 04 Jan 2011 16:14:24 -0600

We spent a few days with Brian’s family. While Sam was still in the meat of her cold/cough/throw up thing, we all shuffled from one bed or couch to the next. Sam was sure to tell Daddy “no snore” when she would go to bed. 🙂

Merry Christmas! Part 1

Tue, 04 Jan 2011 16:10:11 -0600

While most of the world has moved beyond Christmas, I’m still behind in posting and packing up. Early on Christmas Eve morning, Samantha woke up crying. She had gotten sick in her bed.
It was the first day of our holiday, and we started it by being sick. She had a bad cough, and when worked up, got sick. Otherwise, she was fine. We still participated in our normal Christmas
activities, like Christmas Eve brunch at my grandparent’s house. (Sorry – no pictures.) Then soup at my house and Christmas Eve mass. Here are some shots of Christmas morning.

Zoolight Safari

Wed, 22 Dec 2010 21:10:26 -0600

It’s Sunday evening. Sam is asleep and Ellie should be asleep. It’s dark outside and it’s almost Christmas. We realized that we had not taken the girls out to see Christmas lights. Janie had the brilliant idea to go to the zoo.

Right now the Birmingham Zoo has “Zoolight Safari“. I’ve never seen so many Christmas lights and decorations in one place. Yes, there even was an entire 12′ by 12′ winter wonderland. They had two snow-making machines near the entrance and since it was 38º, it stuck. Most of the animals were not available, but the petting zoo was still open and it’s always a hit with Sam. We got in free since we’re members so we just had to buy tickets to ride the train and carousel. Both were quite decked out as well. There was lots of music going and some of the lights were synchronized to the music. Janie and I had Shazam going for several of the songs.

Winter Blast

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 11:01:08 -0600

It is currently 24 degrees with a wind chill of 13 degrees. It’s been snowing since about 9AM yesterday, although surprisingly we haven’t had any accumulation. It’s just plain cold.

To catch up on Ellie

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 16:36:56 -0600

Ellie is 7 months old! She is such a happy girl. Whenever we go out, she smiles at everyone so she gets lots of attention. She is beginning to sit up for a few minutes at a time. She has been wanting to sit up for months now (it looked like she was doing crunches) so I’m sure she’s glad to finally see the world from an upright position.

Happy Birthday Brian!

Sat, 04 Dec 2010 15:34:53 -0600

Hope you had a great day!

He requested Dreamland for lunch. Then we had a man’s meal for dinner: steak, roasted corn, and mashed potatoes. And to top it off, we had a buttermilk cake!

Santa's Message for Samantha

Thu, 02 Dec 2010 13:43:55 -0600

We just got this in from Santa Claus. It’s his personalized message for Samantha.

Why?

Wed, 01 Dec 2010 08:38:20 -0600

We have now entered the “Why?” stage with Samantha. It started about a week or two ago. I have found myself amid philosophical discussions with my 3 year old.
I always try to answer her questions, but it gets very deep very fast. Like yesterday, we ended up at “Why it’s raining?”
Now. I can fumble my way through discussions about the jet stream and moisture, but I know it won’t stop there.
Keep that curiosity about learning, little girl. I hope it takes you far.

The Last 2 Weeks

Sat, 20 Nov 2010 10:26:20 -0600

Samantha went to her Nana and Papa’s house last week. She spent 4 nights/5 days away. It was sure quiet around here. I was glad for the break, but so glad to have her back. I thought I would get so much done during that week, but Ellie decided not to cooperate. She has decided that 4 o’clock (both AM and PM) are her trying times. Oh well.

We didn’t have any plans last Saturday morning, so I asked Sam what she wanted to do. She wanted to go to the zoo. Since we’re members, but haven’t been since before Ellie was born, I thought it was a great idea!

News from my phone

Fri, 19 Nov 2010 16:44:57 -0600

My “Handy Manny gloves.” She went to the sink so she could wash dishes too.

Silly girl lining up her food.

Playing MarioKart Wii for the first time. (Notice the “I Voted” sticker. These are old, I know.)

This was at Publix. Don’t ask me why someone would design this.

Miracle in Baton Rouge?

Sat, 06 Nov 2010 18:28:07 -0500

Since when does Nick Saban think he’s Mike Dubose?

Ellie's 6 month checkup

Fri, 05 Nov 2010 20:44:13 -0500

Ellie is 6 months old!

She was a sicko last week, so I was glad to get to the doctor on Tuesday. Turns out, she has an ear infection in both ears, just like her big sister! She has had a low grade fever, but other than that (which I attributed to teething), she hasn’t shown any signs of infection. She’s just so happy!

We started baby food (squash) last week and added sweet potatoes this week. She’s getting much better at eating with a spoon, but I just don’t think she’s going to be a big eater. She’s now at 15 lbs 10 oz, which is near 40th percentile.

Yummy.

Fri, 05 Nov 2010 19:48:28 -0500

We had a yummy meal tonight. I had a seminar to attend, so I knew it would be a long day. Since it was cold too, a crockpot meal was in order. Luckily, I had seen one recently that sounded good and super easy! Boy, it was both! I think I put it together in less than 5 minutes. Seriously. And Brian rated it a 9 out of 10, so you know it had to be good.

Halloween 2010

Thu, 04 Nov 2010 15:12:51 -0500

Halloween just gets more fun each year! Samantha had so much fun painting pumpkins, dressing up and ringing doorbells. I had to prompt her with the “Trick or Treat” and “Thank You.” (Am I the only one who doesn’t like answering the doorbell and getting a bucket shoved in my face without even a “Trick or Treat?”) She came up with the “Happy Halloween” on her own. It was so cute!

Samantha's 3 year checkup

Tue, 02 Nov 2010 22:18:44 -0500

We went to the doctor today for Sam’s 3 year checkup. She has been fighting a cold, so I was glad our checkup was now instead of 2 weeks ago. Turns out, she does have an ear infection. The right ear’s tube fell out long ago, but we were holding on to the left one. However, at this point, it is no longer in her eardrum, but working its way out of the ear canal. Hopefully a round of antibiotics will make her as good as new.

Samantha's Birthday Party

Tue, 02 Nov 2010 21:08:50 -0500

Wow, what a party! Thanks for coming!

Sam loves pumpkins, so I made a pumpkin cake. She blew out the candles so fast that we barely got a picture!

Here are just a few of the really great gifts. Her new favorite book from Uncle Mark and Aunt Martha, Small, Medium and Large.

A soprano ukelele (or ukeladium as she says) from Aunt Lizzie and Uncle Will.

Bubbles! from Uncle Alex, Aunt Lettie, Jackson, Patrick, Penny and #4.

News

Sun, 31 Oct 2010 14:34:13 -0500

We haven’t been doing a lot around here lately. We’re doing our best to get sick and stay sick. 🙁 Ellie is even fighting her first cold! She has a nasty sounding cough, so I hope it’s not croup. The rest of us (including Sam) don’t sound croupy, so I hope it’s just normal drainage. But, we are definitely a goop factory around here. Everyone is ooey goey.

Some good news though: we got a contract on our house last week! It’s contingent on the sale of the buyer’s house (and she has a contract contingent on the sale of her buyer’s house). So, I’m not holding my breath for a closing date, but we’re moving in the right direction. We lost the contract on the house that we wanted to buy. However, to make a long story short, it’s now back on the market again. It’s still my favorite house, but we are currently looking into others to see what else is on the market. Brian found one that he likes better. My gut says No on that one.

Roll With It.

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 20:13:37 -0500

(And no, I don’t mean Steve Winwood.) Ellie started to roll over yesterday!

Happy 3rd Birthday!

Sun, 17 Oct 2010 22:50:02 -0500

Samantha turned 3 years old today! She is such a big girl! Over the last year, her speech has exploded – both receptive and expressive. She is mostly potty-trained, although we do still have accidents. She is in a big bed with no side rails. She loves to read. She loves to be outside. She loves her little sister. (The other day, she asked me where Ellie’s black belly button was. Considering that Ellie’s cord fell off long ago, she remembers too!) Her current favorite song is “A Hard Day’s Night” by the Beatles, or “Noodles” as she calls them. Blue is still her favorite color – since about 6 months of age.

Pumpkin Patch 2010

Sun, 17 Oct 2010 21:45:31 -0500

We headed down to the Pumpkin Patch on Saturday. What a beautiful day! It got rather warm if you were in the sun, but that was remedied by a cold treat in the shade.

Samantha wasn’t thrilled to go on a hayride, but you have to to get back to the big pumpkin fields. (We were towed by a big noisy tractor!)

Ellie didn’t seem to mind.

Once we got there, Sam was in search for a little pumpkin. 🙂 I think she was trying to find one that she could carry because she would pick one up randomly then decide it was too big or too heavy! We got the smallest one that we could find, but it’s still a mostly normal size pumpkin. I guess she was thinking she could find something like we have as decorations all over the house.

S10 Sighting

Sun, 17 Oct 2010 14:29:33 -0500

I’m starting to feel better about selling the S10. After church we went to Zoe’s for lunch with our friends Eric and Kris. On the way there, I’m sitting at the traffic light on Sulpher Springs Road waiting to turn left on Highway 150 when there goes my old S10. It still had my BAMA tag on the front and my old license plate on the back. It was now sporting some new magnets on the sides and back advertising Bill Hill’s piano moving business. I’m so glad I didn’t just sell my truck to some dealer who was going to carry it to auction.

So Long Good Friend.

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 13:00:31 -0500

On Wednesday, I sold my 2000 Chevy S10. When I first started driving it, there were less than 1000 miles on it. There are now nearly 125,000 miles on it. This truck has been with me in good times and in bad. It moved me to Chicago for a summer, in and out of dorms for two years, into our first apartment and house. Janie and I made many road trips in it. It’s hauled my old stereo to weddings so I could be a DJ. I also used it to haul my Roland keyboard around to gigs and practices. It towed my brother’s old Silverado from Cullman all the way back to his house in Hartselle. I used it for everything and it never complained. I do feel bad that I sold it, but the guy who bought it is a piano mover and tuner and he’s an Alabama fan. I feel like it’s going to a good home and not some heartless auction.

It was a Blustery Day

Sun, 10 Oct 2010 21:50:52 -0500

Last weekend, we traveled to the Huntsville Burnses. (Happy 1st Birthday Penny!)

It was almost cold and pretty windy, so we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves outside. Here’s a family picture. (And don’t mind my hair, as I said, it was windy.)

Silly girl with windblown hair.

Look out, Little Man! Don’t you know that you’re supposed to keep your eyes on the road?

Whoa! Here comes Optimus Prime, ready for Trick or Treating!

Ellie at 5 months

Sun, 10 Oct 2010 15:59:01 -0500

Ellie is really smiling, laughing, and babbling right now. She is successfully grabbing her toys and starting to put them in her mouth. She is rolling to her side, but hasn’t ever made it all the way over. She really wants to sit up! Many times, it looks like she’s doing crunches because she is seriously trying to pull herself to a sitting position! She is such a happy girl!

Ellie's Cereal

Thu, 30 Sep 2010 22:14:28 -0500

I can’t believe Ellie is big enough for cereal! Or for teething! She’s growing and getting so big.

We started Ellie on cereal last week, but I haven’t been very diligent about giving it to her every day. There are usually so many other things going on, cereal just doesn’t make the list. She seemed to take it fairly well the first time, but hasn’t really done so well since.

Samantha Update

Thu, 30 Sep 2010 21:54:13 -0500

This little girl keeps me on my toes. She is learning so much these days that I’m often amazed.

On our way home, we drive by a golf course and small lake. There are usually geese, ducks and squirrels around that we look for. She also looks for frogs, but I haven’t ever seen a frog there. A few weeks ago, we didn’t see the squirrel in its usual yard. She told me that she would get on Mommy-Daddy’s ladder and climb the tree and go look for the squirrel nest. I was shocked that she knew squirrels lived in a nest, up in a tree, and that she needed to get a ladder to get to the nest.

Georgia Aquarium

Tue, 21 Sep 2010 15:08:44 -0500

Oh boy, what a day! We decided to brave the crowds and head over to Atlanta last weekend to the Georgia Aquarium. Samantha watched Finding Nemo on the ride over so she’d be ready to find all of her fishy friends.

First, we toured the Tropical Diver with its coral reef exhibit. The colors were phenomenal!

Samantha found Dory.

Then we made our way over to the Ocean Voyager to the main tank. If I didn’t have children with me, I could have sat here for hours. There were many different windows to view this main tank. This was our first view. Check out that whale shark!

Ellie's Check Up

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 17:04:16 -0500

Ellie went to the doctor last week for her 4 month check up. She is looking good! She’s up to 12 lbs 11 oz, which is about the 30th percentile. So, she’s still small, but definitely catching up. Previously, she was in the 10th percentile, so the doctor asked if we were doing anything differently. We’re not!

He still hears a murmur, but he said it was faint. Maybe she’s still growing out of her ASD. We head back to the cardiologist in a few more months.

Y'all.

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 17:50:15 -0500

I have found it. The perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. And I have made (and tasted) MANY chocolate chip cookie recipes. This one rocks it out. This was originally posted on Erin Cobb’s blog (my internet friend – yes, I’m a blog-stalker) in March. I’m just getting around to giving it a go. I’m so glad I did. Yum.

Cookie Recipe

I think the key is parchment paper, which I’ve never used before. The ingredients aren’t all that different than a normal recipe, so I’m going to tell myself that it’s the paper. Wink, wink.

New Name

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 08:38:11 -0500

Last night on the way home from ballet, Samantha said “bucks and man.” Or at least, that’s what I thought she said. She said it several more times before I realized what she was saying. Turns out, she was saying “Books-a-Million.” We were driving by one of her favorite play places! She loves to go there to play with Thomas and Friends!!

Thank You, GM

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:58:35 -0500

I got a letter in the mail today (well, technically, Brian got it, which still gets my goat*) from GM about a condition on some 2006 Pontiac G6 vehicles. The electric power steering goes out.

My car has had that condition for several years now. I crank up the car, the car beeps for a few seconds, then a display on the dash says “Power Steering.” Until the power steering actually started locking up, I never did anything about it. Over the last 6 months, it started locking up more frequently, so I knew I needed to part with my cash and finally get it fixed. I got it fixed in July. That’s a story for another day about picking up the car, feeding a toddler and a newborn and selling the house. Sounds exciting, huh?

Samantha's First Ballet Class

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 22:59:26 -0500

Samantha has been so excited to start ballet class this fall. We have been talking about it for a few weeks since we registered. She got some ballet shoes and tap shoes at the dance store. We’ve tried on several leotards to make sure they fit. The first class was upon us.

Samantha took a great nap after her rough night. (See a previous post.) She knows that on the days that she takes a nap, we celebrate by doing something fun. She can play on her computer, watch TV, or even go to the park. So, she woke up and with no prompting from me, wanted to go to the park. I asked her if she wanted to go to ballet. She screamed “NO! Go to Park!” Uh oh.

Oh What a Night

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 10:06:13 -0500

After a rough day at the babysitter’s house, she told me that Samantha was exhausted and surely she’d take a good nap. Sam certainly looked it, so I hoped for the best. One thing after another, she didn’t go to sleep until 4PM. Normally, I don’t keep her in the bed that long, but each time I checked on her, she seemed SO close to falling asleep. Needless to say, she didn’t go to bed until about 8:15PM. Here begins my night.

Soap

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 08:03:53 -0500

Samantha was washing her hands yesterday with her Funny Berry soap. She told me that her hands “smell like delicious.”

And just because I like this picture:

Denim

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 08:41:11 -0500

The color of Ellie’s eyes.

The Story of a Baptismal Gown

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 15:39:28 -0500

We are very blessed. We had the choice of 3 gowns for Ellie’s baptism.

We have the gown that me and my siblings were baptized in. It has also been used for some Burns grandkids, including Samantha as shown below.

The slip has been embroidered with each baptism name and date. It begins with Elisabeth Noel in 1976 and ends with Patrick Jacob in 2008.

We have the gown that Brian and his siblings were baptized in. This was the gown that Ellie was baptized in. Here is a letter dated on Brian’s BIRTHday from his maternal grandparents.

Ellie's Baptism

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 20:43:42 -0500

We had a wonderful mass and baptism for Ellie! Thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate with us. It’s too bad it was incredibly hot and humid.

“I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.” She barely flinched!

“Receive the Light of Christ.”

And the group shot, minus sneaky Uncle Mark and Aunt Martha. How is it that he always skips out on pictures?

Samantha’s Mr. Potato Head Family

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 16:06:35 -0500

Aunt Lizzie gave Samantha a Mr. Potato Head family for her birthday last year. She really likes it. Lately, when she’s finished dressing them up, she’ll line them all up and tell me to take a picture. Each one has a name (Mommy, Daddy, Sam and Ellie). We went to the McWane Science Center recently where they had a Mr. Potato Head exhibit. With all the Toy Story 3 stuff, Mr. Potato Head seems everywhere. Here are some of her creations.

Almost Back to Work

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 15:47:38 -0500

I can’t believe I’m going back to work next week! Wow. I knew my 12 weeks would fly by, and it certainly has. A lot of people have asked me about it. Honestly, I’m ready to get back to work to have a little adult time. However, I’m not ready for the hecticness of juggling work, kids, a house on the market (STILL), making dinner, etc. I’ve been there before, and I know how exhausting it is.

Sisters

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:42:22 -0500

Samantha likes to hold Ellie. This morning she actually started moving her around a bit, and that made me really nervous because she makes no attempt to support Ellie’s flimsy head. I’ll have to work on that next. In the meantime, Sam says “I hold Ellie.” Then “Take a picture.” I guess that’s what I do whenever Sam holds her!

Stale

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 09:34:27 -0500

Sorry it’s been a little stale around here lately. I guess I’ve been uninspired.

However, today’s song has inspired me. Today’s Song? you ask? Let me explain.

Every morning I wake up with a song in my head. It can be a song that I heard yesterday, or a song I haven’t heard in years. It’s weird how these songs just come out of my head. I wonder what I’m dreaming about that inspires these things. Anyway, I’ve talked with a very few people about this Today’s Song phenomenon. Some people look at me like I’m crazy, and others say that it happens to them too. I’m wondering if it only happens to music lovers? I’m not sure – I’d love to hear about it in your comments. But, if I don’t grab hold of the song when I first wake up, it is gone forever to the place where forgotten dreams go too.

XXX Birthday

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 14:30:29 -0500

(I wonder what kind of google hits I’ll get with that title…)

You got it right. I turned 30 yesterday. Look what Brian made for me! (I bought those Roman Numeral candles last year for his birthday, and I love them!)

I wish you could have smelled it. On second thought, maybe not. I don’t want you all eating my cake.

Samantha sang “Happy Birthday” to me in its entirety three times yesterday. I’m very lucky.

Ellie as an 8 week old

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 10:09:00 -0500

Ellie loves to be held and can snuggle with the best! She prefers to be warm, or even hot to sleep. She is the happiest spitter-upper I know! 🙂 She has lost most of the hair on the top of her head. She is becoming more aware of her surroundings, and not sleeping as much. She is smiling a little and even cooing a bit. And I can’t believe she’s already 8 weeks old!

Sam as a 2 1/2 year old

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 10:00:17 -0500

Things I don’t want to forget about Samantha right now:

“What doing, Mommy? What doing?” She asks me this 720 times a day. That’s not an exaggeration. You do the math.
She eats her lima beans first.
“Sam-a-do it! Sam-a-do it!!”
She loves to take turns patting and burping Ellie, and is sure to tell us when she spits up. “Ellie spill!”
She loves to pour. Anything. Everything.
She still loves to read.

Celery or Caterpillar?

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 10:58:34 -0500

We had a pasta dinner one night which contained sliced celery. Or did it have caterpillars? Check it out.

Betbeze Beach Trip 2010

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 15:17:45 -0500

Another Betbeze Seagrove beach trip has come and gone. We had fun, even though it was killer hot. I’m so glad the oil had not made it to the coast yet, but sad the the Gulf is being ruined.

Some Betbezes:

the great-grandchildren:

I didn’t take any pictures because my hands were full (of sand and saltwater among other things)! So, thanks to Brian, we have a few pictures to document our stay.

Hotter Than Blue Blazes

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 22:08:16 -0500

It’s hot. Hot, I tell you.

This was my car temp all afternoon. When I first cranked it, it said 122°F. Couple that with 527% humidity, and you’ve got yourself Hades.

Ellie’s Cardiologist Appointment

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 10:10:57 -0500

Ellie had her appointment with the pediatric cardiologist this morning.

She had an EKG first with about a dozen sticky monitors. She wasn’t fond of them being pulled off. Then she was weighed and came in at 8 lbs 6 ozs. That’s my growing girl!

When the doctor came in, he listened with his stethoscope and said everything sounded normal. Then we put her up on a table for the sonogram. He looked all over her heart, examining each of the 4 chambers and watching each valve. She has an atrial septal defect. It’s an opening in between the two sides of the upper chambers. All children are born with it, but it usually goes away within a few weeks after birth. (This explains why NICU didn’t note it.) Her’s is still abnormally large.

I'm Not Believing!

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 10:15:46 -0500

Ellie seriously read the book “How to be a Baby” because she certainly is easy and predictable. She even slept through the night last night! We fed her at 10:30PM, and I woke her up at 7:30AM after getting Samantha out the door! I’m sure it was a fluke, but it sure was nice!

Fr. Roy Runkle

Sun, 06 Jun 2010 09:01:19 -0500

Uncle Roy was ordained as priest yesterday! We’re very happy for him. We’re not sure yet how to address him. Is it “Uncle Roy” still? Is it “Fr. Roy”? Or is it something of both, like “Fruncle Roy” or “Fruncle Runkle”? Okay, just kidding. We’ll let him tell us.

I got some pictures from the cheap seats in the back. You can see the rest at Dropbox, but since posts are always better with pictures, here’s one now.

Weight, Sun, Chickens, and Murmurs

Thu, 03 Jun 2010 09:05:28 -0500

I took Ellie to the doctor yesterday for a weight check. She weighs a whopping 7 lbs 3 oz! The doctor poked his head in the exam room to tell us that he was thrilled and very pleased. He was super excited that she turned herself around. She’s now in about the 5th percentile for weight.

While I had him, I wanted to ask a few questions. We were out in the sun over the holiday weekend, so I asked about sunscreen. I think she got a little sun on her face – the only exposed part of her body. He said no sunscreen until 6 months of age. I guess that means our beach trip soon will be spent in the house.

Happy Due Date!

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 10:34:05 -0500

Ellie is now 4.5 weeks old!

She's Getting Girly.

Wed, 26 May 2010 12:08:36 -0500

Look!

Fri, 21 May 2010 21:12:29 -0500

These pictures are horrible, but I needed some proof or no one would believe me. Can you see what’s different?

Two Week Checkup

Wed, 19 May 2010 17:05:43 -0500

I took Ellie to the doctor today to get her two week checkup. The doctor said she is looking good. Her weight is back up to 5 lbs, 9.5 oz! I’m beginning to see her fill out a little (but only just a little).

Samantha is doing very well around Ellie. She can be a bit rough, but loves to help pat and burp. And she’s a big help to throw Ellie’s diapers in the trash.

Friday's Weight

Fri, 14 May 2010 21:43:56 -0500

I took Ellie to the doctor today to get a weight check. She weighed in at 5lbs 5oz. She didn’t eat too well yesterday, but had a better day today. Maybe she’ll do better over the weekend. I don’t want to get chewed out by our pediatrician on Monday.

Wednesday's Weight

Thu, 13 May 2010 09:24:22 -0500

We went back to Brookwood on Wednesday. I’m proud to say that Ellie’s weight upon arrival was 5 lbs 4.5 oz. She ate very well, and weight when leaving was 5 lbs 8.5 oz. The final weight included clothes, and the initial weight didn’t, so the ounces are skewed a little. I just don’t remember the intermediate weights. I’ll need to weigh again on Friday, before going back to the pediatrician on Monday.

Life with 2 kids on a Monday

Mon, 10 May 2010 21:38:30 -0500

I survived a whole day of 2 kids! Thanks be to God!

Besides both kids wanting to eat at the exact same time, I think overall, the day went very smoothly! I even had time to brush my teeth! 🙂

Sam did well with Ellie. She could be a little rough, but she is also very sweet. Sam even decided she was ready to take a nap at 12:15. So she went to bed! Awesome.

To buy

Sat, 08 May 2010 18:36:53 -0500

Anyone know of a good sling? I have a feeling that baby Ellie will like one. I had a carrier for Samantha, but she always hated it. She much preferred to be doing her own thing, not tied down. Even to this day, she hates a stroller.

Anyway, so if you have had a good experience with a baby sling, let me know. I think I’d like to get one.

Ellie on Friday

Fri, 07 May 2010 22:33:49 -0500

We’re home! More to come later!

Ellie -- Day 5

Thu, 06 May 2010 23:09:21 -0500

Ellie had a much better day today. She is eating better, but it’s still a bit of a struggle to get her to eat. It’s much better than yesterday though. Each day will get better, I know. The good news is, it looks like she will still be discharged tomorrow!

Today our nurse went over some preliminary discharge paperwork. We have already watched the video about the car seat, and watched the infant CPR video. If anyone wants a refresher on infant CPR, we have a kit (including MiniBaby for practice) that you can borrow. It was a pretty uneventful day.

Ellie -- Day 4

Thu, 06 May 2010 05:35:41 -0500

Has it been 4 days already? We are getting the hang of the parking lots, hallways, and NICU room at this point.

I think Ellie is continuing to improve, but that doesn’t mean it’s not frustrating too. Originally, they told us that she needed a minimum of 72 hours in a crib, maintaining her own temperature, before she could go home. That would be Friday, at best. However, she is still not the best eater, so they probably won’t send her home if she’s “not a stellar eater” (in the words of our nurse yesterday). Part of me says it might just be HER, and part of me says it’s because she’s a preemie. She’s still not supposed to be here.

Ellie – Day 3

Wed, 05 May 2010 05:57:05 -0500

This is the update for Tuesday.

Ellie continued to eat well Monday evening and through the night. However, at her morning (9am or so) feeding, she was not very interested. She was moved to a crib around 10am and she began to spit up a lot. She was able to maintain her body temperature (on the cool side, but still within range) for the first few hours. She still had not had any dirty diapers, so the nurse was getting slightly concerned that she wasn’t passing anything. At her next feeding (around noon), she had a small dirty diaper, then we decided to try to nurse. She did very well (unlike the night before) but soon got sleepy again. Jaundice has set in (just a little – not at a high enough level yet to cause a bilibed, but noticeable) which causes sleepiness, and she’s not eating enough to have much energy. So we had a hard time getting anything else down her. She did have a major dirty diaper while we were trying to feed, so that’s progress! The nurse decided since she had two feedings that were not so good, they stuck a tube down her nose into her stomach to force the remaining food.

More Ellie

Mon, 03 May 2010 23:31:26 -0500

Day 2 has been better. Ellie has come off nearly all of her medicines and tubes. The doctors have started letting her eat now that she’s keeping oxygen in her blood in strong amounts. At her 9PM feeding, the nurse removed her glucose drip. Ellie ate 33mL of formula. We were hoping for 30, so that’s great! Hopefully we won’t need to get back on that drip anymore. She still has IV, but it’s only for an antibiotic.

Hospital Update

Mon, 03 May 2010 00:35:00 -0500

I don’t have any pictures to add of our new little one because she’s been in NICU since about 3pm yesterday. Because she was so early, she is having a few complications, but hopefully nothing major. Her blood-sugar level was really low, and her oxygen levels were not great either. She was having to work very hard to breathe. I haven’t been able to visit down there yet, but Brian went once. Since then, they closed off the Unit to visitors because there was another baby in critical condition. Maybe we’ll get some better news tomorrow.

Hello World!

Sun, 02 May 2010 14:26:25 -0500

Eleanor Claire Mauter, “Ellie”, was born on May 2, 2010 at 1:27PM. She is 5lbs 8oz and 19 inches long. Mommy and Ellie are doing great!

We’re at Brookwood

Sun, 02 May 2010 04:26:18 -0500

Janie woke up about three hours ago and now we’re at Brookwood in Labor and Delivery 1. She’s at 0 station, 90% effaced and 2cm dilated. We’re only 35 weeks and 5 days along, but the doctor said they won’t stop labor.

Sam is staying with the babysitter for the moment. Stay tuned.

Lolcats take naps too?

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 14:07:25 -0500

This was on Lolcats yesterday. It made me laugh.

Sunday

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 19:19:41 -0500

On Sunday, someone wanted to come by and look at our house first thing in the morning. I wasn’t planning on leaving the house since we were on Day 5 of the potty training. But, here goes. We went to early mass, and Samantha did great! We made one unnecessary trip out to the Yukon, but the other trip was successful! I was so proud of her! We went to Krispy Kreme afterwards for a treat.

Dinner Series

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 10:25:18 -0500

For dinner this week, we’ve had

Chili and grilled cheese sandwiches

Mahi-mahi (for Brian) and shrimp (for Janie) with fettucine and asparagus

And Banana Split Salad for this week’s dessert (a light and fruity dessert – yummy!)

Winner!

Sun, 25 Apr 2010 16:26:13 -0500

This is me on most of my drives to work.

I was pulling for Reutimann though.

Painting Nails!

Sat, 24 Apr 2010 08:17:47 -0500

A few weeks ago for Easter, I painted my toenails. I usually am not one to have painted fingernails, but spring – fall, I tend to keep my toes colored. Anyway, Samantha was very interested while I was painting, and picked out a color for herself (blue of course) but then when it came time for her turn, she wanted nothing to do with it.

Since then, she’s seen my toes and talked about her “blue toes” but still didn’t really want anything to do with it. Until yesterday. We’re hanging out in the bathroom a lot these days, and she finally decided she was ready. So, she picked out the same blue color and we started with the toes. She watched me so carefully and pointed out “this side, this side!” if I missed anything. 🙂 Silly girl. When that was finished, she said “fingers next!” Oh wow. Ok. Brian came home from work at that point and was able to document a little for us.

Dinner Series

Sat, 24 Apr 2010 07:56:32 -0500

This week for dinner, we had

Chicken with gruyere and pancetta, greek salad, and wild rice

hamburgers, baked tomatoes and grilled asparagus

Potty Time -- Day 2

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 15:16:17 -0500

Day 1 was somewhat successful. Day 2 has been better. She’s supposed to be taking a nap, but instead, is getting potty treats!

Spring Gardens

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 16:22:14 -0500

I love it when spring comes and you finally get to plant and see new growth and new blooms!

I usually have cilantro in my herb garden, and have been slowly adding a new herb each year. My parsley never died back during last winter, and has now grown to about 2′ tall! I got a new basil plant (sadly it will not winter over here) and I moved my potted rosemary (trimmed to look like a Christmas tree) to the ground.

Good

Sat, 17 Apr 2010 20:42:24 -0500

We had a good week last week.

We spent last weekend at MamaLinda and Pop’s house. I think Sam really enjoyed the weekend. She also enjoyed Jolie’s baptism after party. She took a great nap every day and had fun playing in the garden, watering plants, feeding the cat, and looking at birds’ nests.

Sam took a good nap several days last week and had tons of laughs.

Brian’s grandfather got out of the hospital on Friday! He had a rough 3+ weeks, but is doing much better.

Dinner Series

Sat, 17 Apr 2010 20:42:19 -0500

For dinner this week, we’ve had

pre-seasoned pork tenderloin with veggie fried rice (Sam LOVED the rice!) (thanks for cooking, Brian!)

Chicken Cacciatore with breadsticks

Also mixed in there was sweet potato casserole, butter peas, Brian’s brownies and vanilla pudding.

Dinner Series

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 06:44:08 -0500

I’m behind on my dinner series posts. Apologies.

For dinner last week, we had

Leftovers from Easter (which lasted several days – hooray for not cooking!)

Loaded baked potatoes

UA Championship Rings

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 16:14:24 -0500

Check out the Bama bling!

Samantha's story

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 08:03:31 -0500

In thinking about the birth of another child, I thought it might be appropriate to give the story of Samantha’s birth.

At my 36 weeks doctor’s appointment, my doctor examined me. I was 3 cm dilated. She asked if we had our car seat installed (which we didn’t) because it wouldn’t be long. I promptly called Brian. I was super nervous that I wouldn’t even get through the rest of the day. We installed the car seat that night. I went to work the next day, knowing that it would be my last day. And I went to work the next day knowing that it would be my last day. And I went to work the next day knowing that it would be my last day. You get the picture. I was constantly nervous that my water was going to break while at work. I cleaned my desk off at the end of each day thinking that I wouldn’t be back.

Jolie's Baptism

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 08:12:06 -0500

Wow, yesterday was a big day! We spent the day with Michael, Jackie, Chloe and Jolie. The girls played hard in the morning and at 2PM, Sam went back to MamaLinda’s for a much needed nap and the rest of us went to Jolie’s Baptism.

Jolie was such a good little girl at her Baptism. The only time she got upset was when they were pouring what had to be 40º water on her head. I would’ve complained a little too.

Extravagance

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 10:40:50 -0500

We recently changed our house from For Sale By Owner to listed with a realtor. The photographer came out on Monday, so I went searching for our house online to check out the pictures that he took. I pulled up the website, and did a search for our zip. It was the only search criteria. The first result that came back was THIS.

I’m amazed. And shocked. And confused. This is in my zip code.

Testing Me

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 14:55:52 -0500

Samantha has not taken an afternoon nap for me since Wednesday, March 24.

…Yep…

If you’re counting, that’s 2 weeks. It might have been longer than that, but I know at least since that day. (In reality, consistent naps haven’t occurred since we got rid of the crib, which was Sunday, March 14.)

Since then, we’ve had much kicking, screaming, hitting, gnashing of teeth, timeouts, spankings, you name it. Life at our house is not pretty. It all begins at pick-up time at the babysitter’s house and goes way downhill from there. FAST. The thing is, she’ll take a nap with the babysitter, Brian, Nana, or as it seems, anyone but me. Actually, it seems she’ll do anything for anyone except me. Either she knows that life is about to change and she’s taking it out on me, or she knows that I’m already stressed to the max so she’s going to take it out on me.

Spring

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 09:55:38 -0500

Yesterday, April 5, was Day 1 of the pollen attack. Sigh.

Computer

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 08:51:18 -0500

Samantha is getting really good at using a mouse to paint on her computer. My old laptop has been transformed into a “kid” computer and my mouse (a small, kids size mouse painted like a ladybug) is a hit. She likes to “pway puter.”

Dinner Series

Mon, 05 Apr 2010 08:54:38 -0500

For dinner last week, we had

Beef Ravioli

Chicken Tacos (thanks for the chicken, Brian!)

And for Easter, we had Tuscan Pork Tenderloin, potato salad, broccoli salad, deviled eggs, rolls, and Nutter Butter Banana Pudding.

Boy or Girl?

Mon, 05 Apr 2010 06:45:13 -0500

Hey, I just wanted to draw your attention to the survey we have on the top-right part of our web site. Since we aren’t finding out until the big day, we thought it would be cool to see what everyone else thinks. Some of you have already voted. Thanks! Some of you may only read mdc via RSS. Please go to the site and cast your vote. I think we have more votes from scammers in Nigeria and the Netherlands than Real People™.

Paternity

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 15:04:10 -0500

Good news! Brian’s grandpa was moved out of ICU today! He continues to improve, but will most likely be in the hospital for another week. I appreciate all the thoughts and prayers over the last few days.

On another note, my dad chopped off the tip of his finger on Sunday. He said he was messing around with his lawnmower, doing something stupid. It’s a good thing Alex wasn’t around or he would have passed out. (Maybe I should have added a disclaimer for Alex to stop reading after the first paragraph.) I haven’t heard the latest about my dad’s visit to the orthopedist to check up on the bone, but hopefully that went well. Add him to your list…

Passion

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 18:12:13 -0500

I hate the big girl bed. With a passion. Tell me this phase ends soon.

At the Park

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 15:25:24 -0500

We went to the park last weekend to catch some much needed rays. We ran into the Turners and the Grissoms there! I think everyone had the idea to go to the park since it was so nice.

Samantha finally went down the big slide all by herself! It’s the big slide that’s enclosed and circles around as it goes down. She’s been standing at the top looking down for months now. Also, it was a bit windy that day, so someone brought a kite. It was a ladybug! Sam was really excited to see that big ladybug flying in the air!

Dinner Series

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 09:41:49 -0500

For dinner last week, we had

Hamburgers (thanks, Brian!) and Tomato Bake (from Chef’s Table in Huntsville which I think is out of business – that’s a shame because I don’t like tomatoes, but I love this recipe!)

Chicken Parmesan (I don’t really have a recipe for this, but this is close) and Carrot Souffle (new recipe I tried out. Interesting.)

Rotisserie chicken (thanks Publix/Brian)

And a big THANKS goes out to Clark and Ashley for encouraging this series. It’s more a record for me, but if I can give ideas to someone else, I’m happy to do so. I don’t really like to cook, so I’m always looking for some help. Maybe something here is just the kick someone else needs!

Lavender Jacket

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 18:15:19 -0500

So Lettie, here’s the jacket that I’m currently working on. I need to get something crossed off my list, and this is the easiest and quickest that I can do right now (as in, I have no control over selling my house, which is also on my to-do list). So for now, I focus on the jacket. And Ashley, I’m working on pictures from the park this weekend. There are a whole lot more of those to sift through.

Prayers

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 06:53:28 -0500

Brian’s grandfather had surgery yesterday here in Birmingham. It was a 12 hour surgery to remove a cancerous bladder and nonfunctioning kidney. He got through the surgery ok, but had a very rough night last night. All the family was called around midnight to be by his side. Please pray for him and all of the Eckl family.

Birthdays

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 15:43:30 -0500

Whenever it is a family member’s birthday, we always try to sing “Happy Birthday” to that person. Samantha has grown to love this song and she sings it a good bit. Over the last 10 days, Aunt Lizzie and Uncle Daniel had birthdays. We’ve been singing “Happy Birthday” a lot.

However, Samantha has not moved past Jackson. His birthday was in January. Whenever she sings the Birthday song, she inserts “Jackson” where appropriate. He still has the hold on her.

Early Morning Ramblings.

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 06:18:05 -0500

Samantha has done fairly well in her bed all week. Some days she takes a nap and some days she doesn’t. Last night, Brian and I were headed to bed and she comes waltzing out of her room! What on earth is she still doing up at 10PM?!?! I know she’s not getting nearly as much sleep as she used to, so hopefully, we can work our way back up over the course of the next weeks and months.

Dinner Series

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 05:21:47 -0500

For dinner last week, we had

Sloppy Joe’s (thanks, Brian!)
random leftovers and slim-pickins

Not much for cooking this week it seemed.

But I did make Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies, which I thought would be divine, but only so-so. I didn’t add the frosting on top, but I don’t think it would have put them over the edge.

Big Girl Bed Update

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:15:18 -0500

Samantha has fewer things in her room these days. We used to have mostly books, but a few toys in there too. Because she can get into everything now, I have been removing unnecessary items from her room. Some things (like all the clothes in the top 2 drawers of her dresser) will have to stay, but we’ll have to work through those battles as they come.

She has done very well in the new bed. She has taken an afternoon nap both days this week. Yesterday was a very late and short nap, so she woke up in a definite funk, but it was a nap nonetheless. Last night, it only took her 1 – 1.25 hours to go to sleep, so it’s an improvement from the night before. Brian put her down for her nap today, and it was a record 30 min!

Samantha's Big Girl Bed

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:21:16 -0500

I guess I need to be prepared for a no afternoon nap week.

Brian and I had debated about how to transition Sam into a big bed. My thought was set up the bed, let her see it, talk about it for a few days, then move her over. Maybe nighttime in the bed at first, but naps in the crib (for my own sake really). I had been convinced to remove the crib after a few days, even if she wasn’t keen on the new bed. Brian’s idea was put up the bed, take down the crib. Boom.

Potty Time

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 06:09:49 -0500

I am so proud of Samantha. She is using the potty a lot. She still has tons of accidents, but I can tell it’s getting better. I attribute all the recent success to the random pack of panties that I bought at Target a few weekends ago. I had no idea that she would be so interested in them.

Weekend Warriors?

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 06:06:06 -0500

We are not weekend warrior type people. I don’t have the energy level for that. My ideal Saturday is spending the day in my pajamas. But who has time for that?

This weekend, we picked up Samantha’s new bed, looked at another house, had lots of potty success, went to the symphony, filled out paperwork to list our house with a realtor, filled out paperwork to make an offer on another house, picked up Samantha’s new mattresses and pads, dismantled the crib, and set up her new room. Putting it in a list like that doesn’t make it sound like much, but combine that with pregnancy-lack-of-sleep syndrome, and I’m exhausted. I was supposed to go to work this weekend, but it didn’t fit into the schedule.

Big Girl Bed

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 22:23:02 -0500

It’s 10:22PM on Sunday. We haven’t heard anything from Sam in 20 minutes. Maybe she finally fell asleep in her new big girl bed. More to come later…

Dinner Series

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:34:59 -0600

For dinner this week, we’ve had

Wild Rice Chicken Salad

Pot Roast with veggies

Fingers crossed

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:05:23 -0600

We are making an offer on a house today. Keep your fingers crossed that ours will sell too.

Recipe Cards

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:08:36 -0600

How cool is this?!

http://www.skiptomylou.org/2010/03/05/free-printable-recipe-cards/

Cindy is offering free printable recipe cards. Just type in all your stuff and voila! Print them out. I won’t spend the time to type up my existing recipes (most are already typed and on postcards now) but I will definitely use this going forward!

Dinner Series

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 14:36:04 -0600

For dinner this past week, we had

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches

Balsamic Chicken and Asparagus (I love balsamic vinegar, but this was too much.)

Dinner Series

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 14:33:27 -0600

For dinner last week, we had

Grilled chicken (thanks Brian!), steamed squash, and green beans

Lasagne

Third Trimester

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:44:32 -0600

I’m going to complain a little bit today.

Officially, I enter the third trimester next week. I started having Braxton Hicks contractions last week. Yesterday, I woke up with some severely sore hips, making walking a little more difficult. I can tell that my bones and muscles are stretching and moving around. I hope the remainder of this last trimester is not overridden with uncomfortableness. I still have lots to accomplish.

Krispy Kreme

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 12:13:25 -0600

We really didn’t have much in the house for breakfast this morning. Fortunately, Jackson, Patrick and Penny gave Sam a Krispy Kreme valentine. That was all I needed for an excuse to go. Besides it was going to be our first “family trip” in “Daddy’s New Truck”. Sam really enjoyed watching the donut assembly line and of course, the eating. She got a chocolate covered glazed with sprinkles. Whoa, sugar!

Thursday Night Music

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 16:13:01 -0600

Samantha has become increasingly interested in guitars lately. I think several factors contributed to this interest.

We gave Chloe a child’s guitar for her birthday in early January. I thought that since Chloe saw her daddy play a lot, maybe she was interested too. Most of the kids at the birthday party liked to strum and play on it, and Samantha was no exception.
There’s no doubt that Sam is in a Raffi kick right now. She requests Raffi all the time. We went through a Little People ABC Sing Along kick over the last 6 months, so I was honestly glad to move on to something else. The album artwork (displayed on my phone) shows Raffi playing a guitar and she likes to look at the picture when it’s playing. She and Brian watched a few videos of live Raffi concerts recently, and that further contributed to her knowledge that Raffi plays the guitar.
There’s a painting of a guitar and piano in our living room that she likes to point out.
And then, there’s church where she gets to watch all the musicians play all sorts of instruments (piano, organ, flute, guitar, mandolin, trumpet, trombone). She loves it.

So last night, I decided to bring out my guitar and let her play. I guess it had never occurred to me to let her try. A guitar was against my belly for the first nine months of her life, so why wouldn’t she have a familiarity with it? She really enjoyed playing and strumming for a while, and even began to pick out individual strings to listen to them separately. I think she is left-handed, so I turned the guitar (upside down for right-handers) and tried that for a while. Then I brought out the big guns. I got the tab for Baby Beluga (one of her most recent most requested Raffi songs) and played it. I thought she was going to flip. She was dancing and laughing! I wish I would have had an extra few hands to video the whole thing too. Then she started making requests: “donkey next?” Tingalayo is also another Raffi favorite, but the tab I got didn’t seem right, so it didn’t have the same effect.

Daddy's New Ride

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 15:37:14 -0600

I got a new ride today. It’s a 2007 GMC Yukon SLT. Special thanks to Brit for helping me find it. S10s unfortunately cannot carry two car seats.

Goodness

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 07:45:34 -0600

Samantha was in the back seat this morning on the way to Paula’s house. She was quiet and doing her own thing. I was stopped while waiting to turn. Raffi was playing (does he ever not play in my car?). Then out of the blue she said “goodness gracious.”

What's New?

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 14:34:56 -0600

I think Samantha has fully recovered from the croup. We have one more day of antibiotic, but her cough is mostly gone. She is still very thirsty, which I noticed started when she was sick. Or maybe it was just my asking if she wanted water every few hours when she had to take medicine (she learned the word “ew” which I still don’t know how that happened).

Last weekend on a whim, I bought some Hello Kitty panties at Target. I had a few extra minutes, and I knew we’d need them one day. To my surprise, she really likes them. She wants to wear them. So, we had LOTS of cleaning up last weekend. We stayed mostly in the bathroom, so it wasn’t horrible, but we went through 4 pairs in 1 hour. I guess it’s all that water… I know she just wants to wear them because they’re new and different, but she hasn’t put it together what happens when she doesn’t wear a diaper. I know she’ll understand soon enough. Speaking of such: she’s in her crib right now (supposedly sleeping) saying “change diaper change diaper.” I’ll have to check that out.

Dinner Series

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 13:33:53 -0600

For dinner this week, we had

Frozen pizza (we had to show the house that night)

Spaghetti (Grandmother’s recipe)

Waffles (showed the house again!)

Pecan Chicken, Rice and Peas

Snow Day, for real

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 14:43:36 -0600

This morning, we awoke to snow on the ground. It was leftover from yesterday! Can you believe it? We played in the snow yesterday afternoon, so here are some pictures.

Getting mittens on those tiny hands was harder than I expected.

Throwing snowballs at Daddy:

Making a snow angel:

Running down a little hill and getting tripped up over her feet:

Dinner Series

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 05:26:45 -0600

For dinner this past week, we had

Chicken Noodle Soup

Steak and Okra Creole

Stuffed Shells (no mushrooms) and leftover okra

Prom Dress Drive

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 05:20:19 -0600

In case anyone is interested and has a handful of prom-type dresses, like me.

Prom Dress Drive – March 6th

On Saturday, March 6th bring your gently used formalwear to The Summit for a prom dress donation drive benefiting the YWCA. Those who donate will receive a special thank you voucher from The Summit good for discounts and special offers from Summit retailers. It’s The Summit’s way of thanking you for giving back to the community. Dresses may be dropped of between Noon and 4pm in the space between Lucky Brand Jeans and Victoria’s Secret.

Pictures of Penelope Found

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 21:18:56 -0600

http://www.our365.com/newbornportraits/BabyDetail.aspx?birthid=bf9b3930-cc54-40ae-a090-99aa0ba73502&babyid=2c7dc9c1-cd44-4f9d-995e-f692b48b690b

I really like #5. Who knew Alex has such purdy lips?

Pitiful

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:02:53 -0600

That’s what Sam is. Poor thing. She’s still sick, and now it’s worse than ever. Combine that with an intolerance of medicines, and we have a severely pitiful little girl. She got two shots today, so hopefully she will begin to feel better and we can go back to regular medicine soon.

Today, the doctor determined that she has lost the tube in her right ear, so we’ll have to be careful about that one.

Outside, lately.

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 08:27:52 -0600

We have spent a little time outside lately. I finally plugged up my phone and grabbed the pictures from it, so enjoy.

Can you tell that she dressed herself here?

Welcome!

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 13:20:32 -0600

Congratulations to Michael, Jackie and Chloe who just welcomed a new baby!

Jolie Marie was born at 1:27pm weighing 8 lbs 1.5 oz!

Making America Skinny, One Slap at a Time!

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 14:30:44 -0600

I finally did it.

I got a Slap Chop. I present to you, carrots.

But wait! There’s more! If you call right now, you’ll get this awesome cheese grater!

Air Filters

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 13:50:56 -0600

So I’m curious about other people’s air filters in their house. First off, our air filter is pretty large and apparently a strange size, so I can only get them at Home Depot. I can get cheap ones, but recently there was a sale on a nicer one, so I bought a pack.

Brian had the idea to write the date on the filter so you can always see when you changed it last. With the cheaper filters, we changed it about every 3 months. They were gross after 3 months, but not horrible. After a few weeks, the new expensive filter was disgusting. Really. I waited until a month had gone by, and then I went ahead and changed it. I can’t tell you the grossness that it had become. Ew. Just. Ew.

Cupcakes

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:37:30 -0600

I finally got around to making chocolate creme filled cupcakes as directed by skiptomylou.org. It was a few steps, but the end result is pretty good!

Another ear infection

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 16:49:35 -0600

Samantha has an ear infection. But she has tubes, you say? Yes well, tubes don’t eliminate ear infections, just hopefully make them much less frequent. She got tubes in May 2009, so I think we’ve had a pretty good run.

Samantha and Brian got sick a couple of weeks ago with a bad cold. It was a doozie. However, after suffering through that week, they both got better. We had a solid week of health around here only for Janie to get it next. Took long enough. Anyway.

Eating

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 18:49:15 -0600

Samantha has always been a good eater. I really don’t have a reference for this, but she always eats what we eat, so I figure that’s pretty good.

She loves peas or beans. To be even more specific, butter peas are her favorite. I never knew what these were until I married Brian, so go figure. I have always hated peas (and most beans). I know that her Papa’s favorite is butter peas, so it’s no surprise where she gets this taste from. It astounds me though when she asks for more at dinner, which happened tonight. More peas? Who would eat more than the required amount? Silly girl.

Just for Lizzie

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 19:54:18 -0600

Why is the University of Colorado known as CU and not UC or U of C?
The same applies at Kansas-KU, Missouri-MU, Nebraska-NU, Oklahoma-OU and Denver-DU. “Midwestern casualness,” says former CU historian Fred Casotti. It has always been this way at Colorado, for whatever reason, and at the other five listed above-but seemingly nowhere else in the USA. In the 1950s, there was a concerted effort to eliminate the use of “CU” on the Boulder campus, both as a symbol and in speech, but Casotti said that no one would buy into it. “Nobody would change,” he said. “It’s easier to say than U of C, UC sounds like slang or something (as in ‘you see’), and it was traditional. By trying to eliminate it, they reinforced it.”

More Recalls

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:08:36 -0600

The Consumer Product Safety Commission released recalls this morning on strollers and cribs. Here’s the recall page from the CPSC. Here’s the stroller recall. And here’s the crib recall.

Growing Pains

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 22:41:33 -0600

Okay, I forgot (okay, well, I was putting it off) to set up redirects for links pointing to stuff on the old website to stuff on our new site. This meant that your RSS reader never saw any updates for us since December 29. Now those old RSS feed URLs should permanently redirect you to the new RSS feeds. Similarly, Google’s index still contains old links and I’m sending those visitors to a landing page. Soon I should have that landing page automatically do a search here for the same content the user searched for originally. It’s not perfect, but it’s just about the only thing I think I can do.

Rain Gear

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 14:50:10 -0600

Those of you who have known me for a while know that I love me some rain gear. I was even known as “the yellow boot girl” in high school. That is not really an experience that I want to relive (nothing like high school public humiliation). However, I still have my knee-high bright yellow boots and will wear them again one day.

Apparently, I still have this desire to dress for the rainy days. Samantha received a cute lady bug raincoat for Christmas last year from her Nana. (I would link to the picture, but since we switched sites, I have no idea where our pictures are.) It was an 18 month size and she has really worn it. It’s been a great coat, well made, and cute to boot. Sadly, it has gotten a little small. She can still wear it (at 27 months), but I know it won’t last much longer.

Sad Christmas Tree

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:13:08 -0600

Some of you may know that we put up our Christmas decorations late, according to today’s standard, but also take them down late. We wait until the Epiphany, or the 12th day of Christmas to take everything down. It falls on January 6. This year, we took down our Christmas stuff last weekend.

Both Brian and I took down ornaments off the tree, then he moved on to taking the lights off as I was boxing up the ornaments. (Sadly, we did lose 2 glass ornaments when taking down our tree.) This was the scene about half way through taking the lights off.

Nappy Hair

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 15:14:46 -0600

Sometimes, Samantha wakes up from her nap and her hair is just so adorable that I have to take a picture.

Finished Curtains

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 14:19:46 -0600

I finished the curtains in the living room. I did the window first. I thought it would be easier. The instructions I had were for 3 triangles in one window, and I just wanted 1 triangle. They also instructed me to mount on a board (like a cornice I’m guessing) but I wanted to use a standard rod. So, that meant I basically had to design my own and it was not exactly easy. It turned out fine though. It took me longer to measure, think, measure again, and think again than it did to do the actual sewing. Brian helped me hang the rod. Thanks! Overall, it took an evening (after Sam went to bed). Not bad.

Christmas 2009

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 15:36:41 -0600

I feel like everyone has moved beyond Christmas. I am running a little behind, so I’m just getting around to posting our Christmas pictures.

Christmas started with brunch at the Betbezes on Christmas Eve. I really like this tradition. We enjoyed brunch then the kids began opening presents. Samantha got lots of great gifts, but the #1 score (in her eyes) was a new shopping cart from Great Aunt Mary. She barely had the patience for her daddy to put it together. Goodness.

Crazy Bama Fan

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 15:05:48 -0600

I must be one. Almost.

What other kind of person would go out to buy a t-shirt or hat at the nearest Academy Sports store at midnight after a football game? That was me last night. I figured there would be 50-100 people there, but I never guessed that the parking lot would be full, Hoover police would be manning the doors and there would be hundreds of fans lined up outside in 20° weather for hours. Alabama won the National Championship. That was unreal enough, but after seeing the crowd at Academy I really didn’t know what to think. Everyone was very happy and celebrating. Cars would drive by the store, windows rolled down, blasting anthems and songs that made the wait seem more like a party. There were people hanging out of the moving cars slapping hands all down the line too.

Another Snow Day

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 08:05:54 -0600

Today it’s 18° with a windchill of 3°.

Snow Day

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 11:05:32 -0600

It’s snowing! A lot! With really big flakes!

I’m going to attempt Chicken and Dumplings tonight. Wish me luck!

It's a ...

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 17:00:48 -0600

healthy baby!! 🙂

We have neglected to let our website-only readers in on a little surprise. Brian and I are expecting again! I am about 19 weeks, so I’m due on June 1.

We had our big ultrasound today. It seems like a recent trend to be surpised with the gender, but I didn’t want to know with Samantha either. Brian pushed really hard to find out with her, so eventually, I compromised: we find out with #1, but not with #2. Here we are. Brian still tried to convince me, but I had a bargain this time and wasn’t going to back down.

Curtains

Sun, 03 Jan 2010 14:40:28 -0600

I’ve decided to tackle curtains for the living room. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Last Hoorah

Sun, 03 Jan 2010 10:20:41 -0600

We had a big day yesterday.

We decided to head up to Dogtown to look at their furniture. Samantha needs a big girl bed. We looked around town a little bit on Thursday and Friday, but we usually find something at Dogtown, so why not make the trip? (If you’ve never heard of it, ask me about it – it’s a great place.) We got up early and headed up to Fort Payne. We found something that will work great with her existing furniture. (That’s part of the problem: we have to match her dresser and chest. They’re off-white. We made the mistake of buying a few pieces with the intent to go back later and buy the rest. Little did we know that the economy would bomb and everything would go out of business. Anyway.) The bed on display was a twin, and Brian wants something bigger. It was pretty expensive for the one piece. I decided to try to find it in their books to see what other pieces were available. After an hour’s worth of searching, and discovering that the company had renumbered all its pieces, I finally found it. It was outrageously expensive. It works perfectly with what she’s got now, so I’m not sure what we’re going to do. At any rate, we ate at the little place next door and got back on the road. Samantha was exhausted at this point and putting on quite a show for everyone.

New year, new website!

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 15:26:49 -0600

Hi! Welcome to the new mauter.com. Brian finally caved and switched to WordPress instead of his custom-written Java code. The old code served us well, but it’s time to move on. We hope to load all of our old pictures and news items into this site. Stay tuned!

I need vanilla.

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 08:30:12 -0600

Is anyone going to Mexico some time soon? I’m almost out of vanilla. I’ve been using Mexican vanilla for 7 years now and I’m not interested in going back to store variety.

Jackson

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 09:21:49 -0600

I’m not sure what magic spell that Jackson has put on Samantha. She has a fascination with him. Seriously. Samantha talks about Jackson all day, every day. I guess it could just be his charm and wit.

More pee!

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 21:57:36 -0600

Officially Sam’s gone pee-pee in the potty three times in about four days. Nothing Monday or Tuesday though….

Pee-Pee in the Potty!

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 19:14:58 -0600

Ok, so this is for all the parents out there: Samantha went pee-pee in the potty tonight!!!!!!! I’m so excited.

Ingenuity

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 14:14:16 -0600

Little Miss has some ingenuity.

We have been putting up Christmas decorations inside and out for a few days now. Yesterday, I let Samantha play with some cranberries that I use as a decoration during this time of year (they’re pretty and last forever – and real ones are a whole lot cheaper than fake ones). After she had squished a few too many, we finished and started on about playing with other things.

Imitation

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:37:17 -0600

Lizzie is moving to Denver today. We’ll miss you Lizzie!

Samantha has finally entered the imitation stage. She’s late on everything, so this doesn’t surprise me, but it’s very funny. For example, she knows that after we get ready for bed, she can pick out 2 books. She walks over to her bookshelf and begins to choose. Last
week, as she stood in front of the bookshelf, she said “How ’bout…” in a long drawn out voice. And a few days later, she did the same thing as she was standing in the pantry picking out her snack. I know she picked that up from me, so it just amazes me that she knows what it means.

Roll Tide

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:15:45 -0600

This fall, Samantha has learned to say “Roll Tide.” I caught her saying it towards the beginning of the football season on October 10, 2009. Check it out.

7 Year Anniversary trip

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:29:59 -0600

Brian and I went to Memphis last weekend for our anniversary. Some of you may be thinking that our anniversary was about 6 weeks ago. You’re right! We thought to plan a trip in September, but just now got around to taking the actual trip.

Samantha stayed with MamaLinda and Pop and saw all of her Burns side family all weekend. I think she had a great time. While we were in Memphis, we visited Sun Studio, The Peabody, took a Mississippi Riverboat Dinner Cruise, walked up and down Beale Street, and took a tour of the Gibson Guitar Factory. Memphis was farther away than I anticipated, so it seemed we spent a lot of time in the car, but overall, we had a good trip!

Quick Zoo Trip

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:27:29 -0600

We went to the zoo a few weekends ago. It occurred to me that we hadn’t been to the Children’s Zoo or play area yet, so I wanted to try it out. Samantha rode the carousel, pet lots of sheep and goats, and checked out Alabama’s Wild. And of course, we couldn’t leave until we took a train ride. At one point in the petting zoo, the sheep started baa-ing. It was surprisingly loud, and all of us were thrown off-guard! And now, she makes a different sound for a pig. Before, it was just breathing in and out sort of. Now, you can tell she’s really trying to snort. It’s funny. It was a quick visit, but well worth it.

Halloween 2009

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:55:54 -0600

Halloween has come and gone. Samantha wore her costume a total of 3 times and threw a tantrum each time I put it on her. I know, how horrible am I?

The week before Halloween, the Moms Group at church had a Halloween party. I decided to go since it was in the late afternoon, and she could have a go at wearing her costume. Once we got to the party, she was fine. She loved eating the apple slices, running around with the other kids, and eating more apples. She got a bag full of goodies too.

Pumpkin Carving 2009

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:25:36 -0600

I carved my pumpkin the day before Halloween. I think it turned out pretty good and I got lots of compliments from the parents as kids came to trick-or-treat at our house.

24 Month Check Up

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:19:18 -0600

We went to the pediatrician last week for Samantha’s 24 month check-up. The doctor walked in and said “Wow, I haven’t seen you in a while!” After looking at her chart, he commented that the last time he saw us was when he recommended tubes for her ears. That was 6 months ago, so he said it was in fact the right decision. It wasn’t cold season during that time, but still, Samantha has been fairly healthy for a good while now.

Toddler Days

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 13:41:18 -0500

We are having a serious problem with hitting (and a little with kicking) these days. I don’t know what to do. Timeout doesn’t seem to be effective. She doesn’t care that she has to sit in a corner. She doesn’t care that we get mad at her or yell at her. I’m so frustrated.

October Wrap Up

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:52:25 -0500

So many pictures, so little time!

Samantha turned two last weekend! We had a great party – thanks to all who came to help us celebrate her birthday and my granddad’s birthday. Check out the pictures.

We also went to the Grand Old Pumpkin Patch on Sunday. Finally! We’ve been wanting to get out there, but the weather or our schedule has not cooperated. Pictures aren’t up just yet, but they will be soon.

You've Got Supper

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:29:45 -0500

I signed up for You’ve Got Supper earlier this week. I got my first batch of recipes and shopping list in today. We’ll see how it turns out. I think it’s pretty cool. You should go check it out.

Alex's Recall

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:22:39 -0500

Um. Alex?

Ramblings in October

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:15:09 -0500

I have a new niece! Penelope (orginially undecided, I have yet to hear the final verdict on middle name) Burns was born on Tuesday, 10/6. Happy Birthday Penny! I know your big brothers will love having you around!

A while ago, I went to our new Joann Fabrics. oh. my. gosh. Some serious fabric in that place. You take a number when you first walk in and maybe, by the time you’re ready to leave, someone will call it so you can get your fabric cut. I wanted to buy some fabric to make Samantha a tutu. I thought she would enjoy playing with it. I ended up making one for her and one for her friend, Sydney. Sam has yet to put it on. She hides in the corner when I ask her if she wants to wear it. But, she does the same thing with her ladybug Halloween costume. The ladybug costume has been out for about 2-3 weeks now, and she won’t have anything to do with it. I figured she would be reluctant with it, which is why I got it out so early. That girl of mine doesn’t like change. She is seriously routine-oriented. Anyway, Joann Fabrics was awesome.

Tylenol Recall

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 08:21:48 -0500

Has everyone heard about this Tylenol recall?

New Shoes: Reprise

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:06:07 -0500

Remember when we had the issue with new sandals in the spring? Well, it seems we’re going to have the same problem again this fall. It must just be new shoes. It doesn’t matter if you can see your toes or not, it’s just different. So, maybe after a few feet-glued-to-floor incidences, Samantha will be able to wear closed toed shoes again.

Samantha has really begun to talk these days. She’s even putting words together. “Where are you, Mommy?” She is getting new words every day, most of which are mostly intelligible.

Yoga and Tomatoes

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:26:02 -0500

Brian says I need to update my readers. Ok, ok, so I am no longer running in the mornings. It lasted a few weeks. Oh well. Instead, I’m doing yoga. I feel like my mom, definitely. But, I do enjoy it. Wai Lana comes on APT most days so I record it and do my 30 minute session during nap time. It’s nice. And maybe so nice that it will last longer than 2 weeks. So far, so good! I was inspired after I came home from the Wellness Retreat at Sacred Heart.

First Tomato!

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:18:30 -0500

The first tomato is starting to turn red on our upside down tomato plant! Aren’t you all jealous now?!?!

Toddler-hood

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:46:40 -0500

I think we have officially entered the world of temper tantrums, hitting, and taking off one’s diaper.

Wildlife

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 06:54:10 -0500

I forget sometimes that we all coexist in this world. I’ve been going for a morning jog a few days a week recently. So far, I’ve seen a few bunny rabbits and this morning, a falcon/eagle/hawk. He was sitting on the storm inlet in between the sidewalk and the road. Strange place for a big bird. I just walked right up and didn’t even notice him because he was so still. I finally stopped and realized I was looking at a huge bird. We looked at each other for a moment before he flew away. Weird.

Sam's Recital

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:13:30 -0500

Sam played her very first piano recital this morning. Have a listen.

Baby Float Recall

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 08:51:07 -0500

Don’t miss this Recall Notice!

Beach, Ears, and Sam Update

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:41:48 -0500

I haven’t been adding blog items recently, but I have been adding pictures. Be sure to check them all out (those without RSS readers, please look throughout the site since I’ve added more than the most recent 5 on the side).

I guess I’ll start with our trip to the beach. We had a great time! Samantha slept for a whopping 45 minutes in the car ride there and back. I sat in the back with her both ways so I could occupy her a little bit. And of course, I wanted to show her what she should be doing in a car, so I “pretended” to sleep a lot. 🙂 Thanks for driving, Brian! Samantha LOVED the water. She plays in a baby pool a lot (8″ deep) at home so she was used to laying in the shallow water on her tummy and floating. Thanks for all the help from MamaLinda and Aunt Lettie for watching her when my back was turned.

Air Conditioning and Ear Tubes

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 19:23:15 -0500

It’s finally hot around here. Not that I’m glad it’s hot, but just that it’s mid-June and we’re just now getting hot. We had a rainy May. Anyway, our A/C at the house decided to stop working on Monday. Tuesday, we had Dude #1 come out. He said the outside coil was so severely dirty and plugged up. It would cost $400 to clean. He said we couldn’t do it ourselves. So we called Dude #2 who came out on Wednesday. He said the outside coil was dirty and that we had a leak upstairs at the inside coil. It was badly rusted over and we needed a new coil for a whopping $1200. So, Dude #3 comes out on Thursday. He proceeds to dig around at the outside unit and just starts cleaning it. $100 later, he tells us that we’ll have snowballs coming out of our vents. That’s my kind of guy.

Tubes and Paula

Sun, 31 May 2009 12:26:52 -0500

We had a great weekend. No one would ever imagine that Samantha had surgery on Thursday! We went to a Barons game on Friday night and the zoo on Saturday. I’ll post zoo pictures soon. We saw Carson (and family) and Sydney (and family) at the zoo! But, check out the pictures from the last month.

We did get some bad news on Friday though. Our day sitter, Paula, turned in her notice. We’re sad. She is taking over her parents real estate business. I know how much she loves working with kids, so I hope it works out for her. Paula, if you’re out there, we will miss you dearly.

Samantha's Ear Tube Surgery

Fri, 29 May 2009 11:10:55 -0500

Sam’s myringotomy and tubes went very well yesterday. We were at the outpatient surgery facility by 5:30AM and ready to go by 5:45AM. Only then did we find out that the doctor doesn’t get there until 6:30AM. Her surgery was at 6:45AM and we were with her in recovery by 7:15AM. By 9AM she was 99% back to normal. Brian went to work shortly thereafter and she even slept well last night.

Tubes

Thu, 21 May 2009 09:10:49 -0500

Sam is a go for tubes on May 28 early in the morning. We visited Dr. Wittich yesterday and he found that her left ear didn’t look too bad, but her right ear still has fluid in it even after the antibiotics.

Decorating and 18 Month Check Up

Tue, 05 May 2009 15:04:30 -0500

I’m pooped. I’ve been working a lot, so that doesn’t leave much time for photography or updating one’s website.

We have enjoyed a few weekends at home after a busy April. Catching up on little things makes me feel better. I’ve been decorating a little bit. I feel like I’m horrible at decorating a house, so I’ve been trying to put my style into the house just a bit. Not a moment too soon, since we’ve been here for nearly 6 years…

Back Porch Ingenuity

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:53:27 -0500

We like our back porch. The Mauters helped us build it shortly after we moved in to our house. As long as we don’t stuff it full of furniture, it’s a great place to relax.

Samantha, of course, loves anything outside. She just itches to get outside in the afternoons after her nap. She’s pretty happy on the porch, but would rather be outside in the backyard eating dirt, spreading mulch or picking azaleas.

Washington DC

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 13:26:03 -0500

We have pictures up from our trip to visit Lauren and Daniel in Washington D.C. Check ’em out!

Ramblings in March

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 15:11:48 -0500

I need to update all of our avid readers. I have been sewing lately – I know – show stopper. After my crayon roll experience, I figured I could handle a dress for Samantha. That’s equivalent, right? I got some Simplicity patterns and fabric. I finished her dress on Wednesday last week. I’m not sure if I’m finished with it yet, because it’s supposed to have a little trim at the bottom hem. I tried that, and it failed miserably, so I haven’t decided if I want to try again. This week, I started an outfit (top and bottoms) that Brian says looks like a girl scout uniform. Yes, it has green cotton, so it may possibly have hints of a Junior uniform, but it’s hardly solid green. I still need to add some embellishment to the bottom hem of the pants, but otherwise, I’m done. I’ll post pictures one day.

New Shoes

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 14:01:55 -0500

Since it’s almost spring, I thought I would get some sandals for Samantha. Her feet get really hot and steamy in shoes, so I thought she would like a fresh pair of sandals. Boy, was I wrong!

A couple of days ago, she woke up from her afternoon nap and it was pretty outside. It was still really wet from the weekend rains, but I thought we could play in the front yard where it wouldn’t be so mushy. I told her that we could go play outside and that she needed to put shoes on. (At which point, recently, she starts saying “sho sho.”) I got out her new sandals and pulled the tags off them. They have velcro so they are like her regular shoes. I put them on her feet and she just started crying. A lot. I stood her up and it was like her feet were glued to the floor! She wouldn’t move at all! I tried to pick up her feet and move them and it was like pulling a tooth! Meanwhile, she’s still crying and huge tears are falling off her face. It wasn’t a battle I was willing to face, so I took them off. We didn’t even go outside because she was too traumatized.

New TV

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 13:44:21 -0500

Most every Saturday, we go to Amigo’s for lunch. Brian has been asking for years if we can go across the street to Best Buy afterwards and buy a TV. Our babysitter asked off for today, so I was home with Samantha and we had lunch at…you guessed it…Amigo’s. Brian actually went across the street afterwards and did what he’s been saying he’d do for years – he bought one.

More Talking and Symphony

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 07:33:29 -0600

Another post about Samantha. What else is going on in our lives…? We went to the grocery store a few days ago. Samantha and I were walking up and down the produce section and I was telling her about many of the items. When we got to the apples, she started saying “app, app, app.” She has been fascinated with apples lately in one of her books. That same night, she started putting pieces back into her barnyard puzzle. Usually, all she does is walk all over her puzzles and throw the pieces out, so this was a big step in actually putting the pieces back. She’s also trying to say shoes (“sh”) and pink (“pi, pi”). Her brain seems to be working overtime lately.

Hi and Kisses

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 13:58:40 -0600

Samantha’s new favorite word is “hi.” She says it whenever she sees someone for the first time in a while. For example, when Daddy comes home, she nonchalantly says “hi.” There’s no excitement, it’s just very matter-of-fact. Makes me laugh.

Also, she is a big fan of blowing kisses. Last night, skyping with Papa, she must have blown him a dozen kisses. He sure is lucky.

January Birthdays!

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 22:21:42 -0600

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Linda, Jackson and Kris!

House Hunting

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 14:37:46 -0600

I was planning on adding a post today that talked about how scared I am about taking this next plunge of moving to a bigger house. I have so many questions and concerns. Well, that’s obviously not meant to be.

This past Saturday, we looked at a house on Shades Crest. It was a Short Sale and a Foreclosure, so it was a really good price. As we looked around, both Brian and I had a feeling of this-is-it. Could we have actually found what we were looking for? It was surreal and scary, but it was the closest we have come to moving. I guess the engineer in me came out a little bit because I kept thinking, What’s wrong with this house? Why is it still on the market? It’s such a great deal! We told our realtor that we were interested in making an offer but needed to do some research first (go to the bank, talk to our neighbors about selling our house, talk to the new house neighbors about the new house, etc).

15 Month Check Up

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 06:38:06 -0600

Samantha had her 15 month checkup a few days ago. Everything’s going well, this time. The doctor said she did have some residual fluid in one of her ears, but because she was sick for so long, he wasn’t concerned. Other than that, she got a clean bill of health. She’s in the 70th percentile for height, but 30th for weight. He said she’s got 2 molars in the back already, and it looks like 2 more are about to cut through too. I had noticed that she was drooling A LOT, but hadn’t even noticed the teeth in the back. Her mood didn’t seem to be nearly as affected this time around. We’ve tried to look in her mouth since then, but we can’t seem to pry it open.

Left-handed?

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 18:50:54 -0600

I think Samantha is left-handed. Brian is in denial.

Delays and Promises

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 14:36:10 -0600

I know it seems we’ve had a hiatus on adding pictures. I just keep forgetting to add some, honestly. I promise I’ll get around to adding our Christmas pictures and other events (oh wait, we lost those).

Lost Pictures

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 15:09:07 -0600

Hm. Either the camera or our computer ate our pictures. Sorry. I hate that we don’t have them. I think we only had pictures from this weekend. It was our first visit to the McWane Center, Brian cooks in his new (to him) dutch oven and Samantha’s new dress from MamaLinda. Oh well.

McWane Center and Christmas

Sat, 03 Jan 2009 14:32:15 -0600

What a treat for us today! We went to the McWane Science Center and had lunch at Newk’s afterwards. I’ll post pictures soon. When we first walked in, there were lots of big kids, so we weren’t quite sure how Samantha would do. However, we quickly found the toddler area, and she had a blast. She got to practice climbing stairs, went down a slide, played in some water, went aboard a space ship. Then, as she was getting hungry we took a short break for a snack then quickly strolled through the remainder of the museum. We saw a water exhibit with lots of fish and aquatic life, a train exhibit (Jackson would have been in heaven), dinosaurs and fossils, and lots of hands-on science experiment stuff. I think Samantha will enjoy it for many years.

Happy New Year!

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 10:12:34 -0600

Happy New Year! I just wanted to write a quick note that so far Samantha is STILL well! We hope to post some pictures soon.

December Ramblings

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 14:32:02 -0600

I was just thinking that we hadn’t posted any news in a while. Thanks for updating us, Brian. I must say, however, that the TiVo might have been on its last leg, but if our power didn’t keep going out, maybe it would’ve lasted longer. Does anyone else’s power go out all the time? Ugh – I don’t like Alabama Power. End rant.

Merry Christmas! I’m looking forward to spending some quality time with our family this year. Hopefully, we’ll get to see everyone at some point. I’m not looking forward to being gone for a week, but we should have a good trip and have some time to recover at home too.

Old and New TiVo

Sun, 21 Dec 2008 20:29:18 -0600

Today we Mauters must say goodbye to an old friend. Our Series 2 TiVo passed from this life around 9:30AM this morning.

Actually, I think the hard drive crashed. I can get a new one pre-loaded with the TiVo software, or I can get a much bigger drive and a $20 install kit for about $90.

OR, I can get a TiVo HD. The good thing about going this way is I’m future-proof and now-proof. It will receive the HD signal but can output in 480i for our dinosaur 27″ TV. Later when we get our 108″ LCD TV, we can switch the output to 1080i. Since we already have TiVo service, I can get the Product Lifetime Service for $100 less than you suckers. So that’s $180 for the box and $300 for the service. What a deal!

Happy Birthday, Brian!

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:51:53 -0600

Today is my honey’s birthday. He says he now has an excuse to be crochety since he’s now old. Did he need an excuse? 🙂 We’re having a man’s man’s meal tonight: steak and potatoes. And strawberry cake. Happy Birthday Brian!

Yet Another Ear Infection

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 20:10:22 -0600

Yesterday, I took Samantha to the doctor’s office to get her flu booster shot. At her age, she needs to receive 2 flu shots to make sure the vaccine will work. While I was there, I asked if the doctor could look in her ears to make sure that the infection had gone away. Monday was Day 10 of the antibiotics.

The right ear was infected last time, and it still is. The left ear now has an infection too. I don’t think the infection ever went away, so this round of antibiotics was not effective (keep in mind it was not penicillin-based). However, this counts as ear infection #4 – and 3 in 6 weeks. The doctor prescribed one more antibiotic. If she doesn’t get better this time, we’ll have to go see an ENT and start having the tube discussion. I’m not sure how I feel about that.

Feeling Better

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 18:00:57 -0600

I know Samantha is feeling better after only 3 days of antibiotic. She seems to be back to her old crackin up self. 🙂

ANOTHER Ear Infection and Rash

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 14:06:37 -0600

So, Samantha has been sick since the end of September. She’s had a runny nose and a cough that has not gone away. This led to an ear infection shortly before her birthday, which of course, may have led to the allergic reaction on her birthday from the penicillin. But, the runny nose and cough never went away.

This past week, she’s had a rash that mysteriously appears and disappears on all parts of her body randomly. It’s strange. She’s been sleeping A LOT and is pretty irritable when she’s awake. Brian finally decided enough was enough and decided to take her to the doctor. She has another ear infection and something called Fifth’s Disease. Fifth’s disease is a viral infection that caused the mottled rash. The doctor immediately recognized it and said that it was going around. We just have to let it take its course and it will eventually go away. We got a non-penicillin antibiotic for her ear. Brian made the theory that she gets an ear infection anytime a new tooth comes in (#7 is on its way and I think some back molars are coming in too). I’ve heard a friend of mine say that her son got an ear infection anytime a tooth came through, so I think his theory is certainly possible. Maybe one of these days, she’ll begin to feel better. You can tell that she just doesn’t feel well.

Walking for Sure

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 18:42:58 -0600

I think we can officially say that Samantha is walking now. It’s still not much, but it’s on her own, so I think it counts.

She has lately taken a great interest in hide and seek. She especially loves to play around the ottoman. She can crawl behind it, through the tunnel (between the couch and the ottoman), surf around it and play hide and seek. It’s a great place to play.

Walking!

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 13:54:58 -0600

I’m not sure if this qualifies, but Samantha took about 3-4 steps in between Brian and me on Friday night. They were forced, but they were on her own. Today, at Ms. Paula’s house, she took 3 on her own (again, forced). But, I think we are getting much closer.

Gatlinburg 2008

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 14:43:36 -0600

This post is a bit of a hyperlink fest. Apologies.

We went to Gatlinburg last weekend. It was beautiful! You can see a view from the deck here. Alex (flickr and blog) did a great job picking out the cabin and the weekend. We were glad to be a part of it. We went on a few short hikes, but mostly hung around the house and played with the kiddos. We can’t wait to go again in a few years when hiking with children will get easier.

Climbing, Chewing and More

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 17:08:42 -0600

I have a few news items to report. Samantha has become a bit of a climber lately. She is very interested in climbing up anything that will sustain her – people, furniture, the bath tub, her walker, for example.

I have also seen evidence today that she is chewing on her crib. I knew the day would come, and frankly, I’m surprised that it took so long. I don’t know how long it’s been going on, but our gently worn crib is hanging in there nicely.

Allergic Reaction Update

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:28:36 -0500

Sam is doing much better. We can’t find any more spots on her. I think the worst day was Monday. She scratched a lot that night but after that she has recovered nicely.

We’re not convinced it was Penicillin.

No more Penicillin!

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 12:11:50 -0500

What a weekend! MamaLinda kept Samantha all day on Friday while I had a seminar. What a birthday treat! I know Samantha had a great time and I hope MamaLinda wasn’t too worn out.

It was good to see everyone at Samantha’s birthday party. Little did we know that we were in for a bumpy few hours afterwards. Samantha has been on an antibiotic because she had a bad ear infection. After 4 days of not getting better (high fever continued), we switched from amoxicillin to augmentin. After 5 days of that (Saturday afternoon) little bumps started appearing on her legs and started to spread rapidly. By Sunday morning, she was covered! We packed up hurridly from Huntsville and drove straight to Samantha’s pediatrician. They determined that it was a penicillin allergy! So, no more easy antibiotics. Her ear infection is gone and now she’s taking claritin for the allergic reaction.

Almost One

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 14:20:52 -0500

I can’t believe Samantha is a week away from being 1. ONE! Where did the last year go? So much has happened during this time that you just get lost in all the changes.

So, what’s going on these days? Samantha is sick again. Her babysitter’s family got sick a few weeks ago and it spread into our house. I was going to try to let her get over it on her own, but today is 2 weeks. She had a 101 degree fever earlier this morning, so we’re going to the doctor this afternoon. Maybe she’ll be feeling better this weekend. Brian went to the doctor today too. He too can’t seem to get over this bug.

Standing

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:47:37 -0500

Samantha has been standing by herself for increasingly long periods of time (maybe up to 10 seconds now). However, yesterday she did something unusual. She was sitting in a squat position and stood up all by herself! She can walk very well with her walker, or assisted. I think she could walk, but just doesn’t know she can, or doesn’t think she can. I know it won’t be long.

Favorite Songs

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 14:29:14 -0500

Here is a list of Samantha’s favorite songs:

4. Dirty Laundry – Don Henley (great head bobble worthy of Chris Kattan)
3. Phil Collins – bleh phew ack
2. The Sweet Escape – Gwen Steffani
1. Living on a Prayer – Bon Jovi

Bon Jovi is still the top song. She does the knee bounce, shoulder shake (which she had to learn from MamaLinda), and the Chris Kattan head bobble.

I am a Mom

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 14:33:06 -0500

So, it happened yesterday. I briefly felt like a mom. Let me tell you what happened.

Samantha woke up quite a bit early from her nap. I peeked in on her as she was waking, in that talk-to-yourself stage. She continued to stay lying down, with her paci and her bear blanket. But, she got louder and louder. She never did turn her aquarium on, which has become a great self-soother. And she never did stand up in her crib and wait to be picked up. So, I waited and waited because I wanted her to go back to sleep.

Jeffrey

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 13:46:31 -0500

Yesterday, I found out that Brian’s large intestine is named Jeffrey. 🙂 He makes me laugh.

Samantha Waving and Clapping

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:20:15 -0500

I am always amazed by Samantha. This week, she learned to wave. It’s so nice to see her waving to you. She will do it if you say “Hi Samantha!” or “Bye Samantha” or when you pick her up from Ms. Paula’s house (she doesn’t have to see you wave first even). She even waves to Daddy as he comes home from work. It’s very cool.

She has also learned to clap on command. You can say “Clap Samantha” and she will clap.

Olympics and a new Babysitter

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:03:10 -0500

So who has been watching the Olympics? I’ve been an addict since the Opening Ceremonies and have gotten nothing else done. I’ve checked my email twice. I’m sorry to those of you who have emailed me. I’ll get back into the swing of things soon.

Samantha started with a babysitter a few weeks ago and loves it. She comes home every day in a great mood. Every day. Great. It’s nice.

Crawling and Standing!

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 19:22:15 -0500

Samantha is crawling! She started yesterday. Also, when I went in to get her up from her nap, she was standing up in her crib! Whoa – that was quick.

Nine-month Check Up

Sat, 02 Aug 2008 20:09:54 -0500

Samantha had her 9 month check up this week. It’s a little late, but she’s doing well. She weighs 17 lbs 12 oz, which is in the 25th percentile. She’s always been about average, so the doctor said increased activity tends to lessen weight gain. I’m going to start supplementing with formula just in case though. Actually, I’ve been doing that for a while, so now I’m going to do it more often.
She has really started scooting these days. She gets up on her hands and knees and rocks and bounces, but has yet to really start crawling. She can get to where she wants to go though, it’s just a little slow.

Spam

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 14:48:39 -0500

I like SPAM. It’s great with eggs on camping trips. However, I hate spam. For the last year or so, we’ve been targetted by someone with comment spam on our website. Originally it was links to very disturbing websites, but I stopped that with some nifty regular expressions. Then came the Viagra and Cialis ads. More regexs. Lately, it’s been more amiable it seems. They’ve been about prayers and novenas or stuff like “this is a really nice site”. It’s just junk that I can’t easily filter out with a regex. I’m sure it has been the same jerk all along. If I denied him the ability to post ads, he’s still going to punish me with junk. What a loser. Anyway, most of the bad comments were being sent to old pictures that are really popular. I’m convinced my beach picture has so many hits purely because of the loser spammer. As I sit here, I see requests for that picture hitting the logs. I have decided to shut off comments to pictures that are older than 30 days. If the spammer decides to try something else, then I have a few more options. I’m really trying to avoid making folks log in because it would be a big hassle just to leave a silly comment. I’d like to invite the loser to a camping trip so he could find out what good spam is.

Janie Walking

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 09:52:06 -0500

I finally figured out how to string together pictures to make a video without having to buy QuickTime Pro. ImageMagick to the rescue. The command I used was something like convert -resize 480x720 -rotate -90 -delay 25 *.JPG walking.mpg. Anyway, here’s my first attempt at time lapse photography. I present to you .

What's Going On

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 19:41:25 -0500

Hmm. A lot has happened during the last month. Samantha has really started moving. She’s not crawling, but rolling everywhere and “swimming” on her tummy. She’s also talking a lot. She can consistently say “dada” and “baba.” She occassionally says “mama” and “nana.” She is beginning to love reading, and even helps turn the pages.
We took a trip to the beach with the Betbezes and then spent some time with the Mauters in Florence for Lauren’s wedding. We had a great time at both, but are so glad to be back home.

First Tooth!

Mon, 26 May 2008 21:10:03 -0500

We have a tooth!! You can feel it, and see it slightly (when you pry her mouth open). And guess what? After Samantha takes a nap, her hair is in all directions! That means she’s getting hair!

Sitting Up

Wed, 21 May 2008 14:36:04 -0500

Samantha is now 7 months old and sitting up well. She does get tired after about 15 minutes of it and is ready for a break. She still doesn’t have any teeth, but I feel like we’re so close! I think she has finally gotten over her sickness. It lasted for about 6 weeks, but I think she’s feeling mostly better now. Brian got sick too, and finally agreed to go to the doctor after about 4 weeks. He had bronchitis and is feeling better now too.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Mon, 05 May 2008 17:07:58 -0500

Happy Cinco de Mayo! I feel like I should make this my blog since everybody else is doing it. 🙂 By the way, Lettie, I am now a Nester fan. I just wish I had the courage to start putting holes in my walls like she does (and not worry about patching them) and have an eye for cute fabric. I just don’t have that.
Anyway, let’s see what’s been going on the past few weeks. Samantha is sick *AGAIN*. She’s a true Daycare Kid. That means, you guessed it, Brian is sick AGAIN. Which means, I’ll be sick soon. We go back to the doctor this week to check up on her ear, but I have a feeling he’s going to tell us that she has another ear infection in the other ear. This time, she’s been pulling it. Mom said, “Maybe she has just found her ears.” I don’t think so. She’s been on antibiotics, but I don’t guess that matters.
For those of you that know my nephew, Jackson, you might remember his open mouth kisses. Samantha has started kissing just like that! It’s open mouth, tongue, wet and slobbery, but oh so sweet.

Six-month Check Up

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 14:23:17 -0500

Samantha is 6 months old today! Wow. She has moved over to the “big” kids side of the infant room at the daycare because she’s one of the oldest! It’s so hard to believe that she’s already that old. So, she had her 6 month check up yesterday. She still has a cold/cough, so the doctor was concerned about her ears. She does have a slight ear infection, so she’s on antibiotic now. Maybe she’ll be feeling better soon. And for the first time, she actually ran a fever today after her shots. Her teeth (or lack thereof) have really been bothering her lately, so maybe we’ll start seeing something. Oh yeah – she’s 16 lbs (55 percentile), and 26 1/2″ (75 percentile).

Central Vacuum Installed

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 22:38:39 -0500

The central vacuum system is done! Yay! Brian did a great job installing it and we’re very excited.

Four-month Check Up

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 20:28:20 -0500

Samantha had her 4 month check up last week. It’s a little late, but she’s still doing great! We have permission to start feeding her rice cereal, but we haven’t tried it yet. When we get a free weekend, we’ll give it a try. She weighed 14 lbs 3.5 oz, and was 25″ long. She’s about average for weight and a little longer than normal. She doesn’t get the tall genes from Brian or me, so we’ll see if she keeps it up.

Baptism is Coming Up!

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 15:11:13 -0600

Samantha’s baptism is on January 27, 2008. It will be after the 11 am mass at Prince of Peace. All are welcome! Let us know if you’re coming!

Another Check Up

Wed, 05 Dec 2007 10:15:09 -0600

Samantha had her next check up yesterday. She’s growing and doing very well. She now weighs 10 lbs 8.5 oz! That’s in the 70th percentile. She’s also longer (22″ at 50th percentile) and her head is still small (14″ at 25th percentile). She had her first round of vaccines, so she wasn’t feeling well for the rest of the day. But she did feel well enough to help her daddy have a happy birthday!

First Check Up

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 21:19:22 -0500

Samantha had her first check up today, and she is doing very well. She has gained a lot of weight, so the doctor is pleased. She’s up to 7 lbs, 6 oz! At two weeks, she’s supposed to be back up to her birth weight, so she must be a healthy eater!

Samantha Kate is Here!

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 13:44:00 -0500

Samantha Kate is here! She arrived at 1:44PM on October 17, 2007. She weighed 6 pounds and 14 ounces and is 19 5/8 inches long. She’s a beautiful little girl and we are so happy to have her. Please stop by to visit. We should be home by Friday, but until then you can find us in Room 211 at Brookwood.

Doctor's Appointment Update

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 16:49:23 -0500

Janie just had her latest appointment today. Her blood pressure was a bit high, but everything else is fine. They decided to go ahead and induce anyway, so hopefully by this time tomorrow, we’ll be happy to introduce Samantha Kate.

Still Waiting...

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 20:17:02 -0500

Well, we’re still waiting. The doctor said that I’m basically in the same place as last week except now at 0 station.

She's Almost Here!

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 14:17:27 -0500

Six weeks? HA! Samantha has something different in mind. A couple hours ago, the doctor told Janie she was 90% effaced, -1 station and 3cm dilated. Sam should be here soon! Stay tuned.

Nursery Work

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 20:05:34 -0500

Six weeks from today until the due date! We are working on the nursery, as seen in the recent pictures, but we still don’t feel ready yet. In fact, we’re both pretty overwhelmed at all the things (work and home) we need to do before the baby arrives.

Girl

Mon, 21 May 2007 16:18:51 -0500

We just found out–we’re having a girl! She is in the 70th percentile for size and the doc says that’s great.

Big Secret

Thu, 03 May 2007 09:25:03 -0500

Wow, we’ve been keeping a secret for a long time. We are pregnant! We’re so excited. Have a look to see how we’re doing!

Super Bowl Whim

Wed, 07 Feb 2007 10:44:02 -0600

After church on Sunday, we were trying to figure out something to do before going over to Dan and Candice’s to watch the Super Bowl. On a whim, we decided to paint our bedroom. We headed over to Home Depot, bought two gallons of Ralph Lauren Burlap-colored paint and began painting. Here’s how we’re doing. Last night Brian finished up all of the rolling. Janie just needs to finish cutting out around the trim and we’re done!

SEC Championship

Tue, 09 Jan 2007 07:15:14 -0600

Wow! Florida beat the pants off of Ohio State. Go Gators! Thanks Brit and Kristen for letting me watch the trouncing in glorious HD. Heh

Wedding

Thu, 05 Oct 2006 16:06:15 -0500

Michael and Jackie are getting married this Saturday! Congratulations you two!

Vacation Pictures

Sun, 18 Jun 2006 17:29:39 -0500

We haven’t been home much lately, so we should have a lot of pictures for you to look at. Currently, we are adding pictures from our trip to Vegas and will be adding pictures from the Betbeze beach trip soon. Take a look throughout the site for your Mauter fix.

Live Bryant-Denny Webcam

Wed, 24 May 2006 09:43:04 -0500

A friend of mine just sent me a link to a live webcam of Bryant-Denny Stadium construction in the North endzone. Once there, refresh the picture to watch the crane move. Enjoy!

Rotting Window

Wed, 10 May 2006 19:35:36 -0500

We got our replaced. We’ll have pictures of the new window up soon. Brian has missed a lot of work (maybe he hasn’t been missing it, to quote from a great movie) to be home for the installers, painters, and security people to continually come by. Old news, but we also finally bought a in March. We’re loving it! Brian recently modded the china cabinet so that it has a touch-sensitive hinge that Janie can use to turn the lights on and off.

Pictures of Jackson

Mon, 06 Feb 2006 12:37:06 -0600

Alex has pictures up of Jackson on his webpage. Click the Jackson link at the top between the yellow lines. In related news, Lettie and Alex asked us to be Jackson’s Godparents! We’re pumped.

Jackson Alexander

Sat, 28 Jan 2006 11:54:10 -0600

As of 7:38AM, January 27, 2006, Janie and I have a new nephew! Alex and Lettie have now welcomed to their family. He weighed 7lbs, 11oz and is perfect!

Downtime

Fri, 09 Jul 2004 00:00:00 -0500

Sorry mauter.com was down last weekend. I know our viewership was really hurt. 🙂 Anyway, we now have wireless Internet access in our home. As a result, the mauter.com server had to be reconfigured. Since it was an old version of RedHat that was no longer supported, I reformatted the thing and installed Fedora Core 2. Not everything is 100% functional yet. For instance, the bandwidth graphs and web usage logs are not correct yet. Complaints? Send them to /dev/null. 🙂

Keeping the Road Hot

Fri, 04 Jun 2004 00:00:00 -0500

We haven’t added a lot to the website recently because we’ve been out of town. Well, now you can see where we’ve been. We went to Gulf Shores, AL, Columbia, SC and Savannah, GA during the month of May. We’re keeping the road hot. Since the SC trip was business, we don’t have any pictures to show you, but there are a couple from the beach and the riverwalk. There are also a couple of new pictures randomly in some libraries. Enjoy!

Published Musician

Sat, 27 Mar 2004 00:00:00 -0600

I, Brian, am now finally a music artist. You can hear my first song ever right here on mauter.com. It’s not a very long song. It’s only two measures. Okay okay, it’s boring. I went through the steps in the tutorial to make this. So I’m using Roland’s samples too. Props to them. Anyway, more to come. Hopefully the next stuff will be longer than two measures.

New and weird

Thu, 11 Mar 2004 00:00:00 -0600

Howdy. Between a new keyboard, new bedroom furniture, tons of weeds in the yard and us installing some gently used shelving in the garage, we’ve been busy. Did you know we’re listed as “More Resources for Painting-Interior Paint Colors”? We are. Just scroll down to almost the end of the page. Also, apparently Brian is a member of the “Dysfunctional Tendencies” volleyball team in the USA Volleyball Association’s Garden Empire Region. Weird huh?

Bandwidth Usage

Tue, 20 Jan 2004 00:00:00 -0600

We haven’t had an update in quite a while. We’re still here. I’ve got a few more plans for enhancements to the website. Expect them soon. I want to make picture navigation easier and I hope to allow everyone to rate our pictures much like www.hotornot.com. Hopefully it won’t be nearly as tacky. Anyway the big news for today is that you can check out our bandwidth usage within the last day. Open Source software rocks.

New site features!

Tue, 16 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0600

Two new features are available on the website. As you can see on the left of the homepage, there’s a new list that shows links to the last five pictures added to the website. This should help our board of directors keep up with what’s new on the site. Also, mauter.com is proud to announce a new type of feature to the site. Users may upload pictures to our photo album! The editors want a first look at anything uploaded and pictures can only be 1MB or smaller in filesize, but your pictures will show up in a new section called uploads. Let’s see what you all do with this. Alex, pictures of certain body parts will never be allowed. Don’t ask. 🙂

Gatlinburg Vacation

Sat, 15 Nov 2003 00:00:00 -0600

We took a vacation to Gatlinburg during the weekend before Veteran’s Day. We had lots of fun hiking, climbing and relaxing. Brian got some desperately needed tips about how to play pool and Janie made lots of waffles. Pictures from our vacation are available in the photo album.

Broken Search Engine

Sun, 02 Nov 2003 00:00:00 -0600

The search engine I was evaluating worked for a while. I noticed that when I tried to reindex the website, the index was broken. Although it was probably a pilot error, I removed it from the website. I’m working on a new project at home to build my own search engine with the help of some sweet projects at Apache Jakarta: Lucene, HttpClient and CyberNeko HTML Parser. For all of you programmers who balk at Java, I have one thing to say to you: you’re missing out.

Board of Directors

Mon, 27 Oct 2003 00:00:00 -0600

Apparently, mauter.com has a board of directors. They like the site overall, but some significant changes will be happening around here soon. The programmers had to put an emergency fix in ASAP to handle the replay attack with the comments posting function. It’s now fixed. We hope to add a feature story section where one of us will blab on about something for more than just a news blurb. We’re currently thinking about topics like “Bedroom 3 Implementation Plan”, “Just Install Your Own ” and “Meet the Board of Directors”. None of them are set in stone, but it’s just things we’re considering. That’s all for now.

Search Engine

Fri, 05 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0500

Well, I added a search engine to the website. I don’t know how much use it will get on mauter.com, but I’ve been thinking about putting a new search engine on the website I have at work. This is sort of an evaluation. But hey, it’s free! I’m using the excellent Java Search Engine. It’s really fast and pretty darn accurate. Let me know if you like it.

Moved in!

Thu, 14 Aug 2003 00:00:00 -0500

We’re very happy to be moved in. If you can read this, DSL is already working again too. Now we can finally get back to our email.

Almost ready to move in!

Fri, 01 Aug 2003 00:00:00 -0500

It’s about time for another update, right? The house is mostly complete. We had
our walk-through on July 31st, and that was where we told them what they still needed
to complete. Sod and landscaping really add a finishing touch! We close
on August 5th, so I guess that means we should start packing? Everyone in our neighborhood is really great. We’re all super excited to be moving in. After work everyday, there’s a big block party when everyone comes to look at his house. Brian and Janie are ready to move in and enjoy being homeowners! Janie will just be glad that there is some color on the walls instead of “apartment cream.”

New site features

Mon, 30 Jun 2003 00:00:00 -0500

It seems we’re posting these news blurbs monthly. Weird. We’re not trying, I promise. Anyway, we have a slightly new look to the site with hopefully an easier way to access the main pages. Also because we’re already using Java Servlet Filters, we added a compression filter that will hopefully send pages to you faster. (Think of how zipping a file before you send it to a friend is faster because it’s smaller. This is the same principle.)

House update

Sat, 31 May 2003 00:00:00 -0500

After some computer problems, we seem to have recovered a bit. Sorry it’s taken so long to update our site! The brick and sheetrock are complete at our house. The builder has unofficially moved our closing date to early August. We’re hoping to be moved by the end of August. We have picked all of our interior colors (paint, tile, countertop, etc.) and lighting fixtures. The next big thing at the house should be the cabinets and paint. Molly is growing rapidly. She’s learned to sleep through the night on top of Janie’s face!

Construction started

Thu, 01 May 2003 00:00:00 -0500

Construction on our house has started, and it’s moving very quickly! It’s much quicker than Janie or Brian expected. As of today, we have most exterior and interior walls in place, and expect to have a roof in the next few days. It’s practically a full time job trying to keep up to speed with the progress (then updating all the pictures)! We’ve met several of our neighbors and everyone is very nice and excited about all the progress.

House Progress

Tue, 15 Apr 2003 00:00:00 -0500

Well, we have signed on most of the dotted lines for our house! Our closing date is set for October 2, but that’s not 100% set in stone. We’ve started picking colors, with brick and mortar being the first pick. The brick looks similar to another house in the neighborhood. We have our new address, but because we won’t use it for another six months, we’ll save it for later. We’ll keep you posted!

Molly and we bought a Lot!

Thu, 03 Apr 2003 00:00:00 -0600

We have finally named our kitten. Molly is doing very well, and she’s lots of fun to have around. Next, we bought a lot to start building a house! The new subdivision is Caldwell Crossings on Caldwell Mill Road. It’s just over the Cahaba River in beautiful Shelby County.

Housing blues and new kitty!

Sun, 02 Mar 2003 00:00:00 -0600

Lot’s of stuff has been going on lately! First off, we haven’t yet bought a lot so we can build a house. Because we have gotten an extraordinary amount of rain so far this year, the builders are behind schedule. We are patiently waiting. Along with a slightly new look
for the site, we’ve busied ourselves making new friends and getting a new kitten. We don’t have a name for her yet! We don’t even have a couple of names that we like that we’re trying to decide on. Poor little kitty. She doesn’t have a name.

Buying a house

Wed, 01 Jan 2003 00:00:00 -0600

Janie and I have been looking into buying a house in the near future. It’s SO stressful! Hopefully we’ll be out of the apartment by midsummer. I hate moving in the summer, but if it means I’m out of the apartment, I’m all for it. We’re most fond of the houses being
built at Caldwell Crossings by Gibson & Anderson. Check out their site to see all kinds of pictures of the neighborhood. If we moved out there, we’d be in the second phase. The plan that we’re most interested in is the Dartmouth because of the side facing garage and overall floorplan.