Kermit and Fozzie Bear

Hey Girls--I just had to post these pics. I thought the kids looked darling this evening for Halloween. I wanted to share with you :) Plus, check out the Pumpkin's hair! That was Kenna's idea. Hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween evening.
Much love
Liz

Hey Cats,

I will not be able to do anything in November, the spring would work better for me! Bets===bring that newborn!!! I just finished our Halloween parties at Jumpstart and yes dressed in my infamous cat attire! I got a cat-call this morning from some moving guys! Makes you feel kinda good when you are pushing thirty! All is well here, just so busy all the time and Imiss you all dearly. This morning I was meowing at Eliana with my cats ears on and she meowed back!!! I died and had a proud cat-mom moment! Liz- we are having a party tomorrow night and I am making you cheese soup, I am so excited! My son still will not poop in the potty and I am about to go crazy! I think if he is not pooping by January I am going to make him poop his pants! I'm scared that he won't care and Iwill be stuck with poop pants all the time! Well, I love you all and have a great Halloweener!
V

Happy Halloween!

Hello Ladies,

I will go with whatever happens regarding our trip in November. As far as the spring goes, I don't know if I will be able to make it with a newborn in the house. Kind of depends on how things are going I guess. For Liz- I am due on Feb. 1, so I am assuming they will do the c-section the last week of January. Things are well here. We made a trip up to Ohio during fall break. Brevin had a great time playing with his Nana and Papa. At the end of the week we went camping with them and he really enjoyed that too. He has finally started pooping in the potty- praise God! I resorted to making him clean up his poopy pants all by himself when he went in his pants and it took two times and he hasn't gone in his pants since. I had my test for diabetes a few weeks ago and didn't hear anything so I guess that means I passed! Yippee! I went to the blood doctor yesterday because they monitor my blood since I am on the blood thinner. Apparently, my platelets are low and they think I could be developing antibodies to them. So they wanted to do a few more tests on the blood they drew. I checked to make sure they didn't need more blood before I left and they said they have enough. I get about a mile from home and they call and say, actually they don't have enough. Well, I had Mia finally asleep and I really didn't want to turn around and go back since it was their mistake. I figured if it was life-threatening they would have told me. So they are seeing me again in a week to do that test and check my levels again. I told Swartz last night- this is the last baby- I am sick of going to doctors and taking all this medicine! Anyways, if I am developing the antibodies they said they will just change me to a different medication. I will be 27 weeks on Sunday and I am trying to enjoy feeling the baby move in my stomach and giving Brevin 1-on-1 attention since I know that will be changing quickly! Well, I hope everyone is doing well and staying warm!

Only Because Liz Made Me Feel Guilty...

So i am doing my duty and obeying our Liz-butt to chime in and say that i agree with Liz. I feel like if we are going to make the effort to get together it should be at a time when we can all actually attend. I talked to Ness the other day on the phone and she seemed to feel the same way. BUT if we plan something for the Spring me must ALL do our very best, come hell or highwater, to BE THERE! No half-assin'. Should i be more blunt?

Anyhoo, on to the latest. Um, Atley and Ava are either best friends or worst enemies depending upon the second. Thankfully they are most best friends. They are mostly opposites who manage to work it out well enough to really enjoy each other. They are pretty stinkin hilarious. The other day they were pushing baby strollers down the hall taking them to the dr. One had a sore throat and the other kept "spillin" (throwing up). Atley is amazing us at four years old. He is still SO into soccer even though the season is over. He and Daniel are always outside playing. The other day in the van we passed by a field where some people were playing and he said, "Dad that was a corner kick!" I think we are going to get him some more lessons at an indoor league here in town soon. It is just so good for him.

Ava is mother to all, as well as slightly baby obssessed. She loves to talk on the phone! She will go on and on and on with anyone who will listen. Yesterday she told my mom that last night there was a boy outside her window crying. He came inside and put grass in her mouth and she had Daniel come in and get him and take him back outside. Strange. Then a couple night ago she woke up yellin that there was a wiener dog in her room. It was her brown cowboy boots. Ugh. So now every night she asks if there are any animals in her room. I say, "No, just shoes."

Atley asked for a brother the other day. I asked him what country we should go to get one. He said, "the store." He obviously doesn't quite get it yet. We will be explaining to him about his adoption soon. He is probably ready. As far as where our next one is coming from, we are not quite sure. We heavily considered fostering but have several legitimate hesitancies. Not because we are afriad, but only because of the line of work we are already in. We are just not sure it is the wisest thing for our family right now. We are still considering Ethiopia though. But dont' feel heavily led in any direction right now. I am wanting to want another one but not all the way there yet. A and A are just so fun right now that i am not sure if i am ready. Plus, affordability is always an issue in adoption too. But, we will see what the good Lord wants. Heck, somebody could call in the next hour for all we know.

I am head to VA this weekend for Halloween. I have been a single mother sort of this week. Daniel has been gone every night not home until after bedtime. He will not be done with his night job of running light for the CAK muscial until Sunday and i am done. So i am headin home to my mamma for a hair do and some spoilin. THank the good Lord for mothers!

P.S. I think if we do have a cat retreat in the spring. We need to invite our dear cub Ryan Molden.

Be good!
Meow.
Mandycat

OK Cats...what's going to happen?

So are we doing the November weekend trip or not. I get the feeling that everyone may feel 'eh' about it. Is it because if we're not all able to come that makes it a little less special? That's kind of the way I feel. What do you all think--please be honest and don't say what you think we all want to hear. Should we postpone until the spring?

Things have been fairly interesting up here. I'll be able to tell more soon but for now Duncan is pretty much walking and has certainly found that he has opinions and desires that he wishes to make very clear to us. Kenna is doing well too. She's really into spotting letters in random places--whether it be on signs while we're driving in the car or abstractly creating them in the cracks of asphalt or the crust of her sandwich. I'm amazed at the inner workings of her little mind.

For the past two weeks Eli has been in Detective School. It's kind of like an intro class to detective work. It doesn't mean that he is a detective but should be apply for a position it should look good on his resume. He has been gone from 8:00-4:30pm each day and I really like feeling like a normal family. I love having him home in the evenings even though it has been hard for him to adjust to it. The other day Kenna asked where he was and I told her he was at Detective School. She thought about it for a minute and then asked, "Does he sing there?"--I couldn't help but laugh out loud at the thought of a bunch of rough and tough police officers sitting around singing songs. I think she asked this because she sings at BSF and we call it 'Bible school'.

Well, it's time we all got back on the post board.
Let us hear what you think about the November weekend and about whatever else is going on in your little Cat lives. Sounds like Fulty will have a baby here soon--if she doesn't already?!?! Bets, I still don't know when you're due. Vanessa, how was the Corn Extravaganza? Byrd, how many mothers are you crazy-cats up to now with TRH? Kleppy, anything new with you and Eric?

Post!
Liz

mmm...

I just made Lizzy's cheese soup tonight and it was a hit. I knew it would be. I added some diced green pepper because I needed to use it before it went bad and I topped it with green onions and shredded cheddar, and it was delightful. Thank you, Liz. Also, I polished off most of a pumpkin cheesecake today while Steve was out with the men's ministry playing paintball. Oops. Well, the babies had a few bites, and there were already two pieces gone before I started on it. I know, I know, I'm diabetic, but there was only 1/4 cup of sugar in the whole pie (not counting whatever was in the store-bought graham cracker crust.) I'm good all the time, it was a moment of weakness! Don't judge me.

Hello?

Are any of the cats alive? I check everyday, and there are no new posts. It's very depressing.

In other news, I am having regular contractions and could go into active labor anytime, now. Campbell will be here soon! I had an ultrasound yesterday and they say she weighs 6 lbs 15 oz. My back is killing me, but other than that, I'm good!

Hope you all are alive and well.

-Fulty

Cheese Soup

Sorry it has taken me a couple days to get this to you. I woke up yesterday and discovered that I have strep throat :( I have not been this sick in a long time. The kids have been pretty good for me but it's all I can do to keep them fed and maintained. Luckily Eli was home yesterday for the worst of it.

Anyway...Cheese Soup
2 cans chicken broth
1 can cream of celery or cream of chicken soup
1 soup can of water
4 potatoes
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped carrots
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup cooked chopped broccoli
1 lb Velveeta cheese-cubed
Garlic powder to taste
pepper to taste

Boil potatoes, carrots, celery and onions in broth and water until tender. Add cream of celery soup and turn stove to simmer. Steam broccoli until tender. Add to soup. Add cheese and seasoning and heat thoroughly until cheese has mixed in.

NOTE: I like to add a little more vegetables than what this recipe calls for--especially the broccoli.

Enjoy
L

Lizzie's Recipe

Liz,

I can't find my copy of your cheese soup recipe, I think it was Cathy Wheeler's? I want to make it next week, could you post it?

Thanks,
fulty

byrd....

Hey, I just got back from our mom's bible study at church, and one of the leaders told her story today. I hadn't gotten to know her really well, yet, but it turns out that she and her husband bought a big house when they moved here based on the belief that God is calling them to start a ministry to pregnant teenagers who've been kicked out of their houses. They want to open a maternity house, and their description of what they want to do reminded me a lot of the Restoration House. I told here that I want to hook her up with you, that I thought you could be a very valuable resource for where to start and what needs to be considered. She is very interested in talking with you about it. They've already bought the house and fixed it up, and they really have a heart for reaching out to pregnant teens.

Anyway, I just wanted to give you a heads up that you might be hearing from her soon. I told her the website to check out. What contact info can I give her for you? (phone or email- whatever you prefer, etc.) She's very sweet and she is about our age. Her name is Sarah Strausbaugh (sp?). Also very ambitious, a real go-getter. I think she could benefit from your endless wisdom.

Thanks,
fulty

i'm back in...

OK, I'm back in. I had realized that was the same weekend of our women's retreat at church, but I think I just need to bow out this time for the time with Cats. :)

Okay...

Well sounds like the plan for a get together is slowly falling apart. It seems the count is as follows:

Liz-yes
Mandy-yes
Betsy-Yes
Anyssa-most likley
Nessa-maybe
Jenney-likley not
Fulton-no

So where do we stand? Do we go ahead or do we try to find another weekend? If we are going to spend money and make a lot of effort i feel like it should be for a time when we can all or majority of us, get together. Does that make sense? I don't know...please everyone add your thoughts and/or suggestions.

Meow.
Mandy

Hey, cats - I'm not sure about our get-together now. I may not be able to make it.
- klep

Most likely

Hey ladies,
I think I will be able to make it for the Cat weekend as long as the doctor gives me the okay (I have an appt on Monday). Are we thinking just Friday evening to Sunday afternoon? Also, like Fulty said would there be a more central location like Lexington or Nashville that would work better for everyone? Of course the Knoxville cats may not enjoy me if we have to stop every half hour for me to pee. I didn't think I was going to make it home from south knoxville last night without stopping : ) Anyways I am looking forward to it!
-Betsy

It hurts to laugh...

Oh, Cats. It's been a pleasure reading your funny stories, but honestly, everytime I laugh I pull something in the ol' uterus area that feels like lightning bolts are hitting me in the abdomen. It's not comfortable. I get the same sensation when I try and roll over in bed. I'm seriously considering not making it a 3-year pregnancy run. 2's enough in one sitting, don't you think?

Well, I think I need to be honest with myself. I really don't see this coming together for me. Especially now that the c-section has been scheduled for Nov. 3. She won't even be 2 weeks old at the time of our get-together. I just don't think it's feasible to make a trip to Cincinnati that soon after a surgery, or with that young of a baby. (And Steve won't be able to keep the twins that weekend, and I have no family close enough for that sort of thing, either.) I'd really love to do it, and I will be so sad to miss out, but I just don't think it's a good idea for me to count on being able to something like that 11 days after she's born. Please don't hate me.

It also turns out that Steve's parents will more than likely be here that weekend, anyway. They are going to come right after my parents leave, and my parents will be here for a week after Campbell's born.

However, maybe this will make it easy for all of you. With me out of the picture, you could choose a different central location that would be a shorter trip for you all. You won't have to come so far north.

Again, I hate to miss it. Maybe if I'd quit having babies every other week we could plan things around my schedule more easily. I'll see what I can do about that.

Miss you all,
Fulty

Slavic Friend Scores

Well, I survived my first Chuck E Cheese experience. It could have been a lot worse. We went to celebrate my Latvian friend's son's birthday. While there I made a Ukrainian friend--I most be deficient in my East Slavic friend count. You all better check your Slavic friend scores--I hear that low numbers lead to significant health problems!

Since Mandy presented us with some hilarious Ava/Ately stories I thought I might share one of my own. Lately I've been explaining to Kenna that when she gets older there will be things that she will be able to do that she can't really do now: crochet a scarf, help mommy clean the bathroom, shave her legs, etc. Well, the other day she needed help wiping after using the potty and when I came in I discovered that she pulled out way too much paper. I started rolling it back up and explained that her bottom was too little to need so much paper. She promptly replied, "Mommy, when my bottom gets bigger I will use more paper!"
Now seriously--who ever wanted a bigger bottom so they had more to wipe and could use more paper! The things kids think of...

I'm in for November 14-16. :)

- klep

Cats-- I will see what I can do? I may not know for sure for a couple of weeks! Vanessa

This Day...

Okay Cats, i know this is like two posts and two comments in one day but i have three stories i MUST share:

1. This morning the kids were playing unusually like angels with each other so i was able to get quite a bit done in transitioning our summer to fall wardrobes from drawers to rubbermaid tubs. Anyhow, so there were two coathangers laying out on the bed. Atley and Ava ran in the room, Atley picks up the coathangers and says, and i kid you not, "Ava lets play hookers!" Indeed.

2. We were at the zoo, our favorite free hangout. Zoo pass = best purchase ever. Anyhow, so we were on our way down to the playground and we passed a group of Sr. Citizen ladies about the same time that we passed the bronze statue of a turtle. Atley says, "A tortoise!" One of the little old ladies stops and says, "A tortoise?" Well, Atley wasn't paying enough attention to notice who said it so he says, "Hey, who said that?" Ava says, "I think it was one of them grannies." We all keep walking...

3. We finally get down to the playground at the zoo, play for awhile and decide to go over to the picnic tables to eat lunch. I get everyone's lunch all layed out, which we know is about like unpacking from vacation, and Ava, timely child that she is, says, "I'm starting to pee pee!" Now the bathroom is back up at the top of the hill, a good 75 yards winding AROUND the playground into an upscale port-a-potty trailer. Needless to say, i was less than impressed. I am not packing up the spread and tracking all or our rears up the hill! So what do i do in my Byrd-like ingenuity? I look around, make sure no one is watching and take my little pumpkin back behind the hen house, drop her pants and let her pop a squat in the soil. I'm not ashamed! Serves 'em right for not thinking of a better zoo layout! Hope we weren't caught on tape!

Now what should we do tomorrow?

Meow.
mandycat

Just Do It...

Cats,

I am officially saying that we need to name the cat weekend to be Nov 14-16th and just do it. If everybody tries their best to make it a priority then we can do our very best to make it work. As many cats as possible!!! I talked to Anyssa and she said that unless the volleyball team makes it to Nationals she is in. She was also pretty doubtful that they would make it to Nationals. I think i can get us a really good deal at a Marriot unless someone else has a better idea. We have a man in our church who can give us a friends and family rate. I am also going to check for a house or something to rent for the weekend through another lil connection i have. So PLEASE everyone lets help each other out and send a comment saying yes i can or no i can't in the next couple days.

Now onto other things. What is everyone going to be for Halloween? Atley is going to be Thomas the Tank and Ava decided, in her words, she wants to be "Stinkerbell." I told her she doesn't need a costume to be Stinkerbell. She is truly the most ridiculous child! We went to two restaurants this weekend and she fell out of her chair flat on her back in both places. Caused TWO big scenes. I am just waiting for our first broken bone or set of stitches.

Atley had his last soccer game this weekend. Around 2nd quarter a bee flew up his shorts and stung him. With him being adopted i was a little worried not knowing his family history well enough to know if there was a chance of an allergy. But thankfully one of the moms had a chewable Benadryl and we go that in him. At first it was really swollen but i had read this article saying that if you put a penny on it the copper takes out the sting. Sure enough, i put a penny on the sting with some ice and in ten minutes it just looked like a little pin dot on his leg and he played the rest of the game. So remember bee sting and a penny!

Okay well that is all for now. If you are reading this leave a comment immediately about your status on the cat weekend!

Meow.
Mandycat

Cosmic signs

I'm listening to a Michael W. Smith song on KLOVE at the moment. I have never in my fourteen years of being a Christian cared much for Mr. Smith and his cheesy songs--but this one is different. It makes me want to get to heaven and worship. I think I'm getting more sentimental and mooshy as I age.

Why do the kids always congregate around me while I am on the computer? Duncan has pooped his pants and Kenna has never ending questions and chatterings to share with me at this very moment! Sigh...

This afternoon I discovered that I put my underwear on inside-out this morning. I wonder if this is some kind of cosmic sign??

Anyway--I'm gathering that if we Cats are to do anything it would have to be in November--the 14-16th precisely--and then there are a lot of things that hinge on that for each one of us.
I don't know what to do. Any ideas?

Well--better go clean up some poopoo

What a day

Well, we had nice plans today to get some work done around the house but that went out the door when I had to spend 2 hours in the Labor and Delivery triage. I had some pink and brown spotting this morning when I went to the bathroom and so I called the on-call nurse and she told me to go in. I figured it was nothing, but thought it would be good to get checked anyway. So they hooked me up to the heartbeat and contraction monitor. Luckily, I nothing showed up that looked like contraction activity and the nurse checked my cervix and she said it was closed. So all good signs, not sure what the spotting was from, but hopefully it will go away. So if you could just pray that things will continue to progess smoothly for us I would be grateful. In other news, I got some awesome sun dresses and cute clothes from Kohl's and Target for like $1 and $2. I love shopping for girls' clothes! : )
-Betsy

hey cats!

The weekends this fall are crazy. We will be in k-ville two weekends in a row. The weekend of Oct 17 for Tuck and Carissa's wedding, Scottie is a groomsmen. Also, I will be in town the following weekend for a baby shower for my friend Hope. It will be difficult for me to travel this fall, with those two trips, but if I can Nov. would be better, but don't count on me when making your decision.

Ammendment...

Oh! but if you do the rice, only use 1 1/2 cups uncooked instant brown rice! (It was 2 1/2 for the pasta.)

Chicken Broccoli Rotini

Tried this yesterday and it was really good. Very easy.

1 tbsp. veg. oil 1/4 tsp. paprika
4 chicken breast halves 1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 can cream of chicken 2 1/2 cups uncooked rotini pasta (corkscrew)
1 1/2 cups water 2 cups fresh or frozen broccoli florets
1 finely copped green onion (opt.)

1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until well-browned on both sides. Remove chicken from skillet.
2. Stir soup, water, paprika, black pepper, and rotini in skillet. Heat to a boil.
3. Stir in brocolli and green onion. Reduce heat to low. Add chicken back in. Sprinkle chicken with additional paprika and pepper. Cover and cook 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.


This can also be made with instant brown rice, but Steve hates rice, so I haven't tried that, yet. If you do the rice, add it when you add the broccoli instead of when the pasta was added. You'll have to start checking the chicken at 5 minutes instead of 10 because the rice cooks faster than the pasta.

Anyway, it was very good and the twins even liked it. Found it in a magazine.
-fulty

Cincinnati

Ok...well there are a couple delinquent Cats that I have not heard from. You know who you are!!

A summary of the Cats who have responded...
I'm not sure the actual dates of fall break for you Knox people (can someone provide them)--It appears that Bets will be traveling to Ohio but Klepper is available. If we do something in October Fulty is more likely to join us with her friend. I would gladly welcome Deanna--we could all use another Cat-like person in our lives. Here is my availibility: I could do something the weekend of October 25 or Nov 15. My guess is that once I've heard from everyone we will pick a date that catches most of us--a Cat-quorem, if you will.

Byrd, we need to hear from you and if you could talk to Anyssa-dearest that would be lovely.
Vanessa, what are your weekends like?

A funny story--I'm bird-sitting tonight--a friendly favor for my Latvian friend. Eli just got home and I had him convinced that I had bought two birds as pets without consulting him. He about laid a golden egg...if you know what I mean! I should have played it out longer but I could sense his anger rising! He was just about to cross the line of, "LIZ, WHAT IN THE WORLD WERE YOU THINKING?"
Oh, the things we do for our Latvian friends.

This time last year I was in the throws of labor. I want another baby...I always enjoy being preggy and delivering--I know it's sick and weird, but I do!

Au Revoir