This Life

HP7 & Chipotle Date Night

2010-11-20T14:37:00.002-05:00

Went to see Harry Potter 7 part 1 and had Chipotle with Trina and Christine. The movie was good and went along with the book better than some of the other movies. The food was really good! We had never been there before. Josh thinks Chipotle is better than Moe's but more expensive. Can not wait to see the girls again!

Fall Pictures After Hiking 2010

2010-11-02T15:28:00.003-04:00

We went to take a walk Saturday and took our fall pics. Since it rained last week there were not as many colorful leaves as I had wanted but they pictures turned out nice.

Belts Loops & New Patch

2010-10-30T11:22:00.000-04:00

Quinn earned his 1st belt loops and a new patch from his fall family camping. The belt loops are in archery & bb shooting and the patch is for participating in fall family camping.

Tortilla Soup with Black Beans from Everyday Foods Magazine

2010-10-29T10:45:00.001-04:00

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. chili powder
2 cans (14.5 oz. each) diced tomatoes in juice
2 cans (15 oz. each) black beans, rinsed & drained
1 can (14.5 oz.) reduced-sodium chicken broth (I also picked the most reduced fast can I
could find)
1 package (10oz.) frozen corn kernels
Coarse salt & ground pepper
1 c. crushed tortilla chips, plus more for serving (optional)
1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice, plus lime wedges for serving
(I also added to mine maybe a tsp. & a half - I don’t measure these things so you use how much you like – of chopped chipotle pepper with adobo sauce & 2 handfuls dried red lentils)

Directions:

1. In large saucepan heat oil over medium. Cook garlic & chili powder (& chipotle if using) until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes (with juice), beans, broth, corn (lentils if using) & 1 c. water; season with salt & pepper.

2. Bring soup to boil; reduce to simmer. Add tortilla chips; cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in lime juice & season w/ salt & pepper. Serve w/ lime wedges & more chips.

Josh notes that this soup reheats well in the microwave.

Boy Scout's Fall Family Camping 2010

2010-10-26T11:56:00.002-04:00

These pics are from the Cub Scouts fall family camping that we did last weekend. Quinn enjoyed sitting around the campfire, archery, bb shooting and getting to know his scout friends better. Josh & I also got to know Q's den leader better and we met his wonderful wife and daughter. They are a really nice family that we hope to spend more time with. This so far been a great experience not only for Quinn but for us too. We are so glad that we are all involved in Scouts!

- A

2010-10-15T12:23:00.003-04:00

This was last month when Quinn earned his first Cub Scouts patch!!

Pine Wood Regatta

2010-09-18T14:44:00.003-04:00

Today was Quinn first Cub Scouts pine wood regatta race. We got the boat at this week meeting and decided on a theme that would include monkeys (of course :) so we painted the boat to look like a banana and put monkey stickers on the sail. They race the boats in flooded gutters blowing through straws. We are so proud of him because going into this he said that he didn't care if he won. He raced three times and won once and we all had a really good time. Looking at the schedule for the year we will have a Space Race and a Derby car race too. Can't wait!!

- A

Wolf Scout Quinn & Catie & Terrell's Wedding

2010-09-10T11:00:00.004-04:00

Quinn's has joined Scout!!! This is the night of his first meeting. Although he looks rather unsure here, he is very excited!!

Last Sunday we went to Catie & Terrell's wedding and here are the pics from that.

1st Day of 2nd Grade

2010-08-10T19:40:00.002-04:00

Here are the pics from our morning send off yesterday. We always take pre school pics and then drive him over and walk him to class. Every year I have captured a pic of Quinn and Josh walking into school together from behind and it is so sweet. Quinn has a really nice teacher this year and I think he will have another great year. In a few weeks we are going to get him into Cub Scouts and I think he is excited about that too.

More pics of recent events to come soon...

- A

Pics from July 4, 2010

2010-07-08T19:19:00.000-04:00

Teeth

2010-07-01T18:13:00.002-04:00

Thought I would share the pictures of Quinn with his gaps...He looks like he has been pegged with a hockey puck and now he lisps on some of his words!! He is growing up so fast! I was looking at pictures the other night of when he got these baby teeth and now they belong to my dresser drawer...I mean the tooth fairy!! He also use to be easier to photography...now he tries to put all sorts of things in the shots with him. Here he has a draw string that he has pulled clear from a pair of his shorts. Good thing that those shorts fit huh?!!

Hope everyone has a wonderful and safe July 4th and Happy Birthday to friends and family this weekend!!

Until next time...

- A

Update

2010-06-25T10:57:00.003-04:00

I know I haven’t posted in a while so to update everyone…

This summer is a little different from past summers due to the fact that Josh is not working nights but I am. We have been busy with crazy issues with Josh’s battery connection in his car, a septic repair, termites and now our air conditioning unit is not working and apparently can not be repaired but must be replaced (unfortunately that will have to wait until next year’s tax season so we are sweating it out :( All this craziness in like a two week span…I’m exhausted!!

I do like working nights…Unlike past years it allows me to get out and keep my hands still in my department so I can continue to have some control over it. Although, let me vent a little on how I wish kids would either go back to school or go to camp and stop touching my things!!! Or you know what would be nice…if their parents make them stop touching my things!!! When I get in there at night, it is like a tornado hit! I am so blessed that Quinn has picked up on our teaching of putting things back where he gets them.

Quinn has lost both bottom teeth and both top and now he lisps on some words. He received exceeds expectations on his CRCT’s!!!

I planted poblano seeds and have some growth but very little has happened in weeks. They are still about 6 in. tall. Any tips???

So I took several pictures of me and my little cutie awhile back that I am posting. You can see I have some where he is actually posing well and then there are the sillies. I also am posting pictures that I most recently took of Josh and me. Funny how taking pictures with Josh and taking them with Quinn have such similar results…compare the outtakes of my photo shoots with both where they are both acting up!!!

Last night we were suppose to go to the Laser Show with our friends Trina and Christine but it was looking like rain so we headed to eat and play pool. Last time we played pool I think Josh and I won but this time they kicked our butts! We had fun and hope not only to have them out to "the country" in our neck of the woods but also to get Trina to Stone Mountain since she has never been.

And lastly, we are on Facebook so check us out!!

Until next time,

A

Chocolate-Pistachio Biscotti

2010-03-17T10:45:00.001-04:00

Chocolate-Pistachio Biscotti from Everyday Foods Magazine 2009

Makes 44

Ingredients:

2 c. all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1 c. sugar
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
¾ c. shelled unsalted pistachios
4 oz. dark chocolate, chopped
3 large eggs
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
¼ c. unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions:

1. Preheat oven 350. In large bowl whisk together flour, ¾ c. sugar, baking powder, and salt; stir in nuts and chocolate. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, butter vanilla & cocoa. Add egg mix to flour mix & sit until combined (dough will be stiff).
2. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment (I used foil sprayed with Pam) and sprinkled with 2 Tbsp. sugar. Divide dough in half and place on sheet. Shape into two 2 ½ by 12 inch logs and sprinkle tops each with 1 Tbsp. sugar. Bake until risen and firm, 15 to 20 minutes. Let logs cool completely on sheet about 30 minutes.
3. Reduce oven to 300. Using a serrated knife, cut logs crosswise into ½ inch think slices. Arrange slices in a single layer on baking sheets. Bake until biscotti are dry, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. (Store in airtight container at room temp. up to 1 week.)

Amy’s Extras
- I used dark chocolate cocoa.
- I had salted pistachios on hand so I used those and omitted the salt from
the recipe.
- Everyday Foods suggests almonds, peanuts and hazelnuts in place of the
pistachios.

Kale with Tomatoes, Garlic and Thyme

2010-03-10T10:41:00.001-05:00

Kale with Tomatoes, Garlic and Thyme from Everyday Foods Magazine 2010

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. olive oil, plus 2 tsp. for serving
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced (I mashed them into a
paste with the recipe’s salt – see below)
2 c. cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 ½ tsp. fresh thyme leaves
1 lb. boiled, chopped kale leaves (thick stems removed)
Salt and pepper

Directions:

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and thyme leaves. Cook until tomatoes begin to break down, 2 minutes. Add kale and cook until heated through, 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with oil.

Amy’s Extras
– The kale leaves are boiled so that they will be soft when added to this
dish. Boil them until they are tender enough for your tastes.
- I served this with a little Parmesan cheese sprinkled over it.
- I mash my garlic so that it is not in such large pieces and it will spread
through out the dish.

Prayer

2010-03-07T10:52:00.003-05:00

I keep forgetting to mention this...Josh has been without a car for two months now and we are asking for your prayers. We were not expecting to buy another car for him for another year and so now we are just looking for one that will last until next year. In other words not crazy expensive. Currently we only have about $2000. which really limits us. Josh has been blessed that he has a good friend who has been willing to come twenty minutes out of his way to get him and bring him home most days but I am sure this is a strain on him and some days he has been unable to. One day, Josh was late because he had to catch a ride in with me. Josh has been really patient but I can tell his lack of alone time with his thoughts and lack of freedom is wearing on him. PLEASE let us know if you have or know a a car possibility for us and keep us in your prayers!!

Thank you,

A

Quinn’s 7th Birthday!!!

2010-03-06T10:21:00.004-05:00

This past January, Quinn turned 7!!! It is hard for us to believe that the time has flown by this fast!! As you may have noticed, Quinn is very much into Star Wars this past Christmas, so it was the obvious choice for his birthday theme. The day that we celebrated his birthday, I took him to Party City to pick out his balloon. The only Star Wars balloons that they had were Darth Vader. He said to me that he wanted a Star Wars theme for his birthday but was concerned about having a balloon with “the bad guy” from the movie on it. I was so proud of him at this moment. I was unsure what to do but decided that if he was old enough to come to that conclusion about his balloon above his want for a balloon then I was going to trust him. I asked him if he wanted to be a bad guy and he said no. I asked him if he thought that the things that Darth Vader did and the way he treated people in the movies were things that God would want us to do and he said no. I also asked him if the things in the movies were real and he said that they were people dressed up and pretending. With this understanding between us, I did let him pick out one of these balloons. We find that with all the “good guys” in these movies that all the themed birthday items that we were looking for (balloon, cake candle and card) were of Darth Vader. Yes, I know that in the end he turned good for like 10 seconds before he kicks it but the message of “do as you please until the end and only then make a change” is not something/someone we are comfortable with. We allowed the balloon and the Darth Vader candle only because we know Quinn well enough to understand how he feels about these things and we probably talk him to death about right from wrong. So, as you will see I made Quinn a Caramel Cake and placed his Darth Vader candle on top. When asked what he wanted for his birthday dinner he said hot dogs (like last year), brussel sprouts, and sweet potatoes! We got him a new Star Wars metal lunch box (which have "the good guys" on it) to put his crayons in, new shoes, a video game and a new Hot Wheels Trick Track. Now that this birthday has long since gone, I can’t help but remember the other themes we have been through...one was Pooh, two was Blues Clues, three was Thomas, four was Cars/The Incredibles, five was Spider-Man and six was Wall-E. I wonder what theme it will be next year…

-A

Dec. 2009...Finally!!!

2010-02-26T10:28:00.007-05:00

So here it is the end of February and I am just now getting to post about Christmas!!! I will say that so far this year is going by mighty quick and I find it hard to believe that it is already the second month of our new year. Before I get to the activities of our December let me update you on how we are doing…I have found a car, which if it will stop raining and I can think about it on a nice day, I will take and post pictures for you. Now it is prayers for Josh and his car that we need. His quit a few weeks ago and he has been so far blessed with friends from work who are willing to come out of their way to come and get him and then bring him back. At first we thought we were going to get his fixed but now it looks as if it is a computer issue and that costs a load so we are weighing our options. Quinn and I have been sick I am sure due to the back and forth of the weather and we are getting over that slowly (which Josh has been annoyingly well ;) Quinn also has two more loose teeth!!

Here are our yearly Christmas pictures taken at Target. We were really happy with them.

So each Christmas season we get a family Christmas ornament with our names on them. This year I found a snowman holding three ornaments each with our names on them from www.personalizationmall.com I thought that I would share some of the ornaments from the past with you. Before we get our family tree up, Quinn has the chance to decorate his own tree anyway he wants. Here are some pictures of him and Daddy decorating his tree…This year we were again lucky to buy a real tree and this one was one of the best shaped trees we’ve ever had! Here are my before decorating and after pictures…

Christmas Eve we went over to Mell and Mary Lynne’s (Josh’s parents) to open gifts. After that we headed to Christmas Eve service at our church in our new building with my parents…

When we got home, we tried to make Christmas cut out cookies but they did not look great and we were such a mess that I did not even take pictures of that. I had bought these small cookie cutters in shapes of a bell, angel, church, cross and present from work but I think they were too small to work with easily and when the cookies spread in the oven while baking, you could no longer tell what any of them were (except for the cross…how interesting…could it be a cookie message from above ;) While Josh was putting Quinn to bed with the Bible version of the Christmas story, I was getting all the presents ready to place under the tree. Once asleep, Josh and I finished stuffing the stocking and hanging them, placed gifts under the tree and took our final picture in front of the tree. Here are pictures of our finished tree with gifts, stuffed stockings and my mantel décor…

Christmas Day this year was SO GREAT!!! This year was the start of our new traditions and staying home on Christmas Day was one of them. Josh always goes in to get Quinn so I can take pics of his first impressions as he comes down the hall and sees the tree and surprises waiting for him under the tree. This year we got him a parakeet that he has since named Uncle Feather after the Myna bird in the Judy Blume book Superfudge. Why did we get a bird? First, we were getting him a mouse or two. Then, Josh kept talking about a rat. The mice I could live with but the rat not so much because you know who cleans the cage? Me and although I am not a girly-girl about a rat, I have a hard time bonding with something that is not very cute. So I suggested a bird even though Josh does not like birds. He was not happy about this at all but I convinced him that I was sure that this is what Quinn wanted since after reading that book he could not stop talking about having a bird. (Now he wanted a Myna bird but get real…) Funny now though how Josh was so anti bird yet you can catch him each day cooing and talking to Uncle Feather as if it were his baby!!!! He is also open to getting another to keep Uncle Feather company! Other things that Quinn got were lots of Star Wars Legos that I spent the day putting together as we sat around all day in our PJ’s, art supplies such as dry erase markers, paint pens, stickers and large coloring book, balloon animal kit, games like Mouse Trap, Guess Who? and a Star Wars video game, more beans for his very flat bean bag chair, two new movies, lots of character socks like Mickey Mouse, Animal from The Muppet Show, Yoda, Darth Vader and Spider-Man and a made-by-Mama fleece monkey blanket (that you will notice Josh is wrapped up in). This may seem like a lot but we actually do not buy toys for Quinn other than at Christmas, in January for his birthday and small outdoor toys to fill his Easter basket with…not bad when you consider that amount spread out through the whole year. Josh decided on the Christmas dinner menu this year…He wanted Cranberry Pork, Aunt Geri’s dressing, and Green Bean Casserole a la Melissa from our church, yeast rolls and the pudding dessert that I have posted before from Cooking Light. The Cranberry Pork recipe is one that I also have posted before but for Christmas I made the sauce and cooked thick cut pork chops in it for a quicker version. I do not have exact amounts on Aunt Geri’s dressing (sorry) and Melissa’s Green Bean Casserole is just like the regular recipe but with a few slices of American cheese slices added to the mushroom soup. We were blessed with such a wonderful day!!!

After Christmas Day we had the chance to visit at my grandmother Mimi’s house with my sister and her family. My niece and nephews are regrettably becoming anti picture people: (but here is Quinn getting his Mario Cart game from them and his Dual Action Light Saber from my parents. A funny story about the bag-o-batteries is that when Quinn opened the Light Saber and saw the Ziploc bag of batteries he said that the commercial said that the batteries were not included!! We had to explain that Grandma had included those batteries for him!

So that was our Christmas season for 2009. We were blessed in so many ways from good health and safety to food on our table and being free to worship our God. Through a tragic accident and death of my sister’s best friend before Christmas, we were feeling so thankful to love on and pray for my sister and her family during their healing. That they made it through to two hour drive safely to be with us is yet another praise to our God.

As 2009 drew to an end, I thought often about my posts to our blog being so sporadic and what I should do about it. I questioned if I should continue it or should I quit…I decided that I will continue our blog but that I will also continue to put the importance of my family first and not feel guilt about how often I post. I would like to say that I will post more often but I do not know what our future holds from one day to the next. If it is the choice between spending time with my precious son who gets older by the day and Josh who is such a treasure to me or spending time planning a post I have to choose them. I would like to continue to keep friends and family updated on a monthly basis in the future and maybe more than that once Quinn is off for the summer. It seems that “our” schedule as 1st graders (I say this because no child should go it alone with their school work and that requires time from us) has been dramatically different from our schedule last year. Not only are we helping with more homework but we have started our own “Sunday School” type Bible study with Quinn before bed. Although the Sunday School provided at church is very well done, we found that-unlike at school where he has no problems focusing-in Sunday School at church he was more interested in what his friends were doing than the message of the day so we decided it was best to do our own at home each night where there was not that distraction and he gets a dose everyday. We have added chores to Quinn list of things to do also. Quinn now helps me with dishes, helps Josh with trash one day and cleans the mirrors on another. I heard this week that the average child in the U.S. spends 8 hours a day in front of some type of screen…computer, T.V., video game, cell phone or MP3. Thankfully, we have kept Quinn on a schedule that allows him his T.V. time between school and dinner on weeknights and video games only on Fridays nights if we are home and one hour before lunch and one hour in the afternoon on Saturdays once again if we are home (none on Sundays). After dinner is homework and then playtime until Bible study, story time and then bedtime. So you can say that our life has become very full but balanced. Although we may not post often, we will post so we hope you will hang out and check in with us.

Much love until next time,

A

Lame!!!

2010-01-15T15:06:00.003-05:00

Sorry I have been so lame in my blogging but this is the first holiday season/inventory season that I have been a department manager and I have been crazy ever since before Thanksgiving. Yeah for me...inventory was today and now we are done so I will be able to update you soon and happenings in Dec. and Quinn's 7th birthday that was yesterday. Hope everyone is well and just a thought that I wanted to share...It has been witnessed that the people in Haiti during this tragic time are still singing praises to God even in the middle of digging out their dead with their bare hands!!! Powerful!

- A

The Last Calendar Chimp...December

2009-12-01T11:41:00.000-05:00

October…

2009-11-13T15:12:00.014-05:00

October has been CRAZY!!!!! Their was Josh’s birthday which he had to work on but came home to a wonderful dinner of Pecan Crusted Tilapia, Twice Baked Potatoes and Portabello Green Beans with Sesame Seeds. Back in the summer I had already bought and given him his gifts of new shorts and short sleeve church shirts so he didn’t have to wait a whole year to use his gifts.

We have been working with insurance to get our roof replaced due to hail damage so there have been many calls to and from them. Plus the many calls to and from our roofer who has been great! Because we are having so many weeks with rain we had a date then it was rescheduled twice but it is finally done!!!

While in the midst of that insurance deal, I (Amy) had pulled into the parking lot at work…like five seconds and I would have been in my parking space…and this guy runs the stop sign and slams into the side of my car! Praise God I am o.k. I was sore and even now wake up when I have slept wrong feeling sore but I am o.k. My car (the one that took Josh & I on vacation for our anniversary, our first real vacation with Quinn and used as our furniture to sit in back of while hanging out in the garage while Quinn plays…)is dead :( Of course we had paid it off in the spring and I had only had it for two years. I loved my car and I will miss it. So yet another insurance deal to work through!! So now we have the buy me another car which was not in the plans. See we have been hoping that Josh’s car would make it to tax season so that we would buy him a newer car but now it is not going to work that way. So we are praying for a solution to his car whoas and getting ready to go through the car buying nightmare for me again. We hate car buying!!! We like the end product usually but the process stinks!!

Between getting the re-roofing together and the car accident, our friends Josh and Shana came home to visit so everyone could meet two month old baby Truett. We went up to Josh’s parents’ house to see them and got to see Truett and his new friend Jonathan who is Zach and Lauren’s brand new baby (Zach had requested that his family not be posted on blogs so we are honoring his wishes with no pictures of them…sorry but I will say that Jonathan reminds me of Quinn at that two week old age. Lots of brown hair and crazy cute!!). I was also able to give Josh & Shana their frame for Truett.My best girl friend Melissa FINALLY came home from her Air Force tour in Turkey for her tour in Florida!!! I am sooooooooooooooo excited!! I haven’t seen her in two years and she hasn’t had an assignment that has been this close to home since she joined. So she came up to our house to visit for the day and we spent time catching up and I cooked for her. It was really great to see her again!

Quinn has been sick with a chest cold and I took these cute pictures of him after he had fallen asleep on the couch after coughing so hard all day. He has fallen asleep ON Teddy while hugging Hank (his chimp that we got from Chattanooga, TN Zoo where they have a chimp named Hank).

My friend Marcy may flog me for this (at least she will probably find this unbelievable and shocking but true…) we went to North Carolina a few weekends ago to visit with family in the mountains and I forgot my camera!!! AND it was unbelievably beautiful!!! We can not understand why anyone would want to live in the city when you can walk out of your Walmart and view the mountains right across the street covered in the reds, oranges, yellows and browns of fall. I don’t know about you but this is not the view we see when walking out of our local Walmart. It was SO hard to leave and if it were not for the fact that Josh can not find monkey work in the NC mountain area, we would move there now. Alas, we will have to wait for that dream. We had fun as always and it was nice to get away from our troubles with the roof waiting for a dry day and my car issues. On the way back we stopped and got pumpkins at a great deal of 2 for $5.00 which leads me to…

Pumpkin carving 2009!!! My pumpkin that I picked out was very bumpy so I thought that it should be a witch and went in search of pictures from Quinn’s books for a witch. The only one I found was Lucy from Charlie Brown dressed up for Halloween so I fashion my pumpkin after this picture. Josh and Quinn’s pumpkin is supposed to look like Mike from Monsters Inc. I drew up our ideas on the pumpkins and away we went. Quinn likes to pull out the pumpkin guts and this year even helped crave with the carving tools under Josh’s supervision. Josh stated that he was really better at it than he would have thought..

Next, we went to Quinn’s school for his book fair and they had games and a hayride. Since Quinn had been sick and had to stay home from school a few days he missed his field trip to the pumpkin patch and they were suppose to go on a hayride. We were glad that his book fair offered a hayride and Josh rode with him. Quinn also got to decorate a pumpkin which he got to bring home (another part he had missed from his field trip was picking out a little pumpkin so this filled the bill for that also). He pushed a ball through cones with a tiny broom, tossed bean bags and got to draw a lollipop for a prize.

The Friday before Halloween, Quinn came home with green vampire teeth (hence the picture) and one day he woke and pulled on his shirt only to come to me looking all crazy haired so of course I took pictures of that too. Look at the height of his hair in these pictures!!! Looks like I am not the only one needing a hair cut!

On this rainy Halloween Quinn went as a Storm Trooper from Star Wars and as we did not plan anything for Josh this year, we cheated and he just went in his PJ’s and slippers and I eye-shadowed his under eyes. Once again we went to Publix for their annual Halloween thing then searched out surrounding churches for trunk and treats. The church we always hit first had theirs indoors since it was a rainy day but they still had some activities for the kids to do like decorate a pumpkin door hanger, bean bag toss and a ball toss. This year besides candy, this church had school supplies to give out and Quinn picked a box of new crayons. When we got home Quinn and I colored before he headed off to bed.

As you can see it has been a VERY busy October (busier than our norm) but I hope to be more regular in updating everyone in November but I can not promise that that will happen. I know we have my birthday (tomorrow Nov. 14th!!), car shopping, a family visit from my sister and family, small group gatherings and Thanksgiving along with after Thanksgiving work schedules plus Christmas decorating and shopping!!! Hang with us though and I will try to get it all to you as soon as possible!! ;)

Keep us in your prayers,

- A

November's Calendar Chimp

2009-11-01T11:40:00.000-05:00

Cool, Creamy Chocolate Dessert

2009-10-06T11:35:00.000-04:00

Cool, Creamy Chocolate Dessert from Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2009

Serves 15

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 ¼ c. all-purpose flour
¼ c. powdered sugar
6 Tbsp. chilled butter, cut into small pieces (I used I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter sticks
for baking)
¼ c. finely chopped pecans, toasted
Cooking spray

Filling:

1 c. powdered sugar
½ c. (4oz.) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
½ c. (4oz.) fat-free cream cheese, softened
1 (8oz.) carton frozen reduced-calorie whipped topping, thawed and divided
3 c. 1% low-fat milk (I used skim milk)
2 (3.9oz.) packages chocolate instant pudding mix
Unsweetened cocoa (optional– I used dark chocolate cocoa)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven 325.

2. To prepare crust, lightly spoon flour into cups. Combine flour & sugar in food processor; pulse 2 times or until combined. Add butter; pulse 10 times or until mix resembles coarse meal. Stir in pecans. Firmly press mix into bottom of a 13x9 in. baking dish coated in cooking spray. Bake at 325 for 20 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Cool completely.

3. To prepare filling, place 1 c. sugar & cream cheeses in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light & fluffy. Fold in half of whipped topping. Spread cream cheese mix on cooled crust. Cover loosely; refrigerate 1 hour.

4. Combine milk & pudding mix in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed 2 minutes. Cover & refrigerate 1 hour or until pudding is set. Spread pudding mix over cream cheese layer. Spread remaining whipped topping over pudding layer. Cover & chill 30 minutes. Sprinkle with cocoa, if desired. Cut into 15 pieces.

(My crust came out thin but yummy so if you want a thicker crust you might want to double the crust recipe.)

Rainy Day Fun

2009-10-04T11:42:00.000-04:00

Since we had so many rainy days a few weeks ago, we had to find creative ways to sty occupied. I dug out old Halloween costumes of Quinn's and we decided to dress Teddy up in them and this is how great he looked. I think Teddy should go trunk and treating with us this year dressed up as Tigger don't you?!! Very cute!!

October's Calendar Chimps

2009-10-04T11:38:00.000-04:00

2009-10-03T11:32:00.001-04:00

Stuffed Poblanos from Everyday Foods

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 can (28 oz.) whole tomatoes in puree
1 jalapeno chile (ribs and seeds removed), minced
2 small onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves (2 whole, 1 minced)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 can (19 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained
½ c. yellow cornmeal
1 c. shredded pepper Jack cheese
1 tsp. ground cumin
4 large poblano chiles, halved lengthwise (stems left intact), ribs and seeds removed

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425. In a blender, combine tomatoes in puree, jalapeno, half the onions, and 2 whole garlic cloves; puree. Season with salt . Pour sauce into a 9x13 in. baking dish; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, combine beans, cornmeal, ½ c. cheese, remaining onions, minced garlic, cumin, and ¾ c. water; season with salt and pepper.

3. Dividing evenly, stuff poblano halves with bean mix; place on top of sauce in baking dish. Sprinkle poblanos with remaining ½ c. cheese; cover baking dish with foil tightly.

4. Bake until poblanos are tender, about 45 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook until sauce in thickened slightly and cheese is browned, 10 to 15 min. more. Let cool 10 minutes.

So Wiggly and Now It's Out!!! Plus Report Cards!!

2009-09-25T14:43:00.001-04:00

So for a few weeks now we have been on the watch for the tooth fairy (actually Quinn knows that the tooth fairy is actually us but...). We noticed that his tooth was wiggly a few weeks ago and have been keeping close watch of it. Last Saturday I told Josh that there was no way that tooth would make it out the week and I was right!! I have been trying to convince Quinn to let me pull it but he was SO not having it. So yesterday when I went to pick him up from school the first thing that he had to tell me was that his tooth had come out after he got to school this morning!!! He said that it didn't hurt and he did not get blood all over his white shirt (bonus!!)

Yesterday was also the day he got his report card and he is on target in all his work and is ABOVE expectations in reading for his grade!!! Super cool!!

I also wanted to thank all our friends that helped with Quinn's walkathon donations. His school was looking for $15,000 and got over $19,000!!!

- A

A Busy Life & Chicken Tamale Casserole

2009-09-11T11:43:00.007-04:00

Sorry it has been SO long but it has been busy since school and work started back. We are all doing fine and enjoying spending more time together now that Josh is back to a one job schedule. With the beginning of Fall not far off (hip, hip hooray!!), we will surely have more to post. For now we hope you enjoy this really tasty recipe!!

Chicken Tamale Casserole from Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2009

Serves 8

Ingredients:

1 c. (4oz.) preshredded 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese, divided
1/3 c. fat-free milk
¼ c. egg substitute
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/8 tsp. ground red pepper
1 (14 3/4oz.) can cream-style corn
1 (8.5oz.) pack corn muffin mix (such as Martha White – I used Jiffy)
1 (4oz.) can chopped green chiles, drained
Cooking spray
1 (10oz.) can red enchilada sauce (such as Old El Paso - I used Kroger brand)
2 c. shredded cooked chicken breast
½ c. fat-free sour cream (we use reduced fat)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. Combine ¼ c. cheese and next 7 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring just until moist. Pour mix into a 13x9 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

3. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes or until set. Pierce entire surface liberally with a fork; pour enchilada sauce over top. Top with chicken; sprinkle with remaining 3/4 c. cheese. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Cut into 8 pieces; top each serving with 1 Tbsp. sour cream.

September's Picture

2009-09-01T13:11:00.000-04:00

Bathing buddies!!

- A

FIRST GRADER!!!! And Back to Work

2009-08-10T10:41:00.004-04:00

Quinn started school on Monday and I went back to work on Tuesday. Quinn is enjoying his class. He has one child in there from last year's class and gets to see all his buddies at recess. There are identical twins in his class which he finds fascinating. Besides that he really does not talk much about school.

I went back to work and it is nice to be back in a normal routine (and have Josh home at a normal time every night instead of him working two jobs). Everything at work is kind of crazy but I got a small raise and I have a job so I can't complain to much.

Until next time...

- A

Yesterday

2009-08-08T13:40:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I took these pictures of Quinn and wanted to share them with you. This is our soon-to-be 1st grader!!!

Yesterday was also Lauren's baby shower and here are the pictures from that...The first ones are what I bought for Zach & Lauren's Safari theme.

August's Picture

2009-08-01T13:08:00.000-04:00

I just hope they stuck to eating their own cones and did not share...Ewwwww!

- A

Summer Silliness 2009

2009-07-28T11:28:00.000-04:00

Bus driver Quinn…In these first pictures, Quinn is a bus driver taking Teddy to school.

For about a week it was hard not to find Quinn wearing this tiny bow tie from his Rhinoceros Tap rhinoceros. One Saturday he even decided that he would wear this when we went out to the store and Walmart…very snazzy =-). The sunglasses are a very nice touch don’t you think?!

This blue hat is an old one that was going to Goodwill when he found it and decided that he wanted to keep it. Well, I caught this picture of him in it along with his Cool Man Quinn sunglasses and it reminded me of old pics of him in this hat and decided to dig them up…

- A

All- American Buffalo Chicken Tenders

2009-07-24T13:24:00.009-04:00

All- American Buffalo Chicken Tenders from Everyday Foods Magazine

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 c. Crumbled blue cheese (about 4 ozs.)
1 c. low-fat buttermilk
Coarse salt & ground pepper
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 ½ lbs. chicken tenders
½ c. vegetable oil, such as safflower
1/3 c. hot sauce
2 Tbsp. melted butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 250. Place a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet, and transfer to oven. In a medium bowl, stir together blue cheese and ½ c. buttermilk. Season dip with salt and pepper, and set aside.

2. Place flour and remaining ½ c. buttermilk in separate medium bowls; season with salt and pepper. Set out another rimmed baking sheet alongside. Dip chicken in buttermilk (allowing excess to drip off), then in flour (shaking off excess); place on sheet.

3. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium high. Working in batches, fry chicken until golden brown and cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer to rack in oven to keep warm.

4. In a large bowl, stir together hot sauce and melted butter. Add chicken and toss to coat. Serve tenders with blue-cheese dip.

Quinn LOVED this and that is saying a lot since he is anti chicken!

- A

Baby Birds 2009

2009-07-21T11:32:00.002-04:00

This year's new babies are nesting closer to the front door than I would like...It is a risk just to go out to the mailbox! Two days ago a Mama bird almost attacked me on my way out to the mailbox so on the way back I had to wave the mail over my head just to get back in the house!! Yes my friends, picture it if you were my neighbors, looking out your window and seeing this strange lady (me) waving mail over her head and speaking to the sky!!! I am sure that I will be the first one on everyone's dinner guest list...Ha, ha!!

- A

4th of July...Better Late Than Never!

2009-07-18T11:20:00.000-04:00

Baked Ziti

2009-07-17T14:56:00.005-04:00

Serves 4 (Everyday Food magazine)

Ingredients:

Coarse salt & ground pepper
8 oz. ziti rigate or other short pasta
1 c. part-skim ricotta
1 large egg, lightly beaten
¾ c. finely grated Parmesan
1 c. shredded part-skim mozzarella
1 jar (24 to 26 oz.) best-quality tomato sauce (about 3 ½ c.- I used Classico Spicy Red Pepper)

Directions:

1. Preheat 450. Bring large pot salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until almost done (al dente); drain and reserve.

2. In a small bowl, combine ricotta, egg, ¼ c. Parmesan and half the mozzarella; season with salt and pepper.In the bottom of a shallow 2 qt. casserole dish, spread half the tomato sauce. Top with ziti, then ricotta mixture and remaining sauce. Sprinkle with remaining ½ c. Parmesan and mozzarella. Place dish on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until top is browned and sauce is bubbling, 20-25 minutes

Fort Summer 2009

2009-07-11T11:06:00.003-04:00

This is the summer of forts. Every time I turn around Quinn wants me to build a fort from old sheets. Not just any fort but a new looking fort each time (which our living room can only yield so many different styles). When a fort is finished, Quinn piles in all his stuffed animals from his bed and usually his bean bag chair too.

- A

July's Picture

2009-07-01T13:06:00.000-04:00

The look on this guy's face kinda scares me.

- A

Quinn and A Cow (Eat Mor Chikin!)

2009-06-18T14:54:00.000-04:00

The last time we ate at Chik-Fil-A we saw the cow and he stopped to take a picture with Quinn. Although I love Quinn's Beatles shirt, the neck is so big it gives him this off-the-shoulder look that is not so cool on a boy!

- A

Through Quinn's Lens Christmas 2008-June 2009

2009-06-16T11:32:00.000-04:00

These are pictures that Quinn took with the kids digital camera he got at Christmas 2008. I thought it would be interesting to share what he sees through his lens and what a 5/6 year old boy takes pictures of. We hope you enjoy!!

- A

Flower Bed & New Flowers

2009-06-14T11:31:00.000-04:00

If you remember I posted about my new Lithodora a while back. Well now everything in that bed has really grown. My Hydrangea has yet to bloom but look at the then and now pictures of that bed. I have also included my newest purchases for my other beds.

- A

Quinn's Homemade Bird House

2009-06-11T14:18:00.001-04:00

Quinn got this bird house kit from Papa and Grandma Lynne and I helped him put it together and paint it. The kit was pretty good although it could use a larger paint brush. I knew with such a small brush that it I did not help him paint the background then he would give up from how longer it was taking. It was nice to do it together though.

- A

Summer Relaxing

2009-06-08T11:33:00.000-04:00

Mother's Day Gift

2009-06-07T14:30:00.000-04:00

Quinn painted this pot at school for me and his teachers supplied the flowers inside as a gift for Mother's Day.

- A

June's Picture

2009-06-06T13:07:00.000-04:00

Anybody need some good cooking assistants???

Update # 5...Easter Finally!!!

2009-05-24T16:04:00.000-04:00

O.K. so I am a little behind. I have been sick, getting Q ready for the end of the school year, sick, preparing for the end of working for the summer and sick so I have not been getting on the internet much in a three week span so here it is...

Update # 5…Easter

This Easter was different for us than other Easters because it was the first one that I cooked for and we had our own egg hunt at our house. Normally, we go to church and then hunt and eat at Josh’s parents’ house. Although we did go by there for a few hours after church, we did not stay for the hunt and food. To understand why we decided to do Easter differently this year of all years we have to go back a little…This year has been a year of change starting in the Fall when Quinn started school. I started work again which freed Josh up from working at night. As he started spending all that extra time with Quinn and me he realized how much he has missed. DO NOT GET ME WRONG…if Josh had it to do over again he would do the same thing because we believe with every fiber of our being that it was the right thing to do for our family but that does not mean that he missed us any less while working two jobs for so many years. Another thing that has affected us is that I have less time to get everything around the house done as I used to. That has taken a lot of adjusting to for both of us because now I have had to turn some things over to Josh to do and where I used to get everything done during the week before, we now have to use weekends to finish some things. We hate using weekends because we always considered that our down time.

Another thing to bring about our change was an incident that happened a few Christmases back when we got sick and had to stay home on Christmas day. When that day was over Josh said that minus us being sick that he really enjoyed being home and watching Quinn play with his new things while not having to drive anywhere. He thought that we should do that every year but at the time I was reluctant. See, when my sister made this same decision for her own family traditions years back, I felt hurt that she didn’t want to spend Christmas as we always had growing up…at my Mimi’s house with mom and dad. Now I understand better what her position is. It was not about not wanting to be with us but about making her own traditions and savoring the time with her children which is a wonderful thing because they do grow up fast!

So that brings us to now…as we have been more involved with our church in the last four plus years, Josh has really grown in his faith and has taken such a strong role as leader of our family…Praise God!!! (And he is doing a wonderful job!!! ) So finally coming to my realization about traditions and Josh’s idea of staying home, we have decided to make our own traditions. Not because everyone else’s traditions are not good ones, they are just not ours. We did go visit with Josh's family after church for a while. Quinn helped to hide the eggs for Grandma Lynne's Easter egg hunt and Aunt Trenna, Josh, Quinn and Papa played tag. Right before we left we got to see Josh's brother Shane, his wife and Quinn cousin Eli (who is 3 years younger believe it or not...see picture).

So Easter was our first tradition we started with this year. The first Easter meal and the first egg hunt. It was very exciting and fun. Our meal consisted of garlic stuffed pork loin, almond green beans, twice baked potatoes, yeast rolls and Texas peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream for dessert (the recipes follow). After we ate, I hid the eggs and Quinn wanted him and Josh to hunt them so they did while I was the photographer. Once the eggs were found, Quinn played with his new Spring toys (instead of candy which he gets plenty from everyone else…we buy Spring outdoor toys for him. The dollar store is great for things like bubbles, water shooters, regular balloons and water balloons.) The only unfortunate thing was that the dinner was SO good that we didn’t have room for dessert but we had a really great time together focusing not only on us but on the reasons for the holiday itself and that’s what matters most!!

Garlic Stuffed Pork Loin

Depending on the size of your loin and how much you like garlic will depend on how much you use. I had an almost 2 lb. loin that I cut in half. One half of the loin I froze while I used the other for Easter. I poked holes and inserted about a half a bulb’s worth of garlic cloves in various holes all around the pork. I cooked it at 350 until internal temp. reaches 160. We sliced it and served it without sauce for Josh but I had it with 57 Sauce and it was so yummy!

Almond Green Beans Serves 4 (Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2005)

Directions:

1. Combine 1 (9 oz.) pack frozen French-style green beans (I used regular fresh green beans steamed), 2 tsp. butter, ¼ tsp. garlic salt and ¼ tsp. black pepper in a medium bowl.

2. If frozen, microwave on high 5 minutes or until tender. Top with 2 Tbsp. toasted almond slivers or slices.

Twice Baked Potatoes Serves 4 (This recipe came from one of my mother-in-laws)

Ingredients:

2 large baking potatoes
1/2 stick butter
½ c. grated Colby Jack cheese
Garlic salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Microwave potatoes until semi-soft (8-12 min.).

2. Slice potatoes in half and scoop out flesh. Mix with remaining ingredients.

3. Spoon back into shells and bake 350 for 20-30 min. or until cheese melts.

Texas Peach Cobbler Serves 8 (Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2008)

Filling:

4 C. sliced peeled ripe peaches (about 2 lbs. I used thawed frozen peaches)
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
¼ tsp. vanilla extract

Batter:

6 Tbsp. butter
1 ¼ c. all-purpose flour (about 5 ½ oz.)
¾ c. granulated sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
Dash of ground cinnamon
1 c. 1% low fat milk (I used skim)
½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. turbinado sugar

Serve with vanilla ice cream if desired.

Directions:

1. Preheat 350

2. Prepare filling by combining first 4 ingredients in a medium bowl; set aside.

3. To prepare batter, place butter in an 8 in. square baking dish. Place dish in oven 5 min. or until butter melts. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with knife. Combine milk and ½ tsp. vanilla; add milk mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Spoon batter over butter, spreading evenly (do not stir). Spoon peach mixture over batter, gently pressing peaches into batter. Bake 350 for 40 min. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar and bake an additional 10 min. or until crust is golden brown.

Flower Beds

2009-05-20T14:32:00.000-04:00

Here are pictures of my new Lithodora plant and one of the flower beds that I have redone for the new season. Currently, I have two of the smallest beds done and the largest one to go. I hope to do some container gardening this year and will keep you updated as to how that goes.

- A

Slow-Cooked Tex-Mex Chicken and Beans

2009-05-18T14:53:00.001-04:00

Serves 4 (Everyday Food magazine)

Ingredients:

1 c. dried pinto beans, rinsed
1 jar (11 oz.) mild or medium salsa (1 1/2 c. – I used Pace Chunky Mild)
2 Tbsp. chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 ½ lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 8 – I used three large breasts)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper (ribs and seeds removed), chopped
¼ c. reduced-fat sour cream, for serving
¼ c. chopped fresh cilantro (we did not use this since it is not a favor we like…instead we served with cheddar cheese), for serving

Directions:

1. In a 5- to 6 qt. slow cooker, stir together beans, salsa, chiles, flour and 1 c. water. Season chicken with salt and pepper; arrange on top of bean mixture. Scatter onion and bell pepper on top of chicken.

2. Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours. (Do not open lid or stir…I tested the beans for tenderness after 6 hrs. and turned heat to high for another 2 – 2 ½ hrs.)

3. Remove chicken from stew; shred into large pieces and return to stew. Serve topped with sour cream and cilantro (or cheese).

Josh crumbled saltines over his on the first night. Later in the week we had it again on tortilla chips.

Update #4…Dying Eggs

2009-05-02T10:47:00.000-04:00

Saturday before Easter we dyed our Easter eggs. This year we boiled 11 eggs and I wanted to try to empty out the egg from one shell so that we could keep this egg after we dyed it. We (Josh and I) are kinda freaks when it comes to dying our eggs…We dye them and let them dry then we decide that they are not yet the perfect color so we dye them some more (o.k. and maybe more after that). I think we have more fun doing it than Quinn because long after he is done we are still working on ours. I have found that after spending so much time dying the eggs that I hate to eat them because they are so pretty and that is why I wanted to hollow out a shell. My mother found out that I needed a medical needle to suck out the egg so I went to the pharmacy at Kroger and bought the largest needle tip that they carried. I found that it was still took some time to get all the egg out but if I do an egg a year then in a few years I will have enough to decorate with each Easter.

Each of us ended up with four eggs to dye and I think they all turned out really nice this year. These are the ones that we used for our family hunt on Easter…

To Be Continued…

- A

May's Picture

2009-05-01T13:04:00.000-04:00

Let's take a stroll!

- A

Andy & Caitlin's Wedding

2009-04-30T18:20:00.000-04:00

On April 18th we attended Andy & Caitlin's wedding. We had such a good time and everything was so beautiful from the bride to our two pregnant friends who were in the wedding!! Caitlin and Andy have us beat on how long they knew each other before getting married...I think they said it has been something like ten years!!! Ours was only four. I made sure to get lots of pictures of me with our friends since there are so few pictures of me...I am always the one taking pictures of everyone else. Congratulations Andy & Caitlin!!
- A

Update # 2…Quinn’s Egg Hunt at School and Half Day

2009-04-21T10:45:00.000-04:00

The Friday before Spring break was a half day for Quinn at school so I took off early from work so I could be there for his class Easter egg hunt and help hide the eggs. Mrs. Buffington did a great job making it fair by sorting out the same amount of eggs for each child and printing a different sight word on each child’s eggs. Each child drew a word and that word was what they were to look for to collect their eggs. It worked out really well!

After school we when out to a few places like Target, Hobby Lobby and Archivers to kill time until Josh got off from work to meet us for dinner. Quinn had been wanting for a week or so to go to Steak and Shake so that is where we went. We were so interested in what we were planning to get that we had not asked Quinn what he wanted but come to find out we did not need to…When the woman came to take our orders he just spoke up and ordered his own dinner!!! He has never done that before and he did such a good job without our help or us asking him to do it!! What a great start to Spring break!!

More Silly Faces

2009-04-19T11:06:00.001-04:00

Update # 3…Trip to the Robinsons’

2009-04-18T10:46:00.001-04:00

The week of Quinn's Spring Break, Quinn and I spent that last Friday with a family from church…the Robinsons. The boys spend the day playing and Erin and I talked all afternoon. So much so that the camera that I brought with me never made it out of the bag =-( Later in the afternoon, Michael came home from work and once Josh got off he met us there for dinner. The day was over much too quick and I could not believe that it was 9:10 when I got in my car!!! Since we all have small children, Josh and I had not meant to stay so late. We wanted to thank the Robinsons again for having and to let them know that they are such a blessing in our lives! We hope that God provides us with many, many years of their company and love!! We can’t wait to spend time with them again! (Pictures next time!!)

- A

Update # 1…A Friend’s Birthday Party for Quinn

2009-04-18T10:44:00.001-04:00

Wow, we have been busy and I have not been blogging that much…sorry!! Now with it getting warmer we are taking advantage of the outdoors (when it is not raining) to mow and Spring clean our flower beds. This is the first chance that I have gotten to update everyone and I plan on doing a few update installments.

A few weeks and Quinn went to his classmate Madison’s birthday party. There was a magician who also made balloon animals for the kid’s at their request. Most of the pictures that I took were of Quinn’s reaction to the tricks that the magician preformed. Quinn picked a monkey for his balloon animal and in came attached to a tree. We decided that the monkey was about the coolest of the animals that he made (big surprise there huh?  Although it had been raining most of the week and part of that day we were still able to eat outside (sort of). In their garage we had hotdogs and chips with chocolate chip cookie birthday cake. All the kids lined up for the piñata then received gift bags. We all had a good time and I enjoyed talking with some of the mothers from Quinn’s class.

- A

Banana-Oatmeal Loaf

2009-04-05T13:59:00.001-04:00

Banana-Oatmeal Loaf (Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2005)

Ingredients

1 ½ c. all purpose flour
2/3 c. sugar
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
¾ c. regular oats
1 c. mashed ripe banana (about 2 large)
1/3 c. low-fat buttermilk (we used regular skim milk)
¼ c. vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
We also added walnuts and dark chocolate chips or chunks that the recipe did not include…to our taste
Cooking Spray

Directions

1. Preheat 350.

2. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour
and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Stir in
oats.

3. Combine mashed banana and next 4 ingredients; add to flour mixture. Stir just
until moist (add nuts and chocolate if desired at this time).

4. Spoon batter into a loaf pan coated with cooking spray (after cooking spray I
always dust with some flour for easy release). Bake at 350 for 55 minutes or
until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes in pan
on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack. (Also yummy
served warm!!)

- A

April's Picture

2009-04-01T13:02:00.000-04:00

Anybody need a makeover???

- A

Caitlin’s Bachelorette Party & Bridal Shower

2009-03-29T15:11:00.001-04:00

Caitlin and Andy are getting married!! They are friends of ours from church and are in our small group that meets once a week. A couple of Fridays ago was her bachelorette party. We went to eat at a tapas place downtown called Fuego then went back to her sister Lauren’s place for a delicious dessert and opening of the nighties we bought for her (those nighties pics are not included). We all had a really fun time with each other…We got to meet two of her good friends from college and they seemed very nice and we got to see Shana with her growing beautiful baby belly!! Baby belly becomes her don’t you think?! Lauren had asked us during the week to email her questions for Caitlin to answer while opening her gifts and if you know me then you will not be surprised that I asked if she would be staying home when her and Andy have a child.

That Sunday after church was Caitlin’s bridal shower (which I do not have many pics from because I could not stay long). When Josh and Quinn came to pick me up then they stopped to have a little party food and after Quinn was done with his treat he just watched intently as Josh ate as a dog would hope that something would fall on the floor he him to eat (as if we never feed him…HA he eats more than me!!).

- A

Family Games!!!!

2009-03-27T15:37:00.001-04:00

A few Sundays ago, it occurred to me as we were driving to church that we have in our little family of three, made up many of our own games either in the car or in the stores while trying to entertain Quinn and get him involved instead of just Josh and I talking about stuff that Quinn can not chime in on. I thought I would blog these games so maybe it can spark ideas for your own car games. This has made us feel like we are interactive with Quinn even though we are driving and it takes his mind off how long the drive might be.

Character Guessing

In this game the person whose turn it is gives clues to the character that they have picked in their head and the rest of the players try to guess who it is. The characters have normally been from books, movies or PBS T.V. shows but this morning Quinn branched out the options to characters on cereal boxes and video games.

Show Tunes

Very similar to Character Guessing but you pick a tune from animated movies or shows and kids CD’s and sing them for the players to guess. We use tunes from Veggie Tales, Disney and Blues Clues movies along with Laurie Berkner songs.

No Headlight Counting

This really only works when it is raining but teaches auto safety (one of my pet peeves is when people do not have their lights on when it is raining…I know lame but whatever). So this one is obvious…count how many people don’t have their lights on when it is raining. A few Sundays ago we counted 80 – something by the time we got to church!!

20 Questions

O.K. so we didn’t make this one up but it isn’t really TWENTY questions with Quinn but more like 50!!

Animals In The Car

When he was littler (we haven’t done this one in a while), Josh would make an animal noise and I would act shocked and ask Quinn if there was a ??? in the car. For example Josh quacks a lot like Donald Duck and I would ask Quinn in my best shocked voice while looking under my seat if there was a duck in our car. He would laugh and laugh and say “No, Mama, that’s Daddy!” then we would move on to the next animal.

- A

Us At Home

2009-03-08T13:09:00.000-04:00

March's Picture

2009-03-07T12:59:00.002-05:00

This tends to be the drivers I am behind more often than not =-) !!!!!

-A

Bertolli Ribollita con Crostini di Pane (My translation…really good soup!!)

2009-02-27T10:59:00.000-05:00

Serves 8 (or freezes well)

There are a lot of ingredients for this but DO NOT let that deter you in making it, most of the chopping can be done in the food processor.

Ingredients

¼ cup Bertolli Extra Virgin Olive Oil (or whatever brand you have)
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
¼ c. each chopped, trimmed fennel, celery (I used a few shakes of celery salt since I do
not like too much celery instead of the other salt in this recipe), onions & carrots
¼ tsp. thyme
6 c. chicken broth
1 can (28 oz.) Italian plum tomatoes not drained & cut up if whole
2 c. peeled, diced russet potato
1 ½ c. rinsed & drained canned cannellini beans
1 c. finely shredded Savoy cabbage or Swiss chard (I used Swiss chard and more than
suggested)
1 c. diced, trimmed zucchini
2 Tbsp. each chopped fresh parsley & basil
Salt & fresh ground pepper
8 slices (one per bowl) ½ in. thick sliced Italian bread

1. Combine the olive oil, fennel, celery, onions, carrots, garlic & thyme in a large heavy saucepan. Cover & cook over med. Low heat until the veggies are very soft, about 15 min. Do not brown.

2. Stir in the broth, tomatoes, potato, beans & cabbage or Swiss chard. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low & simmer 15 min. Add zucchini, parsley & basil. Cover & cook 2 min. (I had to cook a little longer because the zucchini was still crunchy and I wanted it to be a little softer). Add salt and pepper to taste.

3. Remove from heat. Refrigerate for 24 hours (we ate it that day but it does taste even better the next day). Just before serving, heat to boiling. Place a piece of bread in each of the 8 bowls. Drizzle with a little olive oil (we did not drizzle). Ladle soup over the bread & allow to soak up the soup.

Sick!!!

2009-02-20T11:13:00.002-05:00

Look how sad!!! This week we have been so busy with our sick baby and it has been hard on us. He is our world of course and he rarely gets sick and when he does it usually is not too bad this this time was hard with more than one day of fever which is unusual. He (thankfully) had his flu shot so it has not been that but we have been through throw up on Valentine's day, high fevers and a trip to the doc. This has thrown us so far out of the loop that we have barely been aware of anything else outside of our house. Finally, it looks like he is feeling almost normal.

- A

Calendar...February

2009-02-01T21:48:00.002-05:00

Here is this month's picture from our calendar. Isn't it cute!!!

- A

Yeah!!!

2009-01-23T15:27:00.001-05:00

Quick note...I got my car back today!!! Looks good and drives good! Praise!!

=-)

A

Snowflakes Micro-photography by Kenneth Libbrecht

2009-01-20T14:52:00.001-05:00

A year or so ago I saw an article in a magazine that introduced me to snowflake photography and I was amazed!! Well, while walking through our library a few weeks ago I saw a small coffee table book filled with these pictures and had to check it out. The book called Snowflakes published by Voyageur Press (www.VoyageurPress.com) and the micro-photography is by Kenneth Libbrecht (whose other books include The Snowflake: Winter’s Secret Beauty, The Little Book of Snowflakes, Ken Libbrecht’s Field Guide to Snowflakes and The Art of the Snowflake). Each snowflake truly is one of a kind and so amazing (God continues to show His talented artistic hand)!! I wanted to draw the attention to this book for some of you home schooling moms and dads because it not only has great pictures and quotes from people like Thoreau, Lord Byron and Einstein but it also has facts concerning the formation of snowflakes and how certain condition change how they are formed. I hope you enjoy this book…Let it snow!!!

- A

Calendar...January

2009-01-18T21:43:00.000-05:00

So when looking for a calendar this year Josh came across his perfect one...chimps!! I thought I would share the pictures with you throughout the year and maybe take this chance to ask some of you if you would allow your baby to be in these pictures. What do you think? Would you have allowed this? =-)

- A

Three Wheeled Truck, Two Hands Now & Chuck E. Cheese

2009-01-17T14:41:00.000-05:00

O.K. it has been crazy lately. As much as I have wanted to post pictures of Christmas, I will have to save them for a post for next Christmas season because I feel that it is too late now. So I have been a bad blogger AGAIN!!! Sorry! Here is just some of what has been going on...

A week ago on the way to work and woman's tire from the front of her truck CAME OFF and struck the front of my car!! Fortunately, I just had dropped off Quinn at school and no one was hurt (except my car =-). Picture this I was heading down one hill as she was heading down another on her side of the road. As she starts heading up my hill is when I guess her tire comes off but she still made it half way up the hill on just three wheels!!! Now I feel awful for this woman (and have prayed for her) because she didn't have insurance and was arrested! She had just dropped off her child(ren) at school too. So all day all I was thinking that I had put some one's mama in jail! Anyway, I have received a rental and my car is to be fixed!! Praise!!!!!!!!!!

Also, my baby now has to use two hands to tell people how old he is!! That's right Quinn turned six!!! This year's BD theme was Wall E. I was able to buy a really cool candle from work but we never found a big Wall E balloon =-( I also got some Wall E cupcake papers at work for his cupcakes that I brought in to school for his class. Quinn picked out (and helped make) Funfetti cupcakes with strawberry frosting. I gave him the options of going to Medieval Times, going to the movies or Chuck E. Cheese and of course he picked Chuck E. Cheese. We went there today and I had been dreading it (two places that I dread are Toy R Us and Chuck E. Cheese) but it turned out to be not as bad as I was thinking it might be and because we went early, it did not seem crazy busy. I have posted in the slide the sketchings that we got made of us (not great quality but nice to have).

- A

Winter 2008 Pictures

2009-01-07T18:09:00.001-05:00

Christmas Eve & Gingerbread Men 2008

2009-01-02T09:00:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year & Gingerbread House Building 2008

2009-01-01T17:09:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!! I am finally getting a moment to post our Christmas events!! Each year we build a gingerbread house at Josh's parents house. This year's kit made it look easier than the ones that we have done before in terms of the walls and roof staying up but we had one wall fall this year. The bonus of this kit was that we did not have to use canned foods to keep the walls from falling down or the roof to stay on. Maybe next year we will have NO walls fall =-)

- A

Taco Twist Soup & Cranberry Bread Recipes

2008-12-31T15:11:00.000-05:00

Taco Twist Soup (Grand Prize Winner from Taste of Home Annual Recipes 2008)

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 Medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. olive oil
3 cups veggie or reduced fat and sodium beef broth
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14 ½ oz.) diced tomatoes
1 ½ cups picante sauce
1 cup uncooked spiral pasta (we used wheat pasta)
1 small green pepper, chopped
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
Shredded cheddar and sour cream to garnish (optional)

1. In large soup pot, sauté onion & garlic in oil until tender. Add broth, beans, tomatoes, picante sauce, pasta, green pepper, chili powder & cumin. Bring to boil stirring frequently.

2. Reduce heat: cover & simmer for 10-12 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring occasionally.

We sprinkled a little cheese on our soup and served with toasted cheddar cheese French bread slices.

Cranberry Bread (from Everyday Foods magazine 2008)

Serves 8

Ingredients

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted plus more for pan
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 ½ tsp. b. powder
½ tsp. b. soda
1 tsp. salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
¾ cup whole milk (we used skim)
1 bag (12 oz.) cranberries
1 Tbsp. turbinado sugar for topping (optional)

1. Preheat 350, butter and flour one large or three small loaf pans. In a large bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine all wet ingredients. Add wet mixture to dry and whisk to combine; fold in cranberries.

2. Pour batter into pans and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake until a toothpick inserted into center of loaf comes out clean, about 1 hour & 15 minutes for large loaf and about 45 minutes for small. Transfer to a wire rack and cool 30 minutes. Invert onto rack, then immediately turn right side up to let cool completely.

(Adding walnuts to this recipe is also yummy!!)

Be A Quick Scrapbooker

2008-12-29T19:23:00.000-05:00

Busy, busy, busy…I know how it is as a mother of an almost six year old boy, wife, part-time worker, church member, friend, daughter/sister-in-law and daughter/sister/granddaughter. So much to do and so little time right? Well I am VERY passionate about preserving my family memories. I not only take tons of photos of family and friends but collect scans of old family photos from my family and Josh’s. Now as mother of the handsomest Quinn ever, I found early on that I could not scrapbook the traditional way by picking the best pictures and make layouts with them. My problem is that they are all precious to me so I decided on a quicker, all inclusive way to “scrapbook” my memories. I started by separating my photos into different categories…for example: Travel, Events, and Us (this one is just Josh, Quinn & I). Then, I buy albums for each group. Next, I organize the photos chronologically. Last, I make a 4x6 scrap page as a sort of title page for each section of pictures throughout the album with the name of event and date. For example, if you have a whole albums of pictures from 2008 Events (weddings, birthdays, holidays) then you would make a page for each event and place it just before each event’s pictures start. I find that these 4x6 pages are easier because you do not have to color coordinate with your pictures, take less time because they are smaller and are less expensive because you can only fit so much on them but you do not compromise the cuteness!! I have posted here some of my favorites along with pictures of the albums that I use. For an extra fun idea, take that first blank paper page of your albums and create a scrap title page for the entire album. I hope those of you who think you do not have time or that you feel that you are not creative enough will try this with your family photos. It will make looking through those albums all the more fun not just for you but for family members whom these albums will be pasted down to in years to come.

-A

Christmas Decorating

2008-12-22T18:05:00.004-05:00

This season has been so busy for us this year that I have not been able to blog all that I wanted but here is some of our decorating that we did the weekend after Thanksgiving. I love Christmas decorating but have not had time to put up everything that I normally do. Maybe by next year I will get a routine with this work and holiday thing!

- A

Christmas Tree for Sale

2008-12-11T18:29:00.002-05:00

O.K. everyone here is a steal of a deal...My friend Ben at work has fixed a $300 Christmas pre-lit tree but he already has one and does not need another one so he is selling the tree for $100. This tree is new and apparently would not light at one point but is not in full working order. Let me know if you are interested.

- A

Chicken Confetti Spaghetti

2008-12-09T19:40:00.003-05:00

Chicken Confetti Spaghetti (a Publix recipe)
(Makes 6 servings.)

Ingredients

8 ounces spaghetti pasta (I used wheat pasta)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
12 ounces cooked, diced chicken (I shredded mine)
1 (4-ounce) jar diced pimentos (drained)
8 ounces trinity mix (fresh diced onions, bell peppers, celery)
1 (10.5-ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 (14-ounce) can reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 1/4 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Fill large saucepan half full of water. Cover and bring to a boil on high for pasta. Break pasta into 2-inch-long pieces and stir into boiling water; boil 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until partially tender.
Meanwhile, cut butter into small pieces while placing in medium bowl; set aside to soften.

2. Combine in microwave-safe bowl: chicken, pimentos, trinity mix, soup, salt, pepper, and broth until well blended. Cover and microwave on HIGH 2–3 minutes or until mixture is hot and vegetables begin to soften.

3. Drain pasta and stir into vegetable mixture. Transfer mixture evenly into 2-quart baking dish. Stir cheese and bread crumbs into butter. Mix with fingertips until blended and crumbly; spread evenly over chicken mixture. Bake 15–20 minutes or until golden and bubbly around edges. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

- A

Tagged

2008-12-08T20:31:00.003-05:00

Josh has been tagged by Chris for 7 random things about him so here is what he says:

1. I write poetry.

2. I sang in the chorus in high school and church as a teenager.

3. I used to have long hair.

4. Before I started working with monkeys, I wanted to be a teacher.

5. I had no desire or ambition to work with monkeys until I started working with them.

6. I still can hardly believe that I am a Research Specialist with no college degree but received the job solely on experience and hard work.

7. I used to be Catholic.

- J

Ten Things...I'd Like to Learn to Do

2008-12-06T11:44:00.000-05:00

Sorry it has been such a long time...work has been crazy and I have little time to think.

I am going to do a series of posts that I am calling "Ten Things". I will post about Josh, Quinn and me regarding different ten things. This time it is about ten things that I -Amy- would like to learn to do. I thought that this was a new way of getting to know us better and instead of tagging I encourage you to post ten things on your blogs for us to learn about you. Enjoy!

1. My number one thing that I want to learn to do in my life is to live a Christian
life free of past guilt. I feel totally right for feeling guilty for my sins
because I helped to send an innocent man to torture and death. To me that is
liking blaming Quinn for something that happened before he was born...it doesn't
seem fair. So I must strive and learn to free my heart of my guilt!

2. I would LOVE to learn wheel pottery!

3. I would like to learn how to use a sewing machine.

4. I want to learn how to knit my own sweaters, scarfs and hats.

5. Part of me would like to learn to swim and part of me is afraid to.

6. I really would like to know how to speak French.

7. I would LOVE to learn not to worry so much (or at all =-)!!

8. I still have SO much to learn about cameras, lighting, lens and filters.

9. I want to learn how to be a better container gardener. I would love to grow my own vegetables and herbs in pots.

10. Although I can type pretty good and fast I still have to look at the keyboard from time to time and I would like to learn how to do it without looking and be fast!!

- A

Tagged

2008-11-21T15:41:00.006-05:00

Random Things About Me

Marcy tagged me to do a post with 7 Random Things about me.

1. We/I hate watching sports on T.V. We will go to see hockey and might even go to a baseball game if it is with friends but that is it.

2. I am VERY picky about cookbooks! I love cookbooks but they have to have LOTS of pictures in them to entice me.

3. Love Fall and Winter. Like beginning of Spring and could do without Summer.

4. I marched in my high school's band for two years and really LOVED it. I played the flute and would like to get back into practice.

5. My pet peeve is people burping out loud and cursing...HATE, HATE, HATE those!!!

6. I am nervous around most people.

7. Would love to move to the NC mountains some day.

I am tagging:

Sherri
Shana
Sheley
Issac
Maggie
Tessa
Liliana

Open Me Up

2008-11-18T19:34:00.002-05:00

Open me up
Let me do thy works

Open me up...
to the truth of your words

Open me up...
to the forgiveness that can only come from you

Open me up
Let me be part of your glory

Open me up
Let me be your hands, your arms, your feet

Open me up
Make me be your servant

Open em up
Awaken my heart to you

Open me up
Revitalize my spirit

Open me up
Light a fire in me

Open me up...
for all I need is you

Open me up
Open me up

Open me up
I want to be with you.

- Josh

Make Your Own Cookbook

2008-11-16T19:39:00.000-05:00

One of my mother-in-laws gave me a cookbook that was blank and you could fill out the pages with your favorite recipes. Well, that was a big hit!! So much so that some sections are already filled and I needed more room to input my favorite recipes. I decided to make my own in a scrapbook style so I could include as many as I wanted and as it gets bigger I can expand it as much as I want. First off I needed to decide if I wanted a traditional scrapbook album or a notebook-type binder. I chose the binder for easier cleaning. Then, I bought some plastic page protectors for notebook sized paper. Next, I found some scrapbook paper that I liked (with this you can either choose paper with lines already on it or create lines of your own with a ruler and a colored pen that matches your paper and you can either choose to have your whole cookbook the same on every page or-like me- have every page different) and card stock for background. I have done some minimal decorating of the backgrounds (or none at all but buying dimension stickers to coordinate with your recipe or mounting a picture of your finished recipes are also good ideas). Last, I wrote my recipes on my patterned paper, added the small pieces of paper at the edge of the pages for info as to where I got the recipe (my mom, cookbook w/ page number, internet…) and (on the first page of each section…chicken, desserts, sides) I have a strip of paper that will stick out of the page protector (once I cut a slit in it so that the tag can stick out of…see photos in slide show). I thought this was a great way to keep up with my most used recipes so I do not have to search through cookbooks for the ones I am looking for because they are all in one place!

- A

Happy Birthday to Me & Prayer Request

2008-11-14T16:02:00.002-05:00

Happy birthday to me!! Today is my 32nd birthday! Hard to believe but SO true.

I wish this birthday was care free but it is not and that is why we NEED your prayers and any assistance that our friends and family can offer. A few weeks ago we took Josh’s car in to get the water pump replaced which was a hefty price that we were able to scrape up. We thought we were all set for a while but on Wednesday he stalled out and I had to go pick him up. Now, we do see where God was really looking over us because he was coming from a longer distance than a normal day when it stalled yet he was almost home when it did stall. Next, it did not stall on the VERY dark and some what country express way (two lanes that go in each direction and no lights). Then, a cop showed up almost as soon as it stalled to push him into a parking lot. Lastly, Quinn was in his PJ’s but not asleep when he called me to pick him up. These are all things we are thankful for but now we have had it towed and they say that he has possibly blown a gasket which could be anywhere from $500 to $1500 dollars!! This is an old car and we have such a short time left and not much $ left to pay mine off and then we were going to save for one for him. Josh did not have to pay that much for it since it was a car in the family and we do not know how we will come up with that much money or even if this is a good idea. It is a very confusing time and very frustrating. I know that we have posted on Josh’s new position but this has not been the best money maker as of yet and I am working more than J was working when he was working two jobs but we are getting about $200 less a month than we were before. So, just pray that we will see a good solution to this. We are tightening our belts even more than before but $1500 dollars is more than we had imagined it could get to. If I were to give up my job so J could have my car then he would have to go back to work nights but that would not make us enough money to cover the bills. We don’t know what is to come so please just pray for us. Sorry for the sad ramble.

- A

P.S. If anybody has an extra car lying around…yeah, right.

The Incredible Hulkey!!

2008-11-06T19:09:00.004-05:00

So Quinn’s teacher sent home a drawing of this turkey and wanted us to disguise him so he would not be eaten for Thanksgiving dinner. I named off a few things we could disguise him as like a tree (most of his body would have been the trunk and I could cut leaves and stick them to his head), a lady bug (color him red and stick cut out black spots on him and then give him little pipe cleaner feelers) but Quinn said The Incredible Hulk!! After I cut him out, Quinn colored him and I made cut out pants (Quinn insists that they should be purple) and a cut out hair piece!! Would you eat a green turkey wearing purple pants and a hair piece?

-A

Eggplant Rolltini

2008-11-05T20:27:00.001-05:00

Serves 4
Prep Time: 15
Total Time: 35 min.

1 Large Eggplant (2 pounds), cut lengthwise into 1/2 inch thick slices(about 8)
course salt and ground pepper
1 cup favorite marinara sauce
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta
1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
1 large egg
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella (4 ounces)
crusty bread, for serving (optional)

1. Season eggplant slices w/ salt and pepper; arrange in shallow 2-quart microwave-safe dish w/ lid. Microwave on high until tender & pliable but not fully cooked, 6 to 8 minutes.

2. W/ a spatula, transfer eggplant slices from dish to a paper-towel-lined baking sheet, & arrange in a single layer. Blot dish dry, & spread bottom w/ 1/4 cup marinara sauce; set aside.

3. In small bow, mix together ricotta, Parmesan, egg, garlic, 1/4 tsp. salt, & 1/8 tsp. pepper. Pat eggplant dry w/ pepper towels. Dividing evenly, spoon ricotta mix onto the wide end of the eggplant slices, leaving a 1-inch border on either side. Starting at the wide end, roll up slides; arrange seam side down in a single layer in prepared dish. Top w/ remaining 3/4 cup marinara sauce. (My Note: I doubled the amount for the ricotta mix because I had so many slices that I was running out of filling.)

4. Cover dish, & microwave on high until eggplant is very tender, 15 to 17 minutes. Sprinkle w/ mozzarella; microwave until cheese is melted, 2 to 3 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. Serve rollatini w/ bread, if desired, & garnished with more Parmesan.

From Everyday Foods Magazine 2008

This was quick, easy and yummy!! Quinn ate all of his!

- A

Pumpkin Carving, Publix and Trunk & Treats 2008

2008-11-01T15:52:00.004-04:00

Well we have saved all the picks this year for one post. We did not go to an outdoor place to pick a pumpkin so we do not have pics of that =-( but we got a great shaped pumpkin at Walmart. We do have pics that I took of Quinn & Josh cleaning the pumpkin and Josh did a pretty good job at getting some good ones of Quinn and I carving (well more me carving and Quinn watching). We decided to grow Josh's hair as much as we could to mohawk it but it did not grow to high and we did the best we could. Quinn is annimated Optimus Prime (a Transformer) and I did not dress up this year. We went to Publix for their Halloween treats and then off to two trunk and treats at churches near our house. The last one we went to had free grilled hot dogs, chips and drinks while a youth band from the church performed. We ended our night out by dropping by our next door neighbor's house and then called it a night until next year...

- A

Fr-Amy Finally!!!

2008-10-19T20:15:00.000-04:00

I have finally finished the blog to advertise my frames!!! I have been working on and off to make this blog...Fr-Amy...just right from a catchy name to the right colors and style. I hope that you will check it out and like what you see. Making these frames is something that I absolutely LOVE. From looking for the products to brain storming new ideas and putting them all together. Please let me know via my email address if you would like to talk about a frame to be made for you or someone you love. (Oh and forward the blog address to anyone you think might be interested!
=-)

- A

The Big 3-0!!!!

2008-10-18T10:31:00.005-04:00

Today is Josh's 30th birthday!!!! Happy birthday my sweet!! Today we are hanging out together (childless...Quinn went to Granddad and Grandma's). We are having lunch and just enjoying the nice cool Fall weather. Tomorrow we will have Josh's birthday dinner with his family. Oh how thankful we are to have this time...If Josh had continued in his old position at work, he would have been working this weekend. He would have come home dirty and tired and we would have had little time to spend together. Praise that we have this precious time together and many more years to come!!

- A

Quinn's Library Books

2008-10-16T15:16:00.003-04:00

We have added a book shelf from Shelfari to our right margin showing the books that Quinn has picked up from either the public library or from the school library. Some are ones he may be able to read to us and others are ones that we read to him. The best one on his shelf currently is the Food Fight! book...It is really fun and cute! We encourage you to share the books your kids are reading and tell us some really good ones that we should pick up for Quinn!

- A

Penny Poem & Half Dollar Poem

2008-10-14T18:15:00.000-04:00

These are poems that Quinn has learned to help him remember the amount of each coin. Try as I might to get a video host to upload my video vertical as it was taken, that has not happened so you will have to deal with Q sideways which is fine...he is still as cute sideways as right-side-up!! Currently, he has shared only the penny and half dollar poems.

Penny Poem

See the shiny penny
As brown as it can be
Showing Abe Lincoln
For all the world to see
He had a bushy beard
And a tall black hat
A penny's worth one cent
How about that

Half Dollar

A half dollar is big in size
Fifty cents to buy some fries
On the front is John Kennedy
Turn it over an eagle you'll see

These poems have been so helpful that when Josh and Quinn went to the library the other day Quinn pointed out Abe (and George Washington) on a poster that was up in the kids area about presidents and this knowledge really impressed one of the librarians!! Kid is smarter than us already!! Don't know if that is good or trouble =-)!!

-A

Map of Our Readers

2008-10-13T09:43:00.002-04:00

I have a friend from high school who is studying in England and started a blog about him and his wife's adventures over seas. He also has a map to show where in the world his visitors to their blog are from and I thought this was pretty cool and added one to our site by clicking on his. Although I am not sure that those tuning in are from exotic locations (unless Sheley checks in =-), I still am interested to see what pops up and wanted to share this with you.

- A

PJ Day

2008-10-11T02:24:00.002-04:00

This week Quinn's class has been working on their P's and J's so naturally they got to wear their pj's to school yesterday (teachers too:)!! You would think that this would be an easy task but since the weather has change to cooler only recently then we have yet to purchase long pj and all the pj's from last year are a good 4 to 5 inches from his ankle (waiting for a flood short)!! Since it has been cooler (and the sun is hidden behind clouds today) then I did not want to send him in shorts so we put the shorts on over his jeans!! Unfortunately this is PE week so he had to wear his tennis shoes instead of slippers =-(

- A

Josh Has A New Job!!!

2008-09-30T18:07:00.003-04:00

As of Monday Josh is a Research Specialist!!! No more monkey poo to clean for him!!! He will work one in five weekends instead of every other and he will work less holidays!! He will have his own desk, computer and palm pilot (that he has no clue how to use...he is NOT a techie =-) We are very excited but still need your prayers...He will not be able to work the over time we are used to getting and working less weekends means that we are giving up the twice a month weekend-shift pay that has been a financial help to us. This is cause to make me nervous about finances so please keep me in your prayers. We do believe this is good for our family and that God is blessing us with more time together with each other and allowing ALL of us to spend more time at church as a family with our church family. Praise!!

- A

Caitlin's Birthday Dinner

2008-09-13T12:12:00.003-04:00

Wednesday we celebrated Caitlin's birthday and it was fun and yummy as always! I was going to post the recipes but I do not have it with me so watch for that post real soon. Caitlin's BD is this Monday and she is having a birthday weekend so we hope she really has fun this weekend!!

- A

Wild Rice & Turkey or (Chicken) Casserole and Strawberry Muffin Recipes

2008-08-31T16:21:00.001-04:00

Wild Rice & Turkey or (Chicken) Casserole

Serves 6

2 cups cut-up cooked turkey (or chicken)
2 1/4 cups boiling water
1/3 cup milk
1 small onion chopped (1/4 cup)
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) 98% fat free condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 package (6 oz.) seasoned long grain & wild rice
* we also added almost all of a small pack of fresh sliced mushrooms and you can boost the veggie value by including some match stick carrots
** we sprinkled a little Cheddar cheese on top when it was done

1. Heat oven to 350

2. Mix all ingredients, including seasoning packet from rice mix, in greased 2-quart casserole.

3. Cover & bake 45 to 50 minutes or until rice is tender. Uncover & bake 10 to 15 mintues longer or until liquid is absorbed.

** Sprinkle with cheese if desired.

Strawberry Muffins

12 muffins

3/4cup milk
1/2 cup vegetableoil
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped strawberries
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pecan Streusel Topping (below)

Pecan Streusel Topping

1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons melted margarine or butter

Mix all streusel ingredients until well blended.

1. Heat oven to 400. Grease 12 medium muffin cups, 2 1/2 x 1 1/4 inches, or line with paper baking cups.

2. Mix milk, oil, orange peel & egg in large bowl until well blended. Stir in remaining ingredients except Pecan Streusel Topping, just until moistened.

3. Prepare Pecan Streusel Topping. Fill muffin cups two-thirds full with batter. Sprinkle batter with Pecan Streusel Topping. Bake 15 to 20 mintues or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Recipes from Betty Crocker's Best-Loved Recipes

Hope you enjoy these!!

- A

In Remembrance of Uncle Bill

2008-08-30T10:16:00.001-04:00

After we got home yesterday from picking up Quinn from a half day at school, Trenna called to inform us that Uncle Bill passed away that morning. Please pray for Josh's Aunt Geri and cousin Jason along with Uncle Bill's two daughters and all his grandchildren. The funeral is Monday and we are praying that Josh will be able to attend. It is his holiday to work and they are already short staffed. Josh's parents are in Europe where Mell is singing for the pope so we pray that they not only have a safe trip but can allow themselves to enjoy their trip. As for Josh and I, we are thankful that Uncle Bill did not linger for so many months in suffering. I wish that I had some better pictures to share but these were all I could find yesterday.

We love you Uncle Bill and we will miss you!!

- J, A & Q

BUSY!!!

2008-08-29T10:33:00.002-04:00

Sorry we have not posted in a while...we have been crazy busy!!! I am still trying to find time in our new schedule to get everything done like laundry, cooking, cleaning, blogging...I am hoping to post a new recipe that we tried sometime soon. I would like to do it this weekend but don't hold me to that =-)

Please continue to pray for Josh's Uncle Bill. He is expected to pass away any day now. He had Aunt Geri bring some folks from the Catholic church to give him his first communion and then our wonderful Chris Jordan went by this past week and spent some time with them (thank you Chris, it meant a lot to them and to us!!).

Hope everyone has a great holiday weekend and I hope to get back to blogging pics soon!!

- A

Off To Work...And School Update

2008-08-16T11:00:00.004-04:00

So, Thursday was my very first day on the job since before I had Quinn!! Very exciting!! This was also the last day for Josh to work two jobs!!! Even more exciting!! We have been so blessed that it has worked out this well because I will not have to work nights or weekends and when next summer comes then Josh will just slip back into it while I stay home with Q. Plus, we get to keep the discount!!! Very important for me since I am still making frames and continue to want to make some money selling them. So far, all I have done is watch training videos and a customer service-motivational pickle (yes, I said pickle) video while Friday I watched a cashier all morning (even though I will be doing stock). Sorry that I have no pictures but I get to wear my normal clothes (no uniform) so it would not show you much even if I had one. Maybe on a day off Josh and come up and take a picture of me at work for you all...Ooooo, I know you can't wait for that!! =-)

As for Quinn, just some of the fun things that he has told us from school this week includes...

a first grader throwing rocks at passing cars,

boys crawling under the doors of the bathroom stalls,

two new students in his class,

they learn the "When Your Ears Hang Low" song in music class,

they learned a fun game that I may adopt at home called "Mystery Trash"...apparently the teacher will spot some trash on the floor and not tell the kids what or where it is and they have to locate and identify it and throw it in the trash to get a sticker...very clever,

one day whole that Quinn did not go potty at school at all which shocked me!!! He apparently decided to hold it all day and we have had to have a talk about that,

and on Friday they got to bring their teddy bears and have a parade with them!!!

So, I never know what fun, interesting or strange things I will hear upon picking him up but he is having so much fun!!

Until next time,

- A

First Day at Kindergarten

2008-08-08T10:39:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was Quinn's first day of school!!! Quinn's school is newly built across the street from our neighborhood. His teacher and para pro are both mothers and they are very warm and comforting and we look forward to getting to know them better!! As I am sure you are wondering, I was really very calm about it (although I was crying two days before but open house at the school really helped). Quinn had so much fun and had lots to tell us like how the Gingerbread Man was loose in the school and they had to go look for him (this was a very cute way of showing the kids around the school). When they got back to their classroom, the Gingerbread Man was gone but he had left them gingerbread cookies! Here are the pics from yesterday (please ignore that the yard needs to be worked on...it has been to hot to even think about it!!) As for me, my first day of work (outside our home since before Quinn was born) will be later next week and that will also be Josh's last week working two jobs until next summer!! How exciting this is!!!

- A

Super Hero Quinn

2008-08-05T14:22:00.000-04:00

At Easter we got Quinn a Spider-Man helmet with elbow and knee pads and about a month or two ago we got him a Spider-Man bike to match now that he has out grown his other wheeled tranportation. He recently also out grew most of his PJ's and we had to buy new ones so we found these cool Superman ones. Now Quinn is Spider-Man by day and Superman by night...our hero!!

- A

Josh & Callie's Wedding

2008-07-18T11:39:00.002-04:00

So last Saturday we went to Josh & Callie's wedding and we had a really good time. I am bummed that the pics of Josh, Quinn and I are not the best due to the lighting (not the photographer Maggie =-)!! The food was some of the best that we have had at a wedding reception in a long time! The dresses were beautiful and everyone looked so good!! We want to wish Josh and Callie all the best in their life together. Thanks for allowing us to be apart of your special day!

- A