Saving the planet...

...one bottle of water at a time...

better late then never

4 years ago yesterday....

I met my hubby. yay! Here's a pic from that day - Thunder Over Louisville 2005:

And a couple of others from when we were dating:

How could I possible be mad at this??

We have been having some issues lately with Corbin coloring on himself with pens. I try to keep them out of his reach, but sometimes he's trickier than I am. Here are some pics of him showing off his artwork today. I had to hide my smile until I put him into the corner. I'm not sure though, the time out may have been negated when I took pics of him afterward lol.

Corbin cuteness

Corbin was trying to put his trucks in the printer. When I told him to stop he said "But mom!!!!" Like he was 6 years old or something. Seriously is there ever a good excuse for shoving trucks in the printer???

Corbin has recently learned how to say his name. He now loves to announce "Name Forbin Muwphy" Anytime a stranger asks him a question, that is what he says lol.

I taught him the words to the Beatles song Drive My Car. He has been walking around for 2 days singing - "beep beep beep beep yah!!!"

Corbin got a book for Easter about love. It's a very cute book and we've read it every night at bedtime since he got it. At the end, it talks about saying goodnight to the stares and waving at the man in the moon. Corbin is now crazy about the man in the moon. He loves to read that page in the book and always has to kiss the moon goodnight. It's too cute.

another update

Cody went home on Saturday. He is doing much better. The doctors still have no idea what happened and he will be following up with them in the days to come.

update...

Cody is doing much better this morning. He is still in the hospital and all his tests have come back fine. The docs have no idea what the problem is, but they are going to continue running tests until they figure things out.
Please continue to keep him in your prayers.

prayers needed please

James 5 y/o cousin was rushed to the hossy from school this morning. He passed out. When EMS got there, his blood sugar was 30. He has no history of diabetes. This is the same kid who's had pneumonia twice in the last 6 months.

They admitted him to the hospital (obviously). James just got a text from his aunt and Cody is still doing pretty bad. His temp is 93*. The docs are not sure what's wrong with him.

Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. We're all very worried right now.

Easter at the Murphys

This year was the first year Corbin has really gotten in to Easter. It was a lot of fun.

I worked Saturday night and got home at around 630 Sunday morning. I managed to get off work a little early due to a bit of a rough night. Got home, made a cheesecake, and went to bed until 10AM. Then we went to church. We tried to bring Corbin in with us for the worship (something we're working on) but he wanted to "go play", so we gave up on that idea.

Yesterday afternoon, we had Easter dinner and an Egg Hunt with the family. James cousins are 4 (twins) and 5. There were some other family friends there as well with 2 young kids. Corbin had a blast. He really enjoyed the egg hunt. Of course he had to have a little help from mama. Unfortunately, his mama is a little competitive and pushed him into a bush to fight for the "golden" egg with his cousin, Cody. Cody ended up with the contents of the egg (a dollar!) and Corbin ended up with the egg, which is all he really cared about anyway. I ended up with the reputation as the mother who will not be allowed at her child's sporting events lol.

All in all it was a really fun time. Corbin ate too much candy and is still bouncing off the walls today. It was so fun to watch him get into the activities and to teach him about the real meaning of the holiday - Jesus' resurrection.

Praise the Lord for His death on the cross for our sins and His rising from the grave. Without it we have no hope.

yummy

Chicken in creamy chive sauce (this one is awesome!):

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup of butter
1 - 0.7 oz package of italian dressing mix (dry)
1 can condensed golden mushroom soup
1/2 cup dry wine (I use water)
1/2 8oz tub of chive and onion cream cheese (we uise fat free)

place chicken in crockpot. Mix (melt) other ingredients together and pour over chicken. Cook on low 8 hours or on high 4-5 hours.

Serve over pasta or rice

I making this Wednesday. James aunt gave me the recipe and it's seriously one of my favorite meals. I like it with rice.

My favorite pics from the past couple of weeks

I have been a picture taking slacker lately, but here are some pics I LOVE from the past couple of weeks...

Feta Stuffed Peppers

This is Thursdays nights dinner. I got the recipe from a friend and Corbin and James LOVE it.

Stuffed Peppers with Feta

1 cup water
1/2 cup uncooked Arborio rice (I just use plain old minute rice and it turns out fine. I have no idea what Arborio rice is, so if you know, please enlighten me lol)
2 red/orange/yellow bell peppers, halved and seeded
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 bunch of green onions, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (here I use Italian dressing mix. It's a dry mix that comes in a packet. I already have a ton for another recipe and don't have Italian Seasonings, so I improvised)
1 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 tomato, diced
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet. Place the peppers cut-side down on the prepared baking sheet. Roast 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until tender and skin starts to brown.

In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Stir in the rice. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, and set aside.

Heat oil in a medium skillet. Cook the onions, basil, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper in oil for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the tomato, and cook for 5 minutes. Spoon in the cooked rice, and stir until heated through. Remove from heat, mix in the feta cheese, and spoon the mixture into the pepper halves.

Return to the oven for 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

What do Turtles say?

According to Corbin, turtles say "dude! Sweet!"

I think we may have watched Finding Nemo one too many times lately.

It's been a while since I've talked about what Corbin is up to lately...


~ He is talking so much! Everyday he learns a new word. Today he came up with "I want some cheese!" clear as day. Of course sometimes he says things we would rather him not say. Two days ago, he started yelling "stupid!" from his highchair. It was really funny, but of course we couldn't let him know that. Daddy let him know, in no uncertain terms, that if we heard that word again, Corbin would be spending some time in his corner.

~ Potty training is going great! Last Sunday, we let him wear underwear to Grandma's for dinner, and he had no accidents. Yesterday, we were out for over 2 hours and his diaper was dry when we got home. It's really starting to sink in and I think we will be out of diapers - at least while awake - very soon. He is taking his first trip to the store in underwear today, so we're praying for no accidents.

~ Corbin is currently addicted to Chocolate Milk. He asks for it all day long - "chocat malk! chocat malk!". If we give him regular milk, he walks to the fridge, points at the Hershey's Syrup and yells "Chocat Malk!!!!"

~ A moment ago, Corbin was crawling behind me, pushing a truck, saying "set! go!" A bug got him and he yelled "no! Tickle me!!!" and ran off quite upset that this big dared to tickle him!

~ Corbin's favorite time of day is when Daddy comes home. He loves his daddy. In fact, frequently during the day, he goes into our bedroom to see if daddy is "seeping" in there. It's pretty cute.

~ Corbin is also becoming quite good at soccer. If I can't kick the ball with him for some reason, he will kick it against the wall so it comes back to him and he can kick it again. He's deserted his truck and is doing this as I type.

Well, he has now realized that Mama isn't doing anything "important" and is pulling on me to come "kit da socar baw" with him....

Foto fun

Corbin is an artist...

friday foto fun

It's timeline time. Here is Corbin from birth to now:

1 day old



two days old and first Christmas



six months old



12 months old


18 months old


2nd birthday



a couple of weeks ago

my new thing

Lately I've been getting very into cooking. I never thought I would like it - in fact until recently I dreaded making dinner every night. Even with a meal plan, I didn't want to cook.

Well lately I have been bitten by the cooking bug. I have tried out several new recipes in the past couple weeks, all of which have been LOVED by James and Corbin. Cooking is actually a lot of fun.

In light of this change of heart towards my kitchen, I'm going to start posting a "recipe of the week". I'm going to pick out my favorite thing that I made that week and post it. It may not be my favorite thing to eat - I'm a picky eater and don't like a lot of what I cook. It's sad I know - sometimes it will be the one I enjoyed making the most.

So this week, we have Spinach Lasagna - and I got this recipe from an internet friend btw :)

10oz frozen spinach- thawed, drained
1 container of ricotta- lower fat is better
1 pkg of shredded moz cheese
1 egg
italian seasoning/salt/pepper
pasta/spaghetti sauce
lasagna noodles

mix spinach, ricotta, 1/2 the cheese, egg and seasoning together

start with sauce at the bottom of a 9x9 dish, then uncooked lasagna noodles, then 1/2 the cheese mixture. More sauce, noodles, the rest of the cheese, sauce and one more layer of noodles. put the other 1/2 of the moz cheese on top. Pour 1/2 c water over entire lasagna. cover with foil- bake 1 hr at 350 covered, then 15 more minutes uncovered until cheese is browned...

Corbin has not tried this yet, so I don't know his opinion, but James loved loved loved it. And it wasn't too hard to make either. Definitely a keeper.

Friday Foto Fun - 5 days too late lol

I am so bad about getting pics off the camera LOL Here are last weeks fave pictures:

Corbin loves to line his trucks up like this. And once they are how he wants them, you better not touch them lol:

Corbin was totally fascinated with this balloon.

Bath time:

a boy and his blankie

14 reasons I like my hubby

In honor of Valentine's day, I'm gonna go a little sappy for you guys (I sorta stole the idea FYI)

1. He just walked in here and tried to kick me (joking of course).

2. He plays guitar.

3. He has explained football to me about 100 times and would do it again if I asked him to.

4. He supports me in working out and getting healthy.

5. On our first real date, he pulled the E-brake in the rain while we were turning into the movie theater. Scared me to death, but was also pretty funny.

6. Also on our first date he went cow tipping with me. Of course we both got scared and ran off before we tipped any cows, but it was fun.

7. He just smiles and nods when I burst out with the theme song for Yay Me!!! Starring London Tipton off The Suite Life of Zach and Cody on Disney Channel.

8. After Corbin goes to bed, we'll catch ourselves watching Suite Life or Hannah Montana on Disney and actually getting into it.

9. He doesn't even suggest seeing scary or overly suspenseful movies in theater. He waits until the come out and then lets me squeeze the crap out of his hands and hide behind the couch pillows while watching them.

10. He's always willing to stay home with Corbin so I can go out.

11. He gives me piggy back rides in the parking lot.

12. He makes me take cold meds and then lets me sleep all day when I'm sick b/c he knows it will make me feel better and I won't do it if he doesn't make me.

13. He tried to teach me to play Halo and didn't laugh when I sucked.

14. He thinks it's hilarious to hold me down and tickle me until I'm yelling "I'm gonna pee myself" so loudly the whole neighborhood can probably hear me.

Happy Valentine's Day baby! I love you!

Friday Foto Fun

Love these pics from last week:

On Tuesday, I made pizza. Corbin loved it.

Corbin's fave movie right now is Finding Nemo. This is him totally sucked into the movie. He was supposed to be going to the potty, but obviously got distracted on the way there.

It's Friday - picture time!

I love these pictures of Corbin. He was fresh and clean out the bath on Wednesday night. My original goal was to get a pic of his curls:
I love them, especially when he's had his hair washed and his detangler (sour apples!) put in. So soft and sweet.
Corbin had other plans though. He loves the camera. The second I turn it on (and he can hear it from a mile away lol) he's all over me yelling "cheese!". Then after I take the picture, he asks "see baby?" He doesn't quite get that HE is the "baby" in the pictures. Cracks me up.
So here are my 3 favorites from Wednesday night. Enjoy!

Who loves you most??

Since Corbin was born, at bedtime we always told him who loves him - mama, daddy, aunts Jessica and Rachel, uncles Kevin and Jon, grandma, grandpa, and meemaw and pop-pop. We would by telling him Jesus loved him the most of all.
About 6 months ago he would try to repeat when we said Jesus. We would ask at bedtime "Corbin do you know who loves you most?" He would babble something and we would say "Jesus loves Corbin the most!" Then he would say "cheese!" trying to say Jesus. Very funny, we made him say it for everyone.
Last week, at bedtime, I asked him who loved him most. He said, clear as day, "Jesus!!". The next day at nap, I laid him down and said "I love you" He got all excited and shouted "Jesus love most!" It was so sweet.
Now every time someone asks him who loves him, he says "Jesus!" It melts my heart every time. It's so precious to see him grasp the truth of Jesus' love for him.
I love my monkey and I love seeing him grow. I pray someday he will love Jesus and grow in Him.

so true

http://badmommymoments.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/mime-attachment.jpeg

kinda sad

I cloth diaper. I have done so since Corbin was 8 months old. I love it. I've sold my stash twice and rebuilt it. Over the summer I switched to good old fashioned prefolds, fitteds, and covers. It was great.

I love cloth diapering. We've saved so much money - I've spent about $300 on everything, including Corbin's cloth wipes and two wet bags. That's it. We still use disposables at night and for church, but the bug box from Costco lasts several months.

It's also very good for the environment. You really don't do that much extra laundry. I do two extra loads a week. So not wasting that much water. And you don't have diapers sitting in a landfill doing whatever it is they do there.

I keep my diapers in the laundry room and we never have a poopy diaper smell. This is b/c we rinse all the yuckies off and they don't sit in the diaper in your diaper pail or trash can, stinking up the house.

Cloth diapers don't have a funky smell when peed in. I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but sposies have a weird smell to them. I never noticed until I switced to cloth, but I hate the smell of sposies now.

Cloth diapers have also done wonders for my monkey boy's skin. When we first switched he had horrible excema on his bottom. He's not had any on his bottom since we switched. He does still get it on his legs and tummy though.

But despite of all the good things, we are selling the diapers one last time. Corbin is half way potty trained - he always goes on the potty if he's naked. Also I am returning to work fulltime next week and James works and is in school. Corbin will be staying with his grandma while I work. She uses sposies on him. Since I will be out of the house 3-5 days a week, we won't be using them as much. I don't want to have 2 extra loads of laundry to do on top of everything else.

So it's bye bye cloth diapers. And I'm sad. I don't like rinsing diapers, I don't enjoy laundry, but I love my diapers. It's an odd attachment lol.

Favorite pic time

Here are my favorite pics from last week: