Saturday night we had one sleepy little man. Noah had so much fun that he fell asleep on the floor between the loveseat and the coffee table! I still don't understand how he could sleep with Myra running back and forth (something she does when she's tired) and jumping over his head. Yes, he was exhausted.
Today I took the kids to visit Josh at work during his planning period. Amazingly enough, all three carseats fit in the back of our little Saturn Vue. It was a quick trip to school. We were only gone for about an hour and fifteen minutes but all three kids seemed to enjoy it.
Give me a kiss ...
"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." -- Benjamin Franklin
This weekend was a lot of fun beer-wise. Saturday morning, I took Myra to the Home-Brew Store. I told her we were going to the "Beer Store" and she was very excited to go. When we pulled into the parking lot, she was SORELY disapointed. She thought we were heading to Albertson's to pick up a sixer or something. She was really pumped up about riding in the cart. Needless to say, the Home-Brew Store didn't have any carts and we nearly had a knock-down/drag-out just to get her in the store.
Myra's been a busy little bee lately. She's been helping with everything! She helps feed the babies, cook meals and clean the house. She even helps Josh out with the laundry! I hope that someday she'll see this entry and realize just how much I appreciate her help and how much I truly love her. Thank you, Baby!
I've gotten hooked on this show called The Thirsty Traveler on the Fine Living Channel and I've been watching it nonstop for about a week (THANK YOU TIVO!). This goofy Canadian guy--who has the greatest job in the world--goes all over the place learning about any kind of alcohol you can imagine. He visited Scotland to see them make Scotch whiskey and Chile to learn about their wine. Last night he was discovering the secrets of Kentucky bourbon. He was slummin' it, I guess.
The most interesting shows to me are the ones where he visits breweries around the world. One episode, he explored the micro-brews of Alaska and another show he visited birth-place of pilsner beer. One time he visited a supercool Belgian brewery run by monks(Orval). They make a beer that is supposedly one of the world's best. At 5 bucks a bottle, I think I'll just take his word on it. I wonder why he never visits Coors or Bud?
Maybe one day I can get this guy to come to JOSHTOBERFEST. In order for that to happen, I'm gonna have to get better at brewing beer. Which brings me to my next point: I'M GOING TO THE BREW-STORE TOMORROW! I'm super-pumped about crafting the world's next great beer. If you know me, you know that I've already brewed 2 batches before and both of them were pretty good. Last JFEST, I made some beer that was a nice dark amber color that had a great head and a pretty good taste. Unfortunately, it had a little aftertaste with it, too. This time around, I'm going to do something a little different. I'm not quite sure yet. I think I'm going to browse the shelves until something jumps out at me. Who knows, I may be making some sort of crazy banana-hop brew. We'll see. When I need guinea pigs to try the stuff out on, I'm going to be inviting you all over.
Myra's found a great new hobby! She "lub"s to paint! Here's the artist at work.
Today was a very, very, very long day. Noah and Hannah were both in tears for most of the morning. Neither one of them wanted to nap even though they were both tired. I needed two of me today!
I love my wife. Let me tell you why. She's always thinking about me. This weekend, we went over to Brenda and Leon's house to watch some football. They had just returned from visiting some friends in Germany. Unbeknownst to me, Chris had sent them on a secret mission. Chris told me later that she just couldn't pass up the opportunity to get me a REAL GERMAN STEIN, and so she talked Brenda and Leon into picking one up for me. Halfway through the Pats butt-stomping the Colts, she presented it to me and told me what she had done. She's such a sweetie. Here it is:
It's got a king with a beer in his hand and he's sitting by a keg. There's fancy little scrollwork made out of grain and hops around the sides. It's got a pretty ornate pewter lid with, of course, a thumb lever to allow access to the sweet nectar contained inside. I know what you're thinking, "Why do they have lids?" Well, here is a pretty good explanation.
I just HAD to try it out. I immediately poured me a cold one inside and shut the lid. I then proceeded to enjoy my beer without fear of bubonic plague (if you're confused, read the link above). Maybe it was the peace of mind that the lid afforded or maybe it was the 5 I had drank before it, but it was the best beer I've had in a while. JOSHTOBERFEST will never be the same now that I've got my very own stein.
For the past week, Noah's be getting up on his hand and knees and rocking. I don't know how many minutes/hours of video I have of him just rocking. I want to make sure I don't miss the first crawl. Any day now ...
Josh and I tried several new recipes last week but didn't think any of them were yummy enough to be posted. I dug through some of my favorites so I could at least post something and ran across this one. The recipe that follows is one of my Pampered Chef favorites (I just thought of another recipe I'll post later). If you're like me and don't like a lot of onion and/or dried out meat in your fajitas, you'll love this quick and easy recipe.
I've been trying to get things back to the way they were before the move to Movable Type, and some of it has really been a nightmare. Email-posting is one tough booger to pick in this new program. It seems that the makers of Movable Type have no interest in adding that feature to their program and all the third party software I've found to do it never quite works right. I'm REALLY close to getting it the way I want it. That being said, you can now email recipes into What's That Smell and it will post the story (eventually). Directions are located on the "Features" tab of the fancy schmancy menu over to your right. I've also brought over one of my favorite features from the old blog, They Said It. I've even added a new gem to tickle your funny bone--I hope. ENJOY!
It seems kind of early for an update but I'm just so excited!
This morning I was able to put on my jeans "fresh out of the dryer"! I can sit down and bend over without it feeling like I'm being cut in half. The best part ... I CAN BREATH! Also, I can see the button without having to lift my belly (I know, yuck). I'm seeing results! I can't wait for other to REALLY notice it too.
First Week => Down FIVE POUNDS
It's so nice having kids that sleep through the night. SO WHY DID THEY HAVE TO STOP?
It's been a sad week in our family. A few days ago, we got a call from Chris' Dad telling us that her great Uncle Thomas had passed away. We were lucky enough to visit him late last year on the occasion of the wedding of one of Thomas' grandsons. It was quite a shindig. I'll have to tell you about it sometime. Last night, my mother called to tell me that my Uncle Kenneth (my Dad's brother) had a stroke and was rushed to a Tulsa Hospital. Later that night, he passed on at the age of 53. Because of work and the long distances involved, we will not be able to attend either funeral.
I'm sad to hear of both deaths but the latter one really scares me. Thomas was a very old man, but Kenneth was 4 years younger than my father. It's never pleasant to be reminded of you or your loved-ones mortality and it hit me hard this morning. I hope to God that Kenneth's death was not caused by something hereditary. I like to think of us Davis' as a tough, long-living clan. I hope I'm right.
This topic was doing great before we switched sites. I'm hoping that we can get it started up again. I've picked several new recipes to try this week. I'll post a few of them to try to get "the ball rolling". Until then, if you'd like to share some of your faviorite recipes, you can email them to cnd5401@yahoo.com and Josh or I will post them for you. Who knows, maybe someday we can make a cookbook out of this.
"Happy is the father whose child finds his attempts to amuse it amusing."--Robert Lynd
Making Noah laugh is one of my favorite things to do. It's so easy. It used to be hard early on, but he's mellowed and become a very happy baby. Usually it just takes a funny face, but I've got some favorites that are SURE to produce copious giggling. I like to sit on the couch and hold him up over my head and swing him back and forth. Unfortunately, he's getting so tall that now he ends up kicking me in the chin. I also like to poke his belly like the Pillsbury Doughboy while making Raspberry sounds. He never seems to get tired of that one.
If you have children, you'll know that the most horrifying sound you could ever hear is your child screaming bloody murder. That's exactly what Myra did at 4 o'clock this morning. Let's start from the beginning...
Today we were eating breakfast and Myra got started talking about school busses and how they pick up kids and take them to school. She's VERY excited about the concept of school and can't wait to go. I asked her if she wanted to get on the bus and go play with the kids at the school and she said, "I want to get on the bus and go to school and be a teacher just like Daddy!" Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy just thinking about it.
Today was Hannah's first day in the Davis household. I was preparing myself for a day full of crying and poopy pants from both Hannah and Noah. To my suprise, today was very peaceful considering I had two babies trying to adjust to not being the only baby in the house.
"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell
So, I've decided to start another new topic. It will be a collection of Random Quotes that I like or find interesting. I've already got quite a few saved up, but I'm gonna give 'em to you one at a time, just to tease you. I decided to start it with one of my favorite quotes about the men and women who keep this country free. I thought it would be appropriate seeing as how my brother, Nate, will be departing for a tour of duty in sunny and beautiful Baghdad, Iraq very soon. Thank you for standing up for what you believe in. Thank you for the sacrifices you are about to make on our behalf. Thank you for being a role model to me and to others. Be safe out there.
Last night, Ben came over for dinner. We had Chicken and Stuffing with a Twist, courtesy Anna Stuever's recipe (posted on this VERY site). While we were finishing up dinner, Ben had to jump in to quiet the cranky little man. Looking like an old pro, he held the bottle while Noah chugged. I promise, this pic is not photoshopped. Ben is actually near a baby! :)
Noah's a big, and I mean B-I-G big, six months old as of last night. To celebrate, we got TiVo! But "King Sasquatch" already told you about that. Today we went to the doctor for Noah's six-month check-up and shots. (It still hurts me to see him in so much pain.) He's a whopping 20 pounds 14 ounces and 28 1/4 inches!! He's sitting at 95% on everything!!
Last night we took a leap into the 21st century. That's right, we got Tivo! I have salivated over a DVR ever since I first saw one on the Screensavers (back on the real TechTV, not that watered down G4-TechTV crap that's on the air now). I wanted NEEDED the power to fast-forward through commercials, pause live TV, or watch my favorite show at any time.
Well, Christmas Break has ended and Josh has gone back to work. I am home with the kids hoping that we can change our daily activities to include more than watching cartoons and Baby Einstein videos all day. So, what have we done so far today? Watched cartoons and Baby Einstein with a bit of Sleeping Beauty thown in the mix.
Well, the New Year is upon us and we're making resolutions just like always. This year, I'm not going to come up with a golden weight loss number. Although I definitely want to lose weight, I have a different resolution in mind.
