Thursday, December 25, 2008

By the Hammer of Thor!

I will contest that there is nary a taste bud anywhere, on the planet, that is popping with more happiness than mine is right now! My hubby today took our aged family recipe for stuffing to new heights! I mean, this stuffing is so good I wanna take it out behind the high school and get it pregnant! (I will give mad respect to whoever gets that genius reference!) And the turkey! Don't get me started! Usually, we throw the bird into a Reynolds roasting bag and let nature take its course. This morning, however, we realized that we (I) had neglected to buy said bags. IKEA dutch oven to the rescue! We roasted that bird for 2 hours, all the while sucking up the drippings with a poultry syringe and re-injecting said goodness into the breasts. Did I mentioned we shoved a beautiful poultry arrangement of fresh herbs under his skin? O-M-G! Seriously! After 2 hours we tented it for another hour and half and let him alone. Then, Jeremy sliced that bird open like a TonTon and we feated like it was Festivus! (Too many pop culture references?) Picture the most succulent, flavorful, RIDICULOUS bird you have E-V-E-R tasted. THIS was our bird. Mixed with the aforementioned RIDONKULOUS stuffing and the combination was pure O pleasure for food ho's and casual foodies alike! All I gots to say is: secret family recipe! You can look....you can drool.....but you will NEVER know!

Christmas Morning....so far

Christmas Morning thus far has been surprisingly peaceful and low key. We got up at 5:45 to try to beat the kids, but as soon as we walked out, Logan and Phoenix came strolling out. Moise came out 1/2 hour later and we finally had to wake up Cai shortly after that. Each boy had 1 unwrapped present under the tree and were allowed to play with those as well as whatever was in their stockings while Jeremy made breakfast. During breakfast, Jeremy read the Christmas story and then it was present time! Each boy opened one present at a time so mommy could get good pics. Fab idea as it created this calm instead of feeding frenzy! Now, everyone is playing happily and the turkey is about ready to come out. We'll post more pics at the end of the day. Merry Christmas EVERYONE!


Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Christmas in the Square

Our church held Christmas Eve service in the historic downtown square of Ocala. It is beautiful and every year it gets decorated with millions of lights and the horse-drawn carriages come out to play! It would have made for a picture-perfect Christmas Eve had it not been 82 degrees! In any event, the boys were excited to get to hold candles and sing, but were super disappointed that the whole thing was only 30 minutes. Bummer, indeed. Then we went to KFC for some holiday grub, only to wait 25 minutes in line before being told that when we placed out order they had already run out of food and it would be an additional 30 minutes before any magically appeared! Bah-humbug! (I had other choice words, but we'll stick with Bah-Humbug!) Then we went to Steak and Shake which had already closed for the evening and were forced to seek food in other, less desirable locations. But, I digress. The kids are in bed, sound asleep, and the presents are being placed under the tree presently! I have to go help Mr. Claus now .... maybe there'll be milk and cookies in it for me!

Merry Christmas!


Monday, December 22, 2008

Macro Flowers

Lovin my new Nikon D40 and the beauty of the small things....Please to enjoy the flora and fauna of my mom's backyard.


Our Christmas Weekend...

Let the fun begin!


Monday, December 15, 2008

Geeky Goodness!

Rarely do I share glimpses into the true geek that I am, but I couldn't resist. The trailer for the new Wolverine movie was just released and I felt the need to share. Yeah, I'm a geek! So here it is, X-Men Origins: Wolverine

X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE HD

Downtown Disney!!

The benefit of living where we live is that Disney and all is glittery, shiny, ooey-gooey goodness is a mere 45 minutes away! This was a weekend a relatively money-less fun, which is ALWAYS a good thing! The weekend started off with the baking of some super yummy peanut butter cookies! The big boys helped with he rolling and the forking (hehe!) and of course, with the taste-testing! Then on Saturday it was off to Orlando for some fun. You have to realize, my kids idea of a grand time is an hour in Smaland at IKEA. And since IKEA is mommy's happy place, we were happy to oblige! I have already bored you with my long-winded ramblings of my love of all things IKEA, so I will spare you this time! After IKEA, we headed to Downtown Disney. By the time we got there, it was already dark, which was really our plan all along! The whole area/marketplace is done up in the beauty and excitement and the gaiety of the holiday season! Lights, street performers, Christmas music, special yumminess to sample and of course, a train ride! The kids LOVED watching the silly husband/wife yoyo team, the jugglers, the Renaissance string trio ad the Toy Soldiers on stilts! All of this goodness would blow any little kids' mind - but for 2 little ones who just came from Haiti - well, there was a glaze and a sparkle in their eyes, a ridiculously large grin and silly dancing any time we stopped for but a moment! Moise's mission was just to get to the train. He's obsessed with trains and to get to ride on one - well, there wa nothing to make him happier! Well, maybe except for the cotton candy and Mickey Mouse lollipops! Oh, and getting to take his picture with his hero, Buzz Lightyear. And, did I mention the "what the heck is that?" discussion he had with Logan upon seeing the life-size Lego Santa Claus? Pretty funny! Even Jeremy had a "happy shiver" moment when he stumbled upon the fully assembled Lego Deathstar in the Lego store! Speaking of Lego store....when putting your child on your shoulders and browsing a store, always, ALWAYS have your spouse check the caboose, lest you end up with a really great photo-op! In case you're wondering about the water- fountain pic - it took him a while to figure out the whole water fountan thing, since it was his first time using one - pretty funny!


Friday, December 12, 2008

Merry Christmas Charlie Brown!


Charlie Brown Christmas Revisited from Heather Pihl on Vimeo.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Thanksgiving Pt.2 + Grandparents Weekend

This weekend marked the last of our Thanksgiving celebrations. My parents came up from South Florida and spent the weekend. We also decided to celebrate Mo's birthday. It's not until December 22nd, but we wanted him to have a real birthday experience and not feel either jipped or overwhelmed. So, my parents brought him up his birthday present: a new bike. He was retardedly happy and took off like a rocket! My mom brought up hats and gloves she'd made for the boys and they were in heaven! Their little hands have been SO COLD these past few weeks! We also went and got a Christmas tree and spent the day decorating it. What fun for the boys! Their first Christmas! I wanted to get pics of Mo picking out his first ever Christmas tree, but I had taken my mom's cam since it fit in my purse and failed to realize that my SDHC card wouldn't work in an regular digital SD camera. Grrrr! So, no pics. Anyway, plenty of pics of the decorating and such...so enjoy!!


Saturday, November 29, 2008

Thanksgiving

Bear with me here cause this is gonna be a long post! Since our family all had different scheduled this year, we had to actually postpone Thanksgiving until Saturday. My sister and her family and my grandparents came over and spent the day.
First, there were shenanigans:



Then, of course, there was football:

I got it!!!

Come on, son, you can do it!

As my grandpa said, "Look at the wing on that chicken!"

This is his Huisman pose! :0)

Grandma calling out plays.
Finally, the bird was finished and it was time for FOOD! Get to carving!
Grandpa got caught cheatin the pot and stealing some stuffing!
Let's give thanks....Yes, that's my chair on the end. The photographer never gets IN the picture.
Finally, sweet bonding with the great-grandparents before everyone passes out from tryptophan overload!




Tonia figured out that everyone passed out and left HER to do the dishes! Payback for YEARS of her doing the same thing to us!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Best part of the Macy's Parade?

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Boys bein boys

Caught the boys wrestling....

Have I mentioned that I <3 this kid's laugh?

Portrait of (2) 13 year olds! cn u c it?

Cai-ism Pics

Since a picture is worth a thousand Cai-isms.....BEHOLD! The Cai:


And say hello to his little friend!

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Pics of Boys

Took pics of Moise and Phoenix this morning just cause it was cold and they were cute. I love the last one cause it looks like such a "superhero" shot! Please to enjoy:



Friday, November 21, 2008

Dred Update

we've been waxing and have kept them banded for a week. took he bannds out this morning and they are beautiful, tight little twists all over his head! he's very happy with how it looks. as long as he keeps twisting them whenever he's bored and we re-wax once a week, we should have beautiful "wyclef hair" soon!



Thursday, November 20, 2008

This Morning....

Cai hugged me, pulled back and looked at me and said, "I smell love in my nose."
;0) hehehehe!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Check out our scrapbook!

It's not finished yet, but this is what we have so far. Be patient, as it may take a minute or so to load...If you're really impatient, you can click "View FullScreen" and it will load instantly.

Monday, November 17, 2008

dreads

moise's hair finally got to the 1.5" - 2" length - long enough to start the dread process! he has been buggin everyday..."wyclef hair today?" so this weekend was the day! took about 4 hours total, but we sectioned, twisted, waxed and banded his whole head! his head huuuuuurts, but he likes how it looks and is excited for it to start looking like "wyclef!" we'll be posting update pics as the process progresses...but here are the first few:










Sunday, November 16, 2008

My new hobby

I L-O-V-E my camera. It's a Nikon D40 and I am determined to move away from the Auto setting and jump into the world of ALL MANUAL! So, here are a few pics of the new trick I learned - showing speed in motion. Also, I couldn't resist a "many faces of Cai" collage! Enjoy!



Sunday, November 2, 2008

Church day at the Park

Too. tired. to. type. Look at pictures.


Friday, October 31, 2008

Trick or Treat Day

You know, I always grew up not celebrating Halloween. We would go to our church's "Harvest Festival," play games and get candy and dress up as Bible characters. Nothing wrong with that I suppose, but if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, well, it's still Halloween, isn't it? So, if the church can make up things and recreate a holiday the way they want to celebrate it, then so can I. The boys love, I mean, L-O-V-E dressing up as super heroes. So, for this reason, we went to the Cheapo Depot (I kid you not, that's the name of the store) and got last year's Halloween costume's for $5 each! Had a party/cookout with our neighbors and all went around the neighborhood together. To the boys, tonight was not Halloween, it was Trick or Treat day. A day of fun, candy, food, friends, fun costumes and our personal favorite tradition, ending the night with "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown." I know many Christians have very opposing views on this, and that's all good. But tonight, my boys got to bloss out in their favorite super hero costumes and mountains of candy with no knowledge whatsoever of the actual name of or meaning behind the holiday. Pictures now, for your viewing pleasure.


Sunday, October 26, 2008

Logan's Birthday!

So, it was Logan's birthday today - 7 years old. We started the morning off with strawberry french toast - Logan's request. After church was a cook out with his friends next door, cake and presents. Mommy finally found him a killer little R/C car (see my review here and the review for the failed/returned present here). He's been outside all day making his new car do wheelies and flips and practicing his pogo skills. I think the 7 year old mind set has kicked in and he has really begun taking more risks, brushing off wipeouts and crying about things much less. I like this turn of events. Nest is Moise's birthday and a sincere attempt to make sure he doesn't get jipped just because his bday is 3 days before Xmas. Anyway - if you missed it, make sure to wish Logan a Happy Bday in the comments section!

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Dancey Dance Time

.....courtesy of Wyclef Jean and Carnival!

A bit of a breakthrough

Cai and Moise have been pretty much at each other's throats since the day we got back to our house. Moise provokes and antagonizes and annoys the pee out of Cai and Cai, in return, gouges, bites and generally drops his 8 year old brother to his knees in a puddle of tears. One would think Moise would learn to stop doing things to make Cai angry, but no....

Anyway, Tom & Jerry break today and thisis what I found in the middle of the living room floor. Let's pray it lasts beyond the cartoon.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

A few new pics

Just a few new pics for your viewing pleasure. The video below is of Logan messing around on the guitar. I only caught the tail end of it, but Phoenix thought it was HIGHlarious!

Is anyone cuter than Cai? I mean, really?
Mad because he couldn't play football. Check out the killer Spiderman kicks though!
This is my new favorite pic!
Logan doin what Logan does....

Phoenix has become very attached to Logan - I think he's his favorite. Everything Logan does is either hysterically funny or worthy of hugs and kisses!

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Just in Time for Christmas!

To all you wonderful peeps out there who keep up with the Pihl's here in blogland, I give to you a gift - the gift of awareness! There is this incredible little internet boutique you should all check out. It features knit couture apparel and accessories at fantastic prices - everything from shawls and wraps to hats, purses and scarves! All handmade and of the finest quality materials! This is the perfect time and the perfect gift for any friends or family you may have up north or in the colder parts of the country.

As an added bonus, the designer has agreed to donate a percentage of the profits until December 1 to the relief effort for hurricane devastated Haiti.

So, buy a gift for family and friends and do your part to help a devastated country.

Click here - BluMorfo Creations to check out the full website. Below is a slideshow of some of what the boutique has to offer. Some of the products are located on the boutique's website and some of the others are located at the sister boutique, blumorfo.etsy.com

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Week 1 Observations

Okay, so we're just past the 1st week mark. It's been a blur really - a little too "normal" and a little chaotic all at the same time. Here are just a few of my observations:

1. My house STINKS! (as previously stated in another post)
2. The novelty of the in fridge ice and water maker has not worn off and my kitchen floor always has a puddle on it.
3. Moise is obsessed with ice and will eat ice chips all day
4. Haitians MUST yell EVERYTHING! There is no concept of volume control at all!
5. Moise understands everything we are saying to him unless its something he doesn't want to hear - then he's amazingly stricken with the "I only speak Creole" disease
6. Phoenix knows how to "work it!" He will bat his eyelashes and flash a heart-melting smile whenever he's told no or is doing something he knows he's not supposed to
7. Getting an 8 year old who wets the bed nearly every night to wear GoodNights is A LOT easier said than done
8. Who knew adding 2 kids would increase the mess in my house exponentially. I have wiped up more spills, washed more blown out clothes and picked up more crap in the last week than in my entire career as a mom
9. Just cause you adopt an older kid doesn't mean you'll get the sleep of an older kid - expect newborn sleep cycles!
10. Phoenix sleepwalks apparently and often ends up on the couch or chair in the living room.
11. Having to discipline 180 degrees from what you're used to and now applying to all boys instead of just the new 2 - uber challenging.
12. I H-A-T-E diapers!!!!! I didn't order a baby, but I got one anyway! Changes the game plan 110%
13. This - all of this - still feel like babysitting. I can't emphasize this enough. There is not some magical moment when they come home wherein that organic, loving, "feels like they've always been here" family appears. It's work and a choice every single day to love them and make it work. Do not misunderstand - I love all of my children passionately and unwaveringly. However, you have to realize that this is one of the biggest changes and adjustments we (or you, if you are adopting) will ever go through as a family. It takes a helluva lot of time and a helluva lot of work and prayer. The more you build up dreams and ideas and paint pictures of what you think it will be like when your children come home, the more disappointed, frustrated and out of love you will be with them when they finally do come home. Let me share with you something my parents shared with my husband when he was about to meet my extended family for the first time: expect the worst....and then you get the "family name inserted here." I will relay the same advice to you: expect the worst...and then you get "insert child's name here." In other words - have no expectations or dreams or grandiose ideas of family ooey-gooey bonding. Expect the worst and you will be so wonderfully surprised when it turns out to be not so bad. This puts so much less pressure on the children and takes a HUGE burden off of you.

I think that's all for right now. I have 2 very sick little guys - 24-hour flu kinda thing and we've been up since 4:30am. Will post more pics and updates throughout the next week, so keep on checking in.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Read my Blog?

I would LOVE to know who's reading, following or just stopping by once and a while. Hit the "Follow Me" button on the right sidebar and lemme know who you are! The more friends and family I have to write for, the more fun it is!

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

First Bike Ride!

Daddy being home from work this week has been a great thing for all the boys! He helped Moise with his first bike ride today and in no time, Moise was off! Phoenix got into helping daddy fix a bike and it was a great time of winding down before dinner. These moments are so sweet!

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

My house....

STIIIIIIIIIIIINKS! Who knew 4 boys could stink up a house so efficiently and thoroughly? ;0) It's like one long, never-ending fart! I'm looking for some sweet savior to send me a gas mask......

Brothers Bonding




GoodNight!

The boys LOVED their new beds, especially with the new blankets grandma made (as seen in grandparentsRfun. The first few nights in their new home have gone very well and everyone has slept through the night - with the exception if Logan. He had to fall asleep in the guest room last night because Phoenix was snoring SO loud he couldn't sleep. Phoenix definitely has some nighttime breathing issues we're goingto have to get looked at.