The Big Day

We had such a fun day yesterday that we were all not looking forward to today. A good night's sleep will do a Kindergartner good. She woke ready to go, a little apprehensive, but ready. She was so nervous that she wouldn't eat ANY of her breakfast. I worried about how hungry she would be all morning.


So grown up. She picked out this dress and back pack back in June. I have been so surprised that she didn't have a fit about wanting all the Hello Kitty back packs and lunch boxes that we have seen in the meantime. She was set on this one from the beginning and has never waivered. She does have Hello Kitty socks on though.

We dropped Garrett off at Grandma's on the way so we wouldn't have to chase him around during the Kindergarten parent coffee.

Ready....

Set... (I think that I need to order Justin a lunch box like C's)

Go! (he just didn't want to give up the lunchbox)


I think this picture says it all. She was ready. Ready for us to leave.

Hope you had a fun day sweet girl! We are off to pick her up now. Can't wait to hear all about her first day!

Tasty Tuesday Interrupted

We interrupt your regularly scheduled Tasty Tuesday programming to bring you...

Nothing, really. Nothing. That's how much I've thought about cooking and food lately. Our air conditioner has been out since Saturday so the last thing that I've wanted to do is fire up a hot stove or oven.

ALSO, today is C's last day before the first day of the rest of her life. That's right. Kindergarten starts tomorrow. She has picked the days events which include going out to eat for breakfast, going to visit Grandma (Great-Grandma) and going to see a movie. All of these involve air conditioning. :)

Stay tuned for what I'm sure will be major picture overload for the next few days!

This is not what this post is supposed to be about

I thought there was an unwritten rule about disclosing certain things.

You know, like if you are going to eat something someone has made and it is super spicy with peppers. That person should say, "Hey, only eat that if you like spicy stuff."

Or maybe you are about to ride a horse that is a bucking bronco but you don't know it...the owner should say, "Hey, only ride that horse if you want to break all the bones in your body."

Or maybe if you have a snake on your back porch and you know it, you should say, "Hey, there is a snake on my back porch. You might not want to go out there."

...................................................................................

Garrett is doing well with potty training. He prefers the yard. I guess that is ok for now. Probably not when he starts mother's day out, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

We have a deal where he asks me to watch out the window to see that he goes potty so he can earn his M&M. It's pretty cute.

SO, today we are at Meme and Poppa's house. I open the sliding glass door and do my job of watching out the window. He is walking backwards waving cutely at me....






"GARRETT, COME BACK TO MOMMY, COME BACK TO MOMMY NOW!!!!!!

He was LITERALLY about to step on this snake. And from the pictures you can see that the snake does not look too happy about that. From where I was I could not see what kind of snake it was, I just saw a snake a little curled up with it's head up about to eat my boy. Not a huge snake, but they say that baby snakes are more venemous if it were to be a bad snake.

Thank goodness for once in his little life, G decided to do what mommy asked and ran back to me.

I yell at my mom, "There is a snake on your porch!....is that a snake?"

I'm starting to get confused. This is a weird snake. It hasn't moved an inch since Garrett came back to me.

Mom nonchalantly answers, "oh, yes, there is a snake on the back porch. But, it's dead."


OK.


That information would have been great to know before my premature heart attack. Yikes!

AND, hello, what snake dies and dries in the attack position? Well, we know of one.

CRAZY.



So, what this post was really supposed to be about was Poppa.He has a broken leg and had surgery to fix it on Monday. The kids and I went today to hang out with him because Meme (the non-disclosing snake woman) had to start back to work this week.



Poppa is doing well and his surgery went well. The kids loved seeing Meme and Poppa and especially loved the lemon drops Poppa gave them to fight over on the way home. Thank you.

Thank you for the lemon drops and thank you for the heart attack.

But, most of all, thank you Poppa for feeling pretty good today. Much better than when I saw you on Monday. :) Love you!

(Oh, and for the record, the snake would probably still be on my back porch, too, if Justin had a broken leg. I wouldn't be getting near it. Meme has had a tough week, so I guess we'll let it slide this time. ;) Love you, too Meme!)

Tasty Tuesday: Mama's Chicken Spaghetti

Folks, we all know that you can't go wrong with chicken spaghetti. It's a fact. Make it for guests, make it to take to a friend that is sick, make it for a family gathering, or just make it because you want it.

All chicken spaghetti is good. I'll never turn it down. BUT, my mom's is the best. Trust me here.

What you need:
4 large chicken breasts
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 optional small can of green chilis
1 small onion - diced
1 cup of diced back olives - I use sliced
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 lb grated American cheese
1 small can of pimentos - I leave this out, but it's prettier with it
12 oz long spaghetti

Boil the chicken until cooked. Then take chicken off the bone. Shred it if you want. Boil the spaghetti. Mix chicken, soups, chilis, onion, olives, pepper & salt in mixing bowl. In a large casserole dish, layer 1/2 of the spaghetti, then half of the chicken mix, then 1/2 of the cheese. Then repeat the layers. Bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly. You can also split it into two small square dishes and eat one and take one to a friend. :)

XOXO, Kathy

Question....Please Answer

OK, I know that laptop monitors and desktop monitors are different. I have a laptop. I was recently on some family's desktops and my pictures look waaaaayyy oversaturated (like the colors are too bright and bold). But, on my laptop they look just right. What do you see? Tell me if they are crazy bright. Be honest! (you'll need to scroll down and look at some color pics that I have up...not the B&W ones) Here's an example:

Do C's lips look like she has bright lipstick on, or do they just look like little pink lips? Does the whole picture in general just look crazy bright with colors (oversaturated) or normal to you?


I'm pretty sure that I need to calibrate my monitor....that or talk Justin into a MacBook. ;)

More about Avery's "Birth"day

Miss little Avery gave us a scare. Allison went in yesterday for a stress test after not feeling much movement from Avery. They ran a stress test and she failed that, so they kept her in the hospital for monitoring and then very quickly decided that it was time for Avery to make her entrance! She was born at 7:29 last night and Mommy and Avery are doing very well. The umbilical cord was wrapped around her leg keeping her from moving and also affecting her bloodflow. We are so happy she is here and love her so much already!!


Proud Mommy & Daddy


Love this sweet picture.


For more pics check out Avery Renee's "Birth"day.

Introducing Little Miss Avery Renee....

...perfect in every way! 5lbs 14oz, 17.5 inches




We are so excited to be Aunt Kathy and Uncle Justin! Avery came 4 weeks early, but she is doing great. Congratulations Ted & Allison!

Tasty Tuesday: South of the Border Wraps

I totally made this name up. They are really just bacon wrapped jalepenos with cream cheese inside. That easy. You could probably go make them right now without even reading the rest of this. But, just humor me, will you?

I've seen this recipe lots of places and even gotten it from different folks at backyard gatherings. I finally decided to try these out. Number one, because they are so yummy, number two, because Justin kept asking for them, and most importantly, number three, because they are easy peasy. Yes, as C would say.

#1) Buy some jalepenos. (sure wish I knew how to put the little squiggly thing over the n...it's bothering me)

#2) Buy some cream cheese.

#3) Buy some thin bacon.

#4) Buy some toothpicks if you don't already have any.

#5) Wash the peppers and cut them in half long ways. Spoon out all the seeds, or not, if you like it hot. Or, you can do like I did last time. Make it pot luck. This can be funny. Or mean. At least spoon most of the seeds out. I like mine with all of them out unless they are mild peppers.

#6) Fill the peppers with cream cheese. (cheese needs to be a little soft)

#7) Take the bacon all the way out of its package and cut it in half while it's all still together.

#8) Wrap the cream cheese filled peppers with a piece of bacon and put a toothpick in to hold the bacon.

#9) Cook them at 375 degrees for 23 minutes. Or, until the bacon is crispy enough for you. You need to use one of those rack pans that lets the bacon grease fall down into the cookie sheet looking thingy. I don't know the real name for that kind of pan.

Enjoy! Make these for your next gathering. Everyone will love you. (as long as you don't pot luck them with the seeds) ;)

Have a great Tuesday!

The Big Bad Wolf

He huffs and he puffs like the Big Bad Wolf.



But, somehow, he becomes controlled enough before the end to not blow the house down.



He creates sweet little bubbles.


Big Bad Wolf.


Sweet little bubbles.

This parallels him perfectly on so many levels.


My sweet little boy, I love you even when you are the being the Big Bad Wolf. And today would be one of those days. :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NANA!

Nana's birthday was Monday. We celebrated at the house Sunday with a birthday dinner. Nana normally doesn't get a birthday celebration because her day lands right in the middle of harvest, but this year we fit it in! You can't see her ice cream with a candle in it, but there is no doubt that it got blown out! These kids are serious about the candle blowing.

Happy Birthday Nana, hope you had a great day!

Tasty Tuesday: So Easy, Yummy Corn

You are crazy if you don't try this. It is easy peasy as C would say. And, there's never any left in the dish when the meal is over.

This comes from my favorite food blogger Pioneer Woman. Thanks to her I will never again cook without Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. It's addictive I tell you.

I'm just going to link you up to her recipe. Here it is.

Make it once and you'll make it forever. Trust me.

Taste test approved by the pickiest 2 year old in the world.


So good it'll make you want to eat your spoon!