Thursday, September 30, 2010

It's All in a Name!

I just love the creativity of a four year old!  These are Lilly's stuffed animals...and yes she sleeps with all of them every single night.  Their names always crack me up...so I have to list them.
From left to right:
Baby, Froggy, Piggy, Nemo, Sheepy, Pibblesquash, Odette, Carol, Blueberry II, Bee, Blueberry I, Baby Addie, Minnie, Cinderella, Gumby, Obaheeta.
I had no part in naming any of these...they are all from the mind of a four year old.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

One Little, Two Little, Three Little...WHAT?

(This entry comes with a disclaimer...we do not talk like this in our home)

Lilly loves to sing...she always has.  Even before she could speak words she would babble (in Chinese I think) different songs. 
The other day she said, "Mommy, let's sing!!"  Thinking back to the other day when she busted out with the Flo Rider song, I was wondering where this road would lead us.  I said, "Ok baby, you start."  This is what she sang:
"One little, two little, three little midgets.  Four little, five little, six little midgets.  Seven little, eight little, nine little midgets...ten little midgets now!"
Ok...this time there was no hiding it...I busted out laughing in complete shock.  I said, "Lilly, where did you hear the word midget?"  She said, "Chief told it to me (chief is my dad)." 
I proceeded to call Chief and tell him...to which he vehemently denied.
So without making her feel bad, I asked if she meant to say ingene instead and she said "oh yeah!" 
BUT...when you ask her to sing the song...she still says midget. 
I guess I'll correct her later...it's just too cute.

Friday, September 24, 2010

A Rich Tradition

As long as I can remember, traditions have been a HUGE part of my family.  We have always done the holidays the same way, we said our dinner blessings a certain way, we even vacationed in the same spots.  We weren't boring...we just loved our traditions!  One tradition that stands out in my mind, and is still a tradition, is the Mulkey Family Reunion.
Every third Sunday in August was dedicated to my grandmother's side of the family...the Mulkey's.  We would wake up early and get ready for church, like normal, but instead of going down the road we would drive an hour and a half north to Nelson, GA.  The only thing in Nelson is a marble factory (where my great-grandfather worked), a few homes, and Bethesda Baptist Church.  The church is one room with two bathrooms and it sits right in the middle of a large mountain cemetery. 
The reunion worked like this:
We would all arrive in the church and sit on or designated sides...Georgia folks sat on the left side of the church, and the Tennessee folks would sit on the right.  We would then begin by standing up and introducing ourselves...to our family members...even as a kid this baffled me.  After formal introductions, we would listen to the Treasurer of the reunion deliver the minutes from the previous years' reunion.  The minutes are approved and new business is brought to the pulpit.  After all of this we would sing and have a sermon.  All the while the kids would be STARVING!  Once the church service was over we would dash out the doors to the open pavilion where we would eat AMAZING southern food.  The problem with the pavilion was the only table was used for the food...so we had nowhere else to sit.  The kids would all pick a tombstone and eat on it, while the grown ups stood around balancing their plates and drinks.  (This must have been before lounge chairs were invented). 
Once we were done eating the Georgia cousins were forced to play with the Tennessee cousins in the graveyard.  There was not much to do except play hide-and-seek, or pick a lovely bouquet of grave flowers for our moms.  (This must have been before bringing-toys-with-you-to-things-like-this was invented).  Then it was time to leave...until next year.
That is how I remember the reunion as a kid.
Now I am a grown-up...and we just celebrated the 53rd Annual Mulkey Family Reunion last Sunday.
Only a few things have changed.  We now celebrate the reunion the third Sunday in September (so it's three degrees cooler than August), and we eat first (they got tired of hearing us whine).  However; the introductions STILL take place, we are still segregated to the GA and TN sides of the church, and the children still love to play in the graveyard.  Watching Lilly pick me flowers from someones grave made me smile and cringe at the same time.
Although I make light of my family tradition I know that it is an important one.  Each year I see how deeply rooted we are and how my family is truly centered around Christ.  I am a very lucky girl.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Homemade Applesauce...yum yum!

So I made homemade applesauce yesterday with North Georgia apples...and it was amazing!  A friend suggested I post the recipe...so here you go Rach!

Peel and slice a bunch of apples!
Put them into a crock pot with a little bit of water in the bottom
If you like cinnamon applesauce then sprinkle a bit of cinnamon on top
Turn the crock pot on high and let them cook (a few hours)
Stir every now and then
When the apples turn mushy you can either mash them up with a potato masher (for lumpier sauce) or put them into a blender for a creamier sauce.
(I do the blender version because after it's creamy I pour it into an ice cube tray and freeze it to make baby food for later)
Serve it hot for an awesome HEALTHY dessert!

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Welcome to the fam Dave and Nita

We have recently added two new members to the family...and no I did not have twins.  Dave and Nita have joined the Holland ranks in the imaginary realm.
Lilly has recently discovered a TV show that she loves called Imagination Movers.  There is a guy on the show called Dave (who has ugly hair in my opinion) and a girl named Neena (but Lilly thinks her name is Nita).  From this show she has pulled Dave and Nita into our family.  They go everywhere with us!  At dinner the other night I had to pull a chair up for Dave and Tim had to pull up a chair for Nita.  We even incorporate them into our conversations.
Recently her imagination went even deeper.  Dave transformed into Old Dave and New Dave.  Old Dave is from the Movers show and New Dave is from a movie we watched called Hotel For Dogs.  This is the first time I have noticed Lilly showing a little crush on a boy.  One of the main characters' name is Dave.  Her eyes lit up when she saw him on screen...it was really cute.
So throughout the day Dave and Nita pop in and out of playtime, dinnertime, and bedtime...however they do not sleep with her...they sleep on the trampoline.
Each day it is something new and exciting, and I'm glad to have them as part of the family. 

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Too Many Weddings?

This summer has been an absolute blast for my family!  Even though we didn't have a long vacation like we usually do, we still managed to pack it full of lots of fun and exciting adventures.
Some of the adventures of the summer included several weddings that we all attended.  Weddings are always fun.  They make me remember my own wedding...and I get all teary eyed.  The weddings we attended this summer all had one thing in common...dancing.   When you tell a four year old diva...I mean girl...that there will be dancing at the wedding, "excited" doesn't even begin to describe the emotions coursing through.  And at each event she proved to us that she DEFINITELY knows how to break it down.
The other day at breakfast Lilly came out of nowhere and said, "Mommy, can we sing a song?"  I was excited because I thought it was going to be one of those mommy/daughter moments you remember forever...sitting at the breakfast table singing Jesus Loves Me or BINGO.  I even thought that maybe she was recalling one of the newer songs she had learned from my grandmother.  Needless to say I was excited about this special moment we were about to share.
I said to Lilly, "Go ahead sweetheart...let's sing."  What came out of her mouth surprised me so much that I laughed out loud.  She sang, "Apple bottom jeans and the boots with the fur...she hit the flo...next thing you know...baby got low low low low low low low low." Song (If you are unfamiliar with this song click the link and close your eyes...now picture Lilly singing)
I was speechless.
Finally I said, "Lilly...where did you hear that song?"
She said, "Oh, just the weddings."
So with all the fun things we did this summer I am left asking one question...did we go to too many weddings?

Thursday, September 2, 2010

The Carrot Explosion

When Lilly was a baby I decided to try my hand at making baby food.  I thought it would be a great way to save money and a way to give her the best possible nutrition...pat on the back.  For seven months I made her baby food, and I barely used the store bought baby food.
Needless to say when baby number two came around I was going to do the same thing...little did I know I would barely have time to shower much less make homemade baby food!  But, I was not ready to give up!  So I resigned myself to the fact that jar baby food wasn't so bad and if I could throw in SOME homemade baby food I was doing good.
The other day Publix had carrots on sale and I decided to make Graham some steamed carrot baby food....yum yum!
During his nap I had time to wash and chop up the carrots (while reading a story to Lilly) and put them in the steamer.  He woke up before they were done cooking.  So with baby-on-hip I poured the cooked carrots into the blender and turned it on.  All was going well...Graham was enjoying watching the carrots in the blender and Lilly was playing with her imaginary friend Dave (more on him later).  During the blending process, several of the carrot pieces got stuck to the side of the blender.  So I grabbed my spatula and gently pushed them down into the blades (this is where I messed up).  I realized at this point that I needed to set the spatula down, "hmmm," I thought, "I really don't want to set this down on the counter and get orange carrot juice on the counter."  So, in my sleep-deprived brain, I thought it would be a good idea to leave the spatula IN the blender.  How quickly I forgot that the ONLY job of a blender is to pull food down and chop it up.  As I was stepping to the side to grab a napkin, the vicious blender proceeded to pull the unsuspecting spatula down into its grasp.  As soon as the spatula hit the blades an eruption, unlike any I have ever seen, proceeded to take place.  Carrots shot into the air and covered the following surfaces:  ceiling, cabinets, sink, fridge, door, me and Graham...and the counter!  The counter that I was SO worried about getting a spec of carrot juice on was now unrecognizable!
I quickly turned off the blender as Graham turned to look at me.  If an eight month old can give you an "are you kidding me" look...he did.
And he had jar baby food for lunch.