Attack of the Red Crayon

This week Courtney will be recapping SYTYCD -she has a tough job ahead of her with two nights of auditions (four hours total) to review for us! Look for her to have a post up sometime tomorrow.

I am working on getting pictures up from our monumental event of last week - preschool graduation (two in one day!)! I am so proud of my girls - I hope I can share it soon!

I also have some yummy recipes to share. I was making a strawberry pie and actually thought about getting out the camera and providing some step by step shots...bu as usual the camera was MIA and the pie would not wait! Maybe another time :(

This weekend we kicked off the summer with a swim and it was incredibly rewarding to see Ella, in her final weeks of swim lessons, swimming ten feet or so in the pool with no flotation devices. I felt like this summer we were primed for a breakthrough and I think it's here! Catherine was doing really well too, in her arm bands of course, after the initial shock of the cold water. It helped that she could jump in and out of the hot tub to warm up!

We've loved having Renee and family back in the same state (so much easier to talk on the phone) and look forward to having them ten minutes down the road. The kids got to spend some time together for the first time since they've been back and it was fun to see them all interact. Ella is in love with Mia and I think I will be volunteering her services as a mother's helper this summer! It was so adorable to hear Mia say her name "El-LA". Nolan and Catherine alternated between playing together and doing their own thing. At one point they were carrying something into the other room and I heard Catherine tell Nolan "I'm stronger than you." Oh man, she cracks me up!

Well I'm nearing the end of two hours of SYTYCD auditions. I really love when we get the top 20 and they start the real competition. But I have to say that I am always highly entertained by the auditions, often times just by the reactions of the judges. They take it seriously, but unlike AI, their ego doesn't take over the show and they seem to have more fun. I loved that Adam Shankman got up there and danced. Ok, enough - check out Courtney's recap tomorrow and make sure you chime in.

You won't hear from me until later on because I am taking the kids to meet Shannon, Jack and Cade at the Crayola Factory. Please pray for us that there is no one there dressed as a giant red crayon. When I was online getting directions Ella spotted him on a small tiny picture on the website. I shamelessly lied and told her it/he wasn't real and I know so because Shannon told me so! So there. If I even let her have an inkling of doubt I don't know if I could get her in the car tomorrow. We do better with surprise than anticipation. I hope I'm not eating my words tomorrow!

And now you know the meaning behind the title of this post.

Dance!

Rachel, from a Heart in Progress is kicking off the "Sisterhood of the Traveling Dance" blog which will be posted each week throughout this season of So You Think You Can Dance (again, from here on out I promise I will call it SYTYCD.) Also, for those of you who are new, it airs on Fox

Now, take a second to watch this clip from yesterday's Ellen, featuing some talented dancers from last season!

Also, Renee, it was Kherinton. Twitch and Kherington = Twitchington. I think we were last stuck on Kensington...

All sorts of stuff

I'm sitting here watching the finale of American Idol with my mom - seeing how quickly I can make it through the two hour show - love my DVR!

There is laundry to be folded, a shower to be taken, gifts to be wrapped..

oh wow Jason Mraz - yay!

Anyway...where was I? Oh yeah, I have a lot I need to be doing but I'm not doing any of it. I'll probably regret it tomorrow.

Kris and Keith Urban - I'm liking!

The girls have their end of the year programs/graduations tomorrow. Catherine's is in the morning and Ella's is a little more formal/special and is held at night with a reception afterwards. I have cookies to make and cake pops to dip. I promised Ella I would make some for her to give to her classmates.

I'm definitely feeling emotional as Ella ends her two years in preschool and gets ready to move onto Kindergarten. In her backpack today were many end of the year projects, a class book, an all about me book, as well as the teacher's evaluation. Looking through all of it I got to see how much Ella has learned and how she's grown this past year. She's had such a great class for the past two years and really loves the friends she's made and she's not looking forward to moving on. I think the next three months will be spent getting us both ready for that!

My mom has come down to see the girls do their special programs so we're enjoying some time with her and now she's watching American Idol with me. She has so many questions about how it all "works". Right now we're watching Adam and KISS sing. She thinks Adam reminds her of Elvis. And now she's excited to go to Creation. Not sure how she made the jump from KISS to Creation....

Now and emergency alert has just blocked the screen and I am pretty darn sure it is right at the moment when the winner was announced (it's 10:01 now, I'm about 30 minutes behind.) I will like I wasted a lot of time over the past few months if I don't get to see the look on Kris or Adam's face when they win. Maybe there's a lesson in there for me. I'll have to take some time and think about it.

My mom won't let me fast forward past Rod Stewart. Well I guess I made her watch Fergi....

A few bits of more randomness..

I had fun reading about those of you who share my love for avocados as well those of you who are willing to give it a try. Props to Tasha who's avocado milkshake wins the prize as the weirdest way to eat/drink avocado.

I promise to get an Aldi's post up soon. I hope to help you take full advantage of the savings you will find there. Today Matt got hotdog and hamburger rolls for $.25 a bag. Can't beat that!

Tomorrow night premiers one of my favorite shows, my favorite reality show....So You Think You Can Dance. How much do I love this show? Well I still have last year's season finale on DVR. After watching the depressing season finale for Grey's Anatomy, I needed something happy to watch and I put on SYTYCD and let them dance the sadness away!

This year my friend Courtney organized a rotating So You Think You Can Dance (which I will now always refer to SYTYCD) recap blog. It will start tomorrow night and I will put up a quick post each week directing you to the blogger who is doing the recap. If you don't watch the show, maybe now's the time to give it a try and you can discuss it with us. If you do watch, feel free to comment and share your opinions each week! The more the merrier!

I got to the end of American Idol. The message alert did in fact interupt the moments right after Kris was announced as the winner so I missed what he said. Did it seem like Ryan was very unenthusiastic to anyone else? I love Kris, but I have to say I was kind of hoping Adam would win. I know that both of them will be fine either way and neither is a loser, but I think that all the news (well, the entertainment news, the the real world news) tomorrow will be about Adam losing and not Kris winning. I think Kris would have gotten a lot less flack had he not won. I guess I should be optimistic that people will focus on what Kris has done and what a great humble talented guy he is and not moaning about Adam losing. I think Adam is a great vocalist and great performer and seems like a nice guy with a fun sense of humor. I just happen to prefer Kris' style of music more, that's it. That's all I have to say about that!

I also made a new yummy recipe tonight. I'm going to post it later because I've been sitting here talking to my mom and now I need to go to bed!
Adios!

How do I love thee?

Let me count the ways!

I'm not talking about my husband or my precious girls, even though it is definitely true about each of them.

In this case I am talking about something very different, something with which my relationship (if it can be called that) is entirely one sided.

And no, I am not talking about Edward Cullen. Although I may have thought it would be fun to reread the Twilight series and may have gotten so caught up in it again that I asked Matt to scoop me up in his arms like I was light as a feather (i.e., no grunting or groaning) and then walk a few miles with me like that. His response brought me back to reality when he said he couldn't walk just himself a few miles, let alone while holding me. Of course, that is if that scenario really happened.

I figured I would get my once a week food post in and share my love for this baby....

Around Christmas an Aldi's opened up near us and has helped us reduce our weekly grocery bill. One of the great deals I am able to get there is a bag of three avocados for $2.50! That's pretty cheap and pretty exciting! So basically every time I shop, I pick up a bag of avocados, because you never can have too many and it would be a tragedy to have none.

I basically look for an excuse to add avocado to anything and everything. I really do love it that much. Before I share all the ways I indulge, I figured I should look up some nutritional aspects that I could share with you as well so I don't feel bad about consistently eating something so high in fat (but it's good fat people, good fat! I swear it is so hard for me to move on from the low fat craze of the 90's. As I read how much fat is in one avocado I got the chills and not the good kind.)

So here are a few fun tidbits about the avocado and why you should love it too!

• It has three times the amount of potassium as a banana and is also filling and acts as a slow burning fuel.


• The high potassium content helps balance our body's electrolytes, aids muscle activity, nerve function and energy metabolism


• It is also one of the richest source of fiber among all fruits and vegetables. Packed with vitamins A, several B-complex, it also contains powerful anti-oxidants like vitamins C and E.


• The avocado is one of the best natural mouth wash and a remedy for bad breath (pretty cool, huh!)


• An avocado contains oleic and linoleic acids that are effective in lowering the LDL cholesterol and increasing the healthy HDL cholesterol.


• Regular consumption of avocados strengthens the body's immune system.


• For you pregos...The vitamin B6 helps relieve nausea and queasiness associated with pregnancy. The high folate content is important and necessary for healthy fetal cell and tissue development.

I have to laugh because as I was reading different bits about avocados and how awesome they are (one article described it as a superfood here to save the diet), it did address the high fat content and how the majority of it was the healthy fat that our body needs, but even so not many people eat a whole avocado at one sitting so it's not like you're getting all that fat at once! Now I promise you that I don't eat a whole avocado in one sitting, a half is usually pushing it, but I may have eaten a whole bowl of guacomole made out of one avocado in one sitting - I guess that counts!

Instead of taking multi vitamins, I eat avocados! Ok, perhaps I'm going just a bit overboard here so now I'm going to share some ways you can enjoy avocado as well....

Guacamole! Seriously, it is so easy and so much better to just make your own. Grab a nice ripe avo, slice it open, scoop out the fruit (Ithink that's what it is called), mash it up with a fork, add a minced garlic clove or a pinch of garlic powder to taste, a bit of salt, some lime juice...and there you have it. I like to add a handful of diced tomatoes and onion if I have it and maybe even some chopped cilantro. But the great thing is, you don't need to - it's tasty just with a bit of salt and garlic (or even no garlic).

Another thing I've been doing is adding it to a turkey sandwhich in place of cheese - healthier and tastier!

Ell and Matt made me breakfast in bed the day after Mother's Day (Matt has to leave to be at church early on Sundays so we can't really do a big breakfast that day. Catherine just decided she'd rather hang with me in bed than help. Smart girl!). My requested breakfast was scrambled eggs topped with fresh salsa (pico de gallo), avocado and cheese. And some turkey bacon on the side. If you like to add a little southwest flair to your eggs, you definitely should try it. Little shout out to my sis in law Chrissie for opening my eyes to this!

Only two more I promise.

A great option for a delish lunch. Make a salad with lettuce, tomato and cucumber (go crazy with the veggies - those are what i prefer and often have), add some....wait for it....avocado and if you have some grilled chicken (either left over from the night befoe or the Perdu precooked chicken strips) that's a nice touch as well. Mix light ranch dressing with some barbecue sauce and you've got yourself a tasty lunch that is healthy without a ton of work and is interesting. Sometimes I just can't get excited about a plain old salad for lunch!

Finally, what I ate for dinner last night.. Tomato Avocado Salad! I just made it up but it's not at all unique or complicated. Basically 1-2 tomatoes cut into medium sized pieces, not diced. A half of an avocado in chunks. A little bit of corn, some black beans, (1/2 a can of each, if that), some diced red onion, throw in a handful of fat free Feta, some freshly ground salt and pepper, a few shakes of Balsamic vinegar. Voila, easy, healthy dinner. I toasted a pita and cut it into wedges and ate the salad alongside it. This is similar to a black bean salsa that I make, except the focus was on the tomatoes and not the beans and a whole lot less vinegar and bigger pieces.

So there you have it. Now you are more aware than you ever wanted to be about my one sided love affair with avocados.

I wonder if Elizabeth Barrett Browning is turning in her grave?

Take me out to the ball game....

Friday night we went to a surprise party for a dear friend. Here is a picture of the lovely Darlene!

It just so happened that the the part was at a minor league baseball game. Some picnic tables were reserved and we had a picnic buffet with a great view of the game. It shouldn't surprise anyone that it was the girls' first time to a ball park (I love football, soccer, lacrosse...baseball not so much). Ella was full of questions and excited until we pulled up and she saw all the people and cars. For some reason, who knows why, she got all freaked out and claimed that she had no idea we were coming here and she wanted to go home and all she wanted was a night at home with her family. Of course, her nervousness was contagious and Catherine started getting upset, again for no apparent reason! It took some time, but once they saw some familiar faces and I promised them ice cream if they could pull it together, they started enjoying themselves.

Look, she looks fine, doesn't she?

Catherine was fine, but didn't like when the announcer, or in her words "the big guy" spoke - which was basically every couple of minutes.

But then this guy made an appearance a few feet away.....

And all hell broke loose! Actually even though Catherine screamed at the top of our lungs and Ella hid under the picnic table they really didn't do that badly. Ella was scared but she didn't cry and Catherine just clung to me and I kept her head turned away from....baseball man (is that what he's called, cuz that's what he is???). It's kind of funny that I would think that screaming and hiding under a picnic table was not that bad.

This guys was one of three mascot type things the kids had to avoid. There was a big turtle man and a recycle man (trust me, that guys was scary). Because of course it was a family friend place and most kids love that stuff. Ella really can't understand that and kept asking us why the mascots came over to the kids, why did the kids want to see the mascots.

It was close to nine by that time and we knew it was time to go. We were walking on the sidewalk outside of the ballpark and I heard a loud "thunk" and something bounced on the ground beside us. We all stopped and I assumed Ella was hit in the head with something...oh yeah...that baseball laying right there on the ground....but wait, she's still on her feet and not crying. Instead of thinking that it missed her I thought first that it was one of those "soft" balls that they were slingshotting in to the crowd earlier in the evening and that's why she wasn't hurt. That's how close it was to her head. Thankfully (as we walked away I said many many thanks to God for protecting Ella) it hit the telephone pole next to us and then past Ella's head.

So instead of a trip to the hospital we got a nice little souvenir from our first baseball game!

Good Eats

I wanted to share three recipes I'm making this week. Two are among my favorites and one was a new one is definitely a keeper.

First up is Cincinnati Chili Spaghetti. I know some people make this as just basic chili served over spaghetti, but I believe that this recipe is true Cincinnati Chili Spaghetti - it definitely doesn't taste like traditional chili...or spaghetti either. My friend Jean first made it for us years ago and I was so excited to see that it was included in the cookbook her church put out (just an aside, I love church cookbooks! Not the youth group raising money ones, but the old school ones that have all sorts of yummy recipes submitted by different generations of women. )

This has a long list of ingredients, bu the great thing is once you get all the spices in, you just let it simmer for hours. I love when I don't have to spend a ton of time at dinnertime actually getting dinner ready. Make sense?

Cincinnati Chili Spaghetti

1 quart water
2 lbs ground beef
2 medium onions, grated fine
2 8oz cans tomato sauce
5 whole allspice
1/2 tsp red pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
4 cloves garlic
4 Tbs chili powder
2 T vinegar
1 large bay leaf
5 whole cloves
2 tsp Worchestershire sauce
1/2 ounce bitter (I use unsweetened) chocolate
1 tsp cinnamon

That's right, there's cinnamon, chocolate, cloves and allspice in this chili! Just trust me....

Add uncooked ground beef to water in large pot. Stir until beef separates to a fine mixture. Boil slowly for 30 minutes. Add all other ingredients. Stir to combine, bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for about 3 hours. For the last hour, the pot can be covered after desired consistency is reached.

Serve over spaghetti and top with your choice of fresh chopped onion, sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese. (We choose all three!)

Secondly, tonight's dinner!

I found this recipe on my friend Crafty P's new blog, Crafty's Cafe. She put up the recipe for Thai Peanut Noodles a few weeks ago and I've been looking forward to trying it. Click on the recipe to be linked to directly to her post.

Of course I have to let you know what I thought of it.....the verdict is in and it was delicious! It was also very easy to put together which is a definite plus.

I did use the Udon noodles that it called for (rather than linguine) and I think that it was worth it (I found them in the same aisle as the chili sauce and they were pretty cheap. I did buy a few bags of them b/c each bag is pretty small - one serving size if you're eating it as a main dish.

In terms of spice, we doubled the sauce (which was more than enough - I will be having this as leftovers at some point this week!) and I added one and a half tsp of the hot chili sauce, which was just about perfect for me, a tiny bit spicy for Matt but he didn't complain.

I thought topping it with the cilantro, green onions, chopped peanuts (dry roasted is what I used) and fresh lime juice was definitely necessary - do not pass those up!

Next time I make it I might add some thinly cut cooked chicken. It's fine as it is and a great option for a meatless meal, but for those who would want more, chicken would be a great fit with it.

Finally, you don't need as much sauce as you might think. I found that when I got to the bottom of the bowl there was a ton of sauce left and it was a bit overpowering. Matt warned me about this and I didn't listen so I had to learn the hard way. Didn't stop me from scraping every last bit out of the bowl.

I could seriously go and eat more of this right now and it's almost 10 pm. So I definitely recommend it next time you're looking for an easy tasty meal.

Finally I have one more recipe to share. I could have sworn I already posted this one last Cinco de Mayo, but I did a quick search and it didn't turn up.

Ok, so now I realize that apparently I don't know how to spell "fajitas" and I'm not even going to tell you how I was trying to spell them. Spelled correctly I realize that I did indeed post this recipe last year. It was fun to look back and see that this time a year ago Catherine had been potty trained for two weeks and we were having a cake to celebrate.

Wow, that seems so long ago. I'm glad I can't spell and was able to remember that! So go ahead and check out last year's post and the recipe for my favorite fajitas.

Compassion in India

Edited: Sorry about the random spacing throughout this and especially in the quotes. I'm too tired to try and make blogger cooperate...

This stuff is just too good to pass up.

Right now there is a team of Compassion Bloggers on a trip to India. One of my favorite bloggers, Angie is on the trip so I've been keeping up with her posts, along with a number of other bloggers who are on the trip. Angie's posts have been so amazing and moving - I really hope you take some time to read her posts from the trip. Today's post entitled "I've Been Lied to and Ridiculed" is definitely worth it!

Rather than just telling you to head over there I thought I'd share a few quotes from some of her posts....

From "Name"

We went to the first Compassion project today and I can't begin to tell
you how it affected me. I have been mulling this post over, praying, asking the
Lord to give me the words I can't find. There are so many stories I want to
share, so many things God allowed me to experience, and it has challenged me in
a beautiful way.
It has been really easy for me to stay out of the water in a lot of ways, and my own cynicism has kept me safe there. But today, as we stood in a house made of bamboo and clay bricks and watched a woman tell us how Compassion had changed their lives, something in my soul settled.

From "Child Survival Program"

I looked over several of the wall charts, and as I did, I thought about
the way I have doubted organizations like this in the past because how in
the world could they keep up with thousands and thousands of
children?
And hanging on the wall in impeccable ink handwriting was
the undeniable evidence. It was so beautiful to see the way they care for
these babies, and as a result, the way families are impacted.

I was checking out a few of the other bloggers and wanted to post a few quotes and point you to their blogs as well.

This post is by Melissa (sorry about no last name) of Living Proof Ministries, I believe she is the daughter of Beth Moore (you know, THE Beth Moore). What she wrote her really hit home with me because her struggle with her own house match my own....

From "How do you like my house"

We kneeled around and listened to Kiran tell her story through a translator. Her beaming smile and joyous spirit were enough to distract from the oppressive heat. She told us about how she loves to study, how much she loves Jesus, and how she wants to be a teacher someday.
And then she asked us, her guests, with a genuine smile on her face as though she was taking us on a tour of her mansion:
“How do you like my house?”
Can you remember what it felt like to break up with your first love? Okay, now multiply that by about a million. It was like a dagger in my heart. I didn’t just want to cry. I wanted to completely lose it. But I joined in with the rest of the team, who were likely feeling the same way, and we all said, “We love it. It is beautiful.”
And I thought of the times that I’ve told my husband I don’t want to have a certain couple over to our apartment because our dining room table isn’t big enough. I thought of the times that I’ve been “ashamed” to invite friends into our home because it isn’t fancy enough or we don’t have enough chairs or our sofa isn't comfortable enough. The countless times I've complained about the paint color on the walls.
There I was. A Compassion sponsor. Being mentored by a Compassion child on what is really important in life. I realized that we often assume people are completely hopeless just because they don't have the material wealth that we deem necessary for a quality life. But sometimes those who are in the most difficult circumstances know best of all where to find hope. Kiran sure did. She had hope because through God's grace via Compassion International she has a safe place to learn, to get a hot meal, and to hear more about Jesus.

From the blog Without Wax by Pete Wilson post entitled "Looking into the eyes of bondage"

"Sometimes I would like to ask God why He allows poverty, suffering, and injustice when He could do something about it.”
“Well, why don’t you ask Him?”

“Because I’m afraid He would ask me the same question.”

anonymous....

Finally from Shaun Groves. He is a musician and spokesperson for Compassion and he is involved in organizing these trips. He also travels around and does concerts/speaking at churches (free) about Compassion. Matt and I have been talking with his "agent/friend" about having him come to our church. Right now they don't have a lot of contacts in the NE so if any other of my NE friends think your church would be interested let me know! I'm too tired to write much more, but definitely head over and check out his writings. He is so passionate about Compassion and how they save and transfrom lives in Jesus' name - it's contageous!

One of the reasons I love following these trips is it helps make the $32 a month that we send to our Compassion boy Henry seem more significant. It reminds me that Henry is a real little boy in Uganda who has the letters that I wrote him (not nearly enough) over the years. It makes writing a check each month (ok, so it's direct deposit, but we get montly statements) a whole lot more personal. When I read these posts it makes me prayerfully consider what else I can be doing to show Christ's love to those who have so little. It also forces me to confront my own struggles with feeling like I don't have enough and I realize I am rich in material items but so often poor in spirit.

I hope you will take the time to be challenged and touched. And perhaps even consider sponsoring a child.

Catching Up (How many times can I use this as a title?)

Last Wednesday to Sunday my brother Mike, my sister in law Sharon and their sweet little 15 month old Caleb were visiting us while they were in town for a wedding. They live in Atlanta so we don't get to spend a ton of time with them so it was so nice to have a few days to catch up and for Caleb to get to know us.

It was important that he get to know us because we were going to be watching him Friday during the day and night while they went to the various Friday wedding activities, such as visiting a castle, the rehearsal, the rehearsal dinner (I think another castle was involved). Caleb stayed home so Mike and Sharon could enjoy their time out especially since the next day would be a long day as well. Plus, we were really looking forward to our time with Caleb. It was fun to have a little boy in the house and I had definitely forgotten how much energy goes into having a young toddler, especially in a house that is no longer very baby proof. I think the only thing Caleb tried to eat was one of the Disney Polly Pocket type dresses.

I tried so hard not to laugh (I didn't) when Mike and Sharon pulled away and Caleb just kept turning around looking over each shoulder trying to figure out where they had gone. His sad face was just so stinking adorable. We played outside for awhile and then went for wagon rides up and down the block. Caleb held onto a little plastic rack and let it drag along the ground the whole time. I think he was still in shock that his parents were gone!

The shock eventually wore off and Caleb was his happy easy going self most of the time. Except for occasionally going over to the basement door and knocking, hoping his parents were down there! I got a ton of snuggle time with him and when he was sad he would come up and lay his head on my lap or wrap his arms around my leg.

We enjoyed our busy weekend with family - my parents were also in town for the wedding so we had a full house. Of course this was during the Spring Heat Wave that we just went through. Anyone else still in shock that we experience ninety degree temps in April?

On Monday Ella went outside to play and came back in absolutely hysterical telling us she had seen a snake! Oh boy. I went out with Matt to investigate....and the verdict was....she was RIGHT! We found a gardner snake peaking out from behind a cooler that was casting a shadow - does this mean that when it gets this hot I'm more likely to see snakes? Because not only did we see it that morning, but again in our backyard while the kids were swinging. I'm assuming/hoping it was the same snake and not another one. In theory I'm not scared of snakes, but in reality I'm not too excited about them in my backyard.

Funny tidbits. When Ella was freaking out and we were asking if she was sure it was a snake she said "yes, because worms are smaller!" The whole time Catherine kept insisting that she wasn't scared of snakes and we tried to tell her that she probably would have been scared like Ella and she's all "nuh, uh". This from the child who screams bloody murder when she sees a stink bug in her room for the hundredth time!

We did get a chance to go swimming yesterday and as much as it pained me to put my still in hibernation body into a swimsuit, it was so refreshing and wonderful to see the kids having fun in the water. I wasn't sure how they would do since the water wasn't too warm and they hadn't been swimming since the fall, but I was happy that they got right back into it no problem. It was a good warm up her swim lessons which started today. She's in the submarine class and is practicing "stroke readiness". That cracks me up because her current stroke is frantic dog paddling until she sinks! While I was waiting for her in the hot humid aquatics facility I overhead some mothers talking about someone being sick and in the hospital and all I could think of was "Swine Flu, Swine Flu! Where is my antibacterial spray?!" (I jest....kind of...)

Wow, check out the topics I covered. Family, watching Caleb, the heat, snakes, swimming and a possible pandemic. That is just the way my mind flows. And now I probably should go take a Tylenol PM so I can ssssllllllllooooowwww those thoughts down!

Earth Day

In honor of Earth Day I figured I would post some pictures of what's growing around our house these days! Last year we had our first garden and I'm excited to have a little bit of the learning curve behind me and to feel slightly less clueless this time around!

We plan on growing some things in our yard again, but also are planning a type of community garden with some other folks over at our church. I decided I wanted to start as much as possible from seeds this year so I have more control over how they are grown and save even more money. So a few weeks ago we planted some seeds...here is how they looked on Saturday...


You might have to click this picture if you want to see the two tiny little green bean seedlings that are just starting to peek through. I was so excited because that is the container that Ella accidentally knocked off the counter. I wasn't holding out much hope that the would sprout - for all I knew the seeds were in the trash with the rest of the soil that was all over the floor.


Here is a picture of them that I took today!


I love how quickly the seeds are now starting to grow - at this point it looks like we'll have a lot of zucchini and cucumbers. The bottom right of the above picture is green beans - I think all but two have sprouted.

The very back container are the green pepper seeds. Not much going on there. I'm still hoping that with the cilantro I plan on starting later in spring, the tomatoes we always grow and hopefully some fresh green peppers, I'll be able to make a yummy pico de gallo! Come on green peppers! (and yes, that is a picture of newborn ella (i think!) just laying there - i must have missed it as I was moving pictures back into the rooms)

My windows are decorated by basil! Is there anything better than the smell of fresh basil?My lovely husband picked up two pots of my favorite flowers and they have been providing a splash of color to our dining room. Hello there beautiful!

This is the third year in a row that I've made dirt dessert on Earth Day - it's just a fun tradition, ever since I scared Catherine at 18 months when she thought I was really eating a big bite of dirt!

I'll share the recipe with you, since there are many version of it out there and this is the one that we like the best.

Dirt Dessert

1 package oreo cookies, finely ground up (food processor is easiest) until you have approximately 32 oz worth

8 oz package of cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar

3 cups milk

1 5.5 oz package instant vanilla pudding

1 container cool whip

Beat the cream cheese until creamy and then add the powdered sugar and beat to combine.

In a larger bowl mix the milk, pudding and cool whip (I add the cool whip after I have whisked the pudding and milk for a bit). Stir in the cream cheese mixture.

In another larger bowl, or flower pot, start with a small layer of oreo crumbs. Add a layer of pudding/cream cheese mixture and continue to layer, with the final layer being oreos.

Eat right away or refrigerate until later!

Add in options: You can put gummy worms in as you layer to add to the "dirt" effect. Also, if I'm using a flower put then I will stick a plastic flower on top which really helps sell it as dirt!

Trust, this is one yummy Earth Day treat.

We are spending a few days with my brother Mike, his wife Sharon and my sweet nephew Caleb as they are in town for a wedding. It will be a busy couple of days and busy weekend but I'm sure I'll have lots of stories to share after our time together. It will be interesting to see how long Caleb puts up with all the attention from his cousins, especially Catherine who seems to think of him as her doll and is constantly trying to hug and kiss him and pull him around.

Firsts!

This weekend was perfect. It really was. After the cold spring we've had so far, when you get three (it ended up being four) consecutive days of warm sunny weather you start doing as much outside activity as possibly. So this weekend ended up being a weekend of many firsts (for this year).

First cookout with friends....(ok, just a picture of the girls, but it was that night)

First s'mores by the fire.

First taste of those s'mores....

Ella's first day of Pee Wee soccer.
Hmmmm...is she actually there? Let's zoom in and take a look....

Yep, she's there! I was silently yelling for Matt to come over and take pictures and this is what he got before the card was full. I'm actually not too upset because you aren't able to tell that my child is the only without shin guards or cleats. I mean, really, cleats for 4 and 5 year olds? Just doesn't seem necessary. I have no excuse for the lack of shin guards. You would think I've never stepped on a soccer field before or something??? :)

First planting. Decked out in our new hat and gardening gloves

Catherine's first, of many, goofy grins while wearing her new hat (I know I'm reaching, but how could I pass this one up?) Note: She put her hat on that way, not me.


There is no first for this, again I just thought it was too cute not to post!

Finally, our first ice cream cones outside!

I almost forgot, we got our first farmer tans - one day in the sun is all it took! Both girls have rosy red cheeks and tan arms. And I bought our first bottle of sunscreen for the season!

Ok, enough with the firsts, I hope you all enjoyed your weekend as much as we did! Even though tomorrow looks to be cold and rainy, the past few days have made it feel like spring is really here to stay - and summer suddenly doesn't seem to far away!

Thursdays, weather and Easter

It's Thursday, my favorite day of the week. It's the one morning I am at home while the girls go to preschool and I get a few hours of alone time. It's also the afternoon when we go to library story time in the afternoon and art class at night. All things that the girls love and keep them on the go so there is little time to be bored. My kids do best when they have a mix of busy and slow days. Yesterday was a slow day, today is our busy day!


Another reason to love Thursday - Matt occassionally works from home in the morning since the girls aren't there. It's kind of nice hearing his voice as he makes phone calls and getting to chat with him (he LOVES when I come over to "chat" with him while he's working!) without the girls competing for our attention.


Also I love Thursday because I look forward to The Office and 30 Rock. Two funny shows that are half hour little treats to watch. I love my Lost and this year I've even started watching American Idol (gasp!), but I love the lack of intensity involved with watching 30 minute comedies! So yes, I look forward to Thursday because of those shows.


I have looked forward to this Thursday all week because after a few days...or has it been weeks?...of cold rainy weather, today was forecasted to be sunny and up to 60. Starting off a beautiful three or four day streak of nice days, with potential to be in the mid 70's! I cannot express how happy I am to see the sun and know it will be out for a few days and that it will actually be warm at the same time! Easter Sunday was sunny, but windy and cold. Right before we left for church, the girls in their Easter dresses (I am proud of myself for my restraint this Easter season, the only thing I bought was a cardigan for Ella to wear with her dress. Oh how I wanted to buy them adorable matching dresses. But I restrained myself...) and much needed cardigans and Ella asked "mom, aren't we going to wear coats?". I told them, no we would just run into church - a coat would totally ruin the look!

It was definitely coat weather. Needless to say, we didn't take any outdoor pictures.


We are still putting our house back together after the floors refinishing project. I promise I will post before and after pictures. It is now late afternoon and I got distracted from finishing this post by looking through all the pictures I had downloaded.

Here are a few from Easter. I had more to upload but I only did as many as blogger would let me do at once. I hate messing with the spacing and the text when I forget to add pictures until the end of the post!

these could used some cropping and editing but that would have led to a whole other area of distraction...

they are running to find eggs after church was over and they were able to put on more weather appropriate attire!

i love this shot of ella. (in spite of the mysterious red smudge under her eye)

Cake Pop Party

One of my favorite creative blogs to check in on is Bakerella. She is always making the coolest looking stuff - if you haven't yet, definitely go check her out. She's so cool - she's been on Martha Stewart and visited with Pioneer Woman out at her ranch.


She is known for her cake pops, essentially a bit of cake on a stick, dipped in melted chocolate and decorated to look pretty (I actually wrote real perty the first time without meaning to - it just sounded a bit southern). If you check out her site, you'll realize they are much more than that and her creativity is pretty darn cool.


(But please, don't go over there now. Stay and check out my pictures because they will look much less cool in comparison. )


I've been tempted to try them for awhile now but her recent Easter pops pushed me over the edge and I decided to have a cake pop party! A few friends were up for it so each of us made a batch of cake balls and brought along a ton of sprinkles and confetti sprinkles and melting chocolate and prepared to bring out our inner Bakerella's.

I was going to have it at my house, but the floors weren't finished until Thursday afternoon and there was no furniture in our family room or dining room and I was a bit overwhelmed by the amount of mess and stuff in the kitchen (not to mention we had no table or chairs), so we set up a table at our church and worked there, while enjoying the background entertainment of Sweet Home Alabama playing on the projector screen.


I gained some new appreciation for Bakerella's skill. Because while cake pops are fun, they are a bit tedious to decorate. Each batch makes about 50 cake balls and we had four batches (one yellow, two chocolate, one strawberry)! Also, if you don't shape your cake ball just perfectly, it looks a bit lumpy when it's been dipped in chocolate.


Side note here: During that day while I talked with friends on the phone or at night while we were working I said the words cake balls or just balls so much, as in do you think the balls need to be frozen, do you put the sticks in the balls before or after freezing them, when you dip the cake balls...., that it got to a point when I felt like I was going to fall on the ground laughing if I said something about dipping them in chocolate one more time. Thankfully by that point I was so tired I could just summon up a few giddy giggles.


It took us about four hours of working to decorate the 200 eggs and chicks that we made. I was an egg decorator and enjoyed coming up with new designs and patterns for about the first twenty or so. As the night wore on I made more and more covered in rainbow sugar!


Regardless of how long it took, it really was so much fun and definitely a great project to do with friends. I am so excited for the kids to see their eggs and chicks in their Easter Baskets tomorrow!


Here are the pictures....when you're done...then you can go ahead and check out Bakerella's professional version!

A multitude of pops

A bunch of cute eggs and a few funny looking ones

Isn't this little chick the cutest thing?

I really liked the way these striped ones turned out

there were so many pops. just so many.

the cake poppers! the look on my face says "i am very tired. the kids better freak out when they see these ."

I do have to add that not only do cake pops look pretty, but they actually taste really good! I left a few unfinished ones behind in the church fridge, figuring I would come back later and freeze them. That afternoon our one pastor asked Matt if I had been making something at the church the night before. Matt said yes. When he relayed this to me I immediately started worrying, what light did I leave on, what mess did we forget about. Then he asked Matt if I what I made was for something in particular. Matt, in true husband fashion said "ummm, I don't know, I think maybe for Easter?" Again I am so worried, maybe we shouldn't have gone to the church....but then Tim said "good, because I ate a bunch. They were really good!" Phewww.

To close, since I am posting this Saturday night, I hope you all have a blessed Easter. A quick (I promise) story. Tonight we were reading from our favorite children's Bible, The Jesus Storybook Bible (I know I've said it before, but it is so beautiful, I wholeheartedly recommend it if you don't have it). We had read about the cross last night and tonight we read about Easter morning. It started off with the Mary's going to the tomb to wash Jesus' body and chronicled their discovery at the tomb, with the missing body and the angel and then their rejoicing at what they learned.

When I was done I wanted to see how well Catherine was tracking with what I had read. I asked her what happened to Jesus and she responed "he died." I prompted her by asking her what happened in this story. She said, "well, Jesus had a dirty body". I wish I could tell you that I didn't have to look away for a good thirty seconds while I worked to keep my laughter under control, but I can't. I was eventually able to continue and I asked her what happened at the tomb? She said "Jesus was gone". And what did that mean Catherine. She responded "Jesus was alive!"

That's right, Jesus is alive! Can I get an Amen?!

Happy Easter!

Getting out of town

I am writing this post from my friend Shannon's office and listening to the sound of our kids laughing hysterically at something in the other room.

I invited myself over for a two day visit while we get our hardwood floors refinished. It was supposed to be a Mon-Wed project that now looks to extend into Thursday. I thought that this would be a great week to have it down because the kids are off school and I had the freedom to get out of town. But it mght have been nice to send them to school on Thursday instead of trying to plan yet another day away from the house.

I promise to post some before and after pictures of the floors. I'm so excited and I hope that I don't have my expectations too high. This is one of those projects that we always talked about doing and just recently committed to when we realized it wasn't outrageous to hire someone to do it for you. We cannot take on any more do it yourself projects at the moment. I am overwhelmed with the amount of unfinished do it yourself projects in our house currently. In fact, this may be the only time we've ever hired someone to come in and do a project from start to finish. Maybe Matt will chime in and correct me if I'm wrong (I know you're reading this).

For now I'm going to enjoy being at Shannon's lovely home and having some built in entertainment for my girls in the form of Jack and Cade. Earlier they were all in Jack's room playing school - is it any surprise that Ella was the teacher? As long as Jack doesn't mind being bossed around for the next two days they're going to have a great time!

Food Glorious Food!

Lately one of the things I've enjoyed doing is browsing all the wonderful food and cooking blogs out there on the world wide web and searching for new recipes to try. I used to hate meal planning, but now I've come to enjoy it because I've found so many new recipes to try. It doesn't hurt that everyone has gone all Pioneer Woman and now takes mouth watering pictures to accompany each recipe .

I've noticed that in the blogging world there is something called Menu Plan Monday and people link to a blog and then post the recipes they are making that week. I don't plan on doing that officially, but since it's Monday and I have my meals planned for the week I figured I might as well share, especially since a few of them are among my recent finds. No mouth watering pictures here (because then you would most likely see the chaos in which I cook) - click on the links for that!

Monday - Turkey Artichoke Stuffed Shells with Arrabbiata Sauce. Originally from Giada, but I found it on the blog Elizabeth's Edible Experience. Arrabbiata sauce is a spicy sauce that has bits of pancetta in it and although I originally planned on making it, I was sending half of this dish over to friends who just had a baby and I thought I should steer clear of spicy. Oh and I also ran out of time. That too! This was really really good - and according to Giada it freezes nicely. I don't think I've made stuffed shells since I've been married, but this recipe is definitely a keeper.

Tuesday - Grilled Salmon with Roasted Corn Relish - This is hands down my favorite Salmon recipe. I think the corn relish is a must! It's supposed to be warmer tomorrow so it's a good time to break out the grill and enjoy this super healthy and flavorful dish. If you aren't a salmon fan, you should try this recipe - it might convert you!

Wednesday - We are having dinner at friend's house - ribs, my favorite! I am bringing one of my favorite salads, Asaian Slaw Salad - I'm sure everyone has had it or a version of it!

Thursday - Tuscan Lentil Soup - This is from the Sisters Cafe, and since it looks like it will be a rainy cloudy day I thought this soup would be perfect.

Isn't it funny that I plan my meals based on the weather. Don't tell me I'm the only one?!

Having new recipes that I am excited to try makes me enjoy the whole process of making dinner for my family - although Matt probably gets sick of me asking him "do ya like, huh, huh, do ya like it, is it good?!" He's all "chill out, I just went back for thirds, what do you think?"

Lastly, tomorrow is Catherine's unbirthday at school (I am a summer baby and I never got an unbirthday! hmpf!) and she is bringing cupcakes in for a treat. Of course she got to pick and we made chocolate with vanilla (pink!) icing. However, next time I get to pick I am making THESE. Go on...I dare you to check them out and not want one!

California...I was there

This time last month I was on my way home from a wonderful week long visit in California with Jon and Renee.

It's been a month since I enjoyed a week of warm California skies and it still isn't that warm here so I figured now is the time to post some pictures and relive our adventures.

Here are a few pictures from our time in Monterey.

Matt and I stayed overnight in Monterey and had dinner and walked around Cannery Row, which is all lit up at night and very cool.

The next day was Big Sur and it is one of my favorite places on earth. Seriously. I haven't traveled that much but at this point in my life, it's Big Sur and the Swiss Alps. I love both the mountains and the ocean and I am always drawn to natural beauty over created-man made beauty. Not to say I don't appreciate and enjoy beautiful architecture and art, because I believe much of that is truly inspired by God, but seeing the beauty of God's creation is what really speaks to me.

When you drive through Big Sur, you feel like every 50 feet you want to stop and take another picture because around every bend it just seems more and more amazing. Here is a picture of the coast line that we traveled along. I am one of those point and shot camera people, so these are completely unedited (because if they were they would be just a bit better!) - that is really how blue the waters were!

Here is picture walking out onto a hard to access beach that is listed as a State Park, but located at the end of an unmarked two mile windy road.
Here is a cool shot of the water through the openings in the rocks.

Matt and I walked along the beach and came upon a small stream flowing out of the forest (for those of you who grew up on the Jersey shore you can appreciate how cool this way - so far removed from boardwalks and condos - which I do love as well!). The rest of the beach was sharp cliffs, this was the only spot that let you move inland.

Of course we followed the stream into the trees. I had to take a shot showing the contrast between the open sunny beach and the dark shaded forest just a few feet beyond.

There was a trail leading up the mountain/cliff so we hiked up to the top to see what the view was like! Definitely worth it. Hopefully it gives you a better perspective of what the beach below was like.

If you look closely (or click on the picture) you can see Matt in the lower left hand corner of the picture. I hiked up a little further just to see how far I could go (that is so typical me). I was initially even further up than this but I heard something in the bushes and immediately took off down the hill at a much fast pace. I was envisioning a bear or a snake coming to greet me!


Before we turned around to drive back home we stopped at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park and walked out to this waterfall overlook. Isn't it amazing? The beach and waterfall are inaccessible in order to maintain the untouched beauty.

After having a nice dinner Renee and I headed home with the kids while Matt and Jon stayed behind to camp and hike. The hike the next day resulted in a bit of tension (a month later I can say a "bit" of tension and you probably realize that it was more than a bit at the time!) for the wives who were back at home waiting for their turn to go out and have some girl time! But I definitely enjoyed hearing about their eight hour long adventure over dinner that night.

This is the river that they crossed in their skivvies. Bear Gryllis, uh, I mean Jon, went first and convinced my husband that it was a once in a lifetime experience and they had to do it.
I'll leave out most of the part where my husband was huffing and puffing up the trail after Jon and skip to the two hikers having reached the summit!
On there way down the were able to get to a beach that was otherwise inaccessible (unless you were the owners of the beautiful home above).

Don't you love that little waterfall above? It's not the best shot of it, but it's the only one that doesn't involve one of the guys in their boxers. This is a family friendly blog you know!

This was later that same night as we went out to dinner at a fun Mexican restaurant on Santana Row. I love the siloute of palm trees in the setting sun so I had Matt take a quick picture.

Finally two shots of the couples - all dressed up for the night!

We still had two more days, Saturday was spent in San Fransisco (our camera batteries were dead, so those are on the CD of Jon and Renee's pictures) and Sunday was church, chillaxing back at the apartment and visiting some dear friends from college. Monday we headed home - and you all know how that went!

I can't believe it was a month ago - we had looked forward to it for so long and Renee and I started planning it the night before they even left. I love California and all there is to see and do there, but most importantly it was a chance for us to spend time with the Kovaliks and see a bit of their life in California. Of course it made us want them to come home so we can see them on a daily basis -thankfully a month later all the details for their new home ten minutes down the road have worked out and in two months we will have them as neighbors again (ok, so it's not even the same town, but compared to across the country, it counts as neighbors!).