Weekend with the Old Folks, or to be more P.C.--the Grandparents

Bryant and Judy came down to visit late last Thursday night and stayed through yesterday morning--and we crammed a lot of stuff in for basically a 48 hour stay! Jeff was supposed to have been back in town on Thursday around 3 pm, unfortunately, because of weather issues at one of his connecting airports, he had to spend the night somewhere (maybe Ohio, I couldn't keep up because it took him 6 different planes to get from D.C. to Chattanooga!!) and didn't make it back here until 3pm on Friday!

So anyway, that meant we had Friday to explore Dalton while we waited for Jeff to make it back safe and sound, which thankfully, he did! We went to the pool that morning so they could see Jacob swim, then we quick like bunny rabbits, got ready for lunch and headed over to The Filling Station for an all-you-can-eat Southern extravaganza. Then we walked around downtown and went to a few gift stores and, of course the toy store ( which Jacob now calls the "T-O-Y store"--because we've been spelling it a lot lately). The rest of the afternoon was spent at a few more gifts stores while Jacob was napping, and then, once Jeff got back without any luggage, a trek up to Chatt. to eat my early birthday dinner at Provino's--because who wouldn't want to gain 10lbs. at their birthday dinner?

Saturday was a long and hot day!! We went up early to Coolidge Park and brought every bat and ball we could find for Jacob (and Jeff) to play with! Jacob and Grandma and Popop rode the carousel a bunch of times while Jeff and I threw the football so many times that my arm still feels like it's going to fall off this morning! We ate lunch over on the North Shore and then walked across the pedestrian bridge so we could go over to the art museum and take some pics overlooking the river. To finish off our day up there, we went to a few more shops, where Jeff found a used book store (it's his new favorite type of store) and finally, we grabbed some ice cream!

Throughout the weekend, Bryant and Jeff reconstructed Jacob's train track and gave him a whole new look to his own personal "Island of Sodor"--that's the island where Thomas the Train and friends live--DUH!!

Here are some photos to supplement the vivid pictures I am sure my writing has painted in your head ...

Jacob's first ice cream cone

Jacob kicked off the first leg of his North GA/TN singing and dancing tour Saturday at the art museum. This is him dancing and singing.

With no nap, this is how Jeff found him while they were putting the train together in his room. He had gotten a pillow and blanket and curled up asleep on the couch!

Christmas in June!

I know what all you faithful blog followers are thinking to yourself, " How in the world could I be so lucky as to have Lindsey post FOUR times in one week--besides, it's only Wednesday!" Well, this is a special treat, and don't expect this to happen often, or ever again.

Jeff left yesterday for a trip to D.C. and since then it's been crazy good (And not so good) times!

1.) Jacob must have known something was off because he slept horribly last night. He didn't go to sleep until after 11 (he lays down at 8) and that was only because I stayed in there for like 30 minutes "scratchin" his head. He then woke up promptly at 6 am. Anyway, we are so over that, I'm sure it won't happen again tonight!

2.) Jacob decided that he wanted to take apart his train track (Which Jeff doesn't let him do because he spends such a long time putting it together) and I was like, "of course you can my sweet little potato head!". Really, I think it's good to let him use his imagination and put together the track in the way that he likes it. Let me just tell you, from trying to help him put it together after he laid the groundwork, it takes some problem solving to make it work! Anyway, I thought his final product was great! He made a figure eight lay out, with several tracks leading off into nowhere, but he was very diligent and did it!



3.) We washed our (Jacob and my car) car today, which was a real treat for the chap! He helped use the sponges to wash it with the soapy water, and then, most importantly, he helped to rinse the car off over and over and over again with the hose. Once that job was taken care of, he proceeded to wash the parking lot. He kept telling me, "I have to wash the parking lot, dat because Daddy will come home and say, 'this parking lot so clean, I so proud of you Jacob' ". So as you can see, running the water for 45 minutes was a necessity.



4.) I made some cinnamon bread this morning, and as soon as it came out of the oven, Jacob said he wanted a piece. I decided I could spare one loaf and I would give the other away to Miss Anna Kay tomorrow (she is watching Jacob for me while I head to the doctor's)-anyway, so I cut him a piece. I was eating my lunch in the living room (again, because Daddy's not here) and I knew Jacob went back in the kitchen, but I didn't hear any scary banging or anything, so I assumed he was safe and staying out of trouble. Well, when he came back in, he was holding a piece of bread again, but I figured it must have been a piece he stashed from the first slice I gave him (he stashes food occasionally). Then he came back again, with another piece, and so I asked him where he got it. He told me, "Don't worry Mom-Mom, I did it all by myself". So here's the thing, I didn't know how he got up on the counter where the bread was still cooling on a rack, to get some bread--there were no chairs in there for him to step up on. I asked him to go in the kitchen with me and show me how he got the bread. This is what he showed me:



5.) Jacob also ran and went potty while eating some bread--this is how I found him when I went to check and see if everything was going well:


Poor Jacob! When he gets older, and this blog is made into a 40 volume, leather bound set of books, he will be so upset that I, in poor taste, chose to put pictures like this up for everyone to see! Oh well, he's too funny and I sure do love him!

Sayonara Papi!

As a farewell to Jeff this morning, he didn't go to work and stayed at home to play. Well, this is true, but I will explain, so he doesn't sound like a slacker. He was sick yesterday and didn't feel great this morning, so he stayed home from work, plus he left this afternoon to go to D.C. for a few days...so he was justified. BUT, the great news is that by late morning, he was feeling good enough to go out to the pool with Jacob and me! Here is a pic from our final hours together, pre-D.C...



BAHAHAHHAAHHAAH!!! This picture is hilarious! Jeff just rocket-launched our 2 year old into outer space, I think.

Chickamauga train ride

For our Father's Day Fiasco--not really a fiasco, I was just trying to use some alliteration---we went on a day long train ride from Chattanooga to Chickamauga and back! It was interesting...sitting still for that long with a 2 year old is just not my thing, I mean it wasn't bad, Jeff and Jacob really liked it...it just doesn't happen to be my #1 thing--which is fine, because, like I said this was for Father's Day!

We rode to the town of Chickamauga, which is the site of the deadliest 2 days of the civil war--35,000 casualties--Gettysburg was the deadliest battle of the entire war (it lasted 3 days)--and had a couple hours to eat lunch and wander around the downtown. We had some great food at a local barbeque place and then went to a few antique shops. This Saturday train ride provided Jeff and me with a rare glimpse into our futures as retirees: Picture this, two old folks, pittering around, riding random trains (Jeff clad in the blue and white conductor overalls, with pins from every railroad we have been on), and then antiquing for the rest of the day. Oh, I forgot to mention, besides trains, our dominant form of transportation will be a two seater bike like this:

But, I digress. Here are some pictures from our ride, including some of our stop at Chickamauga Battlefield.

In front of the Wilder Tower at the Chickamauga Battlefield

Posing with the cannon

After climbing to the top of the Tower

This is how Jacob spends at least an hour of each of his days-coloring. This picture was at the BBQ place in Chickamauga.

Summer Recipes

For Jeff's Father's Day dinner last night, we had a real "Jeff-centric" menu: Corn dog casserole and banana pudding. I just tasted my first corn dog this past week, after years of believing I didn't like them...only to find out that they were so-so. They weren't bad but they weren't great either. Oh well, Jeff and Jacob love them. Anyway, I came across this corn dog casserole recipe online a few weeks ago and thought that would be a great Father's Day meal for him. It was good! Also, Jeff loves banana pudding, so I did a little research and found a good looking recipe--and it also proved delicious! So anyway, here are the 2 recipes:

Corn Dog Casserole

SUBMITTED BY: Kathe PHOTO BY: carries

"This is a very quick, easy and delicious recipe. I also serve it with mustard on the side."

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PREP TIME	15 Min
COOK TIME	30 Min
READY IN	45 Min

SERVINGS

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Servings
US METRIC

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

• 2 cups thinly sliced celery
• 1 1/2 cups sliced green onions
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/2 pounds hot dogs (beef and pork frankfurters)
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 teaspoons ground sage
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 (8.5 ounce) packages dry corn bread mix
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided

1. In a medium skillet, saute celery and green onions in butter for 5 minutes. Place saute mixture in a large bowl; set aside.
2. Slice hot dogs lengthwise into quarters, then cut into thirds. In same skillet, saute hot dogs for 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Add to celery/onion mixture and mix all together. Set aside 1 cup of mixture.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
4. In a large bowl combine the eggs, milk, sage and pepper. Add all but reserved 1 cup hot dog mixture. Stir in corn bread mix and 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese. Mix all together and spread mixture into a shallow 3 quart baking dish. Top with reserved 1 cup hot dog mixture and remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese.
5. Bake uncovered in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Banana Pudding

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
• 3 cups cold milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 3 bananas, sliced
• 1/2 (12 ounce) package vanilla wafers

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DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in condensed milk, pudding mix, cold milk and vanilla until smooth. Fold in 1/2 of the whipped topping.
2. Line the bottom of a 9x13 inch dish with vanilla wafers. Arrange sliced bananas evenly over wafers. Spread with pudding mixture. Top with remaining whipped topping. Chill.

Yea, sorry, these didn't paste so well into the blog, but you get the picture!

Play Time

Jacob and I have been playing at the pool lately, and he just loves the water. All winter, we played in the indoor pool at the gym, so Jacob has been in the water very regularly since we've been here in Dalton. We go over a few times a week and hang around in the mornings once we get back from the gym...it's a great chance for Jacob to swim off all his extra energy. He really is a little fish out there...today, for example, he swam back and forth 7 times in the pool...all by himself, of course. That doesn't include his general scooting around--so he is pretty well worn out when we get back. Anyway, I remembered to bring my camera today and got a few pictures of Jacob enjoying himself at the pool...and no, in case you were wondering, he is not wearing swim diapers because he is potty trained now (I can't believe I didn't write a post about that!)!

I tried to get a picture of Jacob floating on his back--he can float on his back and kick from one end of the pool to the other.

Jacob in the "kitchen" end of the pool, where he pretends to make me lunch everday. Today's special--soup, which he toiled over for all 3 hours we were there..stirring, dumping it and starting over again, adding "ingredients", and putting it in the oven to heat up.

One more story about the pool which I should mention--Jacob feels that he doesn't need his floaties anymore, since he's such a pro. Well, he knows how to try to swim, but he's not there yet--I still like to have him in his floaties (besides, he so FREE when he has the floaties on!). Yesterday when we went out there, I was pulling out our towels and Jacob's floaties, and the next thing I knew, Jacob had kicked off his crocs, and yelled (all in the snap of a finger), "Mommy I don't need my floaties!", and jumped in the pool. Which was great, because, then I had to jump in the pool after him so he didn't drown! He's crazy!

Tid Bits from Daily Life

I finally remembered to get a picture (although not a very good one) of Jacob playing baseball. Now, many of you know, Jacob is an avid fan of every sport, but it wasn't until the past month when baseball has really proved to be a favorite. Jacob has been really good with all motor skills since the beginning, and, even though some of you reading this will probably laugh at me and think I'm crazy, he has been very athletic (As a 2 and a half year old) ever since he could walk. Well, this baseball thing really amazes me. He can hit the ball--probably 75% of the time--I mean that's good--and like I said, he's only 2.5! So, not only can he hit the ball when we pitch it to him, but he figured out that when no one's around to throw him the ball, he can throw it up himself and hit it! I mean, I can't do that most of the time! He is super safety conscious, I might add--he never plays without putting on his helmet thing (it was Jeff's when he was little)!

Next, in interesting news... I got some medicine last week, and the pills are huge, you may not know that I can't take pills very well, I cut a tylenol in half to take it--well, after much prayer--"God, please help me to finally stop being a baby about taking pills"--and some coaching from Jeff, I am able to take half of this mammoth pill in just one swallow (the first few days I had the pills I had to cut them in like 4-6 pieces)! WHOOO HOOO!!! Here is a picture to show you just how big this pill actually is...

The pill out in the African wild...in comparison to an elephant---yes, I know, it's HUGE!

This is a picture of Jacob coloring this evening--he is also a lover of all things Sharpie, just like his mother. He colored like this for about 40 minutes, without talking...he was focused. So focused that he colored all the way through the paper over and over again. He just couldn't get enough of that fabulous shade of purple!

Lightening Bugs and Feral Cats--Intrigued? You should be.

This is a CUTE picture, everyone should print this out and put it on your desks.

Hah! I bet I tricked you with that interesting title into thinking that I had a single story about lightening bugs and feral cats! Actually, it's two different stories, but they both took place the same night--last night. We decided to get Jacob a jar to catch some lightening bugs in since they are all over the place down by the creek in our apt. complex. I had to find a nice big jar for our young entomologist, and luckily, a little detective work led me to the jar of pickles which made the move from Seneca with us back in February. I figured since those pickles had probably seen better days, so out they went, and in went the lightening bugs. While I was raiding the fridge for jars, little did I know, there was a straight-out-of-the-sahara stand off going on right out side our door between a feral cat who lives here( nice, I know) and a cute bunny who also lives around here! I got a phone call from a whispering Jeff a few minutes into the stand off, letting me know that he and Jacob were outside watching the cat and bunny, and that I should QUIETLY come and join them. Long story (ridiculously long, as I'm looking back) short--the cat pounced about 2 seconds after I walked out the door, and missed the bunny--which, really, thank goodness, because I was thinking, "Geez, Jacob is about to get broken into the animal kingdom hard core if this cat successfully grabs the bunny!"

Moving right along, we went down to the creek to try to catch some lightening bugs--there were only about 38, 000 down there, so it wasn't too tricky. Here are some pics of him and his new friends...

Also, here is a picture of Jacob the other day when he was dancing (which happens quite frequently) with his undies and cowboy boots on. Jacob likes to do performances for anyone who's around really--he performs at the park, he performed for me and some teenagers at the pool the other day, you know, whenever the mood strikes him, he's ready to sing and dance---hmmmm, I know that doesn't sound familiar...

Sorry we haven't been doing anything too crazy and exciting lately, we've been laying low, trying to save some money--do get excited though, because next weekend, we are taking a Father's Day train ride to Chickamauga! Also, this week, I will try to take some pics of Jacob at the pool- the sweet lady (Casey-she's practually Jacob's best friend) let Jacob and me have a pass to the pool at the apt. complex right by ours, since we don't have a pool here at The Valley...so now, when we don't want to swim in the indoor pool at the gym, and are looking for a great place to bask in the sun, we can go to DBC pool!

PS: Jeff will be so upset if I forget to mention this...and I hate to state the obvious, but...we changed the look of our blog! SHOCK!!!!!! GASP!!!!!!!! Yes, we did. Now we have polka dots and buttons. No, but really, Jeff did some lovely work while he was at work, this past week, updating the look of the blog. We have a new picture at the top, and we have a TigerPaw icon before each blog posting (which was the compromise for me choosing the polka dot background) which Jeff informed me he had to actually write code for to make it work (he never ceases to amaze me with the things he randomly knows how to do-if you don't know what a jack of all trades Jeff is, just hang in there, you will soon see). We also have a FABULOUS feature below each blog posting where you, the reader, can rate the post! I hope EVERYONE participates in this...unlike the comments option!!!

Last Weekend's Adventures

Once we got to the top of the mountain, this is the view of where we had just come from!

Last Saturday, we had finally had a day that was semi-clear with no rain, so we decided to go to Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga. This was one of those things we had been wanting to do since we'd gotten here in February, but because of weather, hadn't been able to do! There are several things you can do on Lookout Mountain- there is Rock City, where you can see a whopping seven states on a clear day, there's Ruby Falls-an underground waterfall, and there's the Incline Railway. Because we didn't have $150 to spend and do all of the things, we chose the one that we thought would be most fun-the Incline Railway. It takes you up to the top of the mountain, where there is the national park for the Battle of Lookout Mountain (Civil War)--so since there was a train for Jacob and history for the rest of us involved, we did that! Jacob loved it, it was pretty neat- the views were great, and the incline was STEEP--we're talking 72 degrees!

In the national park

Daddy and Jacob at the gate of the park

At the top of the railway, looking out over Chattanooga

You should read this anyway, even though there are no pictures of Jacob

So, as Jacob was napping away the afternoon, I was reading a little in my bibleglesia ( that is my special "Spanish" term for Bible --it's really a mix of the word "Bible" and the Spanish word for church--clever, I know) and checking some stuff out on the internet. I went to this one website I look at occasionally, and the particular article was about the sin of self-gory. I know I haven't been a Christian for very long, but still, I didn't know what that meant exactly, so I read on! Anyway, the author talked about an instance in Matthew when the pharisees were all about self-glory, and pleasing the crowd, rather than being truthful and giving recognition (aka glory) to God. Now, at the risk of sounding a little dim-witted, I still didn't quite understand what the real issue was, until I read on to find this clear explanation:

"Self-glory is revealed to be an idol in our heart when the Lord presents us with an opportunity to glorify him by speaking the truth about our convictions or our sins, yet we are unwilling to do it for fear of what someone else will think of us." from desiringgod.com

Yes, then I knew exactly what they were talking about!! Because I do it all the time! At any rate, maybe you all don't struggle with this like I do, in which case-whoohoo!! But for me, this was just an interesting thing to think about. How many times do I know that God is prompting a certain response from me, whether it be verbally, to another person, or just in the way that I act, and I choose not to go His route for fear that others would think I was crazy (that ship's already sailed with many I'm sure!!) or at least a little too "gung-ho" about this whole Jesus thing. But everytime I do that stuff, I am not just disobeying God (a pretty big deal as it is), but I am basically saying that 1.) my way is better than His and 2.) what other people think about me is more important to me than my trust and belief in Christ. I'm going to have to start praying about this- because knowing me, this isn't going to be an easy sin to tackle! I would encourage you guys to think and pray about this too, God wants us to stand up for our faith and convictions even when it's tough! In fact, I think everyone should pray about it because even if you don't need to pray about it for yourself, you can pray about it for me! You see- a win-win situation!!

Anyway, all this might seem a little random, but every now and then, especially when I haven't posted in a while, I think it's a nice change of pace to let you know what else is going on in my life, besides Jacob and Jeff!