Father's Day Idea List

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April is already off and running.

We had an impromptu zoo adventure with my big sis Tiffany and her kiddos this past Monday.  We drove up to Riverbanks Zoo and spent the day hanging out with each other and the animals.  

WISHING A HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY MOM TODAY!!  LOVE YOU BUNCHES.

We had quite the spectacle this morning in the front yard!  Liam made a break for it out the front door and I took off after him.  As I am running through the yard I scoop up Liam and proceed to slip on the wet grass.  I think I traveled at least a few feet on my backside!!  I am attempting to pick myself and my dignity up when Tripp comes running out the front door.  Tripp's feet meet the wet grass and he goes down too!!  We are all hysterically laughing in the front yard...wet and covered with grass.  Who needs a cup of coffee when you've got a slip-n-slide front yard to wake you up in the morning??  Not this gal!

Feburary/March Happenings

Hi all!  It has been a little while since I last posted.  Here are some highlights from the last couple months:

• Hiking some more - Canal Recreation Area/Lake Moultrie, Caw Caw Interpretive Center, Dungannon Heritage Preserve and Charlestowne Landing.
• My birthday.
• Mom and Dad's 40th wedding anniversary.
• Liam's in a big boy bed!
• Tripp is playing tball and Edward is head coach.  GO GRASSHOPPERS!
• Liam stuck corn up his nose.  ENT stuck endoscope up Liam's nose.  Lesson learned Liam?  Let's hope!
• Lauren's birthday party at the Glazing Pot and a visit with Mema.
• Andrew's 1st birthday.
• Kelly Belly's birthday.
• Pepa's birthday.
• Tripp decides the upstairs hallway and his bedroom need some train tracks....black, green and red marker train tracks all over the carpet and his bed.  Oh five year olds....how you never cease to amaze me!
• Tripp can ride his bike without training wheels!

Bear Hunt and Brunch

This past Saturday we went out to the Patriot's Point Nature Trail.  It was a beautiful day for a family hike.  I am looking forward to our next big adventure.

We're going on a bear hunt.  We're going to catch a big one.  What a beautiful day!  We're not scared.  Oh-oh!  Pluff mud!  Ooey, gooey pluff mud.  We can't go over it.  We can't go under it.  Oh, no.  We've got to go through it!

Squelch squerch, squelch squerch!

Sunday, Mom and Dad came down for an early birthday brunch.  We went to Hall's Chophouse.  This place was DELICIOUS!!  I highly recommend it if you find yourself in the Charleston area.  I only wish Liam had been in an "eating mood."  He made it through the basket of popovers but after that he was having nothing more to do with the food.  A big thanks to Edward for being a trooper.  He took Liam for a walk (leaving his deliciousness at the table) so that I could finish brunch with my parents and Tripp.  We met back up with Edward and Liam, then headed back to the house for some cake and ice cream.

We also got to Skype with Edward's family.  It was great to see everyone, minus Kelly. :(  My nephew Riley played a little song for me on the guitar.  Too cute!  Tripp was bouncing around all over the place the entire time while Liam went around the table eating everyone's leftover cake & ice cream.  Haha...the kid must get his sweet tooth from Edward and PaPa.  

Tubes, Tightropes & Tasty Treats

Last Friday, Liam had his ear tubes placed and adenoid removed.  Dr. Geghan said his adenoid was pretty large so hopefully having it removed will give him some much needed relief.  Liam had a pretty tough time coming around from the anesthesia but eventually calmed down once we were home for a bit.  That part made me feel pretty helpless because all I could do was try to rock him & hold him.  He slept through the night and by Saturday morning he was a pretty happy camper.  We'll find out about the allergy test in a couple weeks and he'll go in for a re-check next month.

Sunday, Tripp and I had a Mommy/Son outing to the circus in Columbia.  It was perfect timing because I think he was feeling a little left out with all the extra attention Liam has been getting.  We grabbed some lunch with Pepa and Grammy, then headed to the circus early so that we could go down on the floor for the pre-show.  Tripp got to see the performers & animals up close, which was really neat...minus the creepy clowns!!  I am not a big fan ever since watching Stephen King's "IT" when I was younger.  Anyway.  Tripp did some dancing, got to dress up in circus outfits and wear a big red clown nose.  It was a great time and according to Tripp the circus was "AWESOME!"

Monday, I made Spinach Rice Frittata and homemade Whole Wheat Apple Muffins....YUMMY!!!  I was really impressed with how both of these recipes turned out.  I did however make a couple modifications.  I used creole seasoning instead of the garlic, salt & pepper in the the frittata.  And I only had a 1/4 TBSP of cinnamon left so I substituted the remainder of the TBSP with allspice in the muffins.  Here are the recipes:

SPANISH RICE FRITTATA - *I CALL IT SPINACH RICE FRITTATA

http://cheapvegetarianmeals.cheapfamilymeals.info/2009/02/04/vegetarian-casserole-for-spanish-rice-frittata/

WHOLE WHEAT APPLE MUFFINS

http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/04/whole-wheat-apple-muffins/

Hear Ye, Hear Ye!

Today I would like to recognize the newest members of the Taylor family. They're lean (for now)...they're green (well, sorta)...and fairly clean!  In first leg development order we have:

JESSE

                           

JEEKE (pronounced "gee-key")

FOLLOWED BY

These are our two Northern Leopard frogs that we have raised since tadpoles (captive-bred from Planet Frog).  I am not sure, but I believe Jesse is a male and Jeeke is a female.  Supposedly the female is slightly larger than the male....soooooooo, I think I may need to look up mating season for these two just in case.  

Back to Blogging

What better time than any to start back blogging...Friday, the 13th!!  Ooooooo!  Hehe...hopefully my blog isn't as scary!

This year is already shaping up to be a busy one!  I should have lots of inspiring material to write about in the upcoming months.  Let's get things started shall we?

We spent the last few months of 2011 in and out of doctor offices with ear infections and sinus infections....Liam had ear infections and all three boys had sinus infections.  Needless to say, Liam landed his first trip to the ENT. During this visit, Dr. Geghan (wonderful doctor at Charleston ENT, who Tripp already sees) suggested that it would be best for Liam to have ear tubes placed & his adenoid removed given his frequency of ear infections, lingering ear fluid and sinus problems.  Dr. Geghan has small children of his own with many of the same health issues as my boys, so I feel very confident he is guiding us in the right direction.  We have scheduled Liam to have his surgery next Friday, the 20th.  Liam will also have an ImmunoCap done, which is a blood test for allergies.  Liam seems to have some food sensitivities but we just haven't been able to single out the source.  It will be a relief to finally learn what food and airborne allergy triggers he may have.  I am nervous because he is my baby but confident this will bring him much needed relief.

Tripp will be having his 1 year re-check on the 19th.  We'll see how his tubes are looking and we'll probably look into getting an ImmunoCap done for him too.  He has done so much better ever since having tubes placed and his adenoid removed but I think he has some allergy triggers that are causing sinus infections and swelling around his eyes.

I think we are taking some important steps toward gaining some control over the boys' health issues.  I hope that 2012 brings us good health and great family fun!!

SHE-CRAB SOUP...mmmmm!

The Taylor's love the beach; which I have probably mentioned a few times before this post.  We got back from the beach last Wednesday and this past Saturday we were back out at Sullivan's Island.  We just can't stay away for long!  We got out there at 9:30am and left a little before 1:00pm...which was wonderful because we beat the rush to & from the beach.  Crazy people getting out there in the heat of the day!!

Any-who...We decided to go for a walk, a.k.a. an ADVENTURE in order to get Tripp on board, down the beach to explore.  Edward & Liam were up ahead...as tall as I am I can never seem to keep up with the hubbie...Tripp & I were bringing up the rear.  We've seen a small fiddler crab so far but nothing else.  We were walking back to the chairs when we saw a small blue crab, better know as a "she-crab."  I was thinking "PRETTY COOL!!"  Well, that thought didn't last for long because I have unknowingly stepped on top of a MUCH LARGER blue crab buried in the sand.  The crab stuck its claws up out of the sand and snapped at my big toe.  OUCH!!  It got me.  

Yes, I need a pedicure...no comments please!

 I will be putting some she-crab soup on the menu as a tribute to the sacrifice my big toe made that day in the sand.

Mini Vacation

We just got back the other day from a little mini vacation with Edward's family at Garden City Beach.  We got to hang out with PaPa, Grandmama, Kelly Belly & Joel.  It was a nice break from the normal weekly routine, although not everything went as planned.  

Tripp took his new boogie board out to catch some waves...well, less catching waves & more like laying on top of the board in the sand while the wave crashed quite a bit further out.  He just let the water come to him.  But his favorite boogie boarding method was getting someone to pull him down the beach through the waves.  











Little Liam bug just seemed like he was miserable -- crying, pulling at his ears, clinging to Mom or Dad and NOT EATING (he loves to eat!)...just not the normal laid back, happy Liam.  I decided this was more than teething & took him to an urgent care down the road with Grandmama along to lend a helping hand.  It turns out Liam had an ear infection.  Poor little guy!





 Minus the ear infection, it was great.  We played in the sand, ate some great food, tested our arcade & trivia skills and more!  We are already looking forward to next year.  For now, we'll just take ourselves down the road to Sullivan's Island to satisfy our love of the beach.

One Big Road Trip

The Taylor Bunch put some miles under the belt this weekend -- Hanahan, SC to Boone, NC and back with some stops in between.

Alexis's Birthday Cake - hand delivered to my parents in the Lowe's parking lot in Lexington.

Chocolate and white cakes which were layered with a cookies & cream filling -- YUM!!

The zebra stripes turned out to be way too big for the cake so I had to carve out new stripes the next day b/c these were too dry & kept cracking on me.

Kelly Belly's Graduation from Appalachian State- Tripp's name for his Aunt Kelly (Edward's little sis)

Mother's Day

Pictures for my Mom and Edward's Mom

My birth month flower necklace from the boys - LOVE IT!!

A big thank you to Chris, Tracy & Riley for letting us crash at their house on the way up and back -- you guys are awesome!