Nothing like a little cat for dinner

Today I was cooking some ground beef for dinner and Ty came over. Here's how the conversation went....

Ty: "Mom, what are you cooking?"

Me: "Some meat for dinner." (It came from a tube package, so he was a bit worried.)

Ty: "What kind of meat?"

Me: "Just ground beef, but once it's cooked it'll look better. It's like what we use for meatballs."

Ty: "But what does it come from"

(My brother-in-law hunts and so Ty has been fascinated with which animal is which meat)

I tried to lay low and act like it was no big deal.

Me: "A cow" (I said it quickly so he wouldn't make any judgements)

He didn't say anything and when I looked over he looked like he was trying to control his gag reflex.

Me: "Ok?"

Ty: (Trying to be brave) "Ok, so ground beef from a cat, ok."

I tried so hard not to laugh, but couldn't help it.

Me: "Oh, not a cat! A cow!"

I've never seen him so reassured before. I promised that we'd never eat cat (let's hope we never have lows that low) and gave him a hug and showed him, since it was finished, what normal cow ground beef looked like.

I think we'll laugh about that one for a while.

If you want a good taco soup recipe that is 100% cat free, go HERE.

Poor Baby Girl

Poor poor Brookie.

We learned the hard way that she is allergic to amoxicillin.

She was one big rash from head to toe and couldn't stop itching. After three long days and even longer nights, she is feeling a lot better. Still a bit red, but that should fade soon.

I wish it could be really caught on camera.

This was after the worst, but still not looking great.

Baths were pretty much the only way to soothe her.

These are just a few pics of her quirky personality.

She does this whine where she squishes her face. We have yet to truly capture it, but this is close.

Ty picked these at the dollar store, and Brookie loved trying them on.

Love this girl and so glad the rash is gone. Now if she could just finish teething and get rid of those ear infections.

Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We had a very busy, but wonderful holiday season.

I slacked on Christmas cards this year, but we wish you all the very best and hope the new year brings lots of joy. Love you all!

Hear's a few highlights...

Brookie turned one!

I can't believe how fast this year has gone (I know everyone says that), but I really think having a holiday birthday made it really feel faster.

She's signing 'hot' or 'fire', not sucking on her finger, but either way she's adorable! We've LOVED having this beautiful girl in our family for a whole year.

Here's the kiddos in their new PJs.
Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Shaw!

For months, Ty wanted a guitar that turned into a piano. I know, intense. Well this year, Santa totally pulled through.

Brookie with her new doll saying 'Baby'.

We've resisted getting too many 'girly girl' things, but she loves her baby.

We got to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas with Kev's family, but I somehow made it through without any pictures of the kids with their cousins. So trust me when I say it was full of fun!

New Years' we were able to finally get together with my whole family (this pic was the closest thing we got). That hasn't happened for years, so it was a lot of fun and the kids had a great time playing with the whole gang.

This was Jordo's gift and he wore it ALL night!

And this was what Brooke loved. Why do we ever spend money on kids under two? They just like the paper and boxes anyways.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and here's to 2011!!!