Miss Evie's Modeling Debut

Please watch the following video of my beautiful daughter! Elli at Studio E did a great job with the photography and putting up with all the kids I had to drag along to the photo shoot. I've got the Visa card all ready to go order photos!

Miss Evie

Food Rules

As part of my healthy body challenge, I am committed to eating less processed foods. I have pretty much cut out or drastically reduced our consumption of most boxed goods. The exceptions I am forced to make are cereal (but only ones that don't change the color of your milk), ice cream, chicken nuggets, and Ranch dressing.

I have been following Michale Pollan's Food Rules in my quest to eat healthier. Some of his rules are pretty common sense. Take for example Rule #13: eat only foods that will eventually rot. It seems simple enough, but one would be surprised how hard it is to find meats, lunch meat, and pretty much anything that isn't filled with additives to keep it from spoiling. Oh shit. Add lunch meat to the list of processed foods I still have to buy. My brown-bagger hubby couldn't live without it.

Food rule #6: avoid food products that contain more than five ingredients. Of course, this doesn't include the list of ingredients in a recipe. What he means is to stay away from a box of crackers with 27 ingredients, 15 of which are completely unpronounceable.

My favorite rule is #39: eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself. I love this rule for two reasons. First, it allows me to still eat cookies. Second, it forces me to practice something I really love to do but am not necessarily gifted at: baking.

Definitely check out Food Rules. It will really help you to see why eating frozen diet meals and canned soup isn't a healthy way to diet and lose weight. I used to live on frozen meals and canned soup but was still fat. Now, I make my own meals and soup to freeze and am losing weight. Totally worth it!

My weight today: 165.4 lbs. Note: I took my jeans off to weigh myself, and I kind of feel like I cheated. Oh well. Seeing 165 really made me feel better, so who cares?

60 Years and Counting

We celebrated Colby's grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary on Sunday. It's hard for me to imagine what 60 years feels like, but it's not hard for me to imagine being married that long.

I know how life can be twisty and turny, trust me. We've had a few really crappy days in the Vescapades home beyond the average fight over taking out the trash. We've been through lay-offs, long separation, miscarriage, and Brody. Trust me, we're strong.

But I also know that we have not yet begun to face some of life's most difficult moments. Right now our kids are young, healthy, and not having sex or doing drugs or robbing liquor stores. We haven't faced the health problems that come with age. I don't know what it's like to have to kiss my husband good-bye one last time before death takes him away from our happy life in the nursing home.

And when the time comes to face life's tough moments, I hope my husband will hold my hand and kiss my forehead. I hope I will tell him how strong and brave and wonderful he is. And I hope that he knows that I worry about him every morning when he leaves for work and how grateful I am when he walks through the door in the evening. I worry about him because I love him so much that 60 years wouldn't be enough time to fit it all in. 60 years would never hold all the memories I want to make with him.

But if we can be lucky enough to have 60 years, I will never let one pass without being the woman he needs me to be.

Congrats, Marvin and Winona on your 60 years. You still hold hands and smooch.

Evelyn and Chocolate

I must share a story from Saturday evening that is somewhat embarrassing for me. I have to share because it's a prime example of not only the honesty of children but also Evelyn's ability to "know-it-all".

Evelyn has a doll, a dark skinned doll. My mom bought a light skinned doll for Soren and a dark skinned one for Evie so we could know which doll belonged to which girl. Simple logic. Soren was playing with the doll Saturday night, and wanting to be a part of her game I asked, "Soren, what's your baby's name?"

Innocent question. Not-so-innocent answer. Soren responds, "Um, chocolate." The doll is dark skinned, I must remind you.

I say, "I'm not sure that's such a good name for your baby." Evelyn points out, "Why not, Mom? She is black, isn't she? Chocolate is black and so is the doll." Truer words were never spoken.

Almost a week. That's how long it has been since I've blogged. I have been sick the last two days, feeling like someone folded me in half and drove over me with a truck. The days before that were busy with kids, working out, and going swimming. Plus, I got addicted to the Grey's Anatomy dvds lent to me by my sister-in-law.

Adding all those facts to the fact that nothing funny or interesting or embarrassing has happened this week and it all makes for a very poor week to blog.

I continue to devote a lot of time to my healthy body challenge, working out at least 3 times a week plus swimming with the kids and eating much healthier. Yesterday I weighed 167.4 lbs. Yay! I still crave fast food and junk, but I've gotten surprisingly good at portion control. I don't clean the kids' plates anymore feeling like I shouldn't waste what they don't eat. I've come to enjoy the 100 calorie dark chocolate bars so neatly pre-packaged for me by Hershey's.

This diet thing really isn't so hard as long as I stay committed to indulging from time to time but mostly being a healthy eater. Go me!

Valentine's Day

Although I agree that Valentine's day has become a holiday revolving consumerism rather than love of our fellow persons, I am always looking for an excuse to go out alone with my husband. We celebrated Friday night by first going out to eat at Misty's steakhouse where I consumed about 8 oz. of unadulterated red meat, my first beef in weeks. We then moved to Ivanna Cone to enjoy mass quantities of red velvet ice cream. Nobody does it better than Ivanna Cone! Later we moved on to Libations for a drink where we watched some of the Olymcics open ceremony. Finally, we headed to Sara and Travis' to hang out for awhile before heading home.

Around eleven o'clock while we were chatting with our friends, my stomach started to hurt. I wasn't nauseous or pukey. My stomach actually felt like there was a rock situated in the bottom of it with a knot tied in there somewhere. Worst stomachache ever. It kept me up half the night. What's the deal? Is this what I get for eating a steak? And lobster bisque? And ice cream? I was very diligent about my portion control and have eaten much more than this many times before. Whatever the cause (and if you know me at all, you know that I was up half the night just knowing it was a tumor in my stomach), I seriously hope it never happens again.

I also want to share the lovely gift that Colby gave me. I gave him a leather-bound cigar journal which he requested. I also gave him a rather extensive list of items I wanted from etsy.com. For once he actually listened, and presented me with a lovely and very Valentine's Day appropriate sparrow necklace. Thanks, Babe!


And also thank you to my daycare kiddos for the coffee mug and java. Yum yum!

Out of The Mouths of Babes

The conversations of children are generally quite amusing. Some gems from today:

Lunch conversation: Isn't the Grinch so mean??

Evelyn to Gavin: If you want me to be your girlfriend, you have to write me a love song.

Gavin to Evelyn: Girls break up. That's what they do.

Friendship Bracelets

Growing up I didn't have too much Martha Stewart in my life. I was raised in a single parent household, and my dad really didn't bake or sew Halloween costumes or make Valentines. Since I am a stay-at-home parent I feel it is my duty to be a little more hands-on and creative with my kids. Last week's blog about baking bread is a case in point.

In the last few days I have spent some time putting together friendship bracelets for Brody's 1st grade class and Evelyn's dance class. They are really simple to make, don't require many tools, and are pretty much about the easiest Valentine ever besides those store-bought atrocities. A word of caution: I'm not exactly sure that they are sturdy or meant to last longer than about five minutes. If you really want to make these, go to familyfun.go.com/crafts/lovely-ribbon-bracelets-668259/



I put the bracelets in a pretty little sack with a name tag sticker. I'm not sure if the kids will appreciate my efforts now, but I hope someday they can look back and remember that I cared enough to help make jinky bracelets and overcooked bread. That's what moms are for.

Super Bowl Sunday

Geaux Saints! Who Dat?

We aren't really football fans, but who can resist the glamour and excitement surrounding the Super Bowl and the accompanying commercials? Our friends the Wiley's came by to eat pizza, drink, and watch the big game. We spent more time talking than watching, but that's all part of the camaraderie of sports, right? I really had no stake in the game, although I do have a friend from New Orleans, hence my choosing to cheer for the Saints.

My favorite commercial? A Doritos ad where a little boy of maybe 5 years tells his mama's would-be suitor to keep his hands off his mama and his Doritos after slapping the inconsiderate man across the face.

I didn't take any photos while our guests were here, but I took a few before they arrived. Just thought I'd share them.




Soren is crying after the first Colts' touchdown. Kidding, kidding.

Holiday Partay

Saturday was a night of firsts. Colby, the kids, and I headed to Omaha for Colby's work holiday party. Colby's brother lives in Omaha, and he and his wife said they would watch the kids for us. Their son is the same age as Evie, and they have tons of cool toys for the boys to play with. Scott and Amber were very brave and took all the kids to Chinese buffet. Another first: my kids went to church and no one had died or was getting married. My nephew was singing in front of the whole congregation, and Evie decided she needed to be up there, too. Mind you, she had never been to this place before and didn't know the song at all. I guess she'll do anything for a little stage time.

Saturday was also my first trip to Harrah's casino. I put my first dollar into the slot machine. We ended up winning about $4.00 but spending about $14.00. I know. We were really living it up. We mostly just drank lots of booze and hung out. For two people who don't enjoy gambling, perhaps a casino really isn't the place to party. I met a lot of Colby's co-workers. I know he's generally worried that I'll piss someone off, but I think I did a really good job of holding my tongue. Despite the tequila, vodka, wine, and champagne.

Friendship Bread

I really like to bake despite my total inability to do it properly. After a friend had given me the starter for a batch of Amish friendship bread, the time had finally come to bake it. I followed the directions all week: mushing the bag when directed and adding the dry ingredients when it was time. When I finally got ready to bake, I asked Evelyn and Gavin to help (despite the fact that I knew every single step would cause an argument). They diligently and excitedly added the flour and sugar and milk. One stirred the wet ingredients while the other stirred the dry. We carefully greased and sugar-coated the baking pans, and then we scraped the batter in the pans. I sent the kids on their way so I could finish in peace.


By now there's a huge mess. Dry mix everywhere from Gavin's overzealous stirring. Batter all over from kiddos "helping" me pour it into pans. However, knowing that I am not the world's best baker and having a feeling that something wasn't right, I rechecked the recipe one last time before putting the bread in the oven. I forgot to add eggs. So, I scraped all the batter back into the mixing bowl, added the eggs, re-poured batter into the pans, and finally put it in the oven. The bread was a hit, naturally, as it is filled with sugar and pudding mix.


I passed new starter batches on to my friends but kept one for myself. Although I needed three Advil after all was said and done, the kids had a great time baking. And I need all the practice I can get.

Update: Healthy Body Challenge

It has been a couple of weeks since I started my commitment to myself. We have joined the YMCA, and I have gone three times since we joined last week. I am very proud of myself for driving the 15 minutes to the YMCA in the freezing cold. The placement of my house in proximity to, well, anything, has been a hurdle in my desire to go anywhere. Living in the suburbs, though safe and quiet, limits my ability to make a "quick trip" anywhere.

My commitment to healthier eating is actually getting really annoying. I have to cook two meals, one for Colby and the kids and one for me. I miss meat loaf. I miss bacon. Turkey bacon, despite its name, isn't bacon. I miss bars of dark chocolate. I miss Ranch dressing from the bottle. I REALLY miss corn dog nuggets (because I'm 5 years old, I guess). I know all things can be had in moderation, but I am not a moderate person. I am a eat the whole bag person.

It's not all bad. I've rediscovered a childhood love of sherbet. And I can still drink coffee. There's always Laughing Cow cheese and veggie burgers. You can all stop drooling now.

The good news is that I am down to 171.6 lbs without starving myself or sweating too much. The 160s are in sight.

Brody's Birthday Party

I know. I'm a little late with the party blog. So sue me. Since I've made this new commitment to eating less processed foods and exercising, I spend so much more time cooking and much more time at the YMCA (it's fun to stay there, you know). My time blogging has been sacrificed much to my dismay.

Anyhoo, I want to be sure to post some of the photos from Brody's bowling party. Although quite pricey and required three of the four grown-ups present to consume pitchers of beer, the bowling/pizza party was fun as hell! I even bowled, if you call a series of gutter balls with a lucky strike mixed in bowling. Brody had a great time with his little friends. Some of the kids had never bowled before, so it was great to be a part of their bowling experience. I had forgotten about the sounds and smells of the bowling alley. And we're still going back despite them.