One Year

One whole year has passed since I last posted. It really is a complete coincidence that I sat down today to write and noted that it has been exactly one year. While it seems like little time has passed since I filled this page on thoughts abbout being a mom, so many things in our lives have happened.

We welcomed the birth of our second little boy on October 9. He has filled our hearts to the point that I just don't know if there is room for any more love. And every time I think that, I look at our two little men and I smile and my heart gets fuller.

Declan Anthony

On February 2, we said good bye to our "very special in his own way" dog, Tucker. He had a bad accident and it was the best for everyone that Tucker go to a place that he could finally rest and get some peace.  What a heartbreak we felt saying good bye to our buddy!

While those have been the biggest ups and downs of the past year, so many memories have been made. As a family we have grown and learned more about each other. We have learned to love in different ways, we have learned to look to the future when things in the present get us down. Mostly though we have learned that we have each tother. It sounds so cliche, but I am caught in these moments that seem surreal. I have an almost out of body experinec and it's as if I am an outsider looking in. Watching my husband be a daddy and watching these two little boys play and thinking they simply can't be mine. I couldn't be that lucky. But I am. I am blessed beyond admission and that really is all I can ask for.

A very tired family after a very fun day!

We are in the midst once again of some changes in our house. Blogging has been a wondeful outlet and record holder for me and I hope that perhaps over the next few weeks and months, I can manage to put away some quiet time to reflect on these blessings we have been given because they are so great!

What have we been up to?

We have had an exciting past few weeks. I'll try my best to catch up...

• Scotty went to college! On August 20, Brett, Owen, the puppies and I packed up and drove to Dayton to meet my fam and move Scotty in to the University of Dayton. We stayed at an awesome hotel, The Drury Inn, and had a blast relaxing in our suite and enjoying their free food. On Sunday, we said good bye to the baby of the family. We know he'll do great things!

The fam in Dayton. (love the use of a stranger's car as a "tripod")

• I turned  the big 3-0! The Sunday that we left Dayton also happened to be my birthday. It was wonderful getting to spend it with my family, even if most of it was in the car and we ate at KFC.
• We went to Washington! When we left Dayton, Brett drove home, but the rest of the Clancy crew drove back to Washington for 2 weeks. It was wonderful getting away for a while and watching Owen spend so much time with my parents. It was also nice being there for so long because I got to visit with people that I usually don't get to see.

A visit from our good friends Sarah and Aunt Zoe!
I think Owen and Shane will be good buddies when they're older!

Lunch at Bahama Breeze with Gammy.

Still lovin' the Moby!

Getting ready for the Steelers preseason game with Grandpap.

Owen and his buddy Bryce.
Bryce is my cousin's son so they are 3rd cousins? 

"I wanna be big like you, Uncle Ben!"

• Owen rolled over! On Thursday, August 26, Owen and I were playing at my parents house. He was on his back playing with his feet and before I knew he flipped himself over. I don't know if he was proud or surprised. He hasn't done it since.

• Owen sits in his high chair. It will be another month before Owen has a taste of something other than my delicious milk, but we decided it was time he join us at the table. He loves it!

• Happy 6 year Anniversary! September 10 was our 6 year anniversary. We celebrated with a FABULOUS night out and a babysitter! Is it bad that for a second I forgot about Owen and almost thought we were carefree with no responsibilities again? It didn't last long :-) We had a yummy dinner at Maggiano's and then went to Tasting Divine for a wine flight. Let's just say I can't drink like I used to!

Hard to see in the picture, but Owen
is wearing a handmade onesie that says "Happy Anniversary".  How sweet of him to remember!

• Souper Sunday Week 1 2011! Last Sunday was the kickoff of the NFL season and the start of what we like to call "Souper Sunday" or Dirtball Sunday in the Clancy household. We started off with our favorite soup - The Clancy's Crock Po Potato Soup - and of course had Buffalo Chicken Dip. It was  good start to the season for Chicago. As for the Steelers, not so much. 
• Yesterday Owen and I went to Whole Foods. We returned to find that one or both of the dogs had eaten a box of raisins. (my money was on Lucy) After a call to the vet, we all went to the Glen Ellyn Animal hospital where Lucy and Tucker were given an injection to induce vomiting. After the evidence that came out proved that it was Lucy, she was given charcoal to rid herself of any of the toxic raisins that remained. Love our crazy dogs!

Best Furiends Forever

As I type, Lucy and Tucker are curled up on their bed together. So cute!

How many licks does it take?

Lucy and Tucker were stuck inside all day because I was outside with my best girlfriends having a yard sale. Tucker was quite anxious and took to licking the window...

(sorry the video is sideways...I took it with my phone and can't flip it!)

Summer Treats for Us and Puppies

Lucy and Tucker have had a guest for the past three weeks - there cousin Hera! Hera's mom was away on a pseudo-vacation so we kept Hera while she was gone. She is such a great dog (except that she sheds big time and it kind of makes me cray but I love her) and Lucy and Tucker love having her around. They especially enjoyed chasing each other around the yard and then relaxing with an ice cream treat....
I used to buy the peanut butter Frosty Paws for the dogs, but they are a bit pricey at about $1 per cup. I started making my own and the dogs love them just as much, if not more. I started making them in Dixie cups, but Lucy tends to get overly excited about the ice cream and eat the whole cup so I started using recycled plastic cups from individual serving sized apple sauce, fruit cups, and jello that Brett and I take in our lunch and then wash out. Once you have a few you can sue them over and over. I simply fill the cups half way with either plain or vanilla yogurt and then put a dollop of peanut butter right in the centre. Place in the freezer and the puppies with have a delicious and inexpensive treat on these hot summer days!

Now, we wouldn't the puppies getting all the good stuff so here's a recipe for the humans in your family....S'more Pie! I am a sucker for a S'more and I have to say this is pretty good.

1 graham cracker crust (the 2 extra serving size)
2 1/2 cups cool whip, divided
1 bag regular size marshmallows

3/4 cup milk

6 oz. hot fudge
1 reg. size Hershey bar + some to shave

• Place marshmallows, milk, and Hershey bar in a saucepan on low-med. heat. Cook until all ingredients are melted and mixed together, stirring constantly. Remove form heat and let cool.
• Mix 1 c. cool whip into marshmallow mixture.
• Spread warmed hot fudge evenly in the bottom of the crust.
• Pour marshmallow mixture over hot fudge and top with remaining cup of cool whip. Garnish the top with shaved chocolate if desired.

Puggle Love

Clancy Fest '09

Sunday was our annual Labor Day picnic and we couldn't have asked for a nicer day! The weather held out and the day was FULL of good food, frosty drinks, and lots of fun! I had the camera out for a bit but I got a little wrapped up in taking pictures of the cute kiddos that were there and didn't get too many of the other guests. We had about 30 guests, and here are the lucky ones that got caught with my camera!

The night before, Brett prepared the meat, a very manly task!

Brett and his high school friend, Mark, playing bags! Mark's wife and daughter...Meg, a friend from work and her boyfriend, BradOur good friends, The BergersA beautiful pic of my sister in law, CariThe lovely Mrs. Leslie-Billings

And last but not least (especially because they brought Sangria!), our friends The TacosWhat a great party! We look forward to it every year because it is such a wonderful thing to be surrounded by such great friends! Thank you everyone for coming!

And here are the post-partypuppy pics :-)

A Tuesdy night at home...

Last night I was feeling a bit blah which I attributing entirely to the weather. I went to target after work to get some much needed items for around the house and then grabbed a few things for dinner. I had made the executive decision that we were not going to the gym but rather would take the dogs for a long walk after dinner. Well, the weather didn't cooperate with that as it rained most of the evening and the dogs would have blown away , the wind was blowing so hard. I did however try out a new recipe which turned out quite tasty.

Chicken with Twenty Cloves of Garlic (I am currently in the process of thinking of a more interesting and appealing name for it)

Ingredients:

4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 lb.)
20 cloves garlic, peeled
3/4 cup fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup Light Caesar Dressing
1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

HEAT large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken and garlic; cook 4 min., turning chicken after 2 min.
STIR in broth and dressing; cover skillet with lid. Cook chicken 3 to 5 min. on each side or until done (165ºF). I had to cook mine much longer to reduce the sauce.
SPRINKLE with Parmesan; cover. Remove from heat. Let stand 1 min.

I served with roasted veggies (brussel spouts, red pepper, shallot, and baby red potatoes)which came out very tasty except for the brussel pouts. I don't know why but they were awful and tasted nothing like the last time I made them. Not sure if it was me or the sprouts that went wrong.

After dinner, we splurged on some sweets for the b-day celebration. Brett had sorbet, I had fat free ice cream with strawberries and a Graham cracker crumbled on top, and the pups each had a birthday Bon Bon. The beer didn't go over to well, but the Bon Bons sure did!

The pups enjoying their Bon Bons...

After today, I only have one more day of school with kids and one more day without and then it is SPRING BREAK!!!!! I mentioned before I am going to see my dear friend Julie in Phili from Sunday to Wednesday (just found out her daughter has made big plans for us - Build A Bear and Toys R Us...should be interesting for someone who doesn't have kids yet). Brett and I have dinner plans on Saturday night before I leave and when I get back we are going to the Art Institute Thursday nigh ( free admission). Friday and Saturday are up in the air and if the weather cooperates Sunday we may be going to a big flea market. So, nothing major panned, but a little R & R that should do me some good.

Hope the rest of the week treats you well!

Happy Birthday Lucy Belle!!!

Our little girl is 3 today...

Remember when...

We brought her home...

And she only weighed 4 lbs.

And she went to Kindergarten, and didn't learn much.

She sure makes us laugh though.

Tucker says Happy Birthday, too!

And we love her even more now that she weighs 30 lbs! Here she is very excited for her birthday this morning. OK, so she doesn't get excited about much at 6 am. She's like her Mama in that respect!

Happy Birthday Lucy!!!

(She gets to enjoy her treats and presents tonight. Puppy Bon Bons for her and Tucker, new toys, and Doggy beer since this would be her 21st birthday in people years!)

Sundays...it doesn't get any better than this!

Sundays are our favorite day of the week. Whether it is getting ready for a day of football, working out in the yard or just enjoying each others company, Sundays have always meant something to us. I think it has something to do with when we were living 8 hours apart and Sunday was always the last day we head before heading our separate ways. Yesterday we had the most pleasant day. We slept in a bit and then ate breakfast. One thing I love about out house is the way the morning light shines through the big window upstairs right into the dining room. It sets the perfect tone for sipping coffee and reading the paper. We lingered for a little too long and laughed at the dogs sitting our laps and in their own chairs. Brett left and went to Lowe's and I did some grocery shopping. Ironically we pulled back into the driveway at the exact same time. After working a bit around the house, we had a snack (healthy of course), and took the dogs for along walk. Everything is still melted and mess! Needless to say we ended up bathing both dogs together in the bathtub. We ate a wonderful dinner of pot roast, carrots and potatoes and finished the night doing out taxes. May sound dull, but it was one of the best days I have had in while.

Perhaps this should be a different post, but I am associating my wonderful Sunday with Brett with the reading I did at church on Saturday evening. It was form the book of Job and our priest said the most wonderful homily. He spoke of the story of Job and related it to people living right now and struggling with the economy. So often we ask "Why Me?" when something bad happens. Job asks God this question but he does not answer. Eventually Job realized he needs to have faith in God because God has a plan. Brett and I have been struggling with talks of selling our house and ways to save money, etc. I get bogged done by what we don't have and what we want, but on Sunday I managed for an entire day, to step back and be so thankful for what I have in my life and it turned out to be the perfect day!

A Brownlee/ Clancy Family Christmas!

So after the big Christmas Eve/ Mama's birthday celebration it was to bed with us all. I am like a little kid at Christmas and could not wait until the next day to open gifts. You would think it would get less exciting the older we get but, NOPE!

We woke up and it was very apparent that Santa had been good to us. Mama Kate played Santa and passed out presents and then we all took turns opening gifts!

As I mentioned in an earlier post, my Dad had surgery on his neck the Monday before Christmas. He has to wear a neck brace so we propped him up on Christmas morning and surrounded him with presents...I think he looked like another Christmas tree.
The highlight of Ben's Christmas...his Mac Book!











Scotty's Christmas...a long wooden stick! It is actually a lacrosse shaft but it looks like a stick to me.










And, Brett and I got a Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!










Lucy and Tucker got coordinating hoodies. Lucy's hood kept falling down and she walked around like she was blind.

When all the gifts were open we left for church and returned to quickly get ready to head to Grandma's. Upon arriving there were more presents to be opened and a delicious meal to be eaten! We got home with enough time to relax on the couch and enjoy the lights on the tree.