The Ramblings of Carmom

Raise the Roof!!

2012-01-31T09:28:00.003-05:00

Because of a hail storm in October we are getting a new roof on our house. And the banging is driving me nuts. But I think it is bothering Matt even more because every. single. time. there is a bang Matt thinks it's one of the kids falling. And the kids aren't even home. My old shingles were no longer available so I had to find something else I liked. I think I drove my roofer a little nuts driving around looking at roofs and calling him as asking him to look at that one and tell me if it's available. It's a good thing he's my neighbor and my girls and his little girl are friends otherwise he might have said that he couldn't work with me. I loved the roof on our house but I think I will like this one too. I can't wait to see the new roof completed. Though I will not miss the hammering and banging nosies that the roofers are making. I am sure that I will have a lot of clean up after they leave no matter how good they are about cleaning up after themselves. There will probably be lots of nails and shingle scraps that I will find as we start our spring routines in the garden.

On another note though slightly the same, we are hopeful that with this new roof we will finally get our dining room to stop leaking as well. We have been dealing with that since September. Right before Halloween we thought it was fixed and then it leaked again and again and again. They still haven't figured out what is causing the leak and the leak keeps moving. The gutters will be replaced as well and our roofer thinks that if it is anywhere it is probably something there that is causing the leak. I still think it is somewhere behind the bricks. But these guys should know what they are doing. If all this other work doesn't take care of the leak then the bricks will be coming off next.

Gold Belted Gabe

2012-01-23T21:00:00.004-05:00

This past weekend was an extremely busy weekend for us but a good one. My parents came to visit and brought my sister's kids with them. The kids all had so much fun playing together, like they always do. Though the highlight of the weekend for Gabe was testing for his Gold belt in Karate. It was that much sweeter for him since he was unable to test the first two times. He was so excited that he was ready to head to the girls' basketball game in full Karate attire. He did such a good job during his testing and Matt's worries that he wouldn't be focused because of his cousins proved to be fruitless. Here are a couple of pictures of his kata.

Things I Made For Christmas Gifts

2012-01-08T15:59:00.002-05:00

This year I made a lot of the Christmas presents we gave to family, teachers and friends. I had so much fun choosing fabric that I thought would suit each person. And all that sewing was a lot of fun too. Here are the coffee cozies and Composition Notebook Covers I made for the kids teachers. I was going to include some Spiced Tea in mason jars but ran out of time before school got out. Maybe next year.

I made this Taggie Blanket for a friend's nephew. I had made her son some and she called to see if I had any extras that she could buy. I didn't but I found this really cute fabric and made some up for her.
I also made several Camera Strap covers for myself, my sister and Matt's siblings as well. I've been wanting one and finally made one for myself. And I love it! I'll have to get a picture of it soon.

I've been told by several people lately that I need to start a business selling my sewing projects. I'm thinking about it. What do you think?

Nothing Like a Cold One, Reindeer Style

2012-01-08T15:47:00.003-05:00

My niece and nephews all love Root Beer. So for Christmas I packaged up some Root Beer just for them. These little guys were just too cute to pass up on making. And they were definitely a hit with my niece who started taking pictures of them when she discovered them.

Elizabeth Turns FIVE!!!

2011-12-26T22:17:00.004-05:00

It's been such a busy time for all of us here so, I am just now getting around to posting about my precious little girl who turn two weeks ago. We all had so much fun at her birthday party with her friends. But that wasn't the only celebration she had. We also celebrated again on her birthday a couple of days later as a family.

Elizabeth had been telling us that she wanted to have her birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. So we finally broke down and sent the invites to all her friends at school and several of her neighborhood friends. As it turns out, 4:00 on a Friday evening is the perfect time to have a party at CEC. We had to place pretty much to ourselves until about 5:00. And at that time we were in pizza and present mode so the crowd wasn't bothering us any. Everyone had such a great time and Elizabeth absolutely loved doing the ticket blaster.

Gabe and a couple of boys from the party enjoying Skee Ball.

Abby, Elizabeth and Elizabeth's best friend from school.

Elizabeth opening her presents.

Elizabeth in the Ticket Blaster. She had so much fun gathering tickets. She got over 1000!!!

Elizabeth blowing out the candles on her cake.

Group picture time!!

Elizabeth, Mommy and Chuck E. Cheese.

Elizabeth also had lots of fun celebrating with all of her family.

This free picture collage made with Smilebox

HAPPY 5th BIRTHDAY, ELIZABETH!!!

Thirty Days of Being Thankful Day 16, 17, 18 and 19

2011-11-19T19:22:00.002-05:00

I am thankful for....

A visit from my parents. It's always fun when they come to visit. They even brought their dog Shadow and the kids have had a blast playing in the yard with him and taking him for walks around the neighborhood.

My extended family in Matt's siblings and parents. I am so blessed to have good relationships with all of Matt's family.

Beautiful fall weather. We have had a lot of beautiful, warm/cool fall days this month. It has been wonderful being able to spend time outside playing with the kids and just enjoying the weather.

Starbucks buy one get one free. Yes, I know this one isn't touchy, feely but I love a good cup of Starbucks coffee and what's better getting one free and sharing it with a friend?

Elizabeth Lost Her First Tooth!!!

2011-11-17T08:46:00.003-05:00

Elizabeth has had two lose teeth for several weeks. Just recently we noticed that her new teeth had already pushed their way through behind her baby teeth. We were getting worried that they just wouldn't come out on their own. Well come out they did, at 6:00 AM. We knew something was going on when Matt and I heard a stampeding of elephants coming down the stairs. With a shout of, "I lost my TOOTH! It came out!" from the mouths of two girls, we knew what was going on. Elizabeth couldn't wait to get her tooth in the Tooth Fairy pillow and then to tell everyone she saw that she lost her first tooth. Last night the tooth fairy came and left her her money, a five dollar bill, which she has been carrying around ever since she pulled it out of her pillow. What was really funny was her telling us about the Five dollar bill. "This is him when he was alive. And this is is statue and these are the trash cans outside his statue." Of course she didn't tell us who him is or anything about him but it was interesting that she knew it was his statue.

I is for Igloo

2011-11-17T08:13:00.004-05:00

The tradition started when Gabe was in his last year of preschool at Learning Tree, that would be five years ago. Gabe's class was working their way through the alphabet and were studying the letter "I". We were trying to figure out what Gabe could bring to school for "I" Show n Tell when I remembered making an igloo out of sugar cubes and icing at some point in my elementary school career. And with that the tradition of making an igloo was born. First Gabe and then Abby made their igloos. And this week it was Elizabeth's turn. My baby has reached her final year of preschool and is learning the letter "I" so Matt and Elizabeth sat down for the task of making her igloo. She was so excited to be making her igloo. As soon as we walked in the door from Karate and she saw her Daddy she was taking his hand and dragging him to the kitchen table so they could start on their project. So the work began....

Just look at the concentration on both of their faces. Elizabeth was so serious and wanted to have her hands in the whole project from start to finish. Her attention never swayed.

Matt redoing a piece that fell off the top.

Every igloo needs a little snow. We used coconut to add that final touch.

Thirty Days of Being Thankful Day 15

2011-11-15T23:06:00.003-05:00

I am thankful for the kids' schools. All three children have wonderful schools and for the most part they all love going. Elizabeth especially loves going but of course she is still at the age that school is more play than work. The school Gabe and Abby attend is awesome and the teachers are even better. Every teacher we have had has been caring and helpful. The kids have been so lucky to have such wonderful teachers and be in such a great school.

Thirty Days of being Thankful Day 13 and 14

2011-11-14T19:12:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I was thankful for the time spent with my family. Last week was such a busy week that I didn't feel like we spent much time together. Sunday I spent a little time one on one with each of my children and with Matt. It was nice having the chance to relax and spend some time together.

Today I am thankful for a warm fall day we enjoyed today. After coming home from school I stood outside talking with a neighbor for a little while while the girls played. It was so enjoyable. And i love walking one of their friends home because it was slightly windy but without a nip and was downright exhilarating.

Thirty Days of being Thankful Day 9, 10, 11 and 12

2011-11-12T19:45:00.002-05:00

I've been so busy and then so tired because I've been so busy this week that I didn't take time for my thankful posts. And I have a lot to be thankful for so here I go...

Day 9- I am thankful that I had to chance to take a sewing class that I had been trying to get into for a year. I was able to make a Duffle bag, quilting and all. I am so proud of it and I will have to make a few more as well because Abby and Elizabeth both want on too.

Day 10- I am thankful for the opportunity to go on a field trip with Abby's class. With Elizabeth only being in school two days a week it was hard to make it work. Well, we finally made it work and I was able to go see a performance of the Best Christmas Pagent Ever. I had fun and Abby was so excited to have me go with her.

Day 11- I was thankful for a day at home so that I could catch up with all the house work I put on the back burner during my busy week. I got so much done!

Day 12- I am thankful for a clean house, a picked up and cleaned up yard, having laundry done (for now anyway), and for new weather stripping on the doors.

Thirty Days of being Thankful Day 8

2011-11-08T22:27:00.002-05:00

Today I am thankful for books. I love reading and would rather curl up with a good book than watch tv. I love my Kindle too. What better way to always have something to read than on my Kindle. I have so many books to read and re-read on there that I am never without a book. I hope that my joy of reading will transfer to the kids. Abby I have no doubt that she will enjoy reading. Gabe will only read Star Wars. And Elizabeth is just beginning but is so excited when she finally reads a word she's been working on. But I am thankful that I have so many books to read and lose myself in.

Thirty Days of Being Thankful Day 6 and 7

2011-11-07T20:07:00.002-05:00

I missed yesterday's post. It wasn't because I wasn't thankful, I was. My day got away from me and I remembered after I was in bed and I was not going to get back up. So here are yesterday's and today's thankful thoughts.

Day 6- Yesterday I was thankful for the laughter of my kids. As I worked outside finishing up Saturday's painting project, the kids played. They played all morning long. I enjoyed listening to them laugh and play together as I painted the exterior doors. I was also thankful that they were getting along so well.

Day 7- Occurred last night when Matt came to bed. And no it's not that, just get you mind out of the gutter. When he came to bed he told me he learned something new. That he was number 3 on my list of things I was thankful for. I laughed and told him I knew that I should have put a disclaimer on my 30 Day of Being Thankful Posts. We both laughed and bantered back and forth. I am thankful that we are able to enjoy the bantering and can laugh with one another.

Thirty Days of Being Thankful Day 5

2011-11-05T19:47:00.002-04:00

Today I am thankful for all the work Matt and I accomplished around the house. We managed to recaulk all the windows and doors on the backside of the house. These were the worst and needed the most attention. We think that's because they get so much sun and our weather usually comes from that direction. But I do digress. I am thankful that we were able to work so well together and that we accomplished so much.

Fall Time Fun

2011-11-04T23:33:00.004-04:00

The weekend before Halloween we meet some friends at a local Pumpkin Patch for some fall time fun. We packed some lunches and enjoyed spending time with good friends. It was a absolutely beautiful fall day. It was perfect day for having fun at the pumpkin patch.

The girls having fun pumping water.

Abby and Elizabeth feeding the goats by cranking the food up to them. They would have done this over and over but we ran out of change.

Gabe, RJ and Elizabeth feeding the baby pigs. Those pigs had one very posh house.
Playing with all the toys.

Elizabeth feeding the goats.

Xander and Abby playing in the corn bin.

Thirty Days of Being Thankful Day 4

2011-11-04T23:16:00.003-04:00

Today I am thankful for the kind thoughts I received in a letter from a friend today. She told me that while reading 10 Habits of Happy Mothers she thought of me when she was reading about the importance of female friendships. She told me, "no matter how many miles are between our front doors" she will count me as a wonderful friend. This letter made me feel blessed to have a friend who would take the time to let me know she cared.

Thirty Days of Being Thankful Day 3

2011-11-03T21:27:00.002-04:00

Today I am thankful for my husband. Matt is one of the best things that ever happened to me and our years together have brought us closer together. We have become better friends. And I couldn't ask for a better father for my children. So today and everyday I am thankful for my husband, my lover and my friend.

Thirty Days of Being Thankful Day 2

2011-11-02T21:33:00.001-04:00

Today I am thankful for hand me down clothes.

For the past couple of days the girls and I have been going through all our hand me down clothes. I love the fact that Abby and Elizabeth get excited over getting "new" clothes from their cousins and sister respectively. I was thankful that there were so many things that they loved. This is so helpful so that I can save a little money on their clothing. It's great having older cousins to share clothes with.

Thirty Days of being Thankful

2011-11-01T22:32:00.002-04:00

Like many I am being thankful during the month of November. And there are so many things to be thankful for....

Today I am thankful for my neighbors. I have really enjoyed getting to know my neighbors and forming friendships with them. I am also thankful for the friendships my kids have made with our neighbors as well. It is wonderful to see the kids playing with one another from Gabe playing touch football with the neighborhood kids to the girls playing in the backyard or riding their bikes with the neighborhood girls.

Happy Halloween- Trick or Treating

2011-11-01T21:20:00.004-04:00

I hope that everyone had a Happy and Safe Halloween! We sure did. Gabe and Abby ended up taking off with their friends from the neighborhood. Abby enjoyed riding in style on a golf cart with our neighbor across the street. And Gabe rode with a friend from school in the back of her parent's truck. Both had a blast. Elizabeth and I walked around with our friends who have joined us for Trick or Treating for the 3rd year in a row. Everyone one brought home a load full of candy. It was enough to refill our empty basket!!

Before Trick or Treating

Our Pumpkins

This guy scared me to death. When I walked onto the porch he was sitting down. Once I turned my back he snuck up behind me. It was pretty cool!

"Mummy, may I have some juice?"

2011-10-26T16:47:00.002-04:00

I was in charge of brining juice boxes for the kids classes. And if you know anything about me plain ol' juice boxes just wouldn't cut it. And luckily I found the perfect way to dress them up for Halloween.
Aren't they just adorable?

All you need to make these cuties are white Duct Tape, hot glue, wiggle eyes and your juice boxes. Wrap the juice boxes with the tape. I tore mine in half length wise. And then start wrapping. Be sure you cut out a place for the straw. I used a hole punch. Glue on your wiggle eyes. And you have some very cute Mummies.

These were a big hit at Elizabeth's Halloween Party today.

Tasty Tuesday-Melted Witch

2011-10-25T21:44:00.006-04:00

For the kids class treats this year the kids and I made melted witches. These were so much fun and easy to make that I just had to share it. Here's how to make them...

Oh, and Please Don't let the steps fool you. I promise these are super easy!!

Things you need:

Yellow Laffy Taffy

Pretzel sticks

Green and chocolate candy melts

Oreos

Hershey's Kisses

Roll Laffy Taffy flat with a rolling pin. I found that it was easiest to put parchment paper down on the cutting board so that it doesn't stick.

I used this cute little tool to cut out rectangles and then used it to cut the tines for the broom.

Roll the tines onto the pretzel stick and you have a broom.

You will then need to pull apart the Oreos and discard the centers. Unwrap the Hershey kisses. And melt the green and chocolate candy melts in separate bowls. Spoon green melts onto cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Next spoon a small amount of chocolate onto center of green melts and gently swirl with a knife. Add your broomstick. Lay an Oreo cookie onto the candy melts and with a small amount of chocolate apply the Hershey kiss to the Oreo.

Move your cookie sheet to the refridgerator until hardened.

And then package them up. The kids loved these and kept quoting the Wizard of Oz. "I'm melting. I'm melting."

Happy Halloween!!!

Sleeping Baby- I Heart Faces

2011-10-24T11:11:00.006-04:00

Elizabeth 2 days old.

This is one of my favorite pictures of my youngest daughter. It's not a new picture but one that I love. My youngest daughter will be turning five this year, in a couple of months in fact. Every time I see this picture I think of how fast my children are growing and I wish that I could slow things down just a little. I will never hold this little baby again in quite the same way, but she will always be my baby no matter how big she gets or how far she roams. And the same goes for my other (not so) little ones.

Tasty Tuesday-Ant Invasion

2011-09-07T11:10:00.005-04:00

Okay, so this is a really late Labor Day post. So I am now making it a taste Tuesday post instead!

We headed to Chattanooga for Labor Day to visit with my family and to go to my Aunt's for a pot luck lunch and dinner and some swimming. There was so much G-O-O-D food that we stuffed ourselves on that I was full for the rest of the day! Our food table must have looked good to the ants too because it was invaded by a bunch of hungry ants that decided that they like the food too! They started carting off the watermelon and if we hadn't taken control of the situation by eating them I am sure they would have carted off all that good food. And where would that have left all those hungry mouths waiting to chomp down on salads galore, fried fish, okra, hushpuppies and dessert. We took care of those ants though and there wasn't on left!

Tasty Tuesday- Red, White and Blue Covered Strawberries

2011-07-05T09:33:00.004-04:00

My contribution to our Independence Day Celebration was to make some really cool and tasty chocolate strawberries with a twist. These little beauties had an added element of blue colored sugar on the ends to make it perfect for the 4th of July. And these little beauties also don't take any time at all to make. Here is what you will need...

Strawberries

Almond Bark or White Chocolate

Blue Colored Sugar, if you can't find blue colored sugar just add some blue food coloring to white sugar in a ziploc bag and shake until mixed.

Melt the sugar in a microwave safe bowl, stirring well.

Dip your strawberry into the your melted Almond Bark, being sure to leave some red showing at the top.

And then you will dip the tips into the blue sugar.

And then you have some delicious and festive treats to share with your family and friends. And they also tend to WOW everyone too!!

Happy Baking!!

Happy Father's Day!!

2011-06-19T23:00:00.005-04:00

Happy Father's Day to my Dad who was and is always there for me to talk to...

And to my husband who loves his kids and is a great dad!!

Impromptu Photo Shoot

2011-06-10T15:15:00.005-04:00

Yesterday, while we were waiting on Matt to finish up some last minute stuff at work we hung out around the water fountain outside his old office building. I always loved the COB building. It is a beautiful building and they do a great job with keeping the grounds beautiful. I took the time while waiting on Matt to take a few dozen pictures before my camera battery died. Here are my favorite shots from our impromptu photo shoot.

Columbus Vacation

2011-06-09T21:08:00.008-04:00

The kids and I were lucky enough to be able to take a trip to Columbus, Indiana with Matt this week. He had to go up on business so we decided to tag along to visit with all of our old friends. The kids and I got a vacation while Matt had to work, we are so lucky to have such an awesome father and husband that is willing to have us tag along while he has to work. Without all his hard work we wouldn't be able to do half the things we do. So thank you for such an awesome couple of days Matt!

I asked the kids what they wanted to do in Indiana. Besides seeing all their old friends they wanted to visit Freedom Field which was the playground behind their old school. It was a really hot day so we didn't stay too long but for the time we were there they had a blast.

Abby absolutely loves this spinning thing. She spent 20 minutes on it getting dizzy. This was one of the items on the playground that she remembered the most and looked for it immediately.
This really cool slide is really a bunch of rollers. You roll down them and the kids love them.
The climbing rock. And if you know us well you will know all about "the infamous climbing rock".

When we left Columbus Elizabeth was only two so she didn't remember the playground as well as the others. But just like the others she loved the playground and had so much fun climbing sliding and jumping on the play structures.
Tuesday we were so lucky to have our good friend Christine host a playdate for us, so that we could all get together to catch up with everyone. As soon as the kids got up they were wanting to know when we were going to get to see all their old friends. We had so much fun playing in the water slide that Aubrey brought for the kids to play in and stay cool while the adults visited. It was a great day.

Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning, because the kids had so much fun, we went to the New Commons playground. What a wonderful playground it was too. I really missed this playground when they closed it for renovations but this is so cool now. And what a great addition to the city as well. If we were still living in Columbus I know we would be spending a lot of rainy, hot or cold days running around and getting rid of all the energy we seem to have. The kids spent so much time climbing and running around that they were falling asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow. Here are some of my favorite pictures...

After enjoying and working off some of our energy, mine was almost all gone, we headed to the kidsCommons Children's Museum for some more fun. The one thing the kids remembered the most was the giant toilet and they couldn't wait to play in it again. So that was the first thing they did.

And it was their favorite thing from the whole trip too! That is besides playing with all their friends. To them this was the best vacation E-V-E-R!!!

Tasty Tuesday- Apple Pie in a Jar

2011-05-31T22:18:00.005-04:00

I came across this great idea for a pie in a jar on this website. I thought it was such a cool idea that I decided to make the pies for the kids teachers as an end of the year gift. I usually don't give food items but since I thought these were so cool I just had to make them. And let me tell you they were so fun to make too. It was also pretty cool that I could stick with the apple theme for the teachers. And if you don't like apple pie you can make any other fruit pie work for this as well. The really awesome this is once you make these you can put them in the freezer and eat them whenever you are ready for delicious hot treat. And don't worry the jar won't break going from freezer to oven either. Anyway, here's how I made them...

You need half pint wide mouth canning jars. I ended up using the Balls Platinum Half Pint Wide mouth but if you can find the ones with straight sides they will work better. That way you can actually pop the pie right out of the jar. But otherwise use the Ball jars they seemed to be the easiest to find, at least around here, and just eat right out of the jar.

Using either homemade pie crust or refrigerator pie crust start lining the jar. Once you have covered the inside of the jar with the pie crust you will then make your filling. Put your filling into the the jar about a 1/4 below the rim. You can then either do one of two things. Using the lid of your jar cut out a topper and then use a miniature cookie cutter to cut out a vent or you can make a crumb topping. I made a crumb topping for the teachers gifts.

Okay, so here my recipe for apple pie.

1/2 to 3/4 cups sugar, use the least amount if you are doing a crumb topping.

3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon all spice

6 cups thinly sliced, peeled apples, about 2 1/4 pounds (I usually use half Granny Smith and Gala)

In a mixing bowl combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, and allspice. Add apples; toss to coat fruit.

If you are making your own crust here is a pretty simple recipe.

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup shortening

3 to 4 Tablespoons cold water

In a mixing bowl stir together flour and salt. Cut in shortening til pieces are the size of small peas.

Sprinkle 1 Tablespoon of the water over part of the mixture; gently toss with a fork. Push to side of bowl. Repeat till all is moistened. Form dough into ball.

Use this to line your jars for pie.

For crumb topping. 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons margarine or butter

Combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in margarine till mixture resembles coarse crumbs; sprinkle over filling.

And here are my jars ready to be wrapped up to give to the teachers. These were just so much fun to make. I need to make more for our freezer so that I can enjoy these little cuties.

You will bake these little cuties at 375 degrees for 50- 60 minutes. And you can move them straight from the freezer to your oven too! Enjoy!

And Happy Baking!

Gabe's Baseball Season

2011-05-24T21:59:00.004-04:00

Last night was Gabe's last regular season baseball game. The season was not a winning season. In fact they didn't win at all, except for good sportsmanship. Saturday we had hopes that they would get their first win but those hopes were dashed with a 1 point loss. Last night that all changed. The Pirates won their first game with a 1 point win. They could have won by more but conceded their last at bat so they could celebrate their win. The pure joy and elation that those kids expressed was something to behold. This win was the perfect cap to their season of baseball. We took Gabe to Toot's, Gabe's favorite restaurant, to celebrate. And we weren't the only ones!

Gabe playing in the outfield.

Gabe's hit that got him to second and then batted home! He also got a couple of RBIs during the game.

Gabe crossing home plate!

They start tournament games next week and then will have a party to end the season off right. Even though he didn't play on a winning team he had a whole lot of fun playing and is planning on playing again. And we are so proud of him for having such a great attitude this season!!

Happy 9th Birthday, Gabe

2011-05-15T14:28:00.010-04:00

Today my baby boy turned 9!! Nine I can't believe it... That's 1 year from double digits, 2 years from middle school, 4 years from being a teenager, and 6 years from learning to drive. My baby boy is growing up so quickly. Just nine short years ago my baby looked like this...

And now he looks like this...

Great picture, huh? He might not appreciate this one but I loved it!

Gabe had an awesome birthday. His birthday started on Friday with cupcakes for his class, and last all weekend. He is really into Pokemon right now so I made some Pokeball cupcakes to take to his class. Here is what they looked like. And boy was he excited!

On Saturday, Gabe invited a couple of friends over to help him celebrate. Gabe and his friends enjoyed pizza, laser tag, cupcakes and ice cream. Because of a weather delay Elizabeth and I headed to the ball fields instead of the party. But Matt, Abby and the boys had a great time! Here are a couple of pictures that highlight all the fun the kids had.

Because I had already made Pokeballs for Gabe, I decided to go a little further for his party. So I took some of the most popular Pokemon and made those into cupcakes. Meet Pikachu, Jigglypuff and Charmander.

And then today we had our traditional birthday pancakes. Gabe also got to open his presents from us and his sisters. All in all I think he had a great 9th birthday.

Happy Birthday G-dog!!

Wordless Wednesday- Grandparents are the BEST!!

2011-05-11T05:14:00.000-04:00

Flat Stanley Came To Our House To Play

2011-05-10T09:25:00.007-04:00

Our friend Emily from Indiana sent us Flat Stanley to visit with us for a couple of weeks. He arrived at our house right after Easter, so he missed our trip to Chattanooga but didn't miss out on all the fun. In the last couple of weeks we have had a lot. He helped Gabe and his class to make Paper Cranes for Japanese Relief, Osh Kosh was donating on item of clothing for every paper crane they received in their store by April 25th. Gabe and his class made 119 paper cranes. What a huge accomplishment for the class.

Here are Flat Stanley and Gabe with all the Paper Cranes that his class made.

The following day Abby took Flat Stanley to meet her 1st grade class. She said that he had a lot of fun with her.

Flat Stanley has also attended a lot of baseball practices and games while he has been here.

We also had a whole lot of excitement last week with some very severe storms. We were all woken up at 5:30 with a tornado near our house. And the storms continued all day long. We spent a lot of time in the closet with flashlights {we didn't have any electricity all day long} and a few board games to keep us entertained.

Because everyone knows Flat Stanley loves adventure he tried to talk us into taking a boat ride on all our flood water. {Well it was the kids really. They thought it would be fun to make boats and send them down the flood waters.} We convinced them that that was not such a great idea. The water was swift enough to sweep even the kids away. So we just remained enthralled with the amount of water surrounding our house from both the front and back. Hoping that we wouldn't have any trouble because of it.

We've had a lot of fun with Flat Stanley but it's time to return him to Emily and her class so that he can start his next adventure. Thank you so much for thinking to send him to us. We have had so much fun with him!! We miss you guys!

Easter Pictures

2011-05-09T21:26:00.005-04:00

Yes, I know these are almost a month late but I did want to share some of my favorite pictures from the Easter holidays. We were in Knoxville from Thursday until Saturday and then headed to Chattanooga for Easter Sunday. The kids had a blast spending time with their grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. So without further ado here are my favs....

I love this picture of the kids all together. The kids were being so sweet to one another and cooperated so well. And for once they were all looking at the camera at the same time with smiles on their faces!!

Getting ready to find those eggs at Aunt Kim's house. He,y Gabe! That's not where your basket belongs. If you leave it there where are you going to put your eggs!?!

Gabe found an egg in the bottom of this stump. We almost had to hold him upside down in order to get it! Good find.

Dying eggs at Granny's house. The kids had so much fun getting the eggs to look just right.

These are PEEPS inside this vase. I accidentally poked a hole in the ziploc bag that was holding the water and the flowers. Next time I will have to use a larger vase or fewer flowers.

These turned out so cute. The kids loved them and we had enough left over that they were also able to use them in their lunches as well.

And what better was to recover from a long afternoon of Easter Egg hunting than to fall asleep on a hammock in the shade?

No More Training Wheels for Elizabeth

2011-04-21T21:44:00.004-04:00

Last weekend Elizabeth asked if we would take off the training wheels on her bike. Matt was mowing the yard when she asked so she went off to play with the neighbors. Later that day Elizabeth asked once more and Matt took off the training wheels. And she never looked back.

Elizabeth getting use to her bike without the training wheels. Look at how excited she is!

Daddy helping her to balance a little. She really didn't need that much help.

And OFF SHE GOES!!

Now we are needing to move up bike sizes for both Gabe and Abby and then we will be ready to hit the trails. And least the paved ones!

Happy bike riding, Elizabeth!!

Wordless Wednesday-Catcher

2011-04-20T05:57:00.000-04:00

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

2011-04-19T18:49:00.005-04:00

Back in February when I posted about our Valentine's Day fun I had some delicious Chocolate Covered Strawberries. Jane Anne over at Gravity of Motion and Owen Home asked me how to make them. Sorry it's taken me so long to post the directions but here they are...
You will need Strawberries, of course, wax paper, and chocolate. I like real CHOCOLATE so I use Baker's. You can also use chocolate chips, Almond Bark or Wilton's Candy Melts. Read the back of the package for melting directions. You can also melt some white chocolate in a ziploc bag and cut a small section of the corner off to add some white lines and to add some interest.

Once all your chocolate is melted you just start dipping. Be sure to leave a little of the red showing, this makes it prettier. Once dipped you put the strawberries onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Once all your strawberries are dipped you slide the pan into the refrigerator until the chocolate is set. Once that happens they are ready to eat.

These are so simple to make but look like you spent hours making them. And displayed like this they are so pretty!

Happy Cooking!

Easter thoughts....

2011-04-19T12:39:00.002-04:00

I grew up getting an Easter basket and having Easter egg hunts. I don't have a problem with this. But at the same time just like with Christmas I want the kids to remember why we are celebrating Easter. I remember coming downstairs Easter morning and going through my Easter basket. I also remember as a child looking out the window on Easter morning to see if I could spot any Easter Eggs that the Easter bunny had hidden in the yard. Or even the Easter Bunny himself! Little did I know that they weren't out there quite yet, mom and dad would get to that later. But more than my memories of the Easter Bunny, I also have fond memories of going to church on Easter Sunday. I loved the music on Easter Sunday. The music was always so joyful and exuberant. It really opened my heart to the promise that God made to us with his son's death on the cross and his Resurrection. Another of my favorite memories other than the music at church was the flower cross. Children would bring flowers to church and put them into the holes on the cross. By the end of the service the cross was filled with flowers. It was beautiful. And though these are the things I remember it is the story as well. To think that Christ died for us is often overwhelming to me, but a gift I have accepted. This is what I hope that my children will learn, take to heart and accept as well.

We will be heading to Knoxville and then Chattanooga to spend Easter. Last night when I was talking with my mother I told her I wanted to go to the Episcopal church. I wanted a little piece of my childhood memories. I don't necessarily agree with where the Episcopal church is heading but I love the memories that I have in that church. But the message is still the same. And the joyful heart I always have with the Easter story never dies.

On another note...

This year I am trying to figure out a fun way for the kids to get their Easter baskets. My sister did a maze of yarn through the entire house for the kids to find their baskets. I have always just hidden them somewhere in the living room. I have thought about doing a list of clues in order to find their baskets. Do any of you do the basket thing? And do you have a fun idea to give me to make receiving the kids baskets a little bit different this year? I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas.

Elizabeth's New Room

2011-04-18T21:18:00.006-04:00

Last weekend I finally painted Elizabeth's room. I had been trying to decide on what color to paint her room for almost a year now. Elizabeth wanted pink but I thought there would be way too much pink with her bed spread being pink. And then over Spring Break we went to IKEA and I found those totally cool flower lights that are hanging on the wall. That was my inspiration for her room. After finding those, green just seemed the obvious choice for the wall color. While painting Matt would walk in and say, "It's day glow green." But I really do think that it turned out great. And moving her furniture around made her room seem that much larger as well. She now has plenty of room to play.

I kept Elizabeth out until I was finished with putting her room back together. I think this look tells it all. Don't you?

This was the best I could do with getting this side of her room. Even with the blinds closed it was still dark. It must have been the brightness of the colors. Right?

Happy Playing and Sleeping Elizabeth!

Up, Up and Away!!!

2011-04-16T07:29:00.003-04:00

On the official opening day of baseball, Elizabeth had already played two games, we had a very cool visitor fly overhead during our game. Everyone on the field stopped play in order to watch the helicopter fly overhead and then land in an adjoining field. The kids couldn't wait for the game to end so that they could check out the helicopter.

Elizabeth loved strapping herself into the the harness on the helicopter. Just look at the grin on her face!

Abby was dying to to touch the blades on the helicopter. Daddy was her hero lifting her up to touch the blades.

Abby also loved being able to sit in the cockpit of the helicopter.

Gabe enjoying being strapped in as well. Too bad we can't just strap him down when he's in trouble. ;)

Gabe is flying away as well. What a scary, scary thought!

We ended our exploration of the helicopter by getting all the kids together to take a few pictures in front of it. It was such fun being able to explore the helicopter. What a fun idea for the opening day of baseball season.

Happy April Fools Day!!

2011-04-01T08:22:00.004-04:00

I've had some fun with cupcakes once again. And this time it's for April Fools Day fun. This is another idea from Hello , Cupcake!

They are super cute but very time consuming. If I ever do these again it will be over several days and not in one evening like last night. Both Gabe and Abby will be taking these to school for April Fools Day fun. I originally thought of these because Gabe's teacher has a movie theme in her classroom. They have popcorn, movies and P.J. Parties several times a year for reaching certain class goals. Anyway, time for the cupcakes.

Here are your instructions. These are really very easy but very time consuming. You will need both white and yellow mini marshmallows. To get the yellow you will need to purchase a bag of the fruit flavored marshmallows and separate the yellows from the other colors. I plan on adding the others to some GORP later this week. After you have your marshmallows you will need to cut about 250 of both colors into thirds. You will end up with 125 of each when you are done.

You will begin to arrange your marshmallows onto a piece of wax paper into clover leafs like the picture above.

Once you have your clovers arranged you will then need to apply another whole marshmallow on top. Take a ziploc bag and put some white icing into one corner. Snip the corner. Put a small dot of icing onto whole marshmallow and then stick it to your clover. Let dry.

Once your popcorn pieces are dry you will need to start icing your mini cupcakes with white icing. Once iced you will begin sticking on your popcorn pieces. You will need to let these dry for at least 30 minutes before stacking them into your popcorn boxes or a bowl.

Here's a close up of the POPCORN.

Wordless Wednesday-Tangled Up

2011-03-30T06:56:00.001-04:00

Elizabeth's First T-ball Game

2011-03-29T23:11:00.006-04:00

Monday night Elizabeth had her first T-ball game. She had so much fun! At least as much fun as a 4 year old could have. It was a very interesting game. Matt likened the game to herding a bunch of cats, but at least they had fun.

The CUBS bench.

Elizabeth waving HI to Matt and I.

Elizabeth ready to catch the ball if it makes it to her.

Go Batter, Batter!! Hit that ball out of the park!!

Run HOME, Run HOME!!

Spring Break Atlanta- Part 4

2011-03-29T21:38:00.011-04:00

For the last part of our trip we headed to the Georgia Aquarium. I was disappointed to find out we were a week too early to be able to see the dolphins but we had fun seeing everything else anyway. And now we have an excuse to use the Annual Pass we ended up purchasing. We started our tour out with a 3D movie, a first for the kids. Matt and I enjoyed the kids' reactions more than the movie. It was fun hearing their laughter as we were squirted with water or had bubbles land on them. We also enjoyed watching them as they tried to catch the fish that were swimming towards them. After the movie we headed downstairs to enjoy the exhibits. Note to anyone going to the Aquarium, don't go on the weekend! It was crowded!!

Hands on activities are so much fun for the kids. The kids loved trying to feel the sharks and sting rays. They said they felt slimy.

Next to the whale shark this was one of Gabe's favorite fish.

I love this picture of Elizabeth. You can't see the fish she's watching but she was enjoying watching them.

Just look at the look of wonder on her face!

Thinking Gabe.

The moving sidewalk and a tunnel full of fish kept the kids enthralled. They loved find all the fish on the cards.

Whale Shark - Gabe's favorite!

Watching all the fish in the big tank. The Georgia Aquarium is home to the largest aquarium tank.

Beluga Whales- Next to Dolphins these are my favorite.

These next two pictures are my favorites. Just look at all those colors. Just beautiful and majestic.

When we left the aquarium it was past lunch time, so we headed to the Varsity for some lunch. Every time I have mentioned being in Atlanta I have been told I needed to eat at The Varsity. I have seen it many times from the interstate but had never eaten there before. So we ended up at the Varsity for lunch. It was much bigger than it looked from the interstate and a very, very busy place. I don't think I want to eat there again but at least I can say I have now. Here are a few pictures from our visit.

Dont' you just love, love, love my hat?

The last thing we did was head to IKEA. I had been there once before but on that trip I couldn't really appreciate it since I was flying back to Indiana at the time. I went hoping to find a baby doll for the girls AG dolls but completely forgot all about them with everything else to look to see. I could have spent hours in that place but Matt on the other hand was ready to leave as soon as he saw that parking garage. He even started posting for people to help him on FB. That is until my sister-in-law told him he didn't want her type help. So after a fairly quick walk through we left. But my plans are to go back as soon as I am able. So, if anyone wants to join me just let me know and we will set a date.

Well, that's it. That our Spring Break fun. I hope I didn't bore you with all our spring break fun but thanks for stopping by and at least taking the time to look at the pictures. See you again soon.

Spring Break Atlanta- Part 3 Centennial Park

2011-03-27T21:52:00.009-04:00

I can't believe that it's taken this long... But almost 15 years ago Matt asked me to marry him. Unfortunately, Matt romantic way to ask me to marry him did not happen. You see, he had purchased a brick in The Olympic Centennial Park in Atlanta with his sister's help. The brick said "CMS Marry Me? I Love you! MEC". His plan had been to take me to Centennial Park and just happen upon the brick. But unfortunately or fortunately the park was closed for construction. He went ahead and asked me that weekend as planned but we never saw the brick. So part of our plan for our visit to Atlanta was to find our brick in Centennial Park.

We looked.....

And looked...

And looked some more until.....

Matt finally found what we spent half an hour searching for, our brick. It does exist!!

We posed for a few pictures with our brick.

And then had the kids pose for a few as well. After all they are the result of us getting engaged and then married!

It was such a great moment for both Matt and I. I think the kids also enjoyed hearing the story of our brick and of us getting engaged. It was so much fun being able to share everything with them.

Spring Break Atlanta- Part 2 Zoo Atlanta

2011-03-27T06:56:00.008-04:00

On Friday we went to Zoo Atlanta. This was Gabe's birthday choice along with the Aquarium. And it was Elizabeth's first trip to the Zoo that she actually remembers. Everyone had their favorite animals that they were wanting to see. It was a beautiful day for the Zoo. It was sunny, though a little cool to start out but by mid-morning the kids were beginning to shed their jackets. The girls also insisted that their dolls needed to join us, especially since they were all matching.

Matt and the kids watching the Flamingos as they were being feed by a Zoo keeper. I find it fascinating that they are pink because of the food they eat. But boy did it stink over there!

Meerkats are one of Matt's favorite animals to see at the Zoo. He liked the exhibit at the Knoxville Zoo better because they seemed to have more room to roam. It bothered him that they had such a small amount of space especially since in the wild they roam and burrow such great distances. But they are really cool to watch. And this one was very cooperative in letting me get his picture.

Elizabeth enjoyed a little dancing with her shadow. This kept her entertained while the Gabe would read all the information about the animals on the info. cards.

My nest is certainly full!!

I loved watching this little guy and could feel for his Momma. This little one was wanting to take off but Momma was not having any of that! She kept a firm grip on her little one.

My little Monkeys all together.

I just had to put this big bird on here. He made me laugh showing off like this. Unfortunately, I can't tell you what this big guy is called because I just can't remember. But look at him. Doesn't he make you want to laugh!?!

Abby and Elizabeth agreed that the elephant was one of their favorite animal at the zoo. While we were watching the zoo keepers threw down this barrel that has food in it. This was like a call to the elephant and he came running. He was crushing and rolling this barrel in order to get the food out of it. It was so much fun to watch.

This little guy is a Red Panda and it too was one of Matt's favorites. He was very intent on eating the bamboo so wasn't very cooperative with having his picture taken.

This big guy was the animal that Gabriel was looking forward to seeing. We were very disappointed that on our first trip through his section he wasn't out. But lucky for us when we walked back through he was there after all. Gabe was so excited to be able to see his most favorite animal.

I almost missed seeing this big guy. He is my favorite animal I saw at the zoo. Isn't he just the coolest?

I also enjoyed seeing the Giant Pandas. This big guy was showing off by roaming everywhere in his enclosure. He never stopped moving the whole time we were watching. He was really cool to watch.

The kids enjoyed sitting with these really cool and real looking statues for me to get a couple of group pictures. I'm so glad they turned out so great!

Spring Break Atlanta- Part 1

2011-03-25T16:45:00.011-04:00

On Thursday of our Spring Break we took Abby and Elizabeth to the American Girl Doll Store in Atlanta. The girls had so much fun picking out the stuff they wanted for their dolls. Abby had gotten several gift cards to American Girl that she was dying to spend. She had been picking things out of the catalog for weeks and couldn't wait to find everything on her list. But first the girls posed for us with Kanani in her shaved ice stand.

Mimi (my mother) came with us to help us celebrate Abby's birthday and to purchase her birthday present. This is the C-U-T-E dress that she and Abby choose. She also got the matching dress for her AG doll. Which ever one she chooses to put it on that is.
After trying on some dresses it's off to the hair salon for the girls' dolls. Kit and Becky, one of Elizabeth's twins, got new doos and ribbons for their hair.

Abby posing with Kit. Kit now has both a new dress to go with her new do. And the ladies in AG found out we were celebrating Abby's birthday so she got a cool sticker to wear. Just look at that smile on her face. She is having so much fun!!

We had a reservation in the Bistro for tea at 3:00 so we headed off to enjoy our tea and treats. The girls thought it was so much fun to sit in the Bistro and eat treats with the dolls names attached to them.

Here's Abby asking some of the conversation starters that were on the table. They were a lot of fun and she enjoyed answering and listening to our answers.
Abby posing with Kit in the Bistro while we are waiting for our food. I loved the doll seats. I should have bought a couple of these for the girls. They love having the dolls at the table with them.

Abby posing with Kit. She was so excited to finally get the scooter that she had been eyeing in the catalog.

And finally the girls posing with all their purchases. Elizabeth had to get something too. She couldn't let her sister have all the fun. She got a new dress to match her Bitty Twins. Both girls couldn't wait to play with and wear their new purchases.

Crafty Friday- Bubble Gum Necklaces

2011-03-11T05:56:00.000-05:00

In trying to come up with ideas for Abby's birthday party I remembered coming across Bubble Gum necklaces somewhere out on the web. I'm so sorry I can't remember whose blog I came across this on. Anyway, I thought these were so cute I just had to try them out. Here is what you will need...

Bubble Gum balls (look at your party stores for specific colors, I found mine at Party City)
Skewer or Drill with Drill bit (sanitized of course)
Ribbon
tapestry needles (they don't have a sharp point so they are great for kids)
Lighter or fray stop

The blog I found this on said to use a skewer to poke holes into the gumballs. I tried this method and after sticking myself a couple dozen times my dear sweet husband told me I should be using a drill. So we got out his trusty drill and sanitized a drill bit and to work I went. This really saved my fingers! Thanks so much HONEY!!

Once you have holes in all of your Gumballs you can start threading them onto your ribbon using the needle to guide it through the holes. Start by tying a knot towards the end of your ribbon, but not at the end, you need enough to tie a bow once you have threaded all your gumballs. Thread on a gumball and move all the way down to the knot you tied towards the end. Then tie another knot next to the gumball. Tie another knot a little ways away from the first gumball and repeat the first steps.

Once you are finished threading on your gumballs tie a bow to close your necklace. And you are ready to wear your gumball necklace.

Happy Wearing or Chewing!!

Wordless Wednesday- Dressed Up Ladies??

2011-03-09T05:46:00.000-05:00

Tasty Tuesday- Butterfly Cupcakes

2011-03-08T16:42:00.007-05:00

I had such fun last week making cupcakes for Abby's birthday. I ended up making two different batches of cupcakes for her, one for her class to enjoy on Friday and one batch for her tea party on Saturday. I will post the ones from Friday later but here are the instructions for the butterfly cupcakes from Abby's party.

I got the idea for these cute cupcakes from the book Hello, Cupcake! by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson. If you haven't looked at this book you need to. And don't be intimidated by these cupcakes. They are actually really easy to make. I have never taken any cake decorating classes so this is all fairly new to me. Anywhoo, here is what you will need.

Cupcakes
2 colors of candy melts of your choosing (I used pink and dark chocolate)
dark chocolate frosting
1 can of icing (color of your choice, this will be your background)
brown M&M's
sprinkles (I used clear glitter sprinkles)
Ziploc bags
Wax paper
round toothpicks or skewers

1. You will need an outline of your butterfly. I traced the one in the book using tracing paper. I then melted the candy melts according to the directions on the back of the package. I bought Wilton's candy bottles and used these. Though I would not do this again. The bottles both got cracks in them making them very hard to use. Instead you can use ziploc bags. You can melt the candy right inside the bags. You will need to leave the top open and microwave for 10 seconds, massage and repeat until all the candy has melted. You will then press out any excess air and seal the bag.

2. Snip a very small amount from the corner of the bag. You will then need to outline one wing onto wax paper. Go over the outline once or twice more to thicken the wing.

Once you are finished with the outline you will fill in the wing with your second color. You can fill in any holes by using a toothpick or skewer. You can also try tapping the pan slightly but this almost never worked for me. You will also need to make antennas for each of your butterflies. To do this you will make a bunch of curvy capital y's.
Next you will need to start pulling the dark chocolate into the other color. Have fun with this part. Pretty much anything goes. It is very important to only do on wing at a time because the chocolate starts to set up pretty quickly and then this part is almost impossible to get right. You will then sprinkle with nonpareils or sugar glitter and put into the fridge.
3. Once your butterflies are fully set up you can start putting them together. Ice your cupcakes in the color of your choice. Put two M&M's side by side with a small space between...your wings will be sitting on the M&M's.
Carefully remove your wings from the wax paper and place them resting on the M&M's side by side. Next you will stick the antenna into the top of the cupcakes.
4. Fill a ziploc bag with the chocolate frosting. Cut a small corner and pipe the frosting to form the body of the butterfly.
And there you have a beautiful butterfly cupcake that you made all by yourself. Now wasn't that easy!?!

Happy Baking!!!

Happy 7th Birthday, Abby!!!

2011-03-05T16:42:00.014-05:00

Today Abby turned seven years old. I really wish that time would slow down so that I could enjoy moments with her like the ones today. She chose to have a very small party this year with just a couple of friends and then to visit the American Girl doll store in Atlanta in a couple of months. Her theme for her small party was a tea party and in Carmom style this is what we did to celebrate...
The party guests were treated to tea and pink lemonade along with tea cookies, fruit and cheese, finger sandwiches and cupcakes. They had a blast having tea and were such polite ladies during their tea luncheon. But before starting their tea they had Bubble Gum necklaces to make. And yes, they are really made out of real gum balls.

After the Bubble Gum necklaces the girls had hats to make. What is a tea party guest without a hat full of flowers to wear on her head.

The girls posing for a picture before sitting down to enjoy their tea.

Abby's little butterfly cupcakes were almost too small for all those candles. It made it almost look like she was turning 70 instead of 7. But she blew out all those candles and then the girls enjoyed their cupcakes.

Aunt Kim came up from Chattanooga to help celebrate Abby's birthday. It was so great that Abby's cousin could come as well. The girls had a great time together. Thank you so much Aunt Kim, you are A-W-E-S-O-M-E!!!

Tasty Tuesday- The Cat In The Hat

2011-03-01T21:20:00.007-05:00

Dr. Seuss' birthday is tomorrow. And with that in mind I thought it would be fun to make some Dr. Seuss themed treats. Green Eggs and Ham is old school everyone does that so instead we are having Cat in the Hat themed treats. Oh, and by the way these are so easy to make too! I got a little carried away making them, so had enough extras to send to all the kids classrooms and some to Matt's work. Here's a picture of what we will be making.

Aren't they just so cute!?!

Here's a quick run down of everything you will need. Either parchment paper or wax paper, red candy melts (I used Wilton), regular marshmallows, skewer, lollipop sticks, bags and twist ties.

Start by melting the melt per instructions. Then dip one third of the marshmallow into the melted candy and place onto wax paper. Let harden.

This is what they will look like when you have finish dipping the first third.

Once dry you will turn them over and dip the other side into the candy melts, leaving a center white portion. Let these dry.

While these are drying you will need to roll out a brim for your hat. To do this cut a marshmallow in half. I found it was easier to use scissors to do this. Then you will use a rolling pin to flatten the marshmallow. Be sure to place the cut side down onto the parchment paper or your rolling pin will become messy very quickly.

After everything has dried and your brims are rolled out you are ready to assemble your hats. place the sticky side of the rolled marshmallow against the hat. Using a skewer poke a hole through the brim and into the hat. Pull skewer out and replace with lollipop stick. Then wrap in candy bag and close with a twist tie. Then you have your Cat In The Hat hat.

Enjoy your treats and remember....

"You're never too old, too wacky, too wild, to pick up a book and read to a child."
So sit back, enjoy your treats and a little of Dr. Seuss reading. I don't know about you but I still love reading his books and my kids do too.

Happy Cooking and Reading!!!

Abby says...

2011-02-19T20:48:00.001-05:00

Abby is speaking with her cousin Kaleb.

Abby
"Do you remember when you weren't so smart and said you wanted to marry me?"

Kaleb
"It wasn't that I wasn't smart, Abby."

Wordless Wednesday- Spring Is Teasing Us

2011-02-16T08:33:00.000-05:00

Tasty Tuesday- Sausage -Stuffed French Loaf

2011-02-15T08:38:00.003-05:00

This is another recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, Easy Weeknight Favorites. It's a hardy meal and every single person at the table ate it and said how good it was. Which surprised me with the kids. I wasn't sure how well it would go over with them. The recipe was much easier than I thought it would be. And surprisingly enough it was good as leftovers too. I just popped it in the oven to heat it up. Oh, and I ended up doubling the recipe. Anyway, here's the recipe.

Stuffed French Loaf

1 (16 ounce) loaf unsliced French bread
1/2 pound pork sausage
1/2 pound ground chuck
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 large clove garlic, crushed

Cut off ends of loaf; set ends aside. Hollow out center of loaf with a long serrated bread knife, leaving a 1/2 inch shell. Position knife blade in food processor bowl; add bread removed from inside loaf. Process to make coarse crumbs. Set bread shell and crumbs aside.

Cook sausage, beef, and onion in a large skillet over medium-high heat until meat is browned, stirring until it crumbles; drain. Add 1 cup of reserved breadcrumbs, cheese, and next 6 ingredients; stir well. Spoon meat mixture into shell; replace loaf ends, securing with wooden picks.

Melt butter in a saucepan. Add garlic; cook about 1 minute. Brush butter mixture over loaf. Wrap loaf in aluminum foil, leaving open slightly on top; place loaf on a baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until loaf is heated and cheese melts. Cut into 4 pieces. Yield: 4 servings.
Happy Cooking!!!

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T14:37:00.011-05:00

I love holidays! Holidays give me the opportunity to explore my creative side. And sometimes I am able to come up with fun stuff of my own and then in other cases get and expand on the ideas of others. I love to try and make special meals to go along with the holiday we are celebrating. For this year's special meal I made Sliders. Yeah, I know pretty ordinary but with some added flair they make a festive meal.

Here's another fun and fabulous treat with Valentine's Day written all over it. Chocolate Covered Strawberries! I made this batch of beauties for Abby's classroom Valentine's Party.

Unfortunately, Abby started running a fever again last night and was unable to attend her party. I went in and dropped off all her goodies and picked up her Valentines. Matt must have told her what I was doing because she met me at the door with a huge smile on her face. These must have made her feel better and loved by her class. I am so glad to see her smiling even though she has had a tough day of disappointment.

For the kids' teachers I made "Love Potion". It was an extremely simple idea that I got from Kalleen over At Second Street. The teachers loved their "Love Potion". I even heard through the grapevine that they were showing it off to their co-workers. They loved them!

And the last treat I made was a big batch of chocolate covered pretzels. I found some of the cutest XO sprinkles to sprinkle over the chocolate. I was going to have the kids help but when I realized that Abby was sick I figured I had better make them myself so that we don't spread the germs. Anyway, I think they turned our adorable. And the kids we proud to hand them out along with their Valentine's Day cards.
I hope you have an awesome day celebrating with those that you love. Thank you so much for stopping by.

Wordless Wednesday- Taking Flight

2011-02-09T18:44:00.000-05:00

Snow...Really??

2011-02-09T17:28:00.004-05:00

Today upon dropping the kids off at school I found out that school would be closing at 1:15. That would be 2 hours early for us. At that time there was no snow on the ground or fall for that matter. At 1:15 the same. Even now we have no snow falling and no snow on the ground. It is currently 4:30. Here is a picture of the radar for our area....
If you notice the hole in the middle of the radar, that would be where we are. We are smack dab in the middle and so no snow for us. But for all those other areas they are a winter wonderland. Looking at all the pictures on the news it is a beautiful fluffy snow. I'll post another picture of the snow...if we get any. Oh, and by the way it is not unusual for us to have this hole in the center of the radar.

Tasty Tuesday- Baked Potato Soup

2011-02-08T13:07:00.005-05:00

This recipe is a Pampered Chef recipe that is oh, so good! It's a wonderful recipe for those cold winter nights. I often make grilled cheese or a salad to go along with this meal. Happy cooking!

4 medium baked potatoes
2 slices bacon
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup green onions with tops, thinly sliced
1 can (14.5 ounces) chicken broth
1 1/2 cups milk
1 garlic clove, pressed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup light sour cream
2 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (1/2 cup)

1. Remove skins from baked potatoes. Coarsely mash potatoes with potato masher.
2. Cook, bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan to paper towel, crumble and set aside. Discard all but 1/2 teaspoon drippings in pan.
3. Meanwhile, chop celery. Add chicken broth, milk, mashed potatoes, celery, onions, garlic, salt and pepper to drippings in pan. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer 10 minutes.
4. Stir in sour cream and reserved bacon. Ladle soup into bowls and top with shredded cheese.

Optional toppings: sour cream, green onions and bacon crumbles.

Super Bowl Quote

2011-02-06T14:51:00.000-05:00

Last night we let the kids stay up to watch the first half of the Super Bowl. Lucky, for Gabe it started at 5:00pm here so it didn't mess with his bedtime at all. But I do regress. While watching there was a GLEE commercial. Gabe was watching and the two cheerleaders put their fingers on their foreheads in the shape of an "L". Gabe looks at his dad and asks, "Why did they put a right angle on their foreheads?"

Matt and I both started laughing.

I Heart Faces Weekly Challenge- People's Choice

2011-01-31T09:30:00.004-05:00

I Heart Faces is a website devoted to photographers of any level. They encourage you to take pictures and improve what you are already doing and loving...taking pictures. Every week they host a photo contest with a theme. This week is People's Choice. Here is my entry...

I love this picture. This one was taken this past summer in the Smoky Mountains. We happened upon a bunch of butterflies. My oldest daughter was able to hold the butterflies immediately while my youngest was not. She tried for over an hour to hold one when an all of the sudden she did. This was the look on her face. And to me it is priceless because of her perseverance and the pure joy and excitement you can see.

Snowmageddon January 2011

2011-01-13T09:53:00.009-05:00

We've been out of school since Sunday. We found out Sunday night that we would not be having school on Monday. Monday morning we woke up to 5 inches of snow on the ground. It was an awesome snowfall for a Tennessee winter. The kids were so excited to see all that snow on the ground and being able to play in it was that much better.

Elizabeth had a whole lot of fun walking through the snow covered trees. Just look at that grin on her face.

Abby had a lot of fun sledding down the hill. I loved seeing the look of pure joy on her face.

Gabe had an awesome time sledding with a neighborhood friend.

Matt, Abby and I made a snowman together.

Elizabeth and Abby enjoyed helping Daddy shovel off the driveway. I was counting my lucky stars that we had lived in Indiana where it snows. We had the snow shovel and sleds that most people down here don't have. It was nice having everything and not having to search the stores for the few items they do stock. If only more places carried the snow pants and bibs.

Abby and Elizabeth were willing to pose for a few pictures for their Mama.

We've had fun in the snow. But at this point the kids and I are going a little stir crazy. We are going on our 4th snow day and I think we are all ready for school to start back. I wouldn't mind another snow storm this winter but I am ready for this one to be one of the past.

Happy Birthday Matt!!

2011-01-07T12:36:00.005-05:00

I will probably be in the dog house for posting this one!

Matt's birthday was New Year's Eve and in our house we never let a birthday go by without a little bit of a celebration. And Matt's birthday was no different. We celebrated with our traditional birthday pancakes, presents and cake. We also invited some friends over to help us celebrate his birthday and ring in the New Year. We had a great day and Matt was such a good sport. I hope you enjoy these though I may get in trouble too.

November and December News

2010-12-29T11:01:00.013-05:00

It's been a long while since I have posted anything. And this is certainly not due to us not doing anything or having anything to talk about. I have been busy with preparations for holidays, birthdays, and everyday occurrences. So here is a quick review of our happenings.

Thanksgiving

We celebrated Thanksgiving twice at our house this year. We celebrated with both families. The first celebration was on Thanksgiving with my family. My sister's family was on their way back from St. Louis and dropped by while, my brother's family and parents drove in from Chattanooga. We has a lot of fun visiting with each other and of course eating a lot. Our second celebration was the following Saturday with Matt's family. We had hoped that whole family would be able to join us but between car trouble and a wedding not everyone could come. But those who were able to make it had a great time visiting and eating more delicious food than we could consume. I was so thankful that everyone who was able to join us could and hope that next year we can have everyone here to celebrate with us.

Lost Teeth

Abby lost both of her top front teeth right before Christmas. She actually lost them within a week of each other. I knew they were really close and that she would lose them before Christmas. I had even started teasing her that she would be able to sing All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth. She sang it beautifully too!

Christmas Part I and Elizabeth's 4th Birthday

Because of the various travel and work schedules of our respective families we decided that it would be best to celebrate Christmas with my family the weekend before Christmas. This allowed us to spend the weekend with all the cousins, aunts and uncles. We all had a wonderful time visiting, making the annual birthday train, opening presents and of course eating.

We also celebrated Elizabeth's 4th birthday while we were in Chattanooga. She had a great day surrounded by family and being the center of attention. We did our traditional celebrations of decorating the kitchen, having birthday pancakes, opening presents, birthday cake and singing Happy Birthday. It was a wonderful day and all the kids had fun spending time with each other.

Christmas Part II
We decided to celebrate Christmas at home this year so that the kids could wake up in their own beds on Christmas morning. It also allowed us to be able to start some of our own traditions as well. We had a fantastic Christmas Eve and Morning. We made cookies for Santa, tried to put together a Gingerbread house, Gabriel, Abby and I read the Christmas Story from the bible, then I read The Crippled Lamb, one of my favorite stories, opened one present, left reindeer food outside so that Santa could find us, left carrots, milk and cookies for Santa and his reindeer, and then headed off to bed. After the kids were in bed Matt and I finished up some last minute wrapping and then headed off to bed ourselves. Christmas morning was spent going through stockings, opening presents, and having a leisurely breakfast together. Once everyone agreed we packed ourselves into the car and headed to Knoxville for our third Christmas.

Christmas Part III

Once the kids were ready to leave some of their presents behind, we packed up the car and headed to Knoxville to celebrate with Matt's family. We had an awesome time visiting with the family, playing with cousins, opening presents, playing in the snow and of course eating.

I hope that your Christmas was full of the wonder of the season and that you have a New Year better and more hopeful than the last. God Bless!

What's Up???

2010-11-11T16:36:00.002-05:00

Last weekend we went to Chattanooga to visit with my mom and my sister's family. Friday night Elizabeth was sick. Poor mom was thrown up on and poor Elizabeth was not feeling well. By Sunday I either had the same bug or was just feeling really poorly from lack of sleep, I never did throw up. I thought the other two kids had avoided the bug but Gabe came down with it Tuesday night. He has been home the last two days. I am ready for him to go back to school. He is currently working on the work he has missed this week and is so distracted that he is driving me nuts. Right now I can't wait until Matt gets home just so I can go to the grocery store without the kids. I need some time away.

My mom called today and said the doctor told her it would be at least another month before she could start putting weight on her leg. She is not happy with that news. She is so ready to be up and running that it is painful for her and everyone else. I can understand her frustration at not being able to do everything she wants to do.

On a brighter note... Matt won tickets to the Nashville Predators game against the Chicago Blackhawks for this Saturday night. He is taking me and as long as everyone stays well. We have a babysitter all lined up and everything. I think this is only the third date we have had since moving to Tennessee. We are so looking forward to it.

I've also been doing a little fall cleaning by going through the kids closets and culling out toys and clothes that either no longer are played with or don't fit or are the wrong season. It has made me feel a little better to see things a little more organized in the kids closets as well as ours. Now maybe we can all find our stuff.

Well, there's the update on everything. I need to go crack a whip and get Gabe going again on his homework. Take care.

Tasty Tuesday- Mr. Bones Jangles

2010-11-02T15:31:00.004-04:00

Have you seen those really neat cupcake books yet? You know, the books that tell you that you can make absolutely cute cupcakes that look impossible to make? The books are titled Hello, Cupcake! and What's New, Cupcake? both by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson. Well, I bought both books because I thought the cupcakes were so cute and that I might try my hand at making a couple of them. And so for Halloween I made the Mr. Bones Jangle cupcakes. I decorated my pan a little differently than the authors did, but I think they turn out great! And with no further ado.....

Mr. Bones Jangle

It's not a recipe but it does fit with the "Tasty" part of Tasty Tuesday. I hope you enjoy. I am also planning on making one of the recipes in the cupcake books for Elizabeth's birthday. I just haven't decided which one yet? I don't think that Elizabeth has been able to decide on one either.

Halloween Part Two- Sunday Edition

2010-11-01T20:19:00.012-04:00

Happy Halloween from The Ramblings of Carmom!!!! Hope your Halloween was a Happy and Safe one.

The Palmer's joined us to watch the Titans football game and then went trick or treating with us. The kids loved having the extra company. We were even joined by a couple of neighbors as we tricked and got treated at each house.
Xander ready to fly to the rescue if needed. Don't you just want to pinch those cheeks and nuzzle with this little one!?!
Elizabeth and RJ had a hard time keeping up with the bigger kids. I think they enjoyed walking around the neighborhood as much as they enjoyed getting candy. If you look really hard you can see Gabe in the lead. He was all about hitting as many houses as he could and as fast as he could.

The Haul

Xander checking out Abby's candy and even trying to get a taste!
Gabe was pretty happy with what he brought home. He had a lot of his favorites in his haul.
All Mine!!!

MMMMMMM Yummmmmm!

Halloween Part One-Saturday Edition

2010-10-30T21:20:00.002-04:00

We had a great Saturday watching football, spending time with friends and of course ~~Trick~~ Trunk or Treating. The kids loved the weekend and we felt like we partied all weekend long. I guess we did too! Here are a couple dozen pictures of our fabulously, freakishly, fun weekend.

The gang all dressed up and ready for some Trunk or Treating action. They were so excited to get going that all we got were candid shots but they turned out to be perfect.
Look at those cuties in their Princess and Witch costumes! And Gabe's football stance is pretty awesome as well. Don't you think he looks tough in that awesome football uniform!?! Go VOLS!!!
I LOVE this picture of the girls. They can be so sweet to each other sometimes and this is one of those moments!
We headed down to a local church who was doing a trunk or treat. It was great fun for the kids.

One of the cars had several games set up for the kids to play in order to get a piece of candy. Gabe loved trying to kick the ball through the uprights. I think he will need to work on his kicking if he has any desire to become a kicker though!
After we got home we worked on a craft while we were waiting for our dinner to cook. The kids had fun dressing up foam pumpkins and making scenes for them to frolic. Even us moms enjoyed this relaxing activity during a very busy and active day.

If you know me at all you know that if I am having a party there is going to be food, and lots of it. And if there is a theme I will find foods to go with it too, and this was no different. Here are a few things we enjoyed throughout the day.
Slime punch with a little dry ice added to the mix made for an awesome surprise for the kids. Both the kids and the adults loved watching it boil and smoke. We were memorized by the action in the cauldron.
We had a little eyeball action going on as well. Those eyes were watching your everywhere you went in the kitchen!
Bread stick bones and blood are always a hit in our household and this year was no different.
Matt called this a spider. I thought it looked like a cauldron on a fire. But whatever you think it looks like it was certainly a healthy and delicious choice. Though Matt missed the Hawaiian bread that I usually use as a bowl for my spinach dip.
If you visit me for Tasty Tuesday you will see the awesome dessert I made for our little Halloween and football party. It was awesome even if I do say so myself.

Big Brain Blank

2010-10-28T14:38:00.003-04:00

I am not usually flaky. Really I'm not. But lately I don't seem to have it all together. Here's the story...

I got a call earlier in the week, on Monday, asking if I could help with Abby's Halloween Party on Friday. I couldn't understand the phone numbers the other mom gave me so I emailed Abby's teacher that night. It so happened that she was not at school the following day so didn't get my email. I sent her a note and got the phone numbers from her on Wednesday and gave the other mom a call. Well, when we finally got in touch with each other this morning she asked if I could help out with the party, in the classroom, Friday morning. I said that yes I could. Then I go on with my day. While out shopping for cupcake decorations for Gabe's class it dawns on me that I have MOPS tomorrow morning. Which on any other day I would just skip but, tomorrow I am leading a craft for the MOPS meeting. So I get back on the phone with the other mom and explain my predicament and as gracefully as I could, back out of the party. I feel really bad about it too! I think I am going to have to find a better way to remember all the things I want and need to do so that I don't do this kind of thing again. I will also have another craft the following meeting as well. But just so everyone knows I'm not usually this way.

Fall is for Football and Homecoming

2010-10-24T17:44:00.028-04:00

We had an awesome weekend! We attended MTSU's Homecoming parade, tailgate and football game, well Gabe and Matt went to the game. After the game we had friends come over to watch a disappointing Tennessee vs. Alabama game but had fun hanging out anyway.

All of the Alums were glad to get to catch up with one another and just hang out. It was amazing seeing all the kids that everyone now has. The MTSU campus has changed so much since we were in school. The biggest change, besides the campus itself, is the tailgating. When we were in school no one tailgated. Now it seems like everyone does. The whole campus around Peck Hall was alive with tents, people, food and games. It is my understanding that it's not just because of Homecoming either, it's for every game. We did so much yesterday that by the time we left we were all ready for a nap. Here are some pictures of what we did yesterday.

The kids had a great time watching the parade. Of course they loved getting all the candy. We met up with the Palmers to watch the parade and hang out together. It was fun hanging with them and the kids love playing with RJ and Xander.

The kids waiting for the parade. They were so anxious for it to start. Notice Elizabeth's feet. She has no shoes and came without any. We didn't know until we got to campus. Lucky for us and her it was a beautiful, warm fall day.

Here are the kids grabbing the candy. Gabe would run to the middle and get all the candy that the other kids wouldn't because it was to far out. Lucky for us and for him he would wait for a lull and was never slow about getting it!!

The MTSU marching band. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the band. It brings back so many memories of my high school days of playing in the marching band! So yes, if you didn't already know I was a band geek.

This is the Sig Ep float, Matt's fraternity. It looks pretty cool. They now team up in group of 4 or 5 sororities and fraternities. In our day, don't I sound so old, it was 1 sorority and 1 fraternity. The other big change was the groups that were walking the parade behind the float, we sure didn't do that!

Here is my sorority's and the First Place float winner, Chi Omega. I thought that all the float were creative and beautifully put together. I am so glad that I can just enjoy looking at the floats and I don't have to help put them together anymore.

Elizabeth was a little monkey on the net and did this over and over again. It would take her just seconds to get the the top and then slide down the slide. She really didn't want to leave when it was time.

Abby just loved her cotton candy. I don't think she realized how mess and sticky it was going to be, she pretty much buried her face in it!

Little Xander also getting to enjoy a little cotton candy. His daddy tried to blame it on Melissa who was holding him, but his mommy knew better!

Gabe was in seventh heaven when we spotted this game. It was laser tag if you haven't guessed. He did get out of the game but had a lot of fun while it lasted. At least he wasn't the first one out. We also found out that we could do this as a birthday party as well. It's something for us to think about.

Abby stood in line for this awesome balloon F-O-R-E-V-E-R! She knew exactly what she wanted and this was it. The balloon guy was awesome. I would love to know who he is so that we have his name for a potential party idea!

This guy was awesome as well. Abby wouldn't walk up to him but the little ones sure did. They posed for a picture and then the "statue" did too! We also got this right before we walked away. It made Elizabeth's day!!

And it wouldn't be Homecoming without a little football. Gabe enjoyed tossing the ball around with RJ and Mr. Rob. It kept them busy for a very long time.

This was my favorite picture of the entire day! Elizabeth and Daddy giving each other some hugs. I hope that you had a great weekend too!!

Friday's We Fixed It- Deck

2010-10-22T07:47:00.010-04:00

When we moved into our house last year the deck needed a little attention. We had a lot of settling in to do. Because winter was approaching and we opted for a quick fix of sanding some of the rougher areas and then applying a clear stain, knowing that we would have to do something else this year. Well, this year is here and we worked on the deck once more. Anyhoo, here's our semi-before picture. Matt and I have already stained the railing.

It took us three weekends to finish up this project. We pressure washed the deck, sanded the deck and then began the staining of the deck. Matt's arms were sore the first weekend from holding up the wand to pressure wash. The following weekend it was my turn. I sanded for two days and my hands were numb from the vibrations of the sander. They still go numb several weeks later if I hit it just right. Last weekend we actually got down to the business of applying the stain. As always that first splash of color frightened me a little, probably because it was so different from the bare wood look. But we think it turned out looking pretty fantastic even if we do say so ourselves! SO with no further ado....

I also added a splash of color to the window boxes Matt and I installed on the sides of the deck. I just love pansies. They have such beautiful faces.
What is even better is that there are no more splinters getting into the kids feet!!! So, with that and the cooler fall weather the kids are beginning to enjoying the deck more as well. They have even started taking their homework and books out to the deck to work on.

So that's how we spent the last month of weekends. Now onto the next project....

Thanks Tank Thursday-Fall

2010-10-21T08:08:00.007-04:00

Every Autumn I look around at the beauty of this world we live on and that God created for us. I see all the changes that are taking place in preparation for the long cold winter. The leaves are changing and falling, the birds are flying south, animals are squirreling away their food, Mums, Pansies and pumpkins can be seen everywhere and the weather is getting cooler. We are spending more time outside than we have been during the hot weather of summer. The kids are enjoying being able to sit on the deck to read and do their homework. They are also looking forward to the holidays, talk has turned to what to be for Halloween, what we are eating and who is coming for Thanksgiving and the joys and celebrations of Christmas. We are also enjoying football season, especially Gabe and Matt who seem to be glued to the t.v. on Saturdays and Sundays. This weekend we will be attending MTSU's Homecoming festivities. The kids had a blast watching the parade, playing with the other kids and enjoying the activities that MTSU provided. These simple but pleasant changes and happenings are what I am thankful for this week. I hope that you are able to enjoy all that fall has to offer.

Wordless Wednesday- Stop Playing with Your Food

2010-10-19T14:49:00.001-04:00

Who does this look like to you?

Tasty Tuesday- Stuffed Acorn Squash

2010-10-19T11:29:00.003-04:00

I discovered this recipe in the February issue of Good Housekeeping. I pulled it out of the magazine in July when cleaning out the magazine rack and thought it looked good. On Sunday night I finally made it. The kids looked at it like it was from a foreign planet but once they actually took a bite they cleaned their plates. They didn't clean out the acorn squash like Matt and I did but I was glad they actually ate and liked it. I thought that the acorn squash tasted a lot like a sweet potato, so I can understand why a lot of recipes with acorn squash involve cinnamon. Anywhoo, here's the recipe. I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients

* 2 (1 1/2 pounds each) acorn squash, each cut in half and seeded
* 1 teaspoon(s) olive oil
* 2 ounce(s) pancetta, finely chopped
* 1 small (4 to 6 ounces) onion, finely chopped
* 2 large stalks celery, finely chopped
* 1/8 teaspoon(s) crushed red pepper
* Salt
* Pepper
* 1 1/2 cup(s) cooked white kidney (cannellini) beans, or 1 can (15 ounces) low-sodium white kidney (cannellini) beans
* 1/4 cup(s) water
* 1 package(s) (7.4 ounces) heat-and-serve precooked wild rice, do not heat
* 4 teaspoon(s) (pignoli) pine nuts
* 1/2 cup(s) packed fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 15 1/2-inch by 10 1/2-inch jelly-roll pan with foil. On large microwave-safe plate, arrange squash halves in single layer, cut sides down. Microwave on High 9 to 11 minutes or until knife pierces flesh easily.
2. Meanwhile, in 12-inch skillet, heat oil on medium-high until hot. Add pancetta and cook 3 to 4 minutes or until browned and crisp, stirring frequently. With slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain; do not remove skillet from heat. To drippings in skillet, add onion, celery, crushed red pepper, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Cook 4 to 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender and golden brown, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. In small bowl, mash 1/4 cup beans with water. Into vegetables in skillet, stir rice, mashed beans, whole beans, pancetta, 2 teaspoons pine nuts, and half of basil.
3. On prepared jelly-roll pan, arrange squash halves in single layer, cut side up. Divide bean mixture among squash cavities, pressing firmly into cavities and mounding on top. Cover pan with foil. Bake 15 minutes. Uncover and bake 5 to 7 minutes longer or until squash and vegetables are golden on top. Garnish with remaining pine nuts and basil.

Tips: When picking out an acorn squash you want one that seems heavy for it's size, it should be dark green in color with orange not yellow, this is the part that touched the ground, the skin will also be hard. You do not want one that is soft!

Also in order to get a clean cut for this recipe...pierce the skin with a fork and microwave a few minutes before attempting to cut. Matt and I made a huge mess trying to get the suckers cut in half without that little tip! Wish I had thought to take a picture!

In Memory of...

2010-09-26T22:30:00.005-04:00

William "Bill" Flavil Steele

On Saturday morning my uncle died completely unexpectedly, he was 67. He died from a blood clot after surgery to his shoulder. I am writing this in memory of my uncle. He was a man who had a heart of gold. He was a loving, kind and generous man. He seemed to always have a laugh or a smile to share with you. He was a loving husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, cousin and friend. He was also a fisherman. He loved being out on the lake with his fishing pole and a friend. Uncle Bill was my father's best friend and fishing buddy. They talked almost every week. My dad is missing his brother dearly. Uncle Bill loved my kids and they him. He would always ask how they were and when he was going to get to see them again whenever I spoke with him. My kids loved going to see Uncle Bill and Aunt Myrna. They would often ask if we were going to go to see them whenever we were in town visiting with my parents. They loved Uncle Bill and Aunt Myrna. Uncle Bill will be missed dearly by his wife, his children, grandchildren, brothers and sisters, nieces, nephews and friends. We love you Uncle Bill and would like to picture you on a lake with Granny and Papa who both shared your love of fishing.

These pictures were from Labor Day weekend. Uncle Bill went for a boat ride with us and helped the kids to catch a couple of fish. It was a great day!

We love you! Have fun fishing!

Thanks Tank Thursday

2010-09-16T11:28:00.004-04:00

I am thankful. I am thankful for...

* My husband who cleared his schedule so that I could go stay with my mom while she was in the hospital. He did this without me asking him to, just did it on his own. I am so thankful that he was so kind a considerate to do this.

* I am thankful that my mom is home from the hospital and is doing well. She seems in good spirits. I am so thankful that she is such a strong and positive woman.

* I am thankful for my children with their love and laughter.

* I am thankful for the cooler weather that we are getting, even if it is just in the evenings. I love the cooler weather.

* I am thankful for my sewing classes. I have begun to sew more lately and it's due to being able to take more sewing classes. It's so much fun getting back into them. I am even smocking dresses for the girls for Christmas.

* I am thankful for cooking. Today I have been making Banana Bread and am hoping to make some apple pies today as well. I love being able to cook special treats and love the smell of cooking bread.

* I am thankful for music. Nothing makes my day brighter than some good music whether it's from my I-Pod or from the radio.

* I am thankful for exercise. Nothing makes me feel better than so exercise. I love the Active for Wii.

* I am thankful for coffee. I look forward to my cup(s) every morning.

This is such a good practice for me. It makes me focus on the many positive things that are happening in my life. I hope that you take the time to be reflective of the many blessings you have. Take care.

Wordless Wednesday- Daddy's (Youngest) Little Girl

2010-09-15T07:54:00.001-04:00

Tasty Tuesday- Ham and Potato Casserole

2010-09-13T19:00:00.003-04:00

This is a recipe that Matt requests for me to make often. The kids usually get excited about this meal as well. In fact when the girls came down to help empty the dishwasher and saw this sitting in the casserole dish waiting to go into the oven they both said, "Yummy! My favorite!" And any recipe I can get that reaction from is a winner in my book. We generally have leftovers so we can eat it two nights which makes things easier on me. And the leftovers are pretty good too. I almost think with this recipe it's better the second time around. I generally serve this with a salad and some fruit fro dessert. Tonight we are having Cantalope, which is one of Matt's favorite fruits. Though I can't stand the taste or the smell.

Ham and Potato Casserole

Prep: 10 minutes Cook: 30 minutes

1 (26 ounce) package frozen shredded potatoes
1 (1 pound) ham slice, cut into bite-sized pieces (2 1/2 cups)
1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of potato soup, undiluted
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
Paprika

Combine first 4 ingredients; spoon mixture into a lightly greased 13 X 9 X 2 inch baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 25 minutes; sprinkle with cheeses and paprika. Bake 5 more minutes or until thoroughly heated. Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

* You can use just about and canned "cream of" soup in this versatile casserole.

* I usually buy the cubed ham in the deli section at the grocery store. This saves me a little time in making this meal. I also usually use all 30 ounces of potatoes in the bag. I haven't been able to find a 26 ounces bag of potatoes.

Thanks Tank Thursday

2010-09-09T08:29:00.004-04:00

Right now I am finding a lot to be thankful for...

You see, lately, I have been having a lot of doctor appointments. The doctors are trying to figure out why I would still be producing breast milk three years after I stopped breast feeding Elizabeth. My GYN is as puzzled as I am. Last week I even had a clogged milk duct that we were worried would become mastitis. This week I have had a mammogram and ultra sound performed on my breasts. Both have come back with no lumps, polyps, or cysts to worry about. The ultra sound did show prominent milk ducts but they were clear. I have an appointment with the Endocrinologist in February. They are now beginning to think that it might be hormonal or something. But as frustrating as all this is I am thankful that all the scans came back normal.

I am also finding a lot to pray for as well...

I would like to ask for prayers for my mother. She fell in one of the greenhouses this morning and hurt her hip. She was unable to put any weight on it and was in the greenhouse for a long time unable to move and get help. Someone finally found her and she was taken to the hospital by ambulance. I am still waiting to hear how she is. So please pray for her recovery.

I am thankful that I am able to ask for prayers. And I am thankful that God answers those prayers.

Update on my mom; Mom is home and seems to be doing well. Mom had four screws put into her hip and has a long recovery ahead of her. Because of where her break was she will be unable to put any weight onto her right leg for at least 6-8 weeks, though it could be longer. She will have a motorized wheel chair to get around more easily but will also be able to use a walker or crutches. I hope to visit with her again soon but was so glad that I could go down and stay with her for a while, while she was in the hospital, thanks to Matt!! Matt arranged his schedule so that I could be with her which I appreciate more than I can tell him. Thanks so much Honey!! I love you!

Leaping

2010-09-08T19:41:00.000-04:00

Happy Labor Day

2010-09-03T14:31:00.002-04:00

This weekend we are heading for Signal Mountain, Mimi's mountain if you ask my kids, to visit with my parents. The kids are looking forward to seeing their grandparents, cousins and aunts and uncles. It is so nice being so much closer to family. We can pick up the kids from school and be there in a couple of hours. It's great!

This weekend we are planning on riding and giving the horses a bath, playing at the creek, playing with Mimi's new dog Shadow and probably Googie's bird dog puppies as well and heading out on the pontoon boat for some fishing and swimming. We will have a fun packed long Labor Day weekend and one we can enjoy with our family. Next week will be a very busy one so I plan on having fun this weekend.

Oh, and I am looking forward to playing some cards in the evenings as well.

Have a Happy Labor Day Everyone!!!

Yes, I am Alive!!

2010-08-31T12:09:00.007-04:00

It's been a long time. Too long. It's been so long I have had friends Facebook me making sure I'm still alive and everything is okay. Really, I haven't been online much at all in the last month. Just quick checks to make sure there wasn't anything urgent I needed to take care of. I've been busy. Here's a snap shot of the last month.

* One more trip to the Smoky Mountains before school started with Matt's parents and his sister's family.

* School starting back with Abby in the 1st grade, Gabe in 3rd and Elizabeth going back to preschool.

* I'm Creative Activities Leader for MOPS again this year so I've been coming up with crafts and making name tags and center pieces.

* Getting together with friends to make pizzas and play cards. It was a great night for it too. It rained hard so it was a good time to be inside.

* Cleaning out the garage, again, but this time to make room for an awesome set of cubbies made by a great college friend.

* Working on some knitting for some special Christmas presents for some very special people.

* Homework and lots of it! Need I say more.

* Cleaning the house and yard work! Those speak for themselves
as well.

* Doctors appointments for almost everybody. At least they were just yearly check-ups. Matt had good and bad news today though. The good news he is still cancer free. Bad news is that his blood work came back showing his good cholesterol is to low and his bad is too high. His triglycerides were also high. So we will be changing around our diets to help avoid any problems on down the road. Mine came back with a vitamin D deficiency but everything else seems to be fine.

First Foray Into Couponing

2010-07-23T08:02:00.000-04:00

Both of my MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) groups have had speakers come to talk about couponing. Both how to do it and how much money you can save when using coupons. Both times I felt out of my league. It seemed to me that this couponing thing would take a lot of time to be successful. They were clipping coupons, making lists and then go to several stores. And in both saving money and lots of it. My thoughts on this were basically, "that's well and good but I don't want to spend all my time going from store to store. My time is more valuable than that."
It also seemed to , as did several other moms, that most of the really good deals were foods that were not all that healthy for you. Most of them were processed foods containing tons of fat and sodium. So I did what I have always done. I made my list and went to one store and if I remembered I brought some coupons.

But earlier this week I was watching the Today Show and they hit on a website that does all the work for you. You pretty much pick a store look at their list of sale items paired with coupons and get your coupons from your dated inserts and cut them out. It's that simple. I may not be ever be able to walk out of the store with the store paying me but I am saving a lot of money. The website I am talking about is www.couponmom.com. Go and check it out. They even have a video showing you how to use their website along with links to get more coupons. Just so you know this week I spent $148.00 and saved $117. I think that's pretty awesome for my first foray into couponing. And I think that Matt even enjoys hearing about how much I have saved. I know this because he will even ask me.

Enjoy your savings!!

Ollie Underfoot

2010-07-23T06:30:00.001-04:00

This is Ollie. His nickname from the time he was a kitten is Ollie Underfoot. Yes, you guessed it because he was always underfoot. He would lay down right at your feet and make you trip trying not to break him. We bottled raised this kitty after rescuing him from a farm in Knoxville. We loved him. He was our first, but we soon realized that he needed a friend since we were both working. We would come home and he wouldn't leave us alone. He would bite to get your attention for some petting. He was a great cat. Matt and I often commented how he was much more like a dog than a cat. When the doorbell would ring he would come see who was at the door. He would also come when he was called. He was also very social. When we moved here we were worried that his roaming and social habits would make someone mad. But talking to our neighbors it seems that everyone liked him. He was friends with our neighbors cats, liked to sit on another neighbor's front porch, while he sat on someone else's back porch. We also found out that our next door neighbors' grandkids would often let him into their house because they enjoyed him so much. Ollie was a great cat and Ollie has been missing for over a week now. We have gone to the local animal shelter, checked with the newspaper and craig's list to see if anyone has him and put up signs. I have even called several local vets offices to see if anyone has brought them a stray. All to no avail. At this point we are liking to think that someone else has picked him up thinking he was a stray. This is a much better thought than the alternative. So Ollie we just want you to know that we love and miss you. You were an awesome cat!!!

Thanks Tank Thursday- A/C and Ollie

2010-07-22T11:46:00.003-04:00

This week while dealing with annoying and painful issues I started thinking about what I have to be thankful for instead of dwelling on the negatives of each of these situations. It has brought me a little more peace to deal with the loss of both our a/c and of our beloved Ollie. I will do a main post of Ollie later. But here are my thoughts.

No A/C- This week our a/c has quit working once again. This is going to be the 6th time an a/c tech. has been to our house since May. While dealing with this I started thinking about how lucky I really am to have a nice home, food to eat, clothes to wear and a cozy bed to sleep in and also be able to afford a/c. I often take these comforts for granted. It could be a whole lot worse and for many people it is. So as I wait for the tech to return my call I am trying to remember that politness will recieve a better outcome. So as we cirrculate the air in our house with fans to stay cooler I will remember to be thankful. Oh, and it is suppose to be near 100 degrees today.

Ollie our cat is gone- Ollie went missing last week. We looked for him that first night but weren't really worried about him as he likes to hang out with the neighbors. The next day when he didn't come home we started asking around to see if anyone had seen him. No one has. While hope and praying for him to come home I am also being thankful that we were able to enjoy such a wonderful loving cat. Our hope is that he is safe wherever he is and that someone will see our signs and call us.

Have a great week!

Wordless Wednesday- Walking On Water

2010-07-21T06:18:00.000-04:00

Tasty Tuesday- Almost Vegetarian

2010-07-20T06:23:00.001-04:00

We had this recipe several weeks ago and last night. Matt and the kids loved it. I found the recipe in Good Housekeeping magazine under the heading of almost vegetarian recipes. I wasn't sure how much everyone would enjoy it the first time I made it but decided to try it anyway. This proved to be a delicious recipe that everyone asked for seconds of. Just a quick note; I used broccoli florets instead of broccoli rabe and I used Smoked Turkey Sausage instead of the Sweet Italian sausage because I couldn't find these in the store.

Penne With Sausage and Broccoli Rabe

Yields: 4 main-dish servings

Total Time: 25 min
Prep Time: 10 min

Ingredients

* 1 bunch broccoli rabe (1 lb.)
* 12 ounce(s) penne pasta
* 1 (4 ounce) link sweet Italian sausage, cut into 1/2 inch-thick-slices
* 2 shallots, finely chopped
* 2 clove(s) garlic, crushed with press
* 1/4 cup(s) freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus additional for serving
* Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Heat large covered saucepot of salted water to boiling on high. Meanwhile, from broccoli rabe, trim any tough stem ends and discard. Cut broccoli rabe into 1-inch pieces and add to boiling water. Cook 4 to 5 minutes or until bright green and just tender. With slotted spoon, transfer broccoli rabe to large colander. Return water to boiling. Drain broccoli rabe, rinse with cold water, and drain again. In same saucepot of boiling water, cook penne as label directs.
2. Meanwhile, heat deep 12-inch skillet on medium-high until hot. Add sausage in single layer; cook 4 to 5 minutes or until it loses its pink color, turning to brown evenly. (Reduce heat to medium if browning too quickly.) Add shallots and garlic; cook 2 minutes or until tender, stirring. Remove 1 1/2 cups water from saucepot with pasta; add to skillet. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally.
3. Drain pasta and add to skillet with sausage. Stir in Parmesan, broccoli rabe, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper until well mixed. Divide among shallow bowls; sprinkle with additional Parmesan if you like.

Sig Ep Summer Party 2010

2010-07-18T21:10:00.016-04:00

This weekend proved to be a whole lot of fun for us adults. It also made us feel really, really old. We shared a babysitter with another couple with whom we were in college with and had a night out on the town. After leaving the kids in good hands we headed to one of the local haunts from our college days, Toots. We pretty much took over the restaurant taking up seven high tops. We also had several people standing or crowding around the tables to visit while eating and drinking.

It was fantastic getting together with so many of our old college friends and Matt's fraternity brothers. It was especially great to see those friends that we haven't seen in years or very rarely get the opportunity to visit with. Matt's fraternity brothers were some of the best guys I have ever known and still are a great group of guys to be around.

After dinner, we headed out to the fraternity house to reminisce about our own college days. It was interesting to see how much things change but also how much things stay the same. And while we enjoyed our memories of the good old days we also we also asked ourselves questions and each other so many questions. Did we dress as scantily as those girls, did we act as bad as them, drink as much, and so on and so forth. It was also fun seeing some of the biggest partiers get uncomfortable with various happenings. But while all of that was fun we also got glimpses into the possible futures of our own children. And for those of us with kids, girls especially, be scared to death of those glimpses. But all in all we had an awesome time and can't wait to see everyone who is able to make it at Homecoming in the Fall. Though we all had a great time we were all had moments in which we felt ancient. One such moment was when one girl said she was born in 1991. This happened to be the year I started high school and Matt's junior year. There were several more as well. Despite everything it was a great evening and we are so glad and thankful to be able to keep in touch with so many of our college friends.

I'll leave you with several pictures from our evening out with the Brothers of Sigma Phi Epsilon.

The Alumni Brothers of Sigma Phi Epsilon

The brothers do the Rally. It's not a true gathering of the brothers without one.

Jennifer and Suzi chatting together.

Behind Matt, Rob and Jace were two of my favorite brothers. I hadn't seen Jace in almost 13 years. It was great seeing him again. Rob and his wife are the couple we shared the babysitter with.

Love of Reading? Sometimes.

2010-07-10T22:37:00.006-04:00

Gabe loves to read when he has chosen the book. It is hard to get him to read a wide varitey of books. We discovered Gabe's unwillingness to read books that he had not heard of through either a movie or tv series at the book store several weeks ago. In an attempt to get him to read a wider variety of books I have started giving rewards for each book that is read. I started this shortly after our to the book store. I kept trying to get him to choose something that would be new to him. Matt and I would show him book after book and he would say no. Then he would come to us with Star Wars, Bakugan, Pokemon, etc. I'm not saying that I don't want him to read these at all. I just want him to read other things besides books based on tv series and movies. So we decided that we would choose the books and then reward him for reading them. The only thing is that I am now reading each and every book as well so that I can test him so that I am sure he is reading them. But I do love this picture because in this one he is reading for joy and not because I am telling him to. This book is along the same lines of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. If only there were more books of this style or another Diary book.