nephews/rodeo

Scramble This!

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I try to be an avid supporter of my nephews and their endeavors. I do what I can to get to their events. Last week, my oldest nephew was participating in the Calf Scramble at the rodeo. The Calf Scramble is always one of my favorite events at the rodeo, so to watch him in it was even better–then I found out the entertainment was The Randy Rogers Band and I was even more pumped! A great night all around! 
Pops & Nonna came to watch Baby Gray, and I rode with T-Paw to the rodeo. (Mr. Gray met us there after class.) We met everyone in one of the exhibition barns (I managed to not buy anything) before heading into the rodeo. We had great seats above the bucking chutes–although it wasn’t too fun sitting by myself waiting for Mr. Gray to get out of class. 
My nephew was easy to spot when the kids came out to scramble. He caught one calf by the tail, but another kid had the head, so he went on to get another calf. He was the first to catch and was second across the line. He’ll get money towards next year’s project for catching. Unfortunately, the two boys behind me decided they needed to say ugly things (I can’t remember what, exactly) about number eight while the scramble was going on. I went into crazy-aunt mode tried to remain as calm and nice as possible while I let the boys know that was my nephew and that they should “be kind to the kids,” but I’m not sure I totally succeeded. Mr. Gray wasn’t embarrassed, so that’s a pretty good indication that I was at least humane. 
After the rodeo and before Randy Rogers came my favorite part of the night: 
hand-dipped ice cream bars! They dip them in chocolate right before your eyes, and then you get to pick which topping(s) you want on it. This was the first time they had the Oreo to go on it, so I needed both toppings. YUM! 
Baby Gray/football/Recipes

Spectacular Sunday

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We had a little Super Bowl gathering with Aunt B & Uncleby and company yesterday evening. It was so great to see everyone–we haven’t seen them much since the wedding. We headed to Ferd’s house to hang out and “watch the game”. 
Of course, I felt the need to bake things–especially since Mr. Gray wanted to take bought potato salad. (We bought a dip, too. What’s happening to me?) I had everything I needed for peach cobbler, so I decided to make that to take. Then I remembered I don’t like peach cobbler, so I decided I should make something I would eat, too. I was out of cake mixes for some quick, cheater cookies, but I had Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie mix, so I looked up variations of that. I found some bars that combine Puppy Chow (you know, the Chex stuff you make at Christmas) with sugar cookie. Sounded good to me! Best of all, I had all the ingredients! (By the way, I only go to the grocery store once a week. Period. I’ll have to write about that one day.) 
The peach cobbler is super easy! I altered the Bisquick recipe for my own purposes. It didn’t have nearly enough stuff in it (by stuff, I mostly mean butter, although it also had fewer peaches and no cinnamon). Everyone loved it! 
Peach Cobbler
2 cups Bisquick
2 cups sugar
2-14 ounce cans sliced peaches
1 stick butter
Cinnamon
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  • Pour both cans of peaches and their juice into 9×13 pan
  • Sprinkle cinnamon over peaches
  • In a separate bowl, mix Bisquick and sugar
  • Add 1 tablespoon of cinnamon to Bisquick mixture and stir 
  • Pour Bisquick mixture over peaches
  • Spread Bisquick mixture evenly to cover all liquid and peaches
  • Slice 3/4 stick of butter and put slices on top of Bisquick mixture
  • Top with cinnamon
  • Bake 30 minutes
  • Meanwhile, melt remaining butter 15-30 seconds in the microwave
  • Check cobbler at 30 minutes
  • Pour melted butter over any Bisquick that is not liquid or wet
  • Bake another 10 minutes or until top is completely golden
This was prior to putting it in the oven the first time.
Voila! Peach cobbler!
Puppy Chow Bars
(original recipe from the Betty Crocker site, but I adapted for my purposes)
1 package Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix
1 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup creamy peanut butter
4 cups Rice Chex
Powdered sugar
  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees
  • Mix cookie mix, 1/2 cup butter, and egg
  • Press into bottom of greased 9×9 pan
  • Bake 12-14 minutes or until edges are golden brown (you want the top to be a little soft so you can press the topping into it–I didn’t allow for this)
  • Allow cookie bottom to cool while making topping
  • Microwave chocolate chips and remaining butter in 30 second intervals until melted
  • Stir in peanut butter until well blended
  • Break cereal into small pieces in a mixing bowl or Ziploc bag 
  • Stir cereal into chocolate mixture until all coated
  • Spread cereal mixture over cookie; press to stick together
  • Sprinkle with powdered sugar
  • Cut into bars (do this while the chocolate is still a malleable–another place I messed up)
  • Allow to set in refrigerator
This is a horrible photo, and these bars got an F for presentation. They were good, though. They’re pretty rich, so when you cut them, feel free to cut them small. Mr. Gray was such a good sport about my last minute baking and my forgotten prescription that also set us back.
 
We finally did get to Ferd’s, and we had a great time. I was so glad I got to put Baby Gray’s football socks on him one last time (he’s not wearing them in the photos because it was so important that he eat his toes instead of look cute). It was a sad, sad day for me; all our football gear has officially been retired. Next season we have to get all new stuff for our growing boy!
Baby Gray/jammers

Jammer Days (And Nights)

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Having a four-month old at home changes your perspectives and priorities… you know, just a little. 
Spending summers at home when I was teaching was always enjoyable. It was rare, though, that I was actually at home. Most summers I got a job (or two) to keep me occupied. I still got up and got dressed each day. On the off chance that I did stay home, I would at least put on some clothes so the neighbors thought I was up and about when I stepped outside to get the mail. 
Last week, I saw for sure that things had changed around here. Wednesday was Baby Gray’s four-month well baby check-up. With the weather, we went straight home after getting his new stuff for his skin. We didn’t leave the house again (or get out of our jammers) until Saturday afternoon. That is so unlike me. However, it was nice. 
We hung out and played all day. We practiced rolling over and laughing our big laugh. When Mr. Gray got home, we ate some food and did our night time routine, just as if we had been out and about all day. The beauty was it had just been Baby Gray and me all that time–getting to know each other a little bit better each day!
Baby Gray/snow

Snow Day! (You Know, Texas Style)

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I am a closet weather bug. If it’s flooding, storming, raining, or doing anything out of the ordinary, I need to see it. On a regular day, it’s odd for me to check the weather at all before getting ready for my day. At a time where there is any chance of some oddity, I’m glued to a forecast (on TV, the computer, my phone, relentlessly asking my poor husband–however I can get it).
Yesterday, I started checking my phone for forecasts every thirty minutes or so (I had been watching all week for a decent ETA, but we were down to crunch time). I wanted to know exactly when the “snow” was going to hit. All day, my weather app said the first flurry would be around 7:00 pm. The snow was late. We had flurries at our house starting between 9:00 and 10:00. We went to bed around midnight (I couldn’t go to sleep with the flurries). Nothing was accumulating, so I just assumed it would be like every other Texas Snow I’d ever experienced–lots of talk for nothing. 
When I first woke up this morning, I checked the backyard through the window. It didn’t look like anything, and Baby Gray was still asleep, so I went back to sleep. A little while later, I woke back up and checked my phone. Everyone had snow photos that looked a lot more white than our back yard. I got up to check the front, and we had a decent dusting. It’s the first time I can remember any snow sticking. I’ve seen photos from the snow in 1985, but I certainly don’t remember that!
Of course the best course of action when I saw the dusted front yard was to get Baby Gray and head outside for some more photos (I took some before I took him out there). He didn’t have a clue what was going on, but I got my photo op.
Baby Gray/Papa

Matters of the Heart

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Sunday we took Baby Gray to meet some very special people. Papa left behind his wife and a best friend, who has been a part of my life as far back as I can remember. Both of them were very excited about Baby Gray’s arrival, and, unfortunately, we haven’t been able to get far enough north to see them until now. 
At our first stop, Baby Gray met Papa’s wife, and her new puppy, Sassy.
On our next stop, we went to meet D and M. It was so great to see D! I have kept in touch with him via email since Baby Gray was born, but it was great to get to see him. 
D didn’t do any magic tricks for Baby Gray just yet, but hopefully he will do some soon. It was a great visit, and Baby Gray got a pinwheel to bring home. When the wind chill isn’t in the single digits, we’ll play with it.
Baby Gray/doctor/vaccinations/WalMart

Itchy & Scratchy

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Our visit to the doctor this morning went well. We had a new nurse, and I really liked her. She has a baby who was born a couple of weeks before Baby Gray, so I’m thinking she may have been on maternity leave the other times we’ve been there. I’m hoping she is actually Dr. Miller’s nurse from here on out. 
The nurse was very careful to make sure we were doing only the vaccinations I was comfortable with; she brought them all in, went over them with me, verified brands for me, etc. She was great! I addressed my concerns with Baby Gray scratching his forehead with her, and she suggested a few things I had already tried as well as the mittens. I also asked her about the age recommendation for starting to jog with Baby Gray in the jogging stroller (no, it’s not here yet; thanks for asking). The nurse left that for Dr. Miller to address.
Dr. Miller wasn’t even in the exam room door good, and she told me Baby Gray’s forehead (along with a couple of spots on his elbows and knees) was itchy from baby eczema. I had a suspicion from a few articles I had read, but by the time I read the articles our appointment was so close I decided to just have her check on it then. She suggested all fragrance free soaps and lotions as well as a specific cream to knock out the irritation initially. I got all of that on my way home. 
Otherwise, we had a great appointment. He weighed in at 16 pounds, 2 ounces, which is in the 57th percentile. He is 25 1/4 inches long, which is in the 69th percentile. His head is a whopping 17 inches! He was in the 70-something percentile with that one. Developmentally, he is doing wonderfully. He’s tracking with his eyes, looking for sounds, and rolling over from tummy to back and back to tummy (inconsistently, but enough to make me watch him closely on the changing table and such). He was able to do everything the nurse wanted him to do. He is so fun to interact with! 
When it was time for his shots, the nurse came back in to administer them. She was so fast; Baby Gray only cried for about two seconds. He was fine after that. Two blue camo band-aids later, we headed home! 
On my way to pick up the cream that Dr. Miller suggested, I remembered I had several un-opened baby soaps at home that were now on our do-not-use list. I decided to run by the house and get those so I could exchange them for the stuff I needed and some fragrance free soap. When I got close to the house, I started trying my garage door, but it wouldn’t open. Our electricity was off from the rolling blackouts. I got into the house, got the soaps and headed to WalMart (it’s still one of my least favorite places on earth, but the return policy is wonderful) to exchange Baby Gray’s bath items.
Baby Gray/sleep/swaddle

That’s A Wrap!

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Baby Gray had a little trouble getting used to his swaddle-free sleep Friday night. I think he slept about three or four hours total. It wasn’t good. I slept in his room in the recliner so I could try to comfort him, but I didn’t want to take him out of his bed and start creating bad habits.
Saturday night, he did much better! Sunday was even better, and last night was back to normal! He slept until 8:00 this morning. We’re sleeping without the swaddle! The transition wasn’t too bad. Although, if you had asked me Saturday morning, I’d have told you otherwise. 
The worst side effect of Baby Gray’s freedom is the scratches he keeps inflicting on his face. They are mostly on his forehead (read: front and center for all to see). I file his nails every night as Mr. Gray reads him a book. He uses his fingers some to self-soothe in the night, so I’m not sure I want to go the mittens route. We go to the doctor this morning, so I’ll ask their opinion.
applesauce/Baby Gray/sleep/solids/squash/swaddle

Growing Pains

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This has been an eventful week for Baby Gray. Monday he started solids; we started with applesauce. It has been a fun adventure so far! He has really been getting the hang of it each subsequent evening. He ate applesauce every night this week until tonight. We started squash this evening, and he LOVED it! I didn’t get any good photos or videos because Mr. Gray was at the Chamber banquet, so I was solo. In between each bite, Baby Gray would just sit there with his mouth open and wait until I gave him some more. It was so cute! 
In other news, this morning, Baby Gray rolled over–twice. The good part of this is that he’s rolling over, growing up, getting some gross motor skills going on! Unfortunately, this also means no more swaddling for bed. This kiddo is a sleeper! I hope that remains true once we’re sleeping without the swaddle. When he first laid down, he was loving his new freedom! However, he had a much harder time going to sleep tonight than ever before. He’s been down about an hour, and he still isn’t sound asleep like usual. I keep peeking in on him with the video monitor–thank goodness Aunt Cookie got us that! 
This was when I first put him down and he realized he wasn’t swaddled. Silly boy!