Farewell ...

I'm linking this picture to Darcy's Sweet Shot Tuesday.  It was taken at the airport just moments before we said goodbye to my husband who left this past Sunday to Afghanistan. I know it is extremely close up, but I chose it because of the emotion on my husband's face.We are so very proud of him and miss him already. He is our HERO! We pray for all our troops and their safe return.

"Together forever, never apart, maybe in distance, but never at heart."

My future granddaughter...

This evening instead of going to the gym I found myself snuggling with Gabe on our recliner watching Deliver Me on Discovery Health. He sat there in amazement as he watched the doctors perform 3 different c-sections. He was quiet...a little too quiet as he sat with his eyes glued to the telly. Then he blurts out...
 "Can a daddy have a baby? "
"No! Do you want to have kids when you grow up and have a wife?"
"Uh...yes. I don't want no boys just a girl."
"Just a girl. What are you going to name her?"
" Abby"
" Abigail"
"No...ABBY"
"Okay"
So we'll see about my future granddaughter Abby since Gabe is a few weeks shy of 5 and fatherhood for him is years from now :)

Opposites do attract

                          

Trent and I in a nutshell:

 I am the iced unsweeten green tea and he is the hot coffee. We are different in many ways, but we are on the same team MOST of the time ;) We compliment each other nicely and he is my best friend.

Healthy banana bread

I am putting on my cutest apron and making a healthy banana bread with my kiddos plus my niece Roselyn for my mother who's recovering from a splenectomy. Let's begin the fun!


I love owls...can you tell :)

The ingredients:

• 
  
  2 cups all-purpose flour *
• 
  
  3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 
  
  1/2 teaspoon salt
• 
  
  1 cup sugar
• 
  
  1/4 cup butter, softened ( I use Land O'Lakes light butter)
• 
  
  2 large eggs
• 
  
  1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana ( about 3 bananas)
• 
  
    1/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt**
• 
  
  1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 
  
  chopped walnuts if you want or you can omit them
• 
  
  cooking spray

*I personally use 1 cup King Arthur 100% whole wheat & 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour

** If I am out of plain low-fat yogurt, but have low-fat vanilla yogurt on hand I will use that as a substitute

NOTE: I always double this recipe that's why I have 4 eggs out

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Then combine the flour, baking soda, and salt by whisking them in a bowl.

In a separate large bowl beat sugar and butter with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 min)

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition

Add banana, yogurt, and vanilla to the bowl; beat until blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed until moist. Spoon batter into two loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 mins. to 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack and enjoy.

*recipe courtesy of Cooking Light Magazine

Is it me?

Or do your eyes hurt also when you look at this picture? LOL

Gabe visiting the dentist. He had a cleaning appointment in March, but didn't cooperate. I'm hoping he gets over his doctor, dentist, and medicine fear soon...that's a story for another day!

A small road trip

Our weekend was spent at Ft. Polk, Louisiana visiting my hubby who is training there until mid-May. It is a huge base located in the middle of nowhere, but we had a great time with Trent. Unfortunately, Lesley wasn't able to go due to TAKS testing at school so she stayed behind with my sister Jennifer. We stopped twice in Houston briefly to eat at one of our most fave restaurants Sweet Tomatoes. The boys had fun at the local park, catfish pond, Children's Museum at Lake Charles, and just hanging out with dad.

 Gabe catching up with Trent at our hotel when we first arrived.

The boys at the base catfish pond

Checking out different tanks at Warrior Park on post.

The drive from SA to Ft. Polk is pretty boring, but I'd do it all over again just to hang out with my honey.

Kitchen surprise

I'm not speaking about the yummy type, but more like the scary critter type. As I was about to wash some pots and pans that I left in the sink overnight something was hiding beneath everything and thankfully didn't sting me. Imagine finding this in your sink:

 Yep, I'm so glad I was paying attention and saw it as soon as I did. I'm wondering how it found its way to the sink and if there are others??? I'm hoping it is the only one in the house. Even though it had it's stinger ready to attack I removed it from the sink and threw it outside. Now I'm just hoping it stays outside :)

Sweet Shot Tuesdays

 This is a picture I took of my babe Gabriel while we were preparing a meal together one evening. It was his first time shucking corn and I really enjoyed this one on one time with him. He is such a sweet kitchen helper and little boy. I can't believe he's turning five in July...they grow up too fast!
Please check out other Sweet Shots over at Darcy's blog.

A new beginning

  Notice anything different? I have a brand spanking new blog design thanks to Lindsay...whoo hoo and a new blog title. I changed it from Savoring the Moment to Hoot Mommy because of my love for owls. I have experienced and done so much since my last entry, but I kept quiet and neglected this blog for a very silly reason. It's appearance!! Can you believe that. My blog wasn't visually appealing to me so like an old worn book I neglected it. Everytime something exciting happened I'd think "This would be a great blog entry", but I never made the effort. Months passed and after settling into our new home in February I decided I wanted to get a new design and start writing once again. I especially wanted to do so for Trent who is away training for his deployment to Afghanistan. So here I am once again I hope you'll stick around and read about our everyday life adventures.

Wordless Wednesday........More from Spain

Out of the mouth of Gabe....

Here's a short conversation I had with Gabriel earlier today.

me : "Honey you need to eat more fiber"

Gabe: "Mommy I don't want to eat fire."

me: " Not fire...fiber"

Gabe: " fire"

me: (slowly) "fiber.....fiber"

Gabe : "FIBER"

Hello from Spain...

This will be brief, just wanted to say we are having a fabuloso time in Spain. We got here on Monday evening and have immersed ourselves in the culture. Last night we went to the Feria in Jerez and it was one experience I will never forget. I am loving the food, culture, and people here. I'll write more later.


Flamenco dancers in Jerez

Seafood and chicken/pork paella

Sangria

Trent & I at the beach

Have you seen these guys?

The Numberjacks are Gabriel's current obsession. He watches this show everyday and even though it's in Italian he sings along and seems to figure out what they're saying. This show is made in the UK...thus I can't seem to find their DVD's in the American market. I don't know if this show is shown in the states, but the only place I can seem to find it in English is on You tube. Even then it isn't an entire show just different clips. I'm hoping that we can easily find these DVD's on our planned visit to London this summer because he absolutely loves them.

Childhood obesity....

After reading an article this morning on childhood obesity it got me thinking about the things my children put into their bodies. The health and physical fitness of our children is very important to me. I may serve healthy fare in our home, but my kids don't always eat it nor do they always make healthy choices when it comes to snacking or eating out. As their mother, I need to help them improve different aspects of their diet. For example,while Lesley is not afraid to try new foods and eats a variety of fruits/veggies she often skips breakfast because she isn't hungry. {which I hate 'cause it's the most important meal of the day} The boys on the other hand are picky eaters and really need to expand on the variety of fruits and veggies they eat. All I want is for them to have a balanced healthy diet, eat junk food sparingly in moderation, and to always be active.

Kids can be so cruel....

The story below is so heartbreaking. As a mother of an almost 11 yr. old my heart goes out to this beautiful little boy's parents and family. I am thankful Noah is able to learn in an environment free of peer pressure and bulling. Some might say I'm being over protective, I'm sheltering my kids, or bulling/harrassment are just a part of life,but I completely disagree. That type of behavior is not just a part of life, nor should any individual have to put up with it anywhere. {school,work, etc...} The author Barbara Coloroso has a book out on this subject and recently spoke to Anderson Cooper who was talking about 11 yr. old Jaheem Herrera. She was here just last month speaking to the all the military kids on this subject. ===================>

Note to self...

How are you going to set a short term weight loss goal in the morning and then head to the commissary to buy 3 half gallons of ice cream at noon???? Duhh...ya ice cream freak. Straight from the lips to the hips!!!! Yes I'll be at the gym tomorrow doing damage control :D

No medicine mommy...

Trent has duty which means he is in charge for the day and has to spend the night at the hospital. This morning I got a little taste of what my life will be like while my honey is deployed. Hectic and stressful at times, but with the right attitude every thing falls into place.
I was about to drive Lesley to the school bus stop when Gabe started throwing up all over himself in the car. Thankfully I covered him up with a small blanket because most of his puke landed on it and not him or his carseat. I automatically wiped him up and carried him inside to give him a drink of water. The first words out of his sobbing mouth as we walked in the door were "No medicine mommy"....which he repeated in between sobs. Poor thing!!! I placed him with a towel on the couch and tried to make him comfortable.
All this caused Lelsey to miss her bus. I had to deal with a sick toddler who may throw up again soon and trying to get her to school on time. Plus Noah my homeschooler is still in bed so he needs to wake up and get ready so he can go with me to the base 10 miles away to drop Lesley off. {Lesley's bus stop is at the end of our street }
I did manage to get out the door and have Lesley at school just on time. When I got home though Gabe threw up again in the car. At least it didn't happen while I was driving. Currently he has a fever and I was able to give him Tylenol via the suppositories his pediatrician gave me at his last visit. Hopefully this will stablize his temperature.
Get well soon little man.

Time to pick up the pace...

Alrighty..... I am in the process of finishing some travel plans for a short vacation we are taking to Rota, Spain in two weeks. I am so excited ...especially since our hotel is right on the beach. Lesley and I bought new bathing suits yesterday...which as every woman knows can be a dramatic experience, but I'm happy with what I got. Let me tell ya I have been working out very hard, but for the next two weeks I am setting a new short term goal. I want to weigh in at or below 120 lbs by May 11th the day I leave to Spain.;D {Yes, I may have weighed in at 121.6 lbs. today, but my diet can be bad when I'm hanging out with the girls.} I am really going to need to focus on my diet during the next couple of weeks because my appetite tends to really increase around the time I start menstrating. Uugh....like you really want to hear about that stuff!!! Anyways....that's my new goal and hopefully I won't over indulge at tomorrows drunko....I mean bunco get together. LOL

Ahhhh.....I can't wait to be lounging around here in two weeks. Whooo...Hooo

Mother's Day gift ideas for moi....

Okay everyday with my family is a gift and yes I know you guys love me. BUT if you really want to make me feel extra special and greatly appreciated this Mother's Day here is something I'd really like. ;D

The Ipod Touch:

My baby girl....

Here are Lesley, Layna, and Rosabel being camera happy at Carney Park this past weekend. I tell ya one minute you're changing their stinky poopy diapers and in the blink of an eye next they're a teenager doing things teenagers do best......driving their parents CRAZY. Nahhh...Lesley is a really good kid and we are really proud of her.