good day....

This morning Randy made this delicious french toast made from homemade bread.  Doesn’t it look yummy?  

And there is nothing like homemade bread with homemade strawberry preserves is there?

I have been trying so hard to attract cardinals to my bird feeder for so long.  Well, look what showed up this morning!

I was so happy!  I think they are so beautiful in the snow.  It was snowing pretty hard this morning and I took some of these pics.  Then it stopped and the sun came out and I got these.

Here are a few extra pics of some things too!

The farm behind us.

A red headed wood pecker.

a little bit of nothing....

Yesterday I was at the mall and I saw this young Amish married couple come in.  I am always so intrigued by them.  She was wearing dark blue and a black cape and big black bonnet.  All I could think about was what must they think when they look around there and what were they doing there?

This isn't them of course, but you know I wanted to take a picture of them so badly!  But they don't like their picture taken so I opted for google images instead.  :)

Today I worked in the library at the elementary school.  They were giving the kids the 2nd portion of their h1n1 shot.  I felt so bad for some of the kids.  I saw a boy getting sniffly in line.  He was upset that he would have to get the shot instead of the nasal spray.  But lucky for him he got the spray.  What really puzzled me was how many of the kids wanted the shot instead of the nasal spray!  Who wants a shot?

You know, there are a lot of things that I would like to write on here.  But,because my kids are not little anymore I think it would embarrass them so I won't.  And, I live in a little town where everyone knows everyone or is related so I have to be careful.

Well, I know it’s been awhile since I’ve been on here.   Just been busy with everyday kind of stuff.  AJ had a game last week that was so exciting.  They lost by one basket!  They are really playing good lately and it's so fun to watch. Rachel has started up with basketball too and all I can say is WOW!  She just loves basketball and she's actually pretty good (she's been the high scorer on her team for the last 2 games).  Anyway, the games are grueling to watch!  I know a mother shouldn't say that.  But they are still learning and after watching the high school boys play these games are sooooo slow and they don't catch the ball and they miss most of their shots and they cry!  Let's see....what else have we been up to?  Oh yes, I worked in the high school with some special needs kids.  That was interesting.  The boys were talking about going to Hooters for one of their b'days and one kid asked what that was.  I told him a restaurant where the waitresses dress in short shorts and little tops.  He said he liked when girls dressed like that.  Oh and then when they didn't think I was listening, they mentioned that when they are 18 they were going to go to this pancake place where it's all you can eat.  AND....the waitresses are topless!  I told them that wasn't really appropriate to talk about and they said that they were teenage boys and what do I expect!  Well, that's true! Oh and then the next day the boy that I was working with one on one was telling me about some things that he is interested in.  He likes video games and wrestling and he likes magazines about those things.  ANd he likes other magazines with woman in them but that it wouldn't be appropriate for him to tell me about it!  Okay....

Gotta love teenage boys!

Our Pastor last Sunday was telling us about a youth leaders conference that he spoke at.  He told the crowd that he meant to say the word "haphazard"        but said the word "half-assed" instead!  lol He's always good for a good laugh!  And what I loved is that he told us that in church!  He gets words mixed up a lot and we have a book on his mishaps.  We love how "real" he is.

Last Saturday was the Supper Club!  What a good time we had.  That crowd never disappoints.  We laughed until we cried.  And we had such good food.  What I love is that everyone brings something and it's all so yummy.  This month was Italian.  I had dessert so I made these:

Well, you get the idea.  I don’t know why I didn’t take a picture of the finished product but they were delicious cannoli’s.  We had bruschetta, italian wedding soup, salad and bread and lasagna.  The supper club is thinking of taking a weekend trip to Sacket’s Harbor.  That’s about an hour north of here.  I’m sure that we would have tons of laughs.  

We are also in the process of adding a master bathroom.  We’ve picked out some of the items for it.  It’s always fun picking stuff out but also a lot of work.  

Here’s a few of the things we have picked out so far:

Stripped Down?!?

Stripped Down.  No, I don’t mean stripped naked!  But, I mean stripped down from all of the technology that surrounds us and is supposed to make our lives easier.  I watched a program on Oprah on this topic.  They had a family of 4 - husband, wife, 15 year old son and 5 year old son.  They showed their day to day life and showed how the technology and busyness of today has stripped this family of FAMILY.  The very thing they were trying to hard to keep together was falling apart.  So, the challenge for them was to take 7 days and not have any cell phones, no texting, no emails or computer, no microwave etc.  They rose up to the challenge and lived to tell about it.  They first had to get their house in order because it had gotten to be such a mess and so unorganized because they were so busy.  And chaos is such a bad feeling to live with (at least for me).  Oh, and they had to tell each other every day that they loved each other.  It was very interesting.  For the parents, it brought out a lot of issues that they hadn't been dealing with.  After the week, they looked at everything and evaluated how they could bring those things back into their lives (technology) but in balance.  Because after all, we do live in this world that is so inundated with stuff.  So, I asked myself if this was something that my family should try for a week.  But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that we do a lot of the things that this family didn’t do.  They didn’t eat dinner together.  The parents didn’t have date nights or family nights.  They didn’t make time for each other.  I feel like we do all of those things.  We eat together almost every night.  Randy and I have always had date night.  Usually once a week.  And we try to do things with our family on a regular basis.  So, I thought that maybe we would just tweak some areas and see how that goes.  I don’t know about you but we are always trying to improve on things.  So, maybe we limit time on the computer (including me!)  Anyway, it was interesting and something to think about with your own family.  One thing that the teen said he learned was “to BE present wherever you are.”  Wow!  How many times have you been with a teen or even adults who are texting when you are with them.  Or you can just tell that their mind is else where when you are talking to them?  It’s so important to really listen to people when you are with them.  I think that is an art that we have lost.  And another thing that the organizer said was, “if you are so busy and you think you are doing all these good things, just look around.  Are you really doing so much good stuff when you are so busy?”  Somebody pays for that busyness.  And those kids on the show really just wanted to be together.  So, anyway, it’s something to think about.  Will you be stripped down???? 

Not Me Monday!

 It's time to 'fess up!  NOT ME! Monday is here again. 

So like I mentioned earlier in the week I had a cold on Mon. and Tues. and just didn't feel the greatest.  On Tues. it wasn't me who didn't get out of her pj's all day or didn't do her hair or make up.  Nope not me.  And the best part was that I looked so good when AJ brought home an unexpected friend with him from school and I was sitting in the office which is located by the backdoor.  That was fun.  It wasn't me who kept smoothing her hair and never did look at the boys.  Oh and it wasn't me who kept coughing to make sure that they KNEW I was sick and didn't just sit around in my pj's all day!  So that's how the week started.  By Thursday, I was feeling much better and so our favorite Mexican restaurant was calling my name.  It's also $2.50 margarita night too!

So, it's always crowded.  And it wasn't me that decided at 6 pm to get there on their busiest night and wait 30 min to sit down.  Not that that would be any big deal except AJ had a basketball game that night against a rival school and we would miss the first half if we waited!  Nope, not us, we didn't wait and arrive at the game at half time! ;)  (I really did feel bad about it.)  AJ started and he made a 3 pointer and played really good.  At least that's what all the other GOOD parents told us.  Well, the next day, I worked and so I thought that I would bring my leftover tacos de carne asada for lunch.  And they were really yummy the next day too!  I had lunch at 11:00am and at 1:45 I was helping a group of 3rd grade boys in a reading group.  Well, it wasn't me who brought in a diet coke and then silently burped.  Oh and it wasn't me who looked around when one of the boys said, "I smell steak!"  Nope that would be rude!  Who would do that.  (I popped a mint in my mouth and threw away the coke!)

And to end the week on a fun note, it wasn't us who opened the doors of the grey honda civic in the church parking lot only to notice that our car was parked a few spots down! ha!  NOPE, NOT OUR FAMILY!

happy birthday AJ!

Today is AJ’s 17th birthday!  It’s hard to believe that 17 years ago he came into this world.  I keep asking myself how time is going so fast.  Sometimes I just want to turn back to the clock and have my kids be little again.  But, when they are little we are in such a hurry for them to grow up....to talk, walk and become independent.  I guess that’s our job.  If I’m being honest, I’m having a hard time with this whole letting go thing.  I mean, I want to tell AJ what to wear and know what he’s doing at every moment.  But, on the other hand, I want to make sure he’s ready and capable of living in this world on his own and that will be in the near future.  So, I am really trying to give him his space and let him grow up.  I am even letting him do his own laundry!  That’s good of me huh?  And he gets up on his own and drives to school by himself.  He goes to work alone too!  Oh, and he gets to pay for his own gas and insurance!  That's pretty grown up don't you think?  Seriously, I am really proud of the young man he’s becoming.  At this point in his life, he’s starting to look at the future and not just right now.  So, it’ll be exciting to see where life takes him over the next few years.  So Happy Birthday AJ!  We love you so much!

lost boot!

It's been a busy week.  I didn't feel good earlier in the week with a cold but that's about gone now.  I worked in Kindergarten yesterday and today.  We got an email from a first grade teacher yesterday.  She said that one of her students was outside playing at recess.  Sometime during that playtime the student realized that she was missing a boot.  But, she couldn't remember when she lost it or where exactly.  I mean, how would she realize that she was missing a boot when it's 23 degrees outside and there's 5 feet of snow to play in!?  I guess when it was time to come inside she realized it and they started looking for the boot but guess what?  Yep, it's white!  Oh and there is a reward for it :)  I bet in the spring they'll find that boot!


Gotta love first graders!

Not Me Monday!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

So, I saw this idea over at mycharmingkids.net.  It’s an outlet for all of us moms who think that we have it all together.  Which we do, right?!  I mean who would ever admit that they are not the perfect mother, wife, housekeeper, cook, and entertainer! This is  Where I get to admit the things I did NOT do this week. Because I am perfect....right? Right???

Please be sure to head over to mckmama.com to see what my fellow Not Me Monday-ers have been up too...errr not been up too!

My children have not been allowed to eat cake for breakfast this week. Or any other leftover cookies and sweets. I am always on top of their nutrition, and of course, junk food such as those mentioned, is not allowed in our house.

I may have mentioned to Randy that after the first of the year we need to start working out again.  Well, I didn’t think he took me serious.  I wanted to go to take pics of the beautiful snow and Randy went with me.  After walking through snow that was knee deep to waist high in spots, we finally made it to the woods out back.  But I wasn’t huffing and puffing, uh uh, not me!  And after sitting and catching my breath  relaxing  for a minute, I started to wonder if maybe....just maybe my sweet husband wanted to go with me on this walk workout to get me in shape!  But he wouldn’t do that, not him :)

Something else that I would never do would be to text Randy while he’s in the living room to ask him a question while I’m in the office!  I would NEVER do that.  That would just be lazy.  Or I would never be glad that church was cancelled yesterday and I had to stay in my pj’s all day long and do nothing but watch tv.  Nope not me!  Oh, and I would never think anything bad when I saw a post on facebook from someone at church that said, “8” and still blowing”!  Nope not me!  hee hee....   That would just be rude and unchristian like!  ( they were talking about all the snow that we’ve gotten).

As I was typing on the computer today, I would never eat a whole roll of cherry lifesavers that I bought for my kids.  Nope.  And I would never admit to finding Christmas gifts that I lost and just found yesterday!  Yea Me!  

We asked AJ to go out to the garage and take some pics of his dirt bike so that we could post it on Craigslist.  Both the kids are going on a missions trip to Mexico this summer and we’ve been thinking of ways to earn extra money.  They are both contributing by working and babysitting etc.  And we thought that we would have a garage sale this spring.  In the meantime, we have some bigger items that we just aren’t using anymore and so we’ve been selling them on Craigslist to put towards the trip.  So, anyway, his dirt bike is one of the items.  He’s too big for it.  He takes the pics and this is what we got:

Notice how each picture gets closer and closer! lol  I guess we were thinking that he would get some front views and the other side etc.....  Silly us!  

Where was all this snow on Christmas?

There are no words to describe how beautiful the snow is.  People complain about it and don't like it while others love it and can't get enough of it.  I don't mind it.  Maybe it's because I haven't live here as an adult for that long.  Maybe someday when I'm old, I'll want to go to Fl for the winter too.  I don't know.  For now, I enjoy watching the light fluffy flakes fall from the sky.  I don't mind being out in it either.  When you are dressed right, it's not too bad.  But, there's nothing like watching it while you are sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace with a hot cup of coffee.  Something so peaceful about it all.

New Years Dinner...

Rachel and I were watching the food network the other day and saw this yummy recipe.  So, we decided to make this dinner for our New Years Day dinner.  It’s called Braciol.  Pronounced:  Bra-jole.  So, here’s a few pictures of the dinner being prepared:

These are the seasonings that go into it:  parsley, garlic, mozzarella cheese, roasted red peppers, anchovies, olive oil and bread crumbs.

Then, you butterfly the flank steak and stuff it with the mixture.

You fold the meat over and roll it up like a jelly roll.  Then tie it up with string.  Then you put it in a roasting pan and sear it with olive oil, garlic, and thyme.  Then add onions, beef broth, and whole canned tomatoes.  Cook it in the oven for an hour on 350.

When you take it out of the oven you take the meat out and let it rest.  Then take the liquid and put it in the blender.  Slice the meat and serve with sauce and a side of angel hair pasta infused with olive oil, red peppers, and garlic.  Yum!

painful morning...

My poor girl!  She bought these rings for her and 2 of her friends for Christmas.  They are mood rings.  Rachel wore hers to bed the other night and when she woke up her finger was all swollen around the ring!  Randy first made sure her hand was soaking in ice to reduce the swelling.  

That didn’t work so he googled it and someone suggested using windex.  Tried that and no luck.

The next thing was to try wrapping the finger in saran wrap tightly.  After it’s wrapped you slowly undo the saran wrap and try to slide the ring down.  This worked.  It was painful but successful!

If that didn’t work, we were going to have to CUT her finger ring off :)  Luckily we didn’t have to cut it off.  What a way to start the day!