Derika's Fam

Happy Birthday Derek!

2011-06-27T17:10:00.008-06:00

Yesterday was Derek's 31st birthday! Happy Birthday DD!! He had a fun and relaxing day of golf and a BBQ at the park. Rayah and I baked him a birthday cake! I love coffee, cream and chocolate; therefor, I love tiramisu!! :)

In my quest for an easy recipe for tiramisu, I found a recipe for tiramisu cake at smittenkitchen.com. I made this same cake for a Father's Day BBQ and had enough of the same ingredients left over to make it again, as well as the ambition to make it EVEN better the 2nd time around.

It was amazing! Even the kids loved it!! With that said, I promised Derek that next year he can pick his favorite cake to enjoy on his birthday!

This picture is so funny to me! Roman has just blown out Derek's candles, you can still see the smoke coming off the candles and the cocoa powder blown across the table. Derek is just looking at him like "Really?" While Roman looks at him with his most angelic look. How can you get upset with face like that?

Cookie Monster

2011-06-23T21:11:00.001-06:00

The cookie monster stopped by our house. I guess he couldn't figure out how the hell saran wrap works.

2011-06-23T17:36:00.006-06:00

I was looking at some pictures I had taken of Renzo recently and realized that I had almost the exact same photos of Rayah and Roman. They are all 6 months old in the following photos.

It seems like whenever a person has a baby, one of the favored topics of conversation of family and friends is to speculate who does this child look like! In this instance we can really compare the kids at about the same ages. Almost in the same poses even!!

Rayah and Renzo, both insisting on feeding themselves.

Roman and Renzo, playing with their toes.

So true...

2011-06-23T13:27:00.008-06:00

Not to sound to much like an old parent, but....WOW! Kids grow up so fast!! Where does the time go?

I feel like it was just the other day that Rayah was born, let alone Renzo who is now 7 1/2 months old! He's already crawling everywhere! He can pull himself up and he walks along the edge of anything he can grip. He is so little that it is strange to see him almost walking.

Here he pulled himself up at the bench and then worked his way around the wall and over to the edge of the garbage can.

When he finally did let go, he just stood there for a few seconds before slowly lowering himself to the ground. He has really good balance and you can tell he is so proud of himself. He really wants to do everything his brother and sister can!

Tummy Time! All the Time!

2011-04-04T18:35:00.001-06:00

Easter Eggs

2011-04-04T16:26:00.002-06:00

This weekend Rayah and Roman painted some rocks they found outside. I put them on top of our herb garden. Mostly out of fear of one going through a glass door, or the glass on our coffee table, or the window, or one being thrown at the head of an antagonizing sibling. It turns out they look really cute there! Almost like little Easter eggs!

Homemade Bagels

2011-03-29T16:15:00.015-06:00

I'm not from New York, I'm not jewish and I'm not suddenly opening a bagelry. No. My decision to learn to make bagels was driven purely by ego and my need to impress my family. A family that loves bagels. I am always cooking different things and enjoy trying new recipes. Yet for one reason or another the kids never like it. This is especially discouraging when I take extra time picking deliciously nutricious, healthy meals. I put love and effort into cooking. Only to be glanced at (noticed I didn't say tasted) and declared inedible by both of the kids. Well maybe they are too fancy of dishes for kids, you may say. No way! For some strange reason our kids will not eat anything containing (or touching) cheese and milk. This makes normally kid friendly foods not an option. Things like maccaroni and cheese, grilled cheese, ice cream and pizza. Yet for some strange reason, cottage cheese and cream cheese are exceptions to this rule. Which brings me back to bagels. The only thing I remember about bagels is that at some point the dough is boiled. After a little bit of research, I discovered that pretty much everyone uses the same recipe. Even with the limited amout of bread cooking experience that I have, it seemed pretty easy. You make the dough the day before and it rests overnight in the fridge, then you boil the dough, top it and bake. This all sounded pretty easy and if I could pull it off not only will the kids eat something I make, they may even enjoy it!! Below are the pics of my results. I have made them twice now. The first time they tasted really good. Although they honestly didn't seem to rise as much as they probably should have and were a little pale in color. The recipe calls for malt powder, but says that it is optional. I used honey instead. The second time I used the malt powder and would definitely recommend it. I feel like the malt powder helped the dough get a better rise and the bagels were a more brown color after baking. It also gave them a more authentic flavor. I would also recommend doing the "float test" to be sure the dough is ready to go into the fridge. Other than those two things the recipe is pretty straight forward and EASY!! I topped them with sesames seeds, craisins cinnamon & sugar, parmesan cheese, jalapeno's and cheddar, and just plain. The second time the entire batch was cinnamon raisin. The bagels were soo yummy!! The kids loved them, Derek loved them, I loved them, my in-laws loved them too. Derek had to finally tell me to quit bragging! :)

Old Baldy!

2011-03-29T16:06:00.004-06:00

Renzo's bald spot reminds me of a little prior or monk. Literally every hair in that one spot has rubbed off!

Little Brother

2011-03-24T13:27:00.005-06:00

While I was pregnant, we didn't know if I was having a boy or a girl. Rayah would say to me, "Mom, I can't love another brother. I really hope this baby is a girl. I can only love a little sister." Luckily much to our relief, from the moment she saw Renzo in the hospital she was in love!

Rayah is a very caring & nurturing older sister . . . .to Renzo. Anytime I need a burp rag, diaper or binki Rayah is quick to help.

Roman also loves his little brother and loves to give him big hugs and kisses (which are really tight squeezes and spitty cheeks). Every day he gets better at being soft and gentle.

Renzo was grandchild number 5 for my Dad and Dolly. Grandchild number 4, Rowdy, was born just a few weeks earlier. As you can tell, these 2 boys are going to be a handful!!

And Then There Was 3!!

2011-03-24T12:37:00.010-06:00

WOW!! 3 kids! I can't believe it. We have been spending our time enjoying, loving, holding, kissing and feeding our new baby boy, the past few months have flown by!

Renzo just turned 14 weeks!! He is a very good baby. He is in constant fascination of his older sister and brother and is never short of receiving attention. He sleeps through the night and is always smiling. We are truely blessed!

2011-03-15T13:46:00.001-06:00

Renzo Cash Rowell

8 lbs. 4 oz.

November 12, 2010

Summer Days

2009-08-19T17:30:00.008-06:00

Daddy's Little Helpers

2009-08-19T17:04:00.005-06:00

Derek decided to surprise me while I was out of town and tile the laundry room. As construction jobs go things weren't completed as quickly as thought......I came home to a bit of a mess. It was still a great surprise! The kids loved being able to help Dad out and get their hands dirty. We are still not sure if all the "help" made things go more quickly......or slow it down??? Now everytime I go into my laundry room I think of all of them!!

First Day of Swim Class

2009-08-19T16:55:00.004-06:00

Rayah and Tiaunna took their first swim lessons this past June and loved every minute of it. I took this picture their first day and as you can tell they were so excited!! Every day for a month (the classes ran 2 weeks), Rayah would wake up and ask me ..."Do I have swim class today?"

Even Roman was excited, although he didn't know why. Poor guy, he had to sit on the side of the pool everyday and wasn't allowed to get in. It was 30 minutes of torture every class!! Roman didn't like it either. ;)

P.C. Break

2009-08-19T16:14:00.009-06:00

This past May we spent a week in Park City at our time share. We had a lot of fun having sleepovers with our friends and cousins, face painting, swimming and playing in the mountains!!

Rayah had so much fun swimming. When we weren't at the pool she would hang out in all her gear just waiting to go to the pool.

Look who I found hiding in the closet!

You Got a Bugger in Your Nose

2009-07-30T15:03:00.003-06:00

This morning while making breakfast, Tiauna says to me with a very concerned look on her face, "Rayah has a shoe in her nose." Figuring that this was just another of the many silly things that are not true that they tell me all day, I dismissively told Rayah to take the shoe out of her nose. Tiauna was persistent and her worried face and Rayah's calm insistence started to worry me. I imagined a tiny little doll shoe lodged in her nose and started questioning them more seriously as to the truth.

That's when Derek says, "It's not a shoe. It's a tissue up her nose, she told me the same thing last night while I was making dinner." Realizing that these two words do sound very close, and in the mumbled English that a 4 year old speaks I sillilly overreacted!! I started laughing to a still concerned Tiaunna that I thought she had told me Rayah stuck a doll shoe up her nose!! She calmly says, "I did!! She has a doll shoe in her nose!!"

Derek had Rayah come over to him so that he could look up her nose and sure enough there was a tiny pink doll shoe!!!! Not only did she really have it up there, but she had slept with it there all night!!! Her only response, a put out ....."I could still breath!!" As if to tell us that she thought we were making a big deal about nothing!! She ended up shooting it out like a snot rocket and going right back to playing.

Zoo Day

2009-05-01T10:44:00.014-06:00

"Spring is here!" is what Rayah likes to tell me each morning, quickly followed up with a request to go outside and play. I am so happy the weather is starting to warm up and I can get the kids out of the house! I have found the outdoors to be the biggest peace making device, sleeping aide, and 3-in-1 reward, privilege and punishment! Once the argueing starts inside, I simply open the door and let them outside and their worries disipate into the open air. Then they argue outside and all I have to say is, "Well , if we can't resolve this we will just have to go inside", applied with the proper dissapointed tone the resolution quickly follows. They run and play hard all day long, then they come in at night to eat dinner, watch a little TV, and then they sleep like babies all night long!!!

Keeping all this in mind I decided to take the kids, and their cousin Tiaunna, to the Zoo for the day! We had a great day and they were really well behaved, and the best part yet....they were so worn out at night they fell asleep at 8:00!!!

Stroller Derby

2009-05-01T10:04:00.007-06:00

As times change, so do tactics. The latest weapon the baby stroller, Roman's latest form of attack. First he backs up to the farthest wall, lowers his head as an agry bull would do, he raises his eyes. Commence the grunting, louder and louder, then comes the well known war cry as he takes off!! Aiming to run over anyone who dares cross his path. It is hillarious to watch and the intimidating faces he makes are even better!!

The Wrecker

2009-04-26T15:05:00.009-06:00

Roman is almost 1 1/2 years old and he is total boy!! He enjoys knocking himself into and over furniture and walls, throwing balls, vrrrrooming his trucks and growling his animals around the house.

His most favorite past time is tormenting his older sister. For example, on a typical day Roman may come screaming, yelling and charging into Rayah's room. Launching a direct attack on Rayah and whatever scenario is currently playing out at the Barbie Dream House. Throwing balls, cars and anything else he can get his hands on, including himself into the Dream House. Causing mass destruction and total chaos and has quite possibly caused the end of the world....... all in Rayah's mind of course.

Look at this monkey with the black eye!

The Poser

2009-04-26T13:52:00.020-06:00

Rayah is almost 4 years old! She matures more every day right before our eyes! From the things she says and how she says it, to the clothes she wears (or doesn't), she is full of laughs and fun....and a little bit of attitude!!

When we get the camera out watch out! She is a total poser!! She enjoys strutting around the house in one of her many different combinations of old Halloween costumes, princess dresses, and leotards. Don't forget the accessories make the outfit! Purses, necklaces and sunglasses. Rayah is a total girl!! I am reminded every day when I pick up all the clothes off her bedroom floor.

Baby Pics of our Babies

2009-04-09T13:00:00.011-06:00

Rayah Jade

July 29, 2005

Roman Nash

December 13, 2007

Duke

August 24, 2004