Food....Saturday :)

Oops...I didn't do Food Friday. Please forgive me :) My parents took Molly & Eli over night so Trent & I (& Jillian) could have a "date night". Trent ended up having to work a little later so I stuck around at my parents longer. I didn't get home till probably 7:30ish. We ate dinner, worked on his homework, and put in the movie Fair Game. I think we lasted maybe 30 minutes and we were both zonked out on the couch. So romantic :) Praise the Lord for that sleep because Jillian was up at midnight and a couple other times. She's got a little cough and congestion :-( Poor Trent though, he had to work this morning. So here I am...no big kids, Jillian is in her crib (was sleeping but now I hear her) and I'm moving as slow as a SLOTH!
Eli likes to pretend he's a sloth sometimes. I'll ask him to do something and then he'll move in slow motion and say "IIIII'mmmmm  aaaaaaa ssssllllloooootttthhhh." See....he's hysterical!

Okay, so back to Food Saturday....or how about Sloth Saturday! Ha!
I've been wanting to get into some sort of meal schedule/plan. I need something that is going to be easy because I get a little overwhelmed when there are too many options. So, I found a schedule that I like.

Monday: Slow Cooker meal
Tuesday: 15-minute meal
Wednesday: Pasta meal
Thursday: Pizza meal
Friday: Casserole meal

Now the plan I found also had Saturday & Sunday as stir-fry meal & 30-minute meal. I choose to only plan 5 nights because most likely we will have leftovers some night and Sundays we generally keep it very simple (it's the day of rest!). I'm also going to rotate stir-fry night and grill night in when I want to change things up a little.
My overall plan is to use this as a guide and compile a list for each category and then as time goes on, I'll just pull meals from the "master lists".
For the next 2 weeks here is how my meals look:

Monday: Roast - vegetables + fruit
              Chicken - green bean casserole + fruit + potatoes
Tuesday: Hot dogs/Brats - pasta salad + fruit   Sesame Beef & Egg rolls + fruit
              Chicken fajitas (use leftover chicken from Monday) + fruit  Hamburgers + spaghetti salad + fruit
Wednesday: Spaghetti - bread, corn dish + fruit  Hot dogs/Brats + pasta salad  +fruit
                    Tortellini Soup - bread + fruit + Spaghetti + corn dish
Thursday: Pepperoni Pizza + whatever vegetables + fruit
                Sausage Pizza (use extra sausage from Wed.) + whatever vegetables + fruit
Friday: Leftovers
           Leftovers

Friday's in the summer are busy, so I figured I'll just leave it for leftovers :) Also, fruit doesn't always compliment a meal, so I'll give the kids a fruit "snack" sometime before dinner.

Have a great Memorial Weekend!!!

xo Amanda
                   

100 things about me :)

Enjoy, laugh, and still be my friend when you are done reading this and realize how big of a dork I am :)

100. I've always wanted to be a mommy.
99. But for a money making career, I always wanted to be an OB-GYN.
98. I keep my LPN licence up to date, but never really intend on using it again.
97. My favorite color is PURPLE! - It has been for as long as I can remember - I actually think I was brainwashed into liking it :)
96. I went to school - K-12 in the same building
95. And married my high school sweetheart.
94. We've been married 5 years & 8 months.
93. And I'm still VERY much in love with him :)
92. I want to have 4 or 5 kids - or more if that's God's will for us. 
91. My favorite food changes all the time.
90. I'd pick something fruity over chocolate almost any day!
89. I am totally in love with my kids.
88. I want to open a family bakery some day.
87. I truly believe I could eat cookies for every meal of the day, every day.
86. I like cold hot dogs...and grilled hot dogs....pretty much I like a hot dog any way!
85. I played the flute in band.
84. I live like 1 block away from my sister.
83. I can actually see her house from my back door.
82. And I hope that never changes.
81. I wish my brother lived closer.
80. I miss my nieces & nephews all the time.
79. I wish they ALL lived closer too!
78. I love hugs, REAL hugs.
77. My favorite movie is The Proposal.
76. I LOVE to laugh.
75. Hearing my brother laugh - even from another room - makes me laugh too - it's contagious!
74. I don't think I could ever be a vegetarian.
73. And I don't ever want to be.
72. I used to work on a post-surgical floor & I like packing wounds. gross, I know.
71. I cry at movies.
70. My kids crack me up!!! Especially Eli. He is very witty - especially for being only 3.
69. I would LOVE to go to Italy.
68. Trent proposed to me in the woods, right after he woke me up...I fell asleep right after he grilled me lunch.
67. And I said "Is that real? Where's the box?"
66. I'm a romantic, I know.
65. If I could have a re-do, I'd gasp, hold my hands over my mouth, cry, and say yes!! fling my arms around him and then hold out my shaking hand while he slipped the ring on my finger. :-)
64. But then again, that's too much like the movies....so I don't want a re-do :)
63. I like chick-flicks (as I'm sure you guessed from #65)
62. I am not good at baking bread.
61. I can say the alphabet backwards.
60. I hate wearing tennis shoes.
59. I'd wear sandals everyday! If only it didn't snow in Iowa....HA!
58. I get Trent a bag of Dove dark chocolate for almost every holiday.
57. I started drinking coffee so Trent & I could drink it together.
56. I don't actually like coffee.... It's more like "Yes, I'll take a little coffee in my creamer."
55. Caramel Macchiato :)
54. Actually, I prefer tea.
53. I love getting flowers.
52. I used to be a control freak. (weird?!?)
51. Now, I'm just a little sweeter ;)
50. I have a blind cat. Haylee. She actually doesn't really even have eyes....just nastiness in her eye sockets.
49. One of the coolest things someone ever told me: I was drawing blood from this 101 year old lady and I was pregnant with Molly and she said to me "You're just starting your life, and I'm just wrapping mine up." The perspective was, and still is, amazing to me.
48. Please tell me if I have something in my teeth or hanging out my nose. I'd tell you!
47. Sometimes I can be a little obsessive about cutting and folding paper straight.
46. So, you're learning that I'm a little weird.
45. I don't like to wear shorts.
44. I'm not a great housekeeper. I tend to get caught up in going through things (i.e. looking at pictures, or over-organizing) and before I know it, it's time to make supper and the evening routine kicks into full gear.
43. I am pretty good at fixing toilets.
42. When I was little I loved going to work with my Dad.
41. Forever and ever I thought my Dad was the strongest & tallest man & that he could fix ANYTHING!
40. Some things never change :)
39. I had a crush on Billy Ray Cyrus when I was little.
38. What can I say.... it was the mullet that stole my achy-breaky heart!
37. I ate sand when I was really little... A LOT of sand.
36. Ice cream falls into all categories: breakfast, lunch, dinner, & dessert!
35. I think eggplant is disgusting. Pretty, but not good.
34. I don't like talking in front of large amounts of people.
33. My knees get shaky and my voice warbles and I feel my face start to turn lovely shades of red.
32. I love to swing. REALLY high!
31. When I was little (like before I went to school), I used to swing in our backyard, singing at the top of my lungs "I was born in the U.S.A!" - Thanks Bruce Springsteen for those powerful words.
30. My favorite musical is Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. 
29. Oh, and Mary Poppins.
28. AND Meet Me in St. Louis
27. I like watching sports on T.V. 
26. Football season is my favorite because Trent & I snuggle on the couch and watch the games. 
25. And there are a lot of games.....so we get to do that a lot. 
24. I only like baseball because he does.
23. Cheesy, but whatever!
22. Trent took me for a hot air balloon ride in Colorado when I was 5 months pregnant with Molly.
21. I am very fascinated by how the human body works.
20. I like to do crafts.
19. I really like office supplies... there's just something about clips, staplers, organizers, & post-it notes that scream FUN!!!
18. I love pina-colada scented everything!
19. I like bags.
18. Tote bags. Purses. Book bags. Laundry bags. pretty much anything that you can put the word "bag" after....that carries things.
17. I really want to run.
16. I used to run a lot, but now I don't.
15. My nose has been broke 3 times. - Once in high school during volleyball, Trent broke it once & Eli broke it once.
14. I like the smell of bleach.
13. Squirrels freak me out a little bit.
12. I'm a little sarcastic. 
11. I talk to my Mom pretty much every day.
10. Dilbert is my favorite comic.
9. Just the thought of biting down on a dry washcloth makes me cringe.
8. I like numbers.
7. My favorite number is 7.
6. My middle name is June, I was born in June. It's my Grandma's first name & she was born in June. My Aunt's middle name is also June (she wasn't born in June), and Jillian's middle name is June too :)
5. I like lists. 
4. I LOVE JESUS!
3. I think you should too.
2. I'm going to heaven when I die.
1. And I hope to see you there :-)

~Amanda

Messy Monday!

I loaded the gang up and we headed out for Messy Monday!!!

What a beautiful day!!!

Off we went to Gramma & Papa C's.

Mom was spring cleaning today and I wanted to get out of the house for fear that another bat may claim my home as it's own. EEEWWW! Yes, there was a bat in our house last night.

So, I decided to take Messy Monday on the road :)

I took some paint tape down, washed a screen, put the screen in place, and cleaned up a potty accident.

Pretty intense :)

Trent is the one who really took charge this Messy Monday! Since we had the bat in our house last night, his job tonight was to check the roof to see where it came in at. While up on the roof, he found the entrance to the bat cave & he knocked down 10 wasps nests!!! Yuck!!!

Hopefully our wasp & bat problem has been solved.

Hope you found a mess today and cleaned it up!

Food Friday!!!

PESTO - YYYUUUUMMMMM!

Garlic, Pine Nuts, Basil Leaves, Parmmigiano-Reggiano, & EVOO

I've never made it before but you can google a recipe to try it if you've got mounds (yes mounds, you're gonna love it!) of basil leaves just laying around.
It's WONDERFUL!
I love it on pizza & noodles (and I've found out so do my kids!).
Give it a try.

You can find this nice little 8.1oz. jar (that goes a long way) in with the spaghetti sauces at Wal-Mart - just under $2.00!!

Have a fabulous weekend!!!

XO ~ Amanda

to embrace blessings!

I was in the living room spotting Jillian as she used every muscle in her body to pull herself up to the coffee table that sits in the middle of the living room. The weather yesterday was so nice that we were able to open the front door, which opens up to an enclosed porch. This is where we put the overflow of toys so it's a nice "new" place for them to play when the weather allows. So, I'm with Jillian and Molly and Eli are out on the porch make-believing something. I decide to start listening to them:


They are both kneeling down in front of the door that actually goes outside.
Eli grabs Molly's hand.
Eli:  "Molly, you are SO beautiful! I just want to marry you."
Molly: "I want to marry you too!"
They embrace each other with a very heart melting hug.
End Scene.


Okay so they REALLY love each other. That makes me very happy. I'll fill you in a little on what goes on in make-believe land. So, ever since Eli could practically talk (which was VERY early - like 16-18 months) he has called Molly, Mom. She in turn calls him, Dad. We used to answer them when they would run around saying "Mom" or "Dad" but they quickly informed us that they were talking to each other and if they wanted us they would say "Mommy" or "Daddy". They are like those old cute couples that call each other Mom & Dad! They kiss each other, they hug ALOT, they get married almost everyday, there is usually a tragic incidence where someone dies (I know - morbid), they fight & make-up, and fight again, they truly are BEST FRIENDS! Currently, Eli is playing Pretty Pretty Princess with Molly. Adorning himself in blue plastic jewelry - even clip-on earrings.


Last night we put the kids to bed and they still had a little more energy to burn so we figured we'd hear them talking a little bit. Usually we hear Eli run across the floor to quick grab something and then dart back into bed. They know they aren't supposed to be out of bed unless it's to go to the bathroom...so if they think they need yet another stuffed animal or book, they first must scope it out, make a break for it and get back into bed as quickly as possible. So after about 30-45 minutes, I was settled in on the couch feeding Jillian and we hear the kids moving around way more than usual. Trent goes up peeks in the door - Eli is kneeling next to Molly, on her bed. Eli slithers his feet down to the floor and slowly walks back to bed. Nothing said. Trent comes back down. Not more than 5 minutes later, we hear him up again! Trent goes up to find Eli in the same spot!! Trent asks "What are you doing?" Eli says "We are playing Rapunzel!" 
What else would they be doing at 10 p.m.?? Ha ha! They are so funny!


There was a time when I wondered if having kids so close in age was a good idea. It is. It's WONDERFUL! They are 16 1/2 months apart. They don't know life without each other. Like me and my brother (we're 20 months apart)....even my sister for that matter and we are 3 years & 3 months apart!
I can't wait to see how they all 3 play together.

Siblings are such blessing!!

Have a great day!

..Yes! It's Messy Monday!

Happy Messy Monday to you! Well, today we are dealing with a mess that I will NOT have any before and after pictures. Why? Because it has to do with our sewar system! YUCK! This is the 2nd time that our drains in our house have backed up. You flush the toilet and the kitchen sink gurggles. You wash laundry and when the washer drains, all the water comes up in the floor drain in the middle of the basement. SO, as you can see....there is a serious problem! At least it doesn't smell!!! Last time we called the local plumber and they were able to fix the problem likety-split! We had some roots growing in through our pipes out past the house. A few weeks goes by....which brings us to this last weekend. The plumber comes over and fixes the problem but says he doesn't know the cause this time. Tomorrow a man will be coming over with a camera to stick down in the pipe thing in our front yard to figure out why we keep backing up! Gross!! Hopefully it is something that can easily be fixed. If not...our yard gets torn up & we get new pipes.

Today I folded towels & YES! I put them away!! :) Yay me!!! I'd say that was an avoided mess.
Pizza crust is being made in the bread maker.
More laundry is washing.
Kids are still sleeping :)

Yesterday Molly & I went took part in a paint-a-thon fundraising event for a little girl that has been fighting cancer and is currently in remission. The kids were invited to come and paint a canvas that will be sold at free-will prices. It was pretty fun. They had a great turnout!

It was a good day :)

Food Friday!

This last week I made Sesame Beef. YUMMY! I forgot how good and easy this is!
After we got married, I started working at the local family practice clinic. A co-worker/friend started sharing recipes with me. I couldcook and I enjoyed it but I just didn't know what new recipes to try. So she would search for some recipes that she liked and printed several off for me to try on Trent. That actually motivated me to really dig in and cook more! So, here we have Sesame Beef:

(slightly modified from allrecipe.com)
1 pound of steak (I use whatever I have on hand)
4 Tbsp soy sauce
4 Tbsp white sugar
4 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
onions, chopped
sesame seeds

Directions
Mix soy sauce, sugar, oil, garlic, and onions in a ziplock bag or bowl. Set aside.
Cut up steak into pieces and add to bag/bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight, or at least 30 minutes.
Cook until brown, about 5 minutes. Add sesame seeds and cook for additional 2 minutes.

I like to serve this over noodles....just regular or whole wheat spaghetti noodles works great!

I doubled this recipe the other day and there was enough left over with 4 of us eating it....well 3 of us (Molly didn't like the beef) to send Trent with leftovers for his lunch.

Hope you give this a try!

Have a great weekend!

The Triathalon...

The last week has been a rather interesting one! Actually it started out April 20th with a visit to the pediatrician....

Jillian had not been sleeping very well, had run a temp, and she had been messing with her left ear pretty consistently. I called the doctor and made her an appointment. Results: "She does have some fluid in that ear. If she gets a fever again or gets worse, fill this perscription." So, I waited a sleepless night and proceeded to get her script filled the next day. Amoxicillin. 

She continued to play with her ear, her eye was goopy, and she was still waking up repeatedly in the night. May 3rd came and I took her back to the doctor. Results: "Her left ear is definitely still infected and her right seems to be heading in that direction." Omnicef.   

We are now to Thursday May 5th. Jillian still is waking up in the night! Eli wakes up with red/pink eyes! Molly's eyes are very slightly pink too! : ( So, I get on the phone and their doctor is out of the office so we see our 2nd choice of provider. Only one child needed an appointment. They wanted to see Eli because of his history of ear infections. Results: Eli definitely had an eye infection. Ears looked fine. Molly's perscription had already been called in so we were advised to just use the same drops on all of the kids (just don't touch their eye with the tip). Okay. Off to Wal-mart for meds, again! We got there and they hadn't received the script. The pharmacy guy called and the nurses/doctors/receptionists were in a meeting for another 30 minutes! FORGET IT! We loaded up and I had Trent pick up the eye drops after he was off from work. After naps, Eli looked and acted miserable :(

Eye drops went very smoothly with Molly & Jillian. Eli on the other hand....well, lets just say he continued his "spirited" attitude. (For those of you who don't know the little man - he was born with this deep deep deep passion for leadership - that's what we keep telling ourselves :) )

Saturday comes. Jillian's eyes are a bit better. Molly's eys didn't get worse. Eli's eyes were definitely improving. Jillian didn't sleep pretty much at all the night before. She was still messing with her eyes, and she got a fever the night before. Back to yet another doctor! Results: "She still has a bit of an eye infection. Her left eardrum is bulging. Her right ear doesn't look so good either!" Augmentin. My parents come to watch the kids that evening so Trent and I can go to our Bible study. About 15 minutes before we leave, Jillian decides to share her supper with my Mom! EEEEWWW! All things considered, that night was the first night Jillian slept 10 hours!!! YAY!!!!

Sunday - MOTHERS DAY. I got a patio fire pit, flowers, and a full nights sleep - my kids also sang me Happy Birthday (it's not my birthday)! :) We went to my parents for lunch. For naps, the kids usually just lay down there and watch a movie and/or fall asleep. Well, Jillian went to sleep and Molly was sobbing! Her ear hurt! Eli was just irritable.

Monday, May 9th. I call the doctor for Molly. Results: "Her eardrum is bulging! I'm surprised it hasn't burst. The other ear doesn't look good either." Omnicef. "Eli's eyes look good. He has fluid in both ears. If he gets worse, give me a call and we'll get him something too." GREAT!!

So, here we are on Wednesday. Otoscope in hand........ Molly's ears look like they are getting better. No bulging bubble thing. Eli's ears don't look too good. Jillian doesn't let me get a good look into her ears, but we are on our 4th night of 10 hours of uninterrupted sleep....so, I would guess that she is doing better.

Results: I will most likely be giving the doctor a call for Eli.

We have 3 kids. I like to think of this as an ongoing triathalon :-)

Happy racing!

WOW that came fast!

Looks like MESSY MONDAY strikes again! Yikes! Sitting here  I just remembered that today I need to blog a mess.....oh lets see which one do I tackle today??? ..... Okay, got it!

I know this isn't technically "a mess" but it looks messy and it drives me crazy....so to me - It's a MESS!

We don't have a dishwasher so our dishes get stacked pretty high!

Sometimes even little tasks take great effort to accomplish.

Here I go!!

Results to come...

And here are the results ALL (4) of my followers have been anxiously awaiting...

WAH-LA

 

It's Friday!

I think I will declare Fridays as FOOD FRIDAY! I really enjoy baking - mostly desserts...especially cookies :) I, as far back as I can remember, have always had a rather untamable sweet tooth. I'm not big on chocolate (but will try it) or peach stuff, but pretty much everything else is a go! Enjoy these yummy pictures!

Molly's 2nd birthday cake

Eli's 1st Birthday cake

Molly's 3rd Birthday cake

Eli's 2nd Birthday cake

Molly's 4th birthday cake

Eli's 3rd birthday cake

Strawberry cakies (aka whoopie pies - I don't like that name)

Better than ... cake (you can fill in the ... with whatever you want!)

The birthday cakes Trent and I work together making. We usually stay up late the night before the party and finish decorating the cakes so that when the birthday kid wakes up, they get to see their cake! It's fun :)

I guess I've mostly taken pictures of the birthday cakes and I just recently started taking pictures of my other desserts....and a couple are on my phone which I don't know how to get onto the computer (I'll leave that to my"Geek Squad" friends to help me figure that one out).

Be daring! Find a recipe that looks/sounds good and give it a try!

Happy Friday!



for pink...or NOT!

We woke up this morning to a little boy with pink eye :( We've never had it in this house and I really don't like it. I just feel terrible for him! It's in both eyes and I think Molly has it too - but not bad yet. Her eye looks mattery like his did yesterday. And Jillian, well, she has an ear infection and both of her eyes are mattery! UGH! She took a 10 day course of amoxicillin and is now on Omnicef for 10 days.

Dear infections,
PLEASE GO AWAY!!!

So, I started this blog thinking that I was ALWAYS going to have something funny to post about what the kids did or said. I don't. And, I haven't. Maybe with all the above-mentioned yucky-ness their humor is at a standstill. They still crack me up!

Yesterday I got to experience something....something that I've  only watched happen but have never experienced firsthand. We live on a corner and our yard runs along side of the road to the stop sign. Lately, when someone leaves our house the kids have been running along side the road to the stop sign - you know, the way a dog might/does - all along the way yelling and waving "bye, bye, bye!" I think they get sort of a rush or something from being able to run as fast as the vehicle is driving. As I was driving away last night on my way to the store, Eli did this! It was SO cute! His huge smile lit up his entire face as he raced me to the stop sign. I LOVED IT! Then I turned the corner and he stood there with his arm up in the air waving at me. It was fun. 

I bought a new book yesterday: Too Many Cooks - The adventures of 1 mom, 4 kids, and 102 recipes.
I'm ready for a fun read!

It's off to the doctor (2nd time this week)! Maybe I should consider a local doctor??

Have a great day!

...to reflect.

This is a pretty little decoration that hangs by my sink. The other day I was dusting it off and I got to thinking about my HOPE.

Hope: A feeling of trust.

My hope is in Jesus.

How often do we let our hope get covered in dust & dirt?

Yesterday a very good friend of mine offered to text me at 6am each morning so that I would start getting up early and take some time in the Word. As much as I was dreading the fact that I would now be accountable to someone - which means no more excuses, I knew I REALLY needed to start doing this. So, this morning I woke up at 6:15 - didn't even hear her text messages! With intention to read Ecclesiastes, I found myself reading Ephesians. I like to think that was God-led. :) Here I read this prayer:

(ESV) Ephesians 1:

17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Dust off your hope and see what He is calling you to do today.

...pick a mess!

It's MESSY MONDAY!

It was a very eventful weekend! Friday started off with the Royal Wedding - that of which I was secretly stalking and had to admit to my husband :) It was a beautiful wedding, and what a beautiful couple. It makes me want to get married again :)
Sunday Osama bin Laden was declared dead! Trent and I were browsing Facebook and we read a few comments about it and then turned the television on just in time to hear the Presidents speach.
Sunday Jillian also reached another milestone - she started crawling!!

So, today not only will I be celebrating MESSY MONDAY, but so will many other people! There is the mess to clean up around the Abby & Buckingham Palace. Then there is the clean up of the fire-fight with bin Laden. And I will be cleaning up probably more than one mess today in preparation of Jillian's new mode of transportation - her hands & knees.

I haven't yet picked a "mess" to blog about but when I do, I will be sure to post the pictures.
Happy cleaning!!

BEFORE: So, this is a pile of stuff that has been growing over the last couple of weeks. I know, embarrassing, but it's life and it's in my bedroom - I can close the door and noone knows it's there!

AFTER: It may be assumed that I just moved the stuff out of the picture, but in fact I didn't! There were clothes folded on my bed when I took this picture, but they were destined to be put away and not just thrown back in their afore-shown spot.

And now for the happy faces:

Just another MESSY MONDAY!

Adios!