A bit of southern life

So, as a family from Alaska there are a  lot of new things, ways of life, weather and food here in the south that is not so common or familiar to us.   I am very grateful that Tyler's mom, who grew-up in TN, had a few southern recipes that she so graciously taught me and that has helped to make me feel more "at home" here.  I can make good old southern sweet tea, and I know how to enjoy fried chicken (making my own fried chicken is too much work for me).

My little kitchen helper 

I have slowly tried to incorporate some more southern foods into our meals.  I have learned to make cheesy garlic grits (not as delicious as mashed potatoes in my opinion but still not bad).   One of my favorite new dishes is skillet cornbread, it's not a sweet cornbread but with the crispy edges it's a winner.   Okra you see a lot around here.  I have heard it is even really good to blend up in cakes. This southern veggie however has intimidated me for awhile.  I tried it for the first time about a month ago as a baby food for the boys.  Okra does not work well as a pureed baby food, lesson learned. It was slimy and pasty and not at all pleasant to look at or feed to someone.  However, the boys didn't seem to mind the taste but the texture was to much for me to handle.  We won't be serving that again, at least not in the pureed form.

Okra baby food

I do know that I have had fried okra and pickled okra in restaurants, both delicious.  So I though why not try making my own pickled okra?  I finally got around to making some of my own and it is a winner!!!   So good!!!  I could sit and eat a whole jar or two on my own, I am definitely keeping my eye out for okra and making this as much as possible, delicious!!   I am planning on trying some plain frozen okra in a chocolate cake here soon, so I'll let you know what I think.

Pickled Okra

The other things that have taken some getting use to, and I'm not sure I will every really get use to them, are tornado warnings, ticks, the difference between a BBQ and a Cookout, and snakes.    The other day I was out trying to be productive and do some yard work and this little guy startled me as I leaned down to pull some weeds....

Now I know he is quite small and is a harmless black snake but seriously, I screamed and threw in the towel on the whole pulling weeds idea.  No Thanks!!!!  I don't care how small or harmless the snake is I don't want to be anywhere near it!  Tyler and the kids loved seeing it but I happily stayed on the other side of the yard and just listened to their stories about it.

That is just a brief look at some of the things that we are trying and adjusting to here in North Carolina.  It's fun to be somewhere so different from AK and yet similar in ways.  It is finally starting to feel more like home here and I do LOVE the spring weather and the huge selection of parks to go to.  The warm sunshine and the crisp cool mornings are truly ideal (and it's fun having a neighborhood full of kids that love to play together).

Neighborhood playdate in the cul-de-sac

I'll be back with more family updates soon, cause the kids are growing like crazy and life is getting even more crazy around here as the littlest ones are on the move!  

Life these days...

The last few months have seemed to both fly by and move slowly all at the same time.  These days I have found myself staying much closer to the house then months before, having twins has had a big part in that.  It now takes me about 30 minutes to get everyone ready and out to the car, so running lots of errands and going places doesn't happen to often.

I do feel accomplished in the fact that I have managed to find a way to go grocery shopping with a toddler, two infants in carseats and a 5 year old.  It's not the easiest shopping trip but we have found a way to get it done.  We also have what we call our "bus" that we take everywhere.  It fits both infant carseats and now has a glider attached for Gwen to ride on.  Without this stroller/"bus" I don't think i would be going many places at all, it has been the best piece of equipment we have had for the twins thus far.

This last month Neal has been tracked out of school (which means he's on break), since we have year round school here he gets breaks throughout the year instead of the whole summer off.  The month of September is his longest break and we have enjoyed having him around the house, Gwen has enjoyed having him around the most since he provides hours of entertainment for her.  We have managed to fill our days with lots of crafts, park play dates and other activities.  My favorite new routine in our home is the introduction of the chore chart.  

Why it took me so long to start this I have no idea because it has been wonderful!  Neal loves knowing what is expected of him and it is great to be able to have something set in stone that we can all refer to throughout the week in regards to helping out around the house.  Plus my house is in more order way more often with the extra help. Thanks to some fun gifts from Aunt Rachel, even Gwen has enjoyed some new chores around the house.

Who knew the duster was more fun to play with then toys and ends up being helpful to me too....my walls, tables and molding have never been so clean!

It's been three months now since we transitioned from a family of 4 to a family of 6 and we are doing well.  Babies grow and change so quickly and we are loving watching the boys change and grow each day.  Three months already since the boys joined our family, look how they have already changed...

This is how the monthly photo shoots really look

They are starting to show off their personalities a bit now and we love seeing their unique personalities start to form.  Donovan is always smiling and Paul tries to "talk" quit a bit.

The big highlight of this last month however was the chance to get away with my hubby - Kid free!! We got to go out for a night to celebrate our 10th anniversary.  Thanks to a sweet family from our church who watched all four children for us we were able to go out and see Seinfeld perform at the performing arts center, and Tyler made it extra special by taking me out in style with a fancy car he rented for the evening.  

Hard to believe that we have been married for 10 years already, but what a great 10 years it has been and a blessed 10 years filled with job changes, moves, kids and lots of great memories.

Let School begin...

First School Picture - Kindergarten 2015-2016

We have now entrained into a new stage of family life, School.   Neal started Kindergarten this year and to say that he likes it would be an understatement, he LOVES it!  

We are in a district with year round school and so Neal started his school year the beginning of July.  He is getting ready to end his first quarter the end of this week and will have his first big break.  He loves being around his friends all day and comes home with lots of stories, mostly about what him and his friends played on the playground and how much fun lunch is with everyone in the cafeteria.

It sure has made the house different during the day having our oldest gone at school.  The house is really quiet but in a way it makes for a nice way to get things done with one of four children not underfoot.

Gwen doesn't seem to mind that Neal is gone all day, however she does squeal with joy when it is time to pick up her big brother from the bus stop.   She runs to find her shoes and backpack, both in the morning and afternoon, to head to the bus stop with me.   The littlest boys in the house are also doing great with big brother gone.  We have managed to get them on a good schedule so that they are happy and sleeping during the bus drop off and pick-up times.  

It is so fun to see how fast Neal is learning things.  He has already leaned quite a few of his sight words and will "read" what he knows when he sees these words appear in a book.  He has even been found "reading" to his brothers and playing school with his toys.

He comes home with so many different drawings and stories at the end of the week.  What I love is trying to decipher what he has written about since his sentences consist of mostly only the fist and last letter of a word.  I have had fun trying to "read" his stories that go along with his drawings.  

"I see a shark.  The shark is fast"

I like to play with my friends"

Manytimes I will hear Neal tell me how much he loves school and how he doesn't want to stay home Saturday and Sunday but go to school every single day.   What a joy to know that he loves this new routine.  Now the trick will be to find ways to entertain all four kiddos while Neal is out of school for the next month or perhaps they will entertain themselves...

April 10 on 10

We have been quite busy the last month with lots of company and fun visitors so I hope to be able to blog soon about some of out special visitors.  For now I have another post for a "10 on 10" photo day. I took a picture every hour (almost every hour) for ten hours on April 10th.  This is what our day looked like...

7:00 am 

Let the dog out and found our deck covered in yellow pine tree pollen.  This time of year the pollen is really bad.  Though the weather is nice we have to find indoor activities so we don't end up bringing all this yellow pollen inside the house. 

8:30 am 

Playtime after breakfast.  Gwen's favorite dress-up outfit at the time is Neal's policeman costume.  Though she really only like the hat and handcuffs. 

9:30 am

Silly picture taking by Neal...there was lots of laughter over the silly looking photos he could make

10:00 am

A last minute trip to see daddy at work and find an indoor play area for the kids to burn off energy.  (I love how Neal is rocking out to the music in the car)

10:45 am 

Playing at the indoor play area in the mall.  The perfect place for little Gwen who could climb on anything and everything that she wanted (bonus is no yellow pollen all over her hands and clothes to clean up after playing. Indoor play areas are so wonderful at times, though crowded)

11:30 am 

Meeting Daddy and some of the TWR video team for a team lunch after playtime...still one of my favorite places to get a burger 

1:00 pm

Back home, and headed for nap/rest time.  

2:00 pm 

A snack and some quite reading time for me, the reading didn't last long as I ended up falling asleep.  We all had a good afternoon nap.

4:00 pm 

Afternoon tea party

6:30 pm

Ending the evening with our weekly family movie night.  I can't wait to see 4 kids on Daddy's lap soon, I do't know how they will all fit.  Feeling blessed beyond measure by the wonderful family the Lord has given us...

Busy, Busy

Where has time been going?  The days have seemed to fly by lately and we will be celebrating Gwendolyn's first birthday later this month.  So before our little girl turns one I think I should share her 11 month photos.   

I must mention how crazy it seems to me that Gwen is almost a year old because I can often hear Neal saying, "I can't believe she is already 11 months old, stop growing so fast sweet Gwendolyn".   If you want to know what Tyler and I often say just hangout with Neal for an afternoon, he remembers everything and often repeats phrases and sayings that he hears from us.  

So much has changed in the last few weeks.  Gwendolyn is now pulling herself up on everything, "talking" all the time, and has 4 teeth!  Neal is very excited that she is becoming more interactive with him and the fact that they can actually play together at moments.  

She also loves to play at the park with Neal and can almost always be found with a smile on her face.  

Life with these kids sure is an adventure.  

Beating the Heat

Though the calendar says September it feels more like July to me.  The humidity and heat seam to last forever and it's these hot and humid days that make me so grateful for the option to go swimming.  The way we beat the heat around here is to either stay indoors or, the more fun option, go swimming!   

We have had so much fun hanging out with friends at the pool all throughout the day and sometimes we have even let the kids stay up late to swim 'till the sun goes down.  So many fun memories this summer in the water.  Gwendolyn is in love with the pool and just all water activities.  Neal and Tyler have often gone for a quick swim after dinner, while Gwen and I stay home, and it's so fun to hear the excitement in Neal's voice as he tells me about their time at the pool with just him and daddy.  

The big accomplishment this summer was Neal learning to swim!   He can almost make it across the width of the pool all by himself.  He has turned into quite the little fish this summer.

So if you come visit us, at least for the next few weeks, bring your swim suit 'cause we are practically living at the pool.

A Bit of Everyday Life

Nothing to exciting has been happening around here lately but our lives our never boring.  I actually have been enjoying the fact that we haven't had much on our schedules lately.  I enjoy the days/weeks were we are home and our schedule is open so we can participate in whatever activity may present itself for that day.   So, this is a glimpse of what you might find us doing with our days at home lately...

The occasional photo shoot...this girl is already 10 months!  Plans for her first birthday are already taking place.  

She is crawling all over the place. If not in the living room with Neal she can be found in the kitchen playing with her magnets.  I think a few new magnet sets are in order 'cause it keeps her busy and happy.  

We go to story time at the library once a week but during the month of August there is no story time.  No worries, Neal has stepped up and started his own story time for Gwen and I.  With a puppet show and everything. 

Grocery shopping has turned a whole lot more fun, with new car carts at the market and Gwen who is old enough to join Neal in the "drivers seat".  It's grins and giggles and a way to have a fun and productive outing. 

An evening fire outside is one of our favorite family activities.  It's been nice to have all of us home (no traveling for Tyler lately) and so we have been taking advantage of lots of family time.