A year of FIRSTS...

It has been an eventful year in the Orr household.  This was our FIRST year of being parents to our FIRST born son, in our FIRST house. I am still so amazed that my little guy is already one.  Anyone that is a parent can tell you that in the first year there are MANY milestones, including the milestone of accomplishing the FIRST year of parenthood.  Seeing your precious angel with their first smile, first laugh, first food, first tooth, first steps, first black eye (in our case, at least...no we are not bad parents, just learning parents and if anyone could prevent Kenwood from getting a black eye or a bruise these days with that curiosity of his, then they must hold the key to the "all-knowing shop" and I need a copy!)....

 Kenwood is one and he's a mess. One word to describe him would be "ROTTEN"...as in spoiled rotten. Or "ORNERY"...as in duh, he's a boy...he's ALL boy, bumps and bruises and black-eyes and all.   But I love that little rascal more than anything in this whole wide world. You know I feel like I've been a parent forever...like, I can't imagine my life any other way than being a mother and a wife.  I guess the good news is that I am truly happy with my life just the way it is. I do, however, wish my dad was here to share in all these FIRSTS.  But even then, it's a selfish thought... because I know that he is, in fact, sharing in all these FIRSTS. It is a miracle beyond all miracles, the miracle of life.  Crazy how things change over the course of a year.

Here is my rotten & ornery but nevertheless, my angel--see for yourself:

This is the face that makes me melt and he, in turn, usually gets what he wants.  I'm such a sucker.

Look at all those toys from Christmas...spoiled ROTTEN

Tell me that this doesn't show that he has some master plan to conquer my household! hahaha

Sarcasm at an early age...just what this household needs is more sarcasm. :)

"Kids at Heart"

Well, we finally got to celebrate Christmas with the Carr side of the family.  Which is always a little crazy to say the least.  We have a tradition since as far back as I can remember that on Christmas night we play board games and the adults indulge in some holiday beverages (aka. BEER).  Our family is straight out of a movie about wacky families...and I fully accept and have pride about the wacky part!  You see, everyone in our family is a kid at heart...especially with those holiday beverages.  Even our spouses fit in our "teen humor" and our "friendly competitions" because I'm sure we all measured them up to make sure they were almost as wacky and crazy and hilarious as we were! Anyways, if this tells you anything my mother...grandmother of 4, also known as "Zeezi" was up until 4 am on Christmas night playing Wii in a nice "friendly competition" with my brother.  Needless to say we had 7 adults fighting over the Wii last night in lieu of the board games we usually play.  Like I said, "kids at heart", "crazy, to say the least". Here is a photo of mom in a "friendly competition" sword fighting her 6 year old granddaughter....look at that concentration! Priceless.

With that in mind, don't judge me (or my husband for that matter) for the decision that was made this morning while we were bored.  We trucked on over to Best Buy, Kenwood in tow, and bought a Wii for ourselves.  Dillon said, and I quote, "I think this will be good for our marriage."  I then looked over at him and advised "Or, end in divorce."  We are VERY competitive.   But, that is one of the many qualities I love about my husband.  So, I'm off to beat his ass in some Wii Resort.  GAME ON.

Griswold the Snowman

Dillon and I loaded up the car yesterday afternoon and attempted the trek from Shawnee to Oklahoma in this oh-so-bad weather.  We were thankful for the Orr's neighbors in Shawnee that busted out the John Deer tractor and plowed the neighborhood streets so we could get past the 4ft drifts in the neighborhood.  That was what we thought was keeping us from leaving...but once we hit Midwest City, we realized how bad the roads really were.  We made the usual 45 minute drive in 4 hours....it was a long ride and we nearly ran off the road twice.

Today was a gorgeous day, however.  After a nice long night in our OWN bed we were rested and warm inside.  When Kenwood went down for a nap this afternoon Dillon and I decided to make a snowman.  Yes, we are still children at heart...pretty sure we always will be. We used the snow to be the "cooler" for our beers, popped a top and created our masterpiece.  We didn't have any coal and I don't want to share any of my scarves with Griswold, that's our snowman's name, so we used our beer expertise.  He has bottle caps for eyes, bottles for his arms and nose...and of course the box for his hat. Behold.

It was a VERY WHITE Christmas!

We loaded up the car with presents and bags and headed East on I-40 to Shawnee, Oklahoma to spend Christmas Eve with Dillon's side of the family.  We were sitting around Christmas Eve afternoon opening our gifts and eating lunch when we looked out the window to see no less than a true BLIZZARD.  I'm talking, wind from two directions and snow and ice pouring out of the sky like bullets.  Needless to say we were all excited for a white Christmas.  But the excitement slowly dwindled when Dillon's sister and her family got snowed in with us...and Santa didn't get to visit the kids because he didn't know they were at their grandparents house!  Then my excitement turned to tears on Christmas morning, though I was thrilled to be with half of my family, I also wanted to be with my mom, brother and sister.  You see, Christmas time is difficult for my family this year...because Daddy isn't with us and he was always the epitomy of Christmas Cheer.  It was a very difficult day not being able to spend it with them, but what was most important to me was my boys.  As long as I had Dillon and Kenwood, Christmas was wherever we were.

I realized this year that Christmas is not just a day.  December 25th is not Christmas.  Christmas is family and love and the celebration of the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Whether it be on the 25th or on any other day, it doesn't matter.  It's okay to bend on your traditions as long as you all get together at some point. I hope everyone had a very blessed holiday season.  God Bless.

First Annual Orr Family Christmas Dinner

This year was the beginning of a tradition at the Orr house.  We hosted Christmas Dinner to kick off the Christmas Week with family, prayer, fun and good food!  We had both sides of our family there and all of Kenwood's cousins--he had a blast by the way and stayed up WAY past his bedtime! A total of 12 adults and 5 kiddos minus cousin Drew who was at his Dad's for Christmas---we sure missed him! 

I attempted to cook a meal large enough to feed 5 men that eat like bottomless pits and 7 women that all like a good meal too! It was a task to say the least.  My mom and my mother-in-law are both exceptional cooks so this was my chance to prove myself! So, I busted out my Christmas china, my SILVERware, my crystal goblets, and all my crystal and silver serving ware and went at it.  (I was so excited to finally use all of my china and silver and crystal that I got for my wedding!)

The Menu:
Flank Steak (with Abby Lawrence graciously giving me her marinade recipe)
Homeade Skin-on Mashed Potatoes with Cheese
Green Beans
Ceasar Salad
Rolls and French Bread

Well, the grill of course started screwing up and wasn't cooking the steak fast enough so we had to stick it in the broiler. Despite the mishap, dinner was just great!

The big hit at dessert was the hot chocolate punch bowl and tea cups.  The girls loved drinking their hot chocolate out of the "fancy" silver cups. 

However, the highlight of the night was not dinner or dessert.  It was having family all together and seeing how much fun the kids had together starting their own Christmas memories. 

Santa Clause is REAL!

I read this today and I had to post it for all of you non-believers out there.    Merry Christmas!

I remember my first Christmas adventure with Grandma. I was just a kid. I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her on the day my big sister dropped the bomb: "There is no Santa Claus," she jeered. "Even

dummies know that!"

My Grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. I fled to her that day because I knew she would be straight with me. I knew Grandma always told the truth, and I knew that the truth always went down a whole lot easier when swallowed with one of her world-famous cinnamon buns. I knew they were world-famous, because Grandma said so. It had to be true.

Grandma was home, and the buns were still warm. Between bites, I told her everything. She was ready for me. "No Santa Claus!" she snorted. "Ridiculous! Don't believe it. That rumor has been going around for years, and it makes me mad, plain mad. Now, put on your coat, and let's go." "Go? Go where, Grandma?" I asked. I hadn't even finished my second world-famous, cinnamon bun. "Where" turned out to be Kerby's General Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything. As we walked through its doors, Grandma handed me ten dollars. That was a bundle in those days. "Take this money," she said, "and buy something for someone who needs it.

I'll wait for you in the car." Then she turned and walked out of Kerby's.  I was only eight years old. I'd often gone shopping with my mother, but never had I shopped for anything all by myself. The store seemed big and

crowded, full of people scrambling to finish their Christmas shopping. For a few moments I just stood there, confused, clutching that ten-dollar bill, wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for.  I thought of everybody I knew: my family, my friends, my neighbors, the kids at school, the people who went to my church. I was just about thought out,  when I suddenly thought of Bobby Decker. He was a kid with bad breath and messy hair, and he sat right behind me in Mrs.Pollock's grade-two class. Bobby Decker didn't have a coat. I knew that because he never went out for recess during the winter. His mother always wrote a note, telling the teacher that he had a cough, but all we kids knew that Bobby Decker didn't have a cough, and he didn't have a coat. I fingered the ten-dollar bill with growing excitement. I would buy Bobby Decker a coat!

I settled on a red corduroy one that had a hood to it. It looked real warm, and he would like that. "Is this a Christmas present for someone?" the lady  behind the counter asked kindly, as I laid my ten dollars down. "Yes," I replied shyly. "It's .... for Bobby." The nice lady smiled at me. I didn't get any change, but she put the coat in a bag and wished me a Merry Christmas. That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat in Christmas paper andribbons (a little tag fell out of the coat, and Grandma tucked it in her Bible) and wrote on the package, "To Bobby, From Santa Claus" -- Grandma said that Santa always insisted on secrecy. Then she drove me over to Bobby Decker's house, explaining as we went that I was now and forever officially one of Santa's helpers.

Grandma parked down the street from Bobby's house, and she and I crept noiselessly and hid in the bushes by his front walk Then Grandma gave me a nudge. "All right, Santa Claus," she whispered, "get going." I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, threw the present down on his step, pounded his doorbell and flew back to the safety of the bushes and Grandma. Together we waited breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobby.  Fifty years haven't dimmed the thrill of those moments spent shivering, beside my Grandma, in Bobby Decker's bushes. That night, I realized that those awful rumors about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said they were: ridiculous. Santa was alive and well, and we were on his team. I still have the Bible, with the tag tucked inside: $19.95.

He who has no Christmas in his heart will never find Christmas under a tree.

Happy Christmas Week!

Happy Christmas Week!  This is the first year that Santa is visiting our little Kenwood, which he is pretty excited about, even though he doesn't exactly know what Santa does or what he looks like.  He does however, smile when I say Santa...but that's probably only because I say it in a cheery voice and smile real big afterwards...so he's probably just smiling at me....but I still like to think he's smiling at "Santa", or maybe he's secretly thinking if I had a long white beard on my face I could pass for Santa.  In any case, he's excited because I like to think he's excited.

We went to visit Santa at Penn Square Mall the other day and Kenwood wouldn't even look at the camera he was so mesmerized with the big fat man with the white beard.  He kept touching the beard and staring intensely at Santa...it was pretty cute actually.  But I'm thinking if the guy wasn't dressed in Santa clothes that kind of behavior might be a little creepy.  But, of course, we thought it was adorable.  I am so looking forward to Santa's toys on Christmas!

However, I am not looking forward to my house being decorated with toys.  Everytime we get new toys for Kenwood we can only give him a few at a time because he tends to play with them for a few days and then get bored.  So I have come up with the brilliant idea of rotating toys.  One week we have 3 big toys out in the living room....the next week they are rotated to the closet and 3 more big toys are in the living room...etc. etc. The only toys that really stay in rotation day after day are his balls.  haha. haha. okay, I just laughed out loud at myself.  But his balls really do stay in rotation, he loves his football and basketballs.  We've learned how to play catch recently.  I'm thinking he may be a quarterback or wide receiver.  That boy can throw AND catch.  I think Dillon says they call them "athletes" when they can play any position.  I sure hope he likes football as much as we want him to like it.  If he gets any of his dad's athletic skills he won't be very good.  I, on the other hand was a pretty darn good Tight End (the position, not my butt) in powderpuff...

Merry Christmas!

It's a Wonderful Life

I forced my husband to watch It's a Wonderful Life with me last night in the spirit of Christmas.  Get this...prepare yourself....he had NEVER seen it! I know, right? What kind of lunatic has never seen only the greatest Christmas Classic of all time?  Pathetic.  Anyway, that movie always makes me want to be a better, less-selfish, more-giving, person so I'm writing about my epiphany.  Here's your very simple mission for this Christmas week, that will make you feel warm and fuzzy on the inside:

Tell the people in your life you love them. If thats a little much, at least tell them you appreciate them.  I can only imagine telling my postman I love him...might be a little odd or a lot strange...especially since he lives across the street! But I do appreciate him for busting his butt in the frigid cold to bring the mail to my door, so I'm telling him today that I appreciate what he does.  I'm telling the Sonic-Hop I appreciate her for walking my Route 44 Diet Coke to my car....again, in the frigid cold.

I told Kenwood's teacher's at MDO yesterday that they "fill our hearts with thanks" for being so loving toward my baby (and I gave them a gas card--I know, pretty cheesey).  I rocked my precious nephew to sleep yesterday and sang to him...which was probably not very thoughtful and I'm pretty sure he did NOT appreciate me for that, considering I'm tone deaf.  But, it's the thought that counts, right?

Pray. Hug someone.  Don't judge on first impressions.  Be thankful for the light turning green when you're in a hurry.  Be thankful for your sweet child's laugh or your husband's love or that you even have someone to love and that loves you back.  Remember that this season is about GIVING.  About God GIVING Jesus to SAVE us.  I mean, that's a pretty big deal.  Could you give your only child to save someone else?  I'm pretty positive I couldn't. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS! Happy Birthday Jesus!

Mother's Day Out is like Speed

Kenwood has been going to Mother's Day Out for awhile now.  Just starting in November, he started going to Crossings Church on Tuesdays and Thursdays....two days a week instead of one where he used to go.  Which quite honestly is a HUGE difference! I have gotten so much done today that DEFINITELY would not have been possible with my precious rascal! I mean, I feel like I'm on speed or something on the days he goes to "school" b/c I'm running around the city running errands and driving like a mad woman so I can get all of my errands accomplished in one day!  I bet if I got my blood pressure taken on MDO days it would be off the charts.

Anyway, I'm gonna get a good taste of MDO rehab when Christmas Break comes...which is now. Today is his last day until January 5th.  I sure am glad Dillon will be around to share the diaper changes and help entertaining our precious angel....well, let's be realistic, he'll probably only be helping with the entertainment part! (Just kidding darling....kind of)  But really, I can't complain because he pays the bills that allow me to stay at home with my baby and still get a few hours a week of "me" time!  Which I don't feel guilty for one bit. My mother always told me, "you'll be a better mother if you can get a break now and then!"  One of the many words of wisdom from dear old mom.

The Remodel Addicts

We put our house up for sale a few months ago, BY OWNER, because we refuse to pay the 6% commission that could be a nice chunk of money in our lovely little pockets.  But, since we put it up for sale we decided not to put any more money into it because we don't want to over-improve the house for our neighborhood. Needless to say, we were having an itch to remodel something.  Thank goodness we have a little 3 bedroom in the Village that needed some TLC after our last renters moved out.

Our original plan was to do all the work ourselves.  It was the perfect opportunity for us to LEARN how to tile, how to re-surface the countertops, paint the trimwork, refinish the woodfloors, etc.  Well, needless to say it's next to impossible to do any sort of hard labor or remodel work when you have a toddler running around in a house with exposed outlets and nails in the floor.  BAD IDEA.

We gave up after a good ONE day of trying to do things ourselves and accomplishing absolutely nothing!  So we hired a guy on a "labor only" basis and bought the materials ourselves (b/c we like to save money and we know that the contractors mark-up the cost of supplies).  Thank goodness for craigslist service ads!  The house is fully remodeled and looks dad-gum good.  I spent all of yesterday cleaning-up after the wood floors got refinished and the entire house was covered in half-inch thick dust. gross.  Anyways, now we just have to wait for Big Trash Day in the Village before we can get all the junk out and get it rented!  It's adorable now.  I'll post pictures of the inside as soon as I get some!

1821 Brighton Avenue in The Village,  Available January 1, $900/month

One Year Later

Oh the triumphs and struggles of parenting a one year old!  We had Kenwood's birthday party a week and a half ago and boy was it a full house!  He got so many toys that I don't even know what to do with myself! Half of them are hidden so I can re-wrap them for Christmas! Is that just a horrible thing to do? I figure he's only one, he doesn't know the difference!  So thank you all for the gifts and toys, Santa has been VERY good to us this year! :)

Oh, and since we hit the one-year marker the doctor wants me to start weaning Kenwood off the bottle.  Ya right. That bottle is like a prescription sleeping pill for my kid.  Yes, I am the bad mother that puts him down to sleep and hands him the bottle in his crib.  And yes, I've heard it's bad for his teeth...but we brush them morning and night (pre-bottle I admit) and aren't they going to fall out anyway? Anyways, I tried to wean it off cold-turkey...that does NOT work.  He screamed, a  lot. So, I gave in and took him a bottle and TA-DA! my little sleeping beauty was so peaceful!  Oh, and did I mention that he's not a fan of Milk in a sippy cup?  Isn't that just terrific.  He's supposed to have 16-24oz of milk a day...I'm lucky if he drinks 10oz.....soooo needless to say this bottle weaning is NOT going well.  I'm sinking.

The Beginning

Ok, so I've decided to start a blog.  I really don't have much reason other than I really like to write and I had an offer to write freelance for an online article publisher but I just couldn't find the time to write when I had a specific subject to write about...I would rather just write about my life and our daily activities as a family I guess!  So here is a little bit of our history to start off this blog:

Dillon and I were college sweethearts at the great University of Oklahoma.  We were both involved in the Greek life, Dillon was an SAE (Sigma Alpha Epsilon) and I was a Tri-Delt (Delta Delta Delta, duh).  We met at none other than a fraternity hall party.  Oh how I miss the blessed days of college when hall parties were still allowed and we had no other cares in the world (literally)!  Anyways, yes we met at a hall party.  And though he denies it to this day, he proposed to me the night we met (several times).  Saying, "I think we should get married."  Needless to say, I was obviously his dreamgirl.

Skipping ahead 4 years, Dillon proposed to me on his 23rd birthday.  We had a good 'ol steak dinner planned at the Ranch and friends to meet us at the bar to celebrate after.  Dillon surprised me with the proposal at the condo I lived in with just us and our two BIG dogs, Owen and Boz.  So, obviously I said yes and cried and wanted to call my parents but he said we should tell them in person...blah, blah, blah. So, we went to dinner. And both of our parents were there to surprise us and congratulate us on the upcoming wedding that I'm sure my daddy was super excited to fork over the money for!

We got married February 2, 2008 in Oklahoma City and had the perfect wedding.  It was sincerely a winter wonderland wedding.  It was frigid cold but the open-bar at the reception seemed to make everyone forget about the cold weather and put their dancing shoes on to cut-a-rug. We honeymooned at Sandals in Negril, Jamaica, returning home a week later to a house in mid-remodel and all our belongings shoved into one back bedroom.  They say if you can survive a remodel, you can survive anything...thank goodness we did the remodel during the newlywed stage! I might kill him nowadays.

In April 2008 we were pleasantly SURPRISED with a positive pregnancy test.  While I walked out of the bathroom into our house that was literally ripped down to the studs, Dillon thought we'd better MAKE SURE so we trucked on over to the AM/PM Clinic.  And, CONGRATULATIONS from the doctor was the comment that started our new family.

In May 2008 my daddy was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer, which cancer is cancer, but Pancreatic is pretty much one of the worst diagnosis you can get.  He was only given 6 months to live but he was a fighter, and he was stubborn and he stuck around for us until his grandson, Dillon Kenwood Orr II was born on December 4, 2008. Which, coincidentally was the same day my sister found out she was pregnant! Daddy left us for our Heavenly Father exactly a week later on December 11th.  The Lord truly tested me in those last months and weeks, but I now know that when "God takes a life home from this earth he brings another one into your life" and the circle of life is and will always be a gift from God.