In Which We Make a Competition Out of Everything

My family is, ummm, competitive.

We like to win.

We like to make competitions out of things that aren't actually competitive.

It's an addiction.

I might need an intervention.  Or just some really great winning strategies.  You know, whatever!

The Oscar's were on Sunday.  This is a big (competitive) deal in my family.  I can't tell you exactly how long we've been having our little grudge match, but I would not be surprised if it was at least 20 years.  The competition is simple: predict the most Oscar winners in any given year.  Everything was hunky-dory until John joined the family.  In his first year in this competition, he beat us all soundly.  To add insult to injury, we were not even married at the time, only engaged.  John has gone on to win 6 out of the 8 years he has been competing.  It makes an otherwise long and boring telecast a lot more exciting!

And, because it is not enough to have a long distance competition, we like to bring our friends in on the insanity.  We found four other couples crazy enough to join us.  Greg and Heidi

"What?! Little Fockers wasn't even nominated?"

Phil and Brittani doing the Oscar acceptance wave

Moises

Look at that cutie in the chair - can you believe she is already a year old?!

Another great Ellie shot with her momma, Jessica

And, the winning team - Susy

and JW sporting the championship look of concentration!

Not to mention the junior league:

Ellie

 Eli

 Cora (being a goofball)

 Carys

and sweet Jonathan

who was wondering where all the boys were!

Sadly, neither John nor I won the family competition this year.  

"No way!"

My dad (P-pa) set a new record of 20 out of 24 correct picks.  John's and my perfectly respectable 18 correct picks each just couldn't cut it this year.  Cora tied with her youngest cousin, Miriam, with 6 correct picks.  Carys tied with her oldest cousin, Hannah, with 5 correct picks.  Ironically, the family dogs Penny and Miles also got 5 correct picks.  

sigh

Until next year. . .

Cora's Kidisms and a Picture Bonus

Can I tell you how much I enjoy having a conversation with a 2 1/2 year old.  I find my child to be absolutely hilarious.  Here are a few nuggets from this week:

She was watching a show about auto racing (Bubble Guppies, not NASCAR - our redneck flag doesn't fly in that wind!)  And, now sporadically throughout the day, she finds an imaginary start line and shouts "Gentlemen, start your oranges!"

We've been having Cora say her own prayers at night.  We have her pick a few things that she's thankful for before we petition for a good night's sleep, etc.  The other night, this was her prayer:
Dear God,
Thank you for my family.
Thank you for Penny.
Thank you for pachycephalosaurus.
I love you Jesus.
Amen.

And, finally, the sight that stopped me in my tracks when I walked into her room the other morning:

Yup.  

Because You May Never See This Again

Voila! Les cheveux droits.

I Am Biased

This may be one of my favorite things ever!

Cora had such a difficult go of it having such severe reflux.  I don't remember ever hearing her coo at this age.  She was either crying or spitting up or sleeping.  So, I am treasuring each coo and smile from this little cutie because I know how precious they are!

Irony IS a Four Letter Word

Despite the fact that both of us practically bathed in Purell, Cora managed to take both of us out of commission with her stomach virus.  Yeesh!  Rest assured that I have enjoyed the past few hours, har har.  And, I am now in possession of Cora's lovely bucket.  Hopefully this will run its course quickly, but if you have a spare minute, say a quick prayer for us.  2 sick parents + 2 kids under age 3 = fun times at our house!

Feats of Brute Strength

I'm scrappy.

I may look dainty and weak, but underneath my tiara, I am surprisingly strong.  A couple of weeks ago as I was going to Bible study, I decided I needed the stroller out of the back of my SUV.   So, like I always do, I hopped out of the car, went around back and pulled on the handle of the door.  .  .and, that is when the latch snapped.  That's right people, I rendered the back hatch of my SUV completely useless.  (I believe John's words when he saw it were something to the effect of "Oh, wow, you completely broke it."  Apparently, he doubts my brute strength!)  I have been assured that John will be able to fix it once we get the replacement part.  But, until then, I am condemned to getting Carys' stroller in and out of my car through the wayback window - something to me that feels much like what it must be to help birth a calf!  Cora finds the whole process hi-larious.  Though on the plus side, each time I get the stroller out, I know that my arms get a little workout (as if I need it?!  hah!)

Flash forward to stroller shopping this week.  (And on a totally unrelated tangent, please understand how hard it has been for me to accept the fact that rather than pushing around a nice little compact stroller, I will now be commandeering what is in effect a small bus.  I have long standing, deep seated psychological issues with large strollers.  I will be seeking out counseling for this, but in the meantime. . .)  After researching and pricing double strollers on the internet, we went to a kids' store to see the beasts in person.  And, after seeing them in person and hating every minute of it, I decided that if I must have a double stroller, I will not be paying over $300 for it!  And, thankfully, God heard my (admittedly selfish) prayer.  I found the exact stroller I was looking for on Craigslist for less than half price - a much easier (although still giant) pill to swallow.  The girls and I picked up the stroller earlier this week.  Here's where I really began to regret my incredible strength. . . I met the mommy in the parking lot of a local gym, inspected the stroller and paid for it.  And then the thought occurred to me that I might not be able to get the stroller into the car.  (Thinking things through might not be one of my strong suits!)  So, if getting the single stroller out of the car is akin to helping to birth a cow, putting the double stroller in the car is much like shoving that calf back in!  You'll be relieved to know that I did get the stroller in the car.  It wasn't a pretty sight, but it worked.

So now, I am the (not so) proud owner of my very own large stroller.  Here's a pic of what I scored.

Carys's carseat will attach to the back seat, and Cora will commandeer the front row.  Lovely!  I would love to show you a picture of the girls in the stroller, but I am not about to attempt to rebirth that cow!  You'll just have to take me word that we (and our small bus) are living in harmony happily ever after.

Our House is Divided

(linking up to Kelly's Korner)

There are many things in my life that I have been very sure of.  I think God has blessed me with the gift of certainty. (And trust me, I am everso thankful for it!)  I knew from a young age that I would be a teacher.  And, I knew for almost as long that I wanted to go to Baylor.  Actually, it's the only university to which I applied.  (Fortunately for me, I also was accepted!)  I come from a long line of Baylor women.  That fact alone is exciting to me because my predecessors were able to further their education in a time where not all women were expected to attend college.  I can say with full transparency that my experience there was one of the best times of my life.  I loved that it was a large 'small' school.  I loved that the vast majority of my classes were 30 people or less.  I loved the beauty of the campus. I love how Baylor prepared me for my career in teaching.  I hope that one or both of my girls will love Baylor like I do.

Some lesser known facts about Baylor:

• Dr. Pepper is part of our history!  Since 1953 the university has hosted Dr. Pepper hour every Tuesday from 3 to 4 pm.  You can stop by the Student Union to get free Dr. Pepper floats.
• We do Homecoming right!  Watch the oldest and largest Homecoming Parade.  Catch our Broadway revue style Pigskin Revue (put on almost entirely by students).  Enjoy the bonfire and pep rally, not to mention tailgating and the football game.
• We have our own holiday, Diadeloso, every spring.  Who wouldn't want a school sanctioned day to goof off and have fun with your friends?
• We are the oldest continuously operated university in the state of Texas.  Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas.
• Famous Baylor Alumni include:  Jeff Dunham (comedian and ventriloquist), Angela Kinsey (actress, The Office), Michael Johnson (4 time Olympic Gold Medalist), the members of The David Crowder Band, and Ann Richards (former governor of Texas)

We're starting Cora off right!

Of course, I did mention that we are a house divided.  Baylor is a very traditional university, but so, my friends, is Texas A & M.  And, one of their long-standing traditions dates back to when A & M was an all male military college.  Those crafty guys would travel up Highway 6 to Baylor to steal the hearts of the Baylor women.  And, that's how I ended up married to an Aggie!  We met on neutral ground in another part of central Texas and managed to put our Big 12 differences aside to form a family!

(See!  I can be somewhat unbiased!)

Texas A&M is a great school.  I have a new appreciation for it after hearing John talk about it so fondly.  I would love to explain some of the traditions, but I'm fairly certain I would just mess them up.  I will say that Texas A & M has one of the best (if not the best) marching bands in the nation.  I absolutely love watching them march.  A little known fact (correct me if I mess this up, John), the directors attempted to plot the marching routines (?) with a computer program that most universities use.  The computer program basically told them that it was impossible to march that way because 2 people would have to be in the same place at the same time!  That's how intricate and amazing their band is!

And, because I like to pour salt on NCAA wounds, here is one of my favorite pictures!

Victory!  Baylor beats Texas A&M.  (I had to include this because it is not often that the Bears get the better of the Aggies.)  But, who am I kidding, our girls will experience all of our Baylor/Texas A & M brainwashing, but will probably choose a totally different school than either of those.

Like maybe Angelo State?! (Hi Mema and P-pa!)

Irony Should Be a Four Letter Word

Cora has an ear infection.  I took her to the doctor on Wednesday to confirm my suspicions.  It's always fun taking her to the doctor.  In case I haven't mentioned before, Cora has a flair for dramatics.  I'm not sure what has triggered this, but she is terrified of anything and everything the doctor does.  This was especially challenging during this visit because I had to, in effect, pin Cora down so the doctor could attempt to examine her ears and mouth while trying to keep Carys happy in the sling.  It was fun times for the Kemp ladies!  Fortunately, we got our diagnosis quickly, so we could be off to Target for our medicine and some chickadees.

Lest you think her dramatics are limited to the public domain *blush*, allow me to assure you that she does save some of her drama for her mama!  As we attempted to give her medicine last night, she almost went into conniptions.  I can hardly blame her.  The medicine smells really gross.  However, if she would just swallow it! . . Anywhooo, she ended up getting so upset that she puked up most of the medicine - complete with authentic puking sound effects.  If you know me, you know that I have a huge vomit phobia.  If I see or even hear someone else throw up, I will start gagging and could possibly throw up myself.  I don't even watch myself throw up.  I keep my eyes screwed tightly shut until the horror is over.  Surprisingly, though, I managed to maintain my calm and cool during Cora's episode.  I even shoved my hands under her mouth to catch it.  Who woulda thunk it?  After we got Cora calmed and to bed, John commented on how well he thought I did with the whole chunky episode.  I casually mentioned that I thought I would do even better with it when she was actually sick and not just protesting taking the medicines.  And, God laughed. . .

At 2:30, John wakes me up asking if we have other sheets for Cora's bed.  It turns out that now she is throwing up for real.  When I went into her room, she looked so small and sad sitting on the floor next to the bucket.  She got sick 6 or 7 times last night, bless her little heart!  Fortunately for me, John happens to have today off.  I know I wouldn't be able to handle both girls waking up in the middle of the night.  So, he voluntarily handled puke watch '11.  Bless his heart, too!  He mentioned this morning that all night he kept feeling like he was getting sick, too.  (Heavens to murgatroid, I hope not!)  Cora's on the BRAT diet today, and with the help of some juice and a continuous stream of Bubble Guppies, she seems to be doing better.  Now, how to keep her from loving on baby sister until this passes. . .

I Wear My (Dad's) Sunglasses at Night

I found this little nugget tucked away among my picture files.  I had to share.  I can't remember where we were going, but she *needed* her giraffe, baby monkey, necklace, and sunglasses.  Funny girl!

Ahh, Love!

So, Monday was Valentine's Day.  And, since Mondays are John's day off, he got to spend the day with all of his Valentines.  I told him earlier in the month that I did not want anything for Valentine's Day.  (I'm not a huge fan of the holiday.  I would rather have flowers or surprises on a day that is not sanctioned by the greeting card company.  And, John is really good about little random surprises throughout the year!)  But, I mentioned to him that it would be so nice if the girls' first Valentine's this year came from their first best guy, aka Daddy.  And, of course, John did it up right.  He got Cora's favorite party stuffs: balloons, crazy straws, and chocolate!  When he went in to get her in the morning, she got a little bouquet of Valentine balloons.  Then, at breakfast she got her card, chocolate and juice with the crazy straw.  (My contribution as the homemade waffles - yum!)

Carys also got a card from Daddy.  She wasn't much interested in any of the other stuff! hah!  

We spent the rest of the day stroller shopping.  Then, as a special treat, we lunched at one of our favorite 'fast' food restaurants, Maki.  After nap time, we took Cora to a new park to run off some of her chocolate fueled energy.  

And, finally, lest you think I was woefully neglected on Valentine's Day, don't you worry.  John gave me the best gift an infant's mommy could ever hope for - the gift of a long nap!  I hope all of you enjoyed your Valentine's Day, too!

Happy Valentine's Day!

We hope you are embraced by love on this special day!

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  John 3:16

Camera Fun

Confession:  Currently, my camera is not living up to its potential.  This is not the camera's fault.  Its operator is having id-10t issues.  I need to get a good manual to help me, but the thought of reading a somewhat technical piece of literature is scary.  But, if there's one thing I've learned from the big wide blog-o-sphere, it's that there is a tutorial out there for just about everything.  And, since I've spent many hours with only one free hand (the other being filled with the wee babe), I've had some time to seek out such tutorials.  And, then, the stars aligned today for me to use my new found knowledge.  May I please present Portraits in Black and White.

I have to point out that I took these pictures without my flash.  I'm working on using as much natural light as possible.  And, clearly, I edited these photos.  But, all I did was crop them and use the filtered black and white effect.  (Although, the mustard yellow sheets and pink pajamas do make a very eye-watering combination, hah!)  I know they are in no way professional, but  for someone with a complete lack of technical/scientific prowess, I think I did pretty well.  (Okay, I'll stop tooting my own horn now!)

The Crud

The crud came to our house last week.  It started with Cora's allergies which naturally found her sinuses to be a cozy place to camp out rendering her grumpy and stuffy all week.  But, being the great big sister that she is, she shared her crud with Carys who has also been a little stuffy for the past few days.  And, being the great parents that we are, we decided it would not be fair for the kids to suffer alone, so we both decided to get the crud as well.  John has been much sicker than I have.  My crud was mainly throat irritation that went away after a couple of days.  John however sounds like he's recently had his nose removed (even though he has to blow his nose every few minutes).  We are the total picture of health and wellness!

So sad!  I guess misery does love company!

 We decided to try giving Cora a breathing treatment on a tip from my sister-in-law, Celeste.  The breathing treatments seem to help her sleep a little better.  (Thank goodness!!  Between an infant waking up for comfort and to nurse and a two year old waking up in the night because she can't breathe, it was looking a little bleak for the momma to get some sleep!)  We hadn't given her a treatment since she was about 7 months old.  It was not a fun experience back then.  Truthfully, the first time we gave her the treatment this go around (we being John), it was not fun either.  But, look at my big girl!

Doesn't she look so old and mature in these pictures?  I can't believe how far we've come!  Of course the bribery positive reinforcers (thanks, Kelli!) help.  (Chocolate chips. . .not money!!)  And, Dino Dan may have happened to be on as well.  (Did I mention how much I love dvr?!)  It seems like everyone may be on the mend. . .at least until the next round!

Some Random Thoughts From This Week

First and foremost, it's cold here!  Right now it is the same temperature here as it is in Anchorage, Alaska.  Y'all, I'm a native Texan.  My poor southern behind can't take it!  And, coincidentally, I've had appointments scheduled every day this week that I had to take care of, so I didn't get the luxury of hibernating next to the fire with a bowl of warm soup.  Cora, Carys and I got to experience the fuh-reezing cold first hand.  I think God is trying to teach me something. . .probably, not to schedule appointments during the coldest week of the year, hah!

Today, we ventured out to see my doctor.  I got to put on a lovely hospital gown for all the fun.  You know the kind, blue-gray with some random geometric pattern and the hospital name stamped across it.  So stylish!  Cora happened to peak up from the portable dvd player to see me in my haute couture.  With total sincerity in her eyes, she told me "Momma, you wook so pwetty in you dwess!"  What a sweetheart!  (What a weird sense of fashion!  But, a sweetheart nonetheless!)

Thirdly (or letter c, depending on your denotation method of choice), Cora and I have been having lovely duets in the car when we listen to KLOVE.  This morning we belted Chris Tomlin's 'I Will Follow' (or as Cora has dubbed it 'Go, I Go.')  Chris Tomlin seems to be a fave for her (and her mommy).  Her other favorites include 'Jesus Saves,' 'Light Up the Sky,' and 'Come Home' though she knows a bunch more of the songs than I even realized.  It makes this momma's heart smile!

And, finally (iv for those who prefer Roman numerals), I'm sad to report that the living room has lost its battle with the kids' toys.  It waged a valiant effort, but in the end, the bouncy chair, swing, play gym and soft blocks were just too much for the room to overcome.  It was a lovely living room.  It served our family well.  Goodbye, living room!  You will be missed!

Oh, the Momma Guilt

I should know better, I really should.  I'm not even a first time mom. . .sheesh!  So remember last week when I told you that sweet baby Carys was possibly allergic to pineapple.  Naturally I came to this conclusion after seeking out the expertise of the very knowledgeable Dr. Google.  After my extensive quick minute of research, I felt pretty confident in pronouncing this allergy. . .I mean, I did work in a medical school for 5 years!  According to my research, the offending material should be out of my milk in about 3 days.  So, when her face didn't clear up after a week, naturally, I again consulted with Dr. Google.  This time, I was certain that it was just a case of baby acne which would go away in a few weeks or worst case scenario, a couple of months.  Awesome!  I attacked the remaining pineapple in the fridge like I hadn't eaten in a year.  (Oh, sweet, sweet pineapple, how I missed your citrus-y deliciousness in my self-imposed pineapple fast!)  Well, that little bit of tasty indiscretion turned nasty pretty quick.  Of course, a few hours letter, sweet (innocent) Carys was covered with hives. . .this time not only on her face, but also on her chest and back.  (For shame, mommy!)

Look at that poor baby's face.  (Sidenote:  Isn't she adorable!  She's the cutest little hive covered baby I've ever seen!)  So, I can now say with a great degree of certainty that sweet baby girl is definitely allergic to pineapple.  Fortunately for this mommy's conscience, hives and gassiness are the main symptoms.  I am pretty sure I'm not going to make that mistake again!!

Extolling the Virtues of Bribery

Guess where we went today!  Usually Thursday is our library day.  They have a fun little story time for the toddlers with books and songs and puppets.  We try to go every week, but when Cora woke up early and was pretty whiny and upset, I decided not to chance it.  I think the other moms will appreciate me not (potentially) exposing their children to some sort of virus or bacteria!  Nevertheless, we needed to get out of the house.  And, what is the next best thing to story time at the library?  Uh, Target, of course!

So, as I wandered aimlessly around Target (♥Target♥), I was thinking how lovely this little time was.  I had two kids with me and neither was crying or whining.  I knew Carys would be fine.  She is content to be snuggled up in the sling.  And, with the help of my dirty little mom secret, Cora was content, too. What's my little secret? {glances furtively around} It's bribery!  Shhhh!  In fact, Cora is so accustomed to this uber helpful parenting strategy that she can tell you exactly what she's getting depending on the store that we are in.  You see, the way to Cora's heart is through her cute little flat belly.  (I'm only a little jealous of said belly. . .okay a lot jealous!)  Here's the rundown of snacks by store:

Target:  chickadees

HEB: cheese crackers 

WalMart:  goldfish (rainbow colored, natch!) or teddy (grahams) bears

Do I feel bad?  Absolutely not!  I love how much less stressful it makes shopping.  (I do get a twinge of guilt when I realize that so far today she's had a waffle, a nutrigrain bar, a pear, and a bag of chickadees.  Not exactly the well rounded diet we would all strive for.  Thank goodness for the pear!! hah!)  So, what's your dirty little mom secret?

Sisters

Last week, my photographer friend Jenny graciously offered to take some photos for us.  She had some ideas she wanted to try out, so I thought I would give my girls the chance to model for her.  It was a case of famous last words, though.  She wanted to do some of those cute little scrunched up newborn pictures.  And, I told her it would be absolutely no problem because Carys sleeps most of the morning.  Turns out, Carys sleeps most of the morning as long as she is not getting her picture taken!  She was wide awake and pretty vocal about being naked as a jaybird.  But, Jenny still managed to get some great pictures.  

Look at that chunky monkey!  (And, yes, I kiss those chubby cheeks about 100 times a day!)

And, a big dose of sleepy sweetness!

Cora (famously) hates getting professional pictures taken.  Fortunately, Jenny is well aware of this.  I dressed Cora up just in case she decided to cooperate.  She did (sort of) cooperate with the help of some chocolate coins. 

I love this pic even though you can tell she's been fussing.

But, hands down those two pics are the best!  Did your heart not melt!  I only wish I had brought an actual outfit for Carys.  The sisters shots were very spur of the moment.  

May they always love each other like this!