Convenience kind of gal. . .

or otherwise described as lazy. Today I had one of those I am happy to be back in America moments. I had two sleeping children and I needed to make a transaction at the bank and how happy was I to be able to drive up to a window and take care of this business. I didn't have to park the car, wake up two sleeping children, drag them into the bank, wait in line only to be told they can't help me with this transaction (its a new bank account and I don't have all the kinks worked out yet) - and then be ticked off that i went through all of that pandemonium for nothin. Its pretty nice to have the convenience of Drive-Thru banking. Just to name a few other conveniences I love:

• Pay at the pump
• Drive Thru Pharmacy's
• super TARGET- one stop shopping (seriously who doesn't LOVE target??)

I do miss Tesco groceries home delivery in Scotland (among many other things)- I know they have a service like that here in IL I just haven't gotten around to using it yet. In Scotland you bag your own groceries and I was NEVER great at it. I was slower then normal and always holding up the line. I am sure its one of those things that you get better at the more you do it but even after 3 years of doin' it I never seemed to be that great at it- needless to say It's really nice to have my groceries bagged for me especially when I have the two kiddos there. Its hard enough that I have to drag a car load of groceries up to my second floor apartment. A friend recently posted that 'Moms cant be lazy' so thank you Rachel for helping me feel like my love for conveniences doesn't necessarily mean I am lazy!!!

These little cuties are practicing their parenting skills. I am finding that the wee ones love to hold new babies. Our friends the Rays came over this past weekend and their little girl Holland was so cute with Quincy. Rachel was telling me that Holland even named her baby doll Quincy- how cute is that??

looks like they got it all figured out!!!

The Habanero Pepper. . .

Trev was on a business trip in Phoenix a month ago- While at dinner at a Southwestern restaurant with his colleagues the topic of chili peppers came up. Someone asked him if he had ever tried a Habanero Pepper. He had never heard of this pepper so they told him all about it. . .

In 1912, chemist Wilbur Scoville developed a measure of the "hotness" of a chili pepper called the Scoville Organoleptic Test. A pepper's pungency is measured in multiples of 100 units and refers to how much sugar-water was needed to dilute the pepper to a point where the tasters could no longer taste (feel) the heat."
Examples of the ratings of well-known peppers are:
Sweet bell pepper--0 units
Jalapeno--2,500 to about 8,000 units
Cayenne--30,000 to about 50,000 units
Red Savina Habanero--350,000 to about 577,000 units

And. . . then they challenged him to try one. Trev is always up for a good challenge and especially in front of his work mates. Even after they told him where this pepper ranked on the pepper hotness scale he was still willing to try. They asked the waitress to bring out a Habenero Pepper and she looked at Trevor like are you crazy. He took his first bite of that bad boy and a few minutes later he said his mouth and throat were on Fire- the waitress was rushing back and forth with a cold glass of milk followed by ice cream- a sight that I am so sad to have missed. He said even after the milk and cold ice cream the heat was not going away. Well he survived his habenero experience but swears to never try one again. His colleagues gave him a seed packet of these peppers so Trev and Kalem planted 4 of the seeds - Kalem reminds me every morning to water his plant and put it outside for a little sunlight. Here is our cute little Habenero Plant -

Have you ever tried a Habenero Pepper? Interested in trying one?? Just let me know cause we are growing 4 of them and 2 hours of burning heat running through my veins doesn't sound all that exciting.

More Cheese Please. . .

Tonight I was making taco salad for dinner. I was grating some cheese and took a couple slices to Kalem for a snack and to keep him pre-occupied while I was busy. . . he gobbled those up in 2 seconds and was back asking for some more cheese please so I gave him some more, and then some more. When he came back a 4th time I said NO because we will be eating dinner shortly and of course he wasn't too impressed with that response. I walked out of the kitchen and left a plate of grated cheese sitting on the counter. I come back after a few minutes to find Kalem standing on a chair stuffing his face full of the cheese as fast as he could before he got caught. What a little monkey. He totally ate a whole block of cheese. Is that a problem?? I didn't expect him to be too hungry for dinner after that snack and needless to say- he didn't even have one bite. Mom of the year right here!!!!

Just the boys. . .

On Sunday afternoon Trev took Kalem on a long walk in the field behind our apartment complex. They were gone for a good amount of time enough time for me to get some peace and quiet to myself which I appreciated so much!! When they got home Kalem was so EXCITED to tell me all about what he saw on their adventure. I love how animated he was when he was telling me all the wildlife they encountered. Deer, squirrels, racoons, ducks and baby ducklings- he even brought home a couple acorns in his pocket for the mamma. I love the relationship that these two have, just a dad and his boy hangin out. They love to play rough and tumble, they go out on our back porch and go 'hunting' every night, they do things that as Kalem would say- only the boys do- No girls aloud. Kalem adores his daddy and today followed him around doing exactly as Trev was doing and repeating every word he would say. It is days and moments like this that I am reminded of what a wonderful father my children have.

Our weekend in Utah

We headed to Utah on Thursday for one of our good friends weddings. Mr Brandon Ure has tied the knot and we wouldn't have missed it for the world. It was such a fun day and Brandon and Sydney looked so HAPPY and in love. Here is a picture of the beautiful couple and another of the buds together again.

This handsome bunch is pretty funny especially when they get together. The volume goes up a few notches because they are all trying to talk over eachother and they revert back to their childhood days- we get to hear endless stories of their elementary, middle school, high school and college days. We love our friends and it was so fun to see you all. The only thing missing was a good game of Nerts - dang it. . .maybe next time.

Another highlight of our trip home was meeting BABY McNEIL. Cutest little peanut you have ever seen and when I say little I mean itty bitty. He was born

2 1/2 weeks early and I'm sure its because he wanted to meet us and couldn't wait to see his little girlfriend Quincy!!! Or maybe it was because he wanted to wish his mommy a happy mothers day in person- either way it was so nice to spend some time with them and see baby Talon. Here is a picture of Quincy and Talon- 2 months difference and she looks huge in comparison.

Devin and Kelly are such great friends- 4 days after Kelly delivered they were at Quincys baby blessing. That meant so much you guys. . . THANK YOU.

Since we were in town for the Ures wedding we decided it was the perfect time to Bless Quincy so that we could have friends and family there. We had a luncheon at pa and grams after where we celebrated Mothers day as well. It turned out to be a great day. Quincy looked like a little angel in her white dress and she was definitely the star of the day.

Living so far from family and friends can be hard especiallly when special events happen such as welcoming a new baby into the world so we were happy to be able to come home and be with our friends and family on Quincys special day. It was the first time for most of the family to meet her and she was spoiled with attention all day!!

(cousin CC)

Kalem enjoyed playing with his cousins so much we didnt see him for the entire day and he was absolutely exhausted by the end of it all. Thank you cousins for being so darling with him. He cant wait to see you guys again.

These are the moments that make us want to live closer to family. We are so blessed to have such wonderful parents, siblings, neices, nephews and friends. Our lives are richer because of you and we are already planning our next trip home. LOVE YOU ALL!!!

The House Hunt. . .

Well I think the house hunt might have come to an end, but before I say that things havent been finalised yet so I know anything can happen. But for the moment I can be so excited to think that we might have found the one. Anyone who knows us knows how LONG it takes for us to make a decision- especially on buying a house. I dont know what I was thinking when I actually thought we would have been in a house before Quincy was born. I was up in the night with that thought and consequently my entire wardrobe is still in storage and my current wardrobe consists of maternity clothes only. Well with Quincy being 7 weeks old now and although I still look pregnant I dont feel like wearing maternity clothes anymore. So I had to go shopping for a few items to get me through until I can rummage through my old wardrobe and find some things that will fit me at the moment. ANYWAY, Trevor and I are so excited for this house. It was built in 1929 so its an oldie and will need some work but we are so excited to have something of our own- this temporary living stuff is for the birds and we are ready to get in there and start decorating. Kalem cant wait for a yard to play in and to get all his toys out of storage or 'back from Scotland' as he would say.
Just wanted to share our excitment with you all. Will keep you posted on IF and when it happens.