meals for 5.31.11 through 6.5.11

happy "unofficial" summer :)
knocking on 100* here in VA...i would say we don't need to have that unofficial part there... :) daggone it's hot out there... i guess we can officially say "goodbye" to spring, though...i'm not sure the cool 60s and 70s will be back for awhile :-\

we traveled this past weekend...and that was not a very smart thing to do in hindsight... HOWEVER, it was for good reasons - to celebrate the recent wedding of my dear high school friend, Jenn and to see my parents. :) it wasn't smart because it was not long enough and traveling with a 3 month old is a challenge.... she didn't like staying in her car seat, we had to stop often, and well...it made the trip (driving) very long. our trip back to VA was especially long due to a missed turn (we still can't figure out what we did), so we left PA around 3 but didn't get home until after midnight :-\ ugh! we had to stop 4 times, too, due to a fussy one...
ry looked at me on the way and said, "do you remember when we thought how hard it was to travel with 2 dogs?" :) hahaha :) yes, those were the days... now we travel with 2 dogs and 2 kids!

anyway...more on that in awhile... for now, this is what's happening in the kitchen this week... i'm going to try minimal cooking due to the temps being sooo hot this week...only a few days with the oven in use...

Tuesday: turkey burgers, baked potatoes, and a veggie
Wednesday: egg sandwiches
Thursday: meatballs and mashed potatoes and veggies
Friday: hot dogs and mac n cheese
Saturday: leftovers
Sunday: pizza meatloaf cups and mac n cheese (leftover) and a veggie

doesn't seem like much variety now that i have it typed out! :) oh well... maybe there will be some adjusting, but for now, this is what's planned... :)

on the way home, we saw a farmers market that advertised some rhubarb... doesn't that sound so good? :) i think i'm going to make that my mission this week (well, one of the missions)...find a store that has decently priced rhubarb... :)
the other missions will revolve around doing endless laundry and trying to tidy up a bit while keepin' the kids happy and entertained! :)

hope that you have a great week! stay cool.... :)

meals for 5.23.11 through 5.29.11

well........ it's the week before the unofficial start of summer...
:) yay!! :) ahhh, it's almost summer break, at least for those of us in a "school-focused" mind... (i know i don't teach any more, but i'm still in that mindset...) but summer holds a lot of fun times for even the full-time July and August working folk, as well, i know... :)

i'm happy to report that we're ALL feeling better here at the quarantine house :) the officials came and removed the sign that warned all people to stay away :) just kidding... :)
and, there's something wonderful about being able to enjoy and TASTE food again... :)
and while it was good, i'm glad that we're NOT eating chicken noodle soup this week... :) hehehe :)

i've been busy in the kitchen this week... we picked strawberries on Saturday... 7.5 pounds, to be exact... TOO many, now that i'm trying to prepare them... with 2 small children, nothing gets done in a fairly quick manner around here... :) so, at 1 AM last night, i finished my first 2 batches of jam... GOSH it's good... :) and, with 2.5 quarts already made, i still have more than DOUBLE that to still make...
and i even prepped some of the berries for just plain eating!
next time, we won't pick as many berries :)
lesson learned :)

remember the heroes who have fallen for our freedom this Memorial Day... yes, the grilled food and friendship and fellowship is fabulous...but don't forget those who gave their lives so that we may relish our freedom in America...

we certainly have a lot to be thankful for, don't we?!


here's what will be on our plates this week... :)

Monday: chick-fil-a
Tuesday: turkey burgers, 4 cheese rice, and a veggie :)
Wednesday: chicken parm and rigatoni
Thursday: pancakes
Friday: homemade pizza
Saturday: out to eat
Sunday: grill out


if you're the praying type, before you eat this week, please send up extra prayers or thoughts (for the non-praying types) for the people of Missouri (Joplin), who were hit with a F4 tornado the other day... and for those who were hit with tornadoes in the last few weeks, as well; we shouldn't forget them, either... mother nature's fury is all around us! and while we all have stoves to prepare our meals and tables to sit at with our families, there are so many who do not have those luxuries right now... we need to lift up these people in our thoughts and prayers...

ENJOY the week...and don't forget how very blessed we are to live in the USA... :)

more spring memories :)

i liked doing that last post so much... it's a great way to get some pictures up... :)

we recently attended a 40th birthday party for our dear friend, Dwayne... they handed out "mardi gras" beads, just for fun... well, my jewelry loving child left the party with not one, two or three necklaces...she left with the ENTIRE stash (well, what was left). for 2 weeks now, she's worn these necklaces almost to the point of annoying... see, when you wear them like she does, they tangle and it's not a lot of fun to explain to a frustrated 2 1/2 year old that it will take a few minutes to unwind... :) but when they are all together, the girl is happy! :) here she's even dancing around, hence the slight blur of the photo... :) oh my sweet sleeping Hannah... :) taken by me very late at night or early in the morning... we were sleeping upright for a few days when she was hit with her little cold... but gosh, i am in love with this sweet, sweet girl... i really love that little divot under her bottom lip...

this was shot during a diaper change, actually... :) how appropriate, huh?! :) i love her face in this picture...and those blue, blue eyes and beautiful rosy lips... :) she's my sweet girl... :)

this was a mean joke played by Daddy :) Hannah was sleeping so soundly, but the penguin joined her... :) she's a gripper when she sleeps (and when she's awake, too), and she will grasp what she can when she is sleeping... notice her holding onto Mr. Penguin... :) and don't worry, the penguin didn't stay there for long - just enough time for a photo op :)

Hannah's hands are quite expressive when she sleeps... if she's not clutching something, she usually has her hands grasped, as in prayer, right under her chin... on this day, however, she slept like she was contemplating life... :) or like she was falling asleep in class... :)

spring memories

nothing important or pressing to post... just some pictures of my sweet ones... :) with a little commentary :)

we are going to try to start some new traditions around here... a few weeks before Easter, i threaded many plastic eggs with some fishing line... and i told K we would hang them outside for some decoration. :) here's one of our trees hung with some colorful easter eggs. :) and, we happen to live at the "T" in the road, so i'm sure a lot of cars that stop at the stop sign may have caught sight of our silly tree. :) here are the girls in front of the "easter egg" tree :) (i cropped the picture so you can see the kids...that's why you can't see the whole tree) for some reason, this picture kinda reminds me of some of the old black and white pictures i have of my ancestors from long ago... :) maybe it's just K's faraway look... :)
Hannah is just a smile a minute, it seems... :) she's NOT a giggler, however...we have only gotten a few genuine giggles from her, but they're reserved and cute. :)

this is a picture of a typical morning ritual here... when K wakes in the morning, Hannah is usually already awake. when we go in to get Katherine changed and ready for the day, i always lay her in the crib (which will be her own soon enough) so that i can have empty arms for Katherine. :) every morning, regardless of the time or mood, my sweet Katherine always, ALWAYS wants to give Hannah a kiss. :) and, while you can't see H's face real well here, there's rarely a time where this lil' sis doesn't look at her big sister with the most loving eyes and smile... :) it's really something that melts my heart :)

Katherine's love of the outdoors is wonderful... she's a little droopy pants here (hard to find pants to fit that rail of a frame!), but i love her look...determined and on a journey for something...a dandelion wishie or maybe even a stick... :) (and yes, our lawn needed to be mowed terribly :))

not the greatest picture, but it's in one of my favorite outfits - one that we got when we were expecting Katherine but didn't know she was a girl yet... froggies :) Hannah only wore it once (because i forgot to put her in it more often and it doesn't have feet - who wants to mess with socks every 5 minutes?)...and the day she wore it, it was a bit tight and the sleeves were short :) i just think her skin looks so beautiful in this picture-so creamy and her little rosy cheeks... and that little chin that i could kiss endlessly... :)

here you can see her interesting birthmark that developed between 1 and 2 months. her pediatrician said it's nothing to be concerned about...of course, we kinda wish it wasn't so apparently placed, but we figure it will lead to good things... :) i have already told Ryan that we'll tell her that's the mark God left when he kissed her before he sent her to us... :) i'm not sure how that will pan out when she's in kindergarten, but...for now, it's a good explanation... :)

this week past and meals for 5.16.11 through 5.22.11

happy "middle" of May...
i counted the number of days left of school for Ry...15.5 :) that's a sweet thought... i can't wait for the weeks to be like weekends here... it will be wonderful...
:)
things will hopefully be getting back to normal here as far as health... Ry's started a z-pac on friday and seems to be doing a bit better... i'm concerned that the treatment will not be long enough for as long as he's had this stuff...almost 3 weeks of sickness to be taken care of with 5 days of antibiotics? i hope so...
i'm starting to feel crummy again with the sinus issues... i even got up and turned on the air conditioner very early this morning in hopes that closing the windows would help... not so far... i know i like having a cheaper electric bill when we don't *need* the AC, but i'm desperate to feel better... i even took a nice nap this afternoon...it was refreshing and i felt a bit better after a good sleep... but, it stinks to not be able to taste anything that you eat...and to know whether or not your kids have messy diapers and need to be changed... yes, you read that right...i'm yearning to smell poo... :)
depending on how things are tomorrow may indicate whether or not i need to make a trip to see the doctor... i'll be suffering from this stuff for 12 days on monday...that's long enough... :)

well, what we'll be eating this week... :) we are being thrifty with our grocery budget again...so there are not a lot of exciting things here...but they're good and filling, so we will be happy :)

monday: homemade chicken noodle soup (nature's antibiotic! we had this last week, too!)
tuesday: lasagna
wednesday: leftover soup
thursday: cook out
friday: leftover lasagna
saturday: breakfast for dinner (pancakes? omelets?)
sunday: something in the crock pot... :) to be determined

hope you all have a super week! :) enjoy each minute... :)

cookie meltdown

i always imagine these grand "fun times" with K...
coloring...
cooking...
gardening...

but i usually forget that i'm dealing with a 2 1/2 year old and my best dreamt plans are not very realistic when it comes to this reality...

before Easter, i saw an easy and maybe (?) good recipe for some cute Eastery cookies in one of my parenting magazines. they were made with a yellow cake mix and looked so easy... :) it involved making a "sandwich" with your two cookies, using some frosting. you colored your own frosting, and i thought K would find it interesting to see the frosting change from one color to another...

here we are adding some blue food coloring and then stirring the color into the icing.

see, she's smiling :) maybe she likes it? :)

ummm, no...a big, fat “WRONG!”

When we started using the green food coloring, the tears flowed…but I have no idea why. Pitiful, isn’t it? So, so sad… yes, it’s torture to let a child play with ICING…

But “grey skies” cleared when she was told she could EAT a cookie… yep, even before lunch… this translates to pure delight for her… she's a sugar-a-holic... (seriously, when you ask her what she wants for lunch, she'll almost always reply, "cookies...chocolate...and cheese and yogurt...")

see, that smile is starting to come back…

But…fear not… when she wanted EVERY single little cookie sandwich that I was assembling while she enjoyed a little sweet snack, the tears flowed again…

“What?? I can’t have every cookie you’re making?”

“Fine…then I won’t eat the one you gave to me…” But wait…maybe if I cry harder and louder (so I can wake up my baby sister and this whole “fun time with Mom” can be ruined…)……………

on a positive note, the cookies were really good... :) they were nice and soft and perfectly sweet. :) and the pieces of cookie that K left were saved for after lunch... she was able to muster up the courage and energy to eat her cookie then... :) and, of course, she then requested her cookies each time we sat for a meal. :)

in a few years, i know that i'm going to have the best chef and helper...but for now, i'm just glad that my 2 1/2 year old is...well...normal. :)

(sorry for the weirdness of spacing and odd picture shape (first picture)... i'm not finding that it's very friendly to post pictures and write... :( blogger seems to have a mind of its own! :P)

disgruntled pooh

:) these pictures don't really require much commentary :) just some cute pics of Hannah in her Winnie the Pooh towel after her bath :)

ok...ok :) hint taken...photo op lost :) (it was probably time for bed anyway! :)) :)

meals for 5.9.11 through 5.15.11

well, we're still among the sniffing, coughing, nose-blowing, ear clearing, and throat hurting here... we're knocking on the second full week of this sickness stuff... not very fun... :-\ my most important praise is that the girls are better...and that's all i really care about... mom and dad can hack the sickness stuff...but we can't stand to see K or H sick...

my coughing husband, non-tasting self, sweet K, and cooing H will be enjoying these meals for the week... :)

Monday: homemade chicken noodle soup & corn bread (my other rolls flopped :( )
Tuesday: leftover macaroni soup and grilled cheese
Wednesday: open faced pork sandwiches, mashed potatoes, and corn on the cob
Thursday: leftover chicken noodle soup
Friday: french toast :)
Saturday: tacos
Sunday: grilling out (probably hot dogs :))

hope you have a super week... sunshine and birds tweeting for each of you! :) ENJOY each other! :)

she....

she is amazing...
she is exceedingly beautiful...
she is stronger than anyone else i know...
she is patient...
she is gentle...
she is always kind...
she has a quiet peace about her...
she's my mom...
i have a new appreciation for my mom...
not that i ever didn't appreciate her, but i didn't appreciate her to her full deserving self until i became a mom myself...
the way she always played with me...
even day after day after day of being at home with me when my dad was away with military responsibilities...
every day...no breaks...no down time...a mom, 24/7...
she never complained...
i never felt like she was frazzled or at her wits end...
i always felt like she was happy and in love with everything that she did with me...
coloring...music...reading...playing outside...cooking...Barbies...Cabbage Patch Kids...
she was almost always smiling...
and even when i grew up and moved past the fun "kid" things, she moved along with me...to shopping... to car pooling... to supporting me in band activities... or playing softball... to gardening... to sitting on the loveseat watching TV... or after school activities... to church... and she worked, full-time...in a business that didn't really allow for much flexibility... and there were times i felt that i wanted MORE of her...but that was only because life just didn't go as smoothly without her hands in everything... and i was selfish... :)
my mom is one of the most special women i know...
and, our path in life, so far, has been wonderful...
that doesn't mean it wasn't without tears, or sadness, or fear...
and see, in the most challenging months of watching her suffer with cancer that ravaged her body and soul turned out to be some of the most powerful...
without those months...of seeing my mom fight for her life, i'm not sure i would have realized the importance of living life...
of having children...
of learning that working as a teacher wasn't "life"
it was just a career...
of learning that i needed to experience motherhood with my own mom by my side...
giving advice...
and looking at her two sweet granddaughters...
one, who i believe, without a doubt, helped bring her to healing and life again after the challenge of chemo and radiation...

giving her the will to live and recover...

i still learn a lot by watching her...
i learn patience...
i learn joy...
i learn to enjoy the little things...
and ignore the big things...
and, every day, i am reminded that, she, is without a doubt,
the most
amazing,
loving,
sweet,
funny,
patient,
wise, and
beautiful women i know...
she's my mom...
and because of her, i'm blessed beyond words...

Happy Mother's Day

things to ponder...

in the light of the world events... i think these two quotes speak volumes...

"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."
- Martin Luther King Jr.


As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live.
- Ezekiel 33:11

recap of the week and meals for 5.2.11 through 5.8.11

well, it's back to the "regular" life of ry reporting to work and me being at home with the girls during the day... :) while i did enjoy having extra hands here for the week, it will be nice to get back to the "loose" routine that we keep during the week... summer will be here before we know it, so we'll learn a new routine again soon! :)

suffice it to say that last week's spring break was pretty stinky... the house was full of random sickness, and we didn't get to do anything "fun" as a family...
first, it started with Ry and his viral bronchitis on monday... no meds...just wait it out... and wait it out, we have... it will be interesting to see if he can sustain himself through teaching for the week... we'll see if he has a voice by Wednesday...
next to fall prey to something was Katherine... wednesday afternoon, her mood took a serious dive (lots of tears, impatient, fits, etc.) and she had a fever of 101.4 by bedtime... i knew something was up when she kept telling me the bath was cold and she was covered with goosebumps...and of course, her glassy look in her eyes was another tell-tale sign. (my mom always said she could tell when i had a fever from the same look...now i understand :)) she literally stayed parked in my bed for almost 2 days...and if you know K, she NEVER STOPS MOVING, so you know she was sick... we headed to the doc for her, as well, because she was refusing to eat (for 3 days), she was starting to refuse liquids and we were looking at a weekend... she was diagnosed with a virus after a thorough check over by one of our favorite doctors... she's been fever free since Saturday, but she's still not well... she sounds so throaty to me...and now, she's coughing... and her mood and behavior show she's not feeling well yet (and she's trying my patience! :)) we'll see what the week brings with her...
on Sunday morning, Hannah started with a stuffy nose and some coughing... i'm not sure it is going to amount to anything...but regardless, she's been sleeping for most of the day for the last two days... i think she's fighting something, too... but, since she's a nursing baby, she will probably get antibodies if i have been exposed, and i know i've had viral bronchitis before...so hopefully the two of us will stay well... :) and, with breast-fed babies, the length of illness is traditionally a lot shorter than others...so we'll see... :)
sooo, the zoo will wait till fall (unless we have some cool days in the summer), and the children's museum will still be there when school is out...as will the playground and the other little activities i thought about doing through the week... oh well :) what do they say about the best laid plans?!?

our meals this week will hopefully be good and filling... :) we're not shopping this week, except for a few necessary items (milk, butter, bread, cheese, etc.)... i did pick up a few things last Friday, so they will also be part of our week... regardless, we have enough food here for the week, for sure... :)

Monday: bbq chicken, corn on the cob, baked potatoes
Tuesday: fried rice (again - we have a lot of white rice left :))
Wednesday: macaroni soup and grilled cheese
Thursday: tacos
Friday: leftovers (soup & tacos, if there is anything left)
Saturday: birthday party for our dear friend, Dwayne... bringing homemade mac n cheese, as requested :)
Sunday: creamed chicken over noodles

hope your first week of May is wonderful :)