Somebody Likes Me! 2 Somebodies, actually!

Ok, seems like there are all sorts of "awards" that go around the blogoshpere. I see them all the time.

But let me tell you, I NEVER imagined any one of these awards would ever end up on my blog.

BUT, in the past few days, I received an award from not one, but TWO fellow bloggers! Talk about shock! And a little giddy-ness that, someone um, actually likes my lil' ol' blog!

This is the award:


Never, would I have imagined that anyone thought I rock!

I was reading a post by Trista at The Pumkin Patch. She said she had received this award now needed to give it to some other bloggers. I was reading her list - BooMama, Big Mama, Musings of a Housewife - all blogs that I read and totally deserve a rocking award. And then I saw me listed!

After I picked myself off the floor and got back in my chair - I read it again to be sure. Honestly, I was completely shocked, I mean - I knew Trista reads my blog, but to be listed among the likes of these amazingly witty and funny ladies? Who'da thunk it? (As Trista would say!)

But I am honored to receive the award and that Trista likes to read my ramblings that much!

Then, today, I was reading over at Debi's blog and SHE likes me too! Enough to give me the same award! So, I guess this means I have a couple of "fans"! How cool is that?

I am honored ladies!

So, now I'm supposed to bestow this grand award on some bloggers who I think rock.

Naturally, I'd give the award to both Trista and Debi, since I think they rock (and not only because they think I do!), but I don't think that's exactly how you are supposed to do this!
I also think BooMama, Big Mama and Musings of a Housewife rock, but I'll try to go with bloggers who haven't already received the award!

So, in no particular order:

Barb, at A Chelsea Morning - oh my, where do I begin? I felt an instant connection with Barb. She lives in one of the most beautiful states in the country (Colorado), and is well, simply amazing! She's a wonderful christian lady who shares her life with all of us, and she shares the most amazing recipes - complete with step-by-step pictures. She is so down-to-earth, talented, funny, inspirational, and I could go on and on. I can't help but smile and cry (often at the same time) when I read her blog. If you've never been to her place - go now! You won't regret it! She totally Rocks!

Karen, at Growing in Grace - such an inspirational woman! Another fantastic Christian lady, who, by the way is expecting another little blessing soon! I love to read the day-to-day stuff, but oh my can she write some stuff that makes me think! I so wish I had that gift, but as I've been told, I'm just not that deep. So I have to read what people like Karen write to get me to think beyond the surface. Yeah, she totally rocks!

Jan, at Making Scrapbooks - Jan is a fellow Georgian, Homeschooler and Scrapbooker - so we have just a bit in common! She does what I hope to eventually be doing - actually making money doing what I love! She has been quite successful. She is a TLC consultant (A director, actually - I think that's the correct title!) and is "way up there" in the company. I actually signed under her ages ago, but we won't talk about how I'm doing! She is super-talented and super-nice! I know we'd get along great IRL - we have lots in common, and she loves to have fun - and I loved talking to here on the phone! She seems to manage everything beautifully - at least from where I'm sitting! I'd love to be as organized and fun as she is. I think she totally rocks!

I could go on, as there are so many blogs I enjoy, but I'll leave some for everyone else! And of course, the two that 'awarded' me totally rock too!!

Another Day at the Park

Going to the park after a visit to the chiropractor seems to work wonderfully! This time we all went in for a visit. Then we stopped and picked up some lunch from Krystal's and took it to "the park with the ducks."

We sat at a picnic table and watched the squirrels while we ate. Then we walked down to the pond to feed the ducks.

Or at least try.

I have never seen ducks more disinterested in eating! There were a lot of people there, so I imagine these ducks were already quite stuffed!

There was a big bird hanging out. I think it was a crane? But I'm not sure. I'm not great at identifying birds. Maybe someone who looks at these pictures can confirm or correct me.

Anyway, he was very interesting to watch. And apparently he prefers meat to bread, as he was catching his lunch as we sat there. We were fascinated. He would stalk his pray, dive in, and catch it! Chip had the camera and did a great job capturing the event.

As we walked down to one of the pond, we noticed several turtles swimming around, and Ruthi really liked watching them.

We were going to let Ruthi play on the playground, and she really wanted to...But...There had to be about 100 kids running around. There were 2 or 3 large groups. And they were all at least a couple years older. We just didn't imagine that would end up being a pleasant experience. Of course, she didn't quite understand why were walking away from "all the fun!" But when I asked her if she'd like to go home and swim in her pool, she was more than happy to walk away!

We will have to try again another day....or maybe a different park.

We did quite enjoy the time we spent at the park on this day though!

An afternoon at the Park

I have more pictures I haven't posted and am still trying to get caught up! These were taken at the end of May.

It was a beautiful day, and I needed to go to the chiropractor. I don't usually attempt going unless Chip goes with me or he's at home with Ruthi. But I really needed to go, so I had a good talk with the kids about how they were to behave while we were there. And, they were great and there were no problems. Now, I'm not afraid to try to go without Chip!

Anyway, I promised them that if they were good, we'd go to the park afterward. My chiropractor is right on the square. So instead of parking behind his building like normal, I parked where I could find a spot on the square and we walked to his office from there.

I had packed a picnic lunch, so when we were finished, we went back to the car to get our food and sat in the park and ate. It's a historical park and hosts many events, so it's not really a park with swings or anything. But the kids had fun anyway. There's a little train to play on and Ruthi had a blast. And they love the fountain too.

We used to take CJ to this park all the time, because Chip's parents lived very close to it at the time, so we were close to it often. This was Ruthi's first time. As she was playing, I was remembering CJ being that small and playing. It's really not fair how time flies and they grow up so fast!

So, here are some pictures from the day.

Tasty Thursday #11

Hosted by Trista at The Pumkin Patch.

Today's edition is side dishes.

This is sometimes my hardest part of a meal. I tend to get in a rut and fix the same sides over and over. My hubby recently asked if I knew there were other veggies besides green beans!!! That seems to be a side that goes with most meals, and the kids love them, so we have them frequently.

But I've been trying to step out and make some things differently. Like the other night, I made roasted asparagus - YUM! I loved it. Hubby, well, he ate it, but it's not his favorite!

OK, so on to a side recipe for today.
When my parent's were here a couple weeks ago, the brought us some vidalia onions. So, I decided to make a vidalia onion pie. I searched the net for a recipe. I found several versions and went with one.

I didn't have time to make a pie crust, and I didn't have one on hand. Some of the recipes instructed to use crushed crackers, such as Ritz, for the crust. I didn't have any on hand, but I had some sesame crackers and used those. They worked fine. But I would like to try this with a real pie crust some time.

This was SO INCREDIBLY GOOD! It will definitely be making another appearance on our menu soon!

I am going to list the recipe for the pie crust at the end, but I haven't actually tried that part, so it's not really a tried-and-true. But the rest of the recipe is! I will include the recipe for the way I made the crust.

Vidalia Onion Pie

For Crust:
1 cup buttery cracker crumbs
1/2 stick butter, melted

Combine and press into a greased 9-inch pie plate.

For Filling:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 pounds Vidalia onions, thinly sliced
3 large eggs, beaten
1 cup sour cream
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of paprika
Freshly grated Parmesan - (I used about a cup), divided

Over medium heat, melt butter. Add onions and saute until translucent. So not brown. Combine eggs, sour cream, flour and half the cheese. Add onions. Season with salt, pepper and paprika and pour into crust. Top with remaining Parmesan. Bake for 20 minutes at 450 degrees. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees for the last 20 minutes or until center is set.

{I forgot to lower the oven, as I had something else cooking at the same time, and it was fine. Also, I saw some recipes that used different cheeses, such as cheddar - you could try it with your favorite and it would probably be yummy too!}

The onions become quite sweet and this is just absolutely wonderful!!


Now for the pie crust recipe that I haven't actually tried:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 cup all-vegetable shortening, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
cold water

1/4 egg yolk and 1 tsp. water for egg wash

All ingredients should be cold. Combine all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add shortening and butter. Using a pastry blender, cut in the shortening and butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Drop by drop, add cold water. Mix in with the fingertips, not with the hands as the palms will warm the dough. Continue mixing water in until the dough begins to hold together without being sticky but not crumbly. Place dough in plastic wrap. Fold over plastic wrap and press down to form a disk. This will make rolling out easier after chilling. Finish wrapping in plastic and place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Lightly spray a deep 9-inch pie pan or an 8 1/2 inch fluted flan pan. Roll out dough and place in pie plate Return to the refrigerator until filling is ready.

Brush egg wash on the inside of pie crust. Return to refrigerator until filling is ready.


Now be sure to head over to Trista's to see other great side dish recipes, or better yet, add your own!!!

It's Time for Change.....

...I've got to rearrange!!!

Are you singing in your best squeaky Peter Brady voice now? lol.

I am ready for a blog change. I want something that's not so boring! I also want a new name. And I've picked a new name. That was actually the easy part - and it wasn't that easy!

Now I need a new look - a makeover! However, at the moment, I really don't have the extra money to shell out for someone to design it for me. Which means, I need to figure out how to do it myself. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Scary!

I've found a couple places that offer some free designs, but if you know of any, please send them my way!

This will probably take me a little bit of time, as I've never done this before. And it took me a while just to learn the ins and outs of doing this blog, and I still don't have it all figured out.

So, there may be a few changes here and there until I get it done. And I don't know how long it will take. Hopefully I won't mess things up - at least not too bad. So if you do stop by and things are a bit wonky, bear with me. I'm hoping that before long I'll have a much prettier blog!

Let the games makeover begin!!!

Check in....Week SIX?

Week Six? For Real?

OK, I've been VERY BAD. I haven't posted since week TWO! (Hangs head in shame!) Lets see, first it was just a bad week, then embarrassed that I had not been doing that well, and then, well...it was easy to just forget about it!

But, I CAN'T forget! I really need to do better! I was SO motivated at first - I don't know what happened. Maybe because I wasn't posting, I lost the accountability factor, and could just write it off.

Well, I'm back, and I really want to work harder! So, back to all my original goals and plan. I pledge to myself to get back on track this week.

I haven't gained any weight, which is good, and I haven't been stuffing my face or anything. But I have gotten a little less careful with my portions and my snack choices. So, back to being conscious about that, drinking my water consistently and getting off my duff and exercising!

I'm looking forward to posting next week that I did good!




Hosted by Tales From The Scales.

Tackle it Tuesday #10

Shame on me - I missed 3 weeks of posting tackles! It would be for many different reasons. The one I'm most ashamed of - I never finish the last tackle I posted! It was to get my business binder done, and I didn't get very far at all. Other things keep jumping in the way! So it's going back on the list. Not posting has really thrown me off, but I'm back and did a pretty good tackle for this week!

It started off with one cabinet. That was the plan. Just clean out and organize this one. Here is the before:

Not TOO horrible, but needing some attention for sure.

And here is the after:

Much better!

So, since I was in the kitchen and that didn't take very long, I decided to work on this cabinet too. Now, it is VERY bad, but before you judge me, take into consideration that this is the cabinet Ruthi is allowed to play in, and she pulls all these out and puts them back quite frequently. So the plastic stuff usually just gets tossed back in, so it is a mess!


I went through all the mish-mash of containers and threw away any lonely containers or lids and then reorganized. The after:


That didn't take too long either, so I moved onto the cabinet above my stove:


And after:


So now I'm on a roll, why not do the pantry? Before:


And after:

Due to the limited space, I try to only keep certain things on hand besides what's on our menu for the week, but in organizing this, I realized some things I need to add to my list! Organizing is a very good thing!

Now the momentum is very high, the organization bug has bitten me hard, and so I keep going! Next was the shelves above my washer and dryer. Before:


And after:

After that, I did clean the part that is right below the bottom shelf too, but I didn't take another picture.

Since that was done, I went on to completely clean out the laundry "room" - every nook and cranny, and scrubbed the floor. I didn't take another picture, but it looks great and feels even better!

At this point, I was exhausted, and it was VERY late, so I went to bed. But then I got up and worked on another biggie - one I had been putting off - Ruthi's room.
And I'm not talking about the weekly picking up of the toys, I'm talking major cleaning, including the dreaded closet!

I started by cleaning her room, clean sheets on the bed, everything dusted....all that stuff. I didn't take pictures, because I've posted pics of her room before.

But then I tackled the closet. This was SCARY! Shame on me for letting it get this bad, and I'm thankful nothing ever fell on her head! Here are the before pics, from several views:

Head on:


Top:


Right:


Left:


And the after pics:

Head on:


Top:


Right:


Left:


What a difference! Now she can get in there safely and play with her toys! Plus I cleaned out clothes she can no longer wear and toys she no longer plays with.

And I still have the bug! I plan to get LOTS done before next Tuesday! It feels so good! But that's all for now.


For more tackles, be sure to visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

Doin' the Potty Dance

Woo Hoo!! Ruthi has been showing signs of being ready to be potty trained for a while now. However, no matter how long she'd sit there, nothing would happen. So honestly, I haven't been trying all that hard.

Today I was reading this post over at Rocks in My Dryer and although Shannon is feeling discouraged at the moment, it for some reason, encouraged me to give this thing a shot.

I began talking to Ruthi about 'big girl panties' and that once she started trying to use the potty, I'd get her some Dora panties. Well, she wanted to try right away.

But of course, nothing happened.

I decided to let her run around diaperless for a bit. We have hardwood floors, so I figured clean up would be no biggie. I did instruct her to stay off the living room furniture.

Within a few minutes, she was "leaking" and wasn't quite sure what to do about it. I ran her to the bathroom, and apparently, she was done.

I realized that the trek to the bathroom was going to prove difficult until she gets a better handle on this. So, I brought the little potty into the kitchen area.

There were 4 or 5 more incidents within a span of 20 minutes. Each time, we'd rush to sit on the potty, but then she would just stop. I realized she was probably stopping during the excitement and then wasn't able to finish.

So the next time I got her to the potty, I sat down in front of her, rubbed her legs and spoke quietly and calmly to her to try to get her to relax.

I then decided to give her an incentive. I told her that if she could get her tee tee into the potty instead of on the floor, she could have a marshmallow. (She loves these!) She was very excited about that.

And I'm not joking, within 5 minutes - she did it - and not just a trickle - a very good amount! I was so proud of her! And she was quite proud of herself too!

And she got her marshmallow. Actually, a few, since they were the mini-ones.

OK, so as I was sitting here typing this, she was sitting in her chair at the table. All of a sudden, she jumped down and sat on her potty.

But nothing happened.

For about 3-5 minutes, she ran back and forth to her potty.

And she went again! She actually felt it coming this time, and got on the potty before she went! I can hardly believe it! Maybe this isn't going to be so difficult after all!

I promised her that if she'd potty every day for this week - a few times, I'd get her some Dora panties at the end of the week. I'll be doing grocery shopping Thursday or Friday, so I'll let her pick some out then.

Yes, I'm quite a happy mommy right now. Now I'm just hoping it continues to go this well.


And you wanna hear something else? CJ, who is 13 by the way, is being VERY jealous over the marsmallows right now! He proclaimed he had tee-tee'd and pooped in the potty, and could he have some marshmallows? I reminded him that he got M&M's when he was potty training. But he can't remember, so he doesn't think it counts.
He also doesn't want Ruthi to be doing this yet, because if she is a quick learner, then she will be trained a lot earlier than he was - and he's not liking that very much. Is he silly or what?

Anyway, she's well on her way....and I'm finally ready for the journey!

Menu Plan Monday #8

I'm back to MPM! I've missed posting the past two weeks - had a bad week the first one and was out of town last Monday. There was a plan, just didn't get it posted.

First I wanted to share my results of a couple recipes from my last MPM. There were two new ones and they were wonderful!

First was Blazy's Pepperoni Studded Lasagna
This tasted wonderful. However, if I were to do it again, I would run the tomato sauce through the food processor so it would be less chunky and more juicy, and I would probably increase the amount, because we thought the lasagna needed a little more juiciness. And, I would probably double the ricotta cheese, because I just didn't think there was enough. But other than that - YUM!!!

Then I made the Chicken Cream Cheese Enchiladas from Annie's blog. These were FABULOUS!!! The only change I made was, I used a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken, and just chopped that up. They had the best flavor - I could have easily stuffed myself! These are definitely going into our family favorites file.

I couldn't find the large enchilada sauce the recipe called for, so I just used two small cans, and it was perfect. If you like Mexican food - TRY THESE! My parent's were here that weekend, and we cooked out for lunch, but I reheated the leftover enchiladas for dinner and they really liked them too. I really can't wait to have these again!

Thank you Annie for the recipe!

Now for this week. I'm not completely sure how this week will go, so the days may get changed around, but this is the tentative plan.

Monday: Mini Cheddar Meat Loaves ~ Mashed potatoes ~ Green beans
(I saw this on Lori's Tasty Thursday post this week - hubby does not like meat loaf at all, so I thought I'd make it on a night he's working.)

Tuesday: Chicken, Spinach & Tomato Pizza (This is SO good!) ~ Salad

Wednesday: Ranch Chicken 'N' Rice ~ Sauteed squash and onions ~ Roasted Asparagus (Snagged the chicken recipe from another TT post from last week.)

Thursday: Sandwiches

Friday: Bubble Up Pizza (I will share this recipe later.) ~ Skillet-Fried Mozzarella Sticks (Yet another TT recipe I snagged from last week!)

Saturday: Some family coming over, menu TBD, but probably something on the grill.

Sunday: Leftover Feast

For more menu ideas, be sure to visit Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Happy Father's Day!

To my fabulous husband and father of my children:

Thank you for being the incredible father you are. You love our children with every ounce of your being - and it shows. You work so hard to provide for them (and me). Even when you are working hours on end, you take the time to take a break and spend time with them. When you are completely worn out, you will still wrestle with CJ and cuddle with Ruthi.

I love you for that.

You are such an incredible example for them. You are teaching CJ, through your actions, how to be a wonderful man of God, and a loving, devoted husband and father. You are teaching him how to treat his wife as an equal partner while remaining the head of the household. You are teaching him that next to God, she should be the most important thing in your life. You are teaching him to love his children unconditionally, and to always take time for them. You are teaching him how to be kind, loving, generous, compassionate and more. You are teaching him good work ethics, and about the important things in life, and how to balance it all.

I love you for that.

You are completely smitten with your daughter, and have been from the moment she was born. I love watching you with her. I've always loved watching you with CJ, but it is quite different with this little girl. It takes about 1 second for her to melt your heart, and you are such a big teddy bear with her. You let her climb all over you, even when you have no strength left in your body.
You are teaching her that she can always count on you and that she can always come to you. You let her know that she is safe in your arms. The qualities she sees in you will be the same ones she will one day look for in a husband - someone who will love her and put her, after God, above all else, and will treat her with kindness, respect and compassion, and a bit of patience too (if she ends up with a whole lot of me in her!) You are teaching her, through your actions, how she should be treated as a wife.

I love you for that.

I couldn't be more blessed - married to the man God had picked out for me, who loves me unconditionally and loves our children more than life itself. You are an incredible husband and father. And you are not just their father - you are their DAD.

I love you for that.



And to my Dad - Happy Father's Day! Thank you for your unconditional love. And my husband has many of the same qualities you have - ones I looked for because of your example. Thank you for that! I pray He and Ruthi will always have the special bond that I have cherished having with you. There's something special about the bond of a Father and a Daughter. I love you Daddy!

I don't know the time difference between here and China - but I will be calling you at some point - hopefully it won't be while you are sleeping! I love you and will see you when you get home.

(And Mom - I love you with all my heart too!!! Thank you for being my friend!)



And although I know he doesn't read my blog (no computer!), I want to say Happy Father's Day to my father-in-law. Thank you for being a wonderful example to your son - you did it right! You helped form him into the fabulous man that he is, and for that, I am very thankful. To one of the kindest and compassionate man of God I've ever known - Happy Father's Day!

CJ's Birthday (More catching up!)

CJ's birthday was May 30. I actually wrote a very long post about/to him that day. Then on June 2, my parent's came and we celebrated with a cookout and ice cream cake. We had lots to eat and had a really good time.

CJ decided he wanted ice cream cake, but I personally think it is ridiculous what those things cost, so I made one myself. I didn't do any fancy decorating this year, it was very plain - but it tasted oh so good! I'm including the recipe following the photos.

It's really not an easy feat getting this now 13 year old boy to cooperate for the camera, but I did manage to get a couple good shots. That doggone hat covers his face in half the pictures I take of him though! But I get tired of sounding like a broken record with him, constantly telling him to look at me, so I'm learning to let it go - MOST of the time. When he looks back one day, hopefully he will realize I really did try to take more pictures of him!

I don't know where my head was - I didn't manage to get any pictures of Nana and Poppy with the birthday boy - I can't believe that! Maybe I need to start making a checklist of pictures that need to be taken at events!

And I forgot the buy candles! I was going to get a number 13 and totally forgot! I scrounged around and found some, but not enough. So we did 1 and 3 for 13 - whatever works! Chip was willing to run out and get some, but I thought that was unneccessary - but how sweet of him! (He'll do just about anything to make me happy!)

And here's the recipe for the Ice Cream Cake - it is very much like Dairy Queen's ice cream cake! (I found it online)


Butter the cake pan of your choice, then press wax paper over the bottom of the pan.

Spread 1/2 gallon icecream (softened enough to work with) in the bottom of the pan. (I used chocolate on the bottom.) Sprinkle with crushed Oreo cookies. (I used about 1 sleeve, and it was more than enough.) Then spoon hot fudge sauce (at room temperature) over the top of this. Set in the freezer until frozen.

Remove from freezer and add second layer of ice cream. (I used vanilla for the top layer.) Smooth it evenly with the top of the cake pan. Return to the freezer and freeze until very hard.

Remove from freezer and frost with a mixture of equal parts ice cream and thawed Cool Whip beaten together. Return to freezer until serving time.

I used an 8-inch round, 3-inch tall cake pan. You want a deep pan, or you will have a very short cake.

If I were to do this again, I would either use a spring-form pan or cover the entire inside of the pan with plastic wrap to make it easier to remove the cake, as that was a bit tricky.

When I went to spoon on the hot fudge sauce and tried to spread it around, it became quite messy. I think next time I would slightly warm the sauce and add it after the first layer had been put back into the freezer for a while.

You have to ice it very quickly, as it will try to melt! For the decoration part of the cake (border and writing), I didn't feel the frosting was stiff enough. I added a large can of Betty Crocker whipped white frosting. I think I would frost the entire cake in this next time. It tasted very similar to the frosting Dairy Queen uses.

I also found that when putting the ice cream into the pan, my hands worked best to smooth it out - maybe because I didn't let it get soft enough, I'm not sure, but it worked!

And you do need to let it sit out for a few minutes before trying to cut it - and I dipped my knife in hot water to make cutting easier. But it was VERY good!

First Dip (Catching up)

OK, I'm trying to get pictures posted that I've taken recently - better late than never, right?

These were actually taken on June 1st - 2 weeks ago! We dug out and set up Ruthi's little pool and filled it up for her first dip of the summer. (Yes, I'm aware summer is not technically here yet!)

The water was FREEZING - but she didn't care one bit. She loved it! And I took at least 3 times more pictures than I have here - these were my favorites. She's just so cooperative and loves for me to take her picture - unlike her 13 year old brother (who I have to battle half the time to get a good pic - can't imagine why!);o)

Chip had been working in the heat and decided to cool off just a bit - but he had no idea how cold that water really was! And Ruthi attempted to dump some on him - if it had been anyone but her, he may not have thought it was very funny!

Tasty Thursday #10

Hosted by Trista at The Pumkin Patch.

Today's Tasty Thursday is kid-pleasing recipes. Believe it or not, this was a little difficult for me, as my kids will eat pretty much anything. So I've never had to put much thought into what foods they will eat. Therefore, a recipe that I thought would be kid-pleasing for most kids wasn't just jumping into my head. That called for digging out some cookbooks. And I found one that CJ used to help make and had a lot of fun doing.


This recipe comes from The Pampered Chef - Kids in the Kitchen
(I've written a little differently here - leaving out all the tools in the original recipe.)

Alphabet Bread Sticks

2 Tbsp. butter or margarine, softened
1/4 cup fresh parmesan cheese, grated
1 package (6.5 oz) pizza crust mix
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 cup hot water
all-purpose flour
1 garlic clove
1 can (8 oz) pizza sauce
*Pepperoni - chopped (about 1/2 cup)

Preheat oven to 425 degress. Place cheese and pepperoni* in a medium bowl. Stir in pizza crust mix and oregano. Add hot water and stir until moistened. Continue to stir vigorously about 25 strokes. Cover bowl and let stand 5 minutes in a warm place.

Sprinkle a small amount of flour on cutting board or counter top so the dough doesn't stick. Turn dough out onto board and knead 10-12 times. Divide dough into 8 equal pieces. (A pizza cutter makes this very easy.) Using hands, roll each piece into a 10-inch rope.
Shape ropes into letters on a large baking pan or stone.

Press garlic with a garlic press (if you don't have one, you can mince or grate it) into the softened butter and mix well. Spread butter over letters.

Bake 11-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven.

Pour pizza sauce into microwave-safe container and microwave on high 1-1.5 minutes or until warm. Serve warm bread sticks with pizza sauce for dipping.


*Pepperoni is not in the orignal recipe, but we like to add it. You can leave it out if your kids don't like it.

This recipe is great for the kids to help with, and fun to make. It's great when they are learning their letters too. Makes a great appetizer or snack as well as a yummy bread to go along with your meal!

Fun at the Lake

(Warning - this post is LONG! - pictures are at the end!)

OK, so I'm finally getting around to posting about our trip to the lake. I would have done it sooner, but, let's just say, I got a little, um.....crispy out there, and have been moving very slowly since we got home. It still hurts everytime something touches my back or shoulder, and especially when Ruthi grabs me, but it's getting a little better.

As my hubby says - "If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough!" Well, I'm not very tough, so it's definitely been slow moving - but I will survive! Thing is, I was wearing sunblock - but apparently didn't reapply often enough!

He was pretty red too, but it was no biggie for him, since he's had MUCH worse in the past.

CJ's shoulders got a little red, but not too bad.

And Ruthi - well, I was slathering that stuff on her fair skin, and I was worried, because when we got home, her cheeks were still a little red, and when I put her in the tub, I noticed her back was a bit pink too. But she didn't seem to notice, and by the next morning, the redness was gone - thankfully.

Now, about the trip: Chip got home from work Sunday morning and had only gotten 3 hours of sleep. They had worked a bad accident on the interstate most of the night - very sad - 1 car - 6 people. 3 fatalities, and 3 in the hospital. And he didn't sleep well during those 3 hours due to some unsettling dreams after seeing all that!
So, the kids and I went on to church. I knew he'd sleep much better if we weren't in the house making noise, and well, I didn't need to make an excuse to stay home from church. I'm trying to quit doing that!

We got back home, had some lunch and finished packing the things we'd need. Then we got on the road. We had to stop at Target on the way to pick up a couple things. Right before we got there, it hit me - the one thing I forgot to pack - my swimsuit!!! I don't have a clue how I missed it, but I did.

Chip, of course, thought it was quite convenient I remembered as Target was in our sights! (And we were too far down the road to turn back.) But really, I DREADED trying to find a new suit. I hated the thought of spending extra money on something I already had at home - and the thought of trying to quickly find something that fit correctly!

And it was pretty much a nightmare. None of the really cute ones, of course, were to be found in my size. I ended up with one that I still wasn't all that sure I really liked.

We decided that since we didn't really know what condition the boat would be in, after being stored all winter, that Chip would just drop Ruthi and I at the hotel so she could swim in the pool, and he and CJ would go on to the boat and do some cleaning and such. I didn't want her to be bored to tears if we were busy cleaning and have her begging to go swim!

So, we went for a swim in the pool until she was tired and hungry, then headed back to the room for a bite to eat and some relaxing.

When the guys returned, they said the boat was pretty much a mess, and they only got a little done. Mainly because CJ decided he'd rather swim than work. And poor Chip was so tired still.

We got up Monday morning and headed out. It was very overcast and looked like it might actually rain...but it didn't.

The boat was indeed, a mess. Chip said it was much worse the day before though - at least he had gotten most of the loose stuff (leaves and such) out. But there was still a bit of cleaning to do.

So, CJ got a quick lecture about the fact that so much needed to be done and he'd not offered to lift a finger on Sunday. And then was told he'd have to help before he could play. It's only fair!

So we found our little cove we like to hang out in and dropped anchor. I had brought a rubbermaid-type tub, and filled it with water for Ruthi to play in. She LOVED it!

We cleaned for a while, and then I had to jump in and cool off a bit. That felt WONDERFUL! Then some more cleaning.

Once the boat was looking much better, we decided to enjoy ourselves for a bit.

Ruthi is SUCH A FISH!!!! She absolutely loves the water - always has. But I wasn't sure how she'd do with the fact that she couldn't actually run around in it. At first, I don't think she quite understood why she couldn't do that, but she was still having fun. She got braver, and braver and soon was "swimming" without me holding her. I was far more nervous than she was. But she quickly learned to hold her head up, and when she would roll to her back, she figured out how to get back facing the way she wanted.

She was so cute! She was shouting - "Swim, swim, swim!!!" and trying to doggy paddle. I didn't think I'd ever get her out of that water - she was having so much fun!

CJ swam forever - he loves the water too. (Though it took many years for him to come to love the water!)

Ruthi finally tuckered herself out and went down for a nap. So Chip and I floated around for a while and relaxed.

CJ had decided to take a break from swimming and was hanging out on the boat - which was great for when Ruthi woke up, he was right there. (She didn't sleep as long as I expected!) She would have been fine, I was floating right by the door, but CJ being by her side made her happier than waiting all by herself for me to climb back on the boat.

Pretty much the rest of the time, she played in her little tub, just as happy as could be. As we headed back to the marina, she was just relaxing in her tub.

When we got back, and she got out of her tub, I noticed the water was a little dirty looking. Then I realized......ugh.....she had dirtied her swim diaper. And, apparently, some had gotten in the water (not solid stuff, but stuff, nonetheless.) which would explain why it looked so dirty! Oh, how sick I felt - knowing my baby had been sitting in that, and her bath-time Dora had been in there with her. And she had been holding and kissing Dora. Ugh! How could I not have caught that? Well, she was so content, and there was no smell at the time!

Of course, then all the horrible thoughts about e coli start running through my head, and I felt like such a horrible mom! And since it takes about 7 days for any symptoms of that to appear, the 'what if's' keep coming back to me. You'd better bet I was praying over her that she won't get sick! And I believe she's going to be just fine.

Anyway, in spite of that incident, and the sunburn, we had an absolutely wonderful time. And the next trip will be much better, because most of the cleaning is now done! There are still a few things to be done, but not too much. So we can enjoy it the rest of the summer, and won't have to do a deep clean again until next year!! (It's SO worth the work to be able to enjoy the benefits!)

A Much Needed Drink

I realize I haven't posted all week. It's just been one of those weeks, and to be honest, I haven't felt like or been in the mood to blog. So now I have a lot of catching up to do. I have quite a lot of pictures of the kids I've taken recently, and just haven't got them on here yet. So bear with me...especially the family members who read this!

Yesterday we got a nice surprise...a little thunder shower! I was standing in the kitchen and out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a flash.....could it really be? Yep...it was lightning! And then thunder! And YES!!!! FINALLY.....RAIN!!! I honestly can't remember the last rain we got...but it has to be at LEAST 6 weeks ago. So we got a much needed drink! (Not what you were thinking from the title now, was it?!) I think I actually heard the trees and grass say "aaaahhhhh"! It was glorious, but didn't last nearly long enough - only about 20 minutes! We need several days of this!

But it was long enough for Ruthi to have a little fun! The temperature dropped considerably, and it was quite windy, so I turned off the air and opened the doors. It didn't take long for Ruthi to get curious and step onto the back porch. So I did what any good mom would do - grab the camera! She had so much fun playing in the rain! Here are some of the shots I captured:

After church in the morning, we are headed down to the lake to spend a couple days on the boat. But when I get back, I'll start getting caught up with posting the tons of pictures I've been taking. Not to mention the ones I'll be taking at the lake!