The Ice Cream Truck!

Gretchen went to bed early tonight - I think she is teething again. She was very fussy, a little warm, and extremely tired. So off to bed she went at a little after 6 pm. I decided to keep the boys up longer tonight. They have been waking up between 5:30 and 6 lately, and I'm thinking their 7 pm bedtime might be a little too early. So we stayed up until 8 pm, playing outside. While we were outside, the boys heard the ice cream truck hit the neighborhood. I decided to treat them to an ice cream bar, and boy, they loved that! Of course, I couldn't get Daniel to take off his fireman coat, so he just dripped his ice cream on it. It was a good night!

Tomatoes at Great Gramma's

I had to drop the kids off at Great Gramma's early today - around 7:30 - so I could go to an 8:00 Relay for Life meeting with our staff partner. I didn't worry about feeding the kids breakfast at our house, I just gathered all their things together, dressed them, and packed them in the car. Gram said she would feed them breakfast, and that saved us a ton of time at home. When I picked them up at 9:30, the sun was finally out and warm enough to take pictures of the tomato plants that Gram has growing. The plants started out as little seeds planted by the kids back in the cold part of the spring. We all know how much Gram loves growing tomatoes, so we started two trays of Balcony Hybrid tomatoes in March. She planted 7 of the plants at her house. I thought that the were supposed to be a type of cherry tomato, but they are much bigger than that. And most of the plants are produced quite a good crop.

Why? Why? Why, Mommy? Why?

It has finally started - the never-ending Why? Why? Why? questions from Austin. I knew it was just a matter of time. He is almost 3-1/2, and he's been asking all sorts of other questions for months. Especially - what's that, Mommy? But today, on the way home from church, it started. This should be a fun ride! Wait until Daniel figures out to ask this question - then I'll have two little birds saying the same thing! If you see bald patches on my head, you'll now know why!

Company Picnic

James' company hosted a family picnic today at one of the local parks. Great event - it started at 10:30 and went until 2 pm. Lots of great food - fruit and veggie and chip tray when we first got there, catered bbq lunch at noon, and free hard ice cream cones before we left. They had a jumping castle/slide for the kids, a dunk tank to raise money for the food bank, and lots of school-age kids games. They also had door prizes - 4 given out every half hour - but we didn't win any of those. They also had tables of fun activities set up for the kids - press on tatoos, crafts, and a fishing game for prizes. We really had a good time, and it certainly wore out the kids!

Park Play Day

We were supposed to go to the park today to play in the splash pad, but the weather was pretty cold. I had dressed the kids for water play before we left home, then hit a few yard sales on the way there. But by the time we arrived, the weather still hadn't warmed up, so I quickly changed them in the parking lot and put on their long pants and sweaters. We still had a good time playing in the park with all of our friends! It was a really good turn-out. I didn't get a lot of pictures, but here are a couple. I missed getting a picture of the boys on their new tricycle - I found it a garage sale for $3 - quite the bargain!

New Toys

We got some new-to-us toys today from one of my friends at church. The boys love their new toys, and it won't be long before Gretchen claims them as hers!

Menu Plan Monday

It has been a crazy week, what with my hubby gone. You can imagine that meals have not been very creative. I usually get the kids something to eat, sit with them while they eat (or attempt to, as toddlers do), and then find some leftovers in the fridge for myself after they go to bed. But I thought I should at least try to plan a menu for this week! So here goes.....

Monday - Chicken Nuggets with French Fries and Peas for kids, Thai Chicken & Rice for Mommy!

Tuesday - Pork Chops with Au Gratin Potatoes and Broccoli

Wednesday - BBQ Steak with Pasta Dish & Pea/Carrot Mix

Thursday - Pork Roast with Mashed Potatoes & Applesauce

Friday - Spaghetti & Meatballs using Gram's homemade canned spaghetti sauce, & garlic bread

Saturday - Pizza Night!

Sunday - Home Bible Fellowship - dinner potluck

Check out Organizing Junkie for her Menu Plan, and links to lots of other Menu Plans!

Roasted Chicken

How many ways can you use a roasted chicken? That is my question of the day! I bought a rotisserie roasted chicken at Costco this week - the flavor of their chicken is awesome! But with our family of two adults who eat normal portions and three children that eat like birds, we sometimes run out of ideas of how to eat up the chicken in a week before it goes bad. So, I would love to hear your ideas. Tell me some great recipes or ideas on different ways I can use this chicken. Post a comment, and I will randomly select a winner from all the posted comments/ideas by midnight PST Wednesday and send you a great prize.

Thanks for your help!

Daddy on the Airplane

I was up at 4 am this morning to make it down to Dutch Brothers Coffee by 5 to kick off a promotion for our American Cancer Society "Relay for Life". I haven't been up and out of the house that early in a long time!! But I was home by 6:30, just in time for the kids to start waking up. Luckily, James was home in the morning, so I didn't have to find a sitter for that early!

Later, James flew out of Spokane to NY for his 20-year high school reunion. It's the first time he's been gone for more than a night or two - he'll be gone for almost a week. We all drove out to the airport together so the kids could see him off and watch the planes fly. Unfortunately, as soon as we watched a plane take off and say good-bye to Daddy, Daniel lost it. He cried all the way home from the airport, wanting Daddy. Poor little guy - he really is a Daddy's boy. We came home, ate lunch and took naps, and then got ready to go swimming with some friends from MOMS Club at the Dart-Lo Pool. Unfortunately, when we got there, the toddler pool was closed due to chlorine issues, and the big pool didn't allow floatie toys for the little ones to be in. So we had to leave, which made Daniel break down again. And then we got home, and I couldn't make the air compressor work to blow up the kids' pool. So after dinner, we went to church, and the kids played in the nursery/preschool while I got to take my much-needed class, and then home to bed at around 9:30. And now, it's time for me to crash. Hopefully the kids will sleep through the night and sleep in. One can alway hope!

Great Prize to Win!

Head on over to Along for the Ride for your chance to win great Baby Wearing Stash! Great items to help carry your little ones along with you, close to you!

Win the Essential Babywearing Stash from Along for the Ride (one Beco Butterfly, one Hotsling baby pouch, one BabyHawk Mei Tai, one Zolowear Ring Sling, and one Gypsy Mama Wrap)

Planting Flowers

The kids and I spent some time this afternoon planting some flower gifts. We had been given a gift certificate to NW Seed & Pet at our Adoption Shower, so I decided to buy mostly perennials so that we could have them for a long while. I bought them last Thursday, and finally got them in the ground today! The kids had a really good time, and we played for about an hour outside. It was certainly hot, but we had the water on to keep us cool. I also bought a few petunias to plant around the pretty sunflower plant that my MOMS Club members got for me. Hopefully they will perk up and get bigger soon!

Water Park Play Date

We went up to a fun water park today to play with one of the kids friends and his mom, who is also a good friend of mine! We had so much fun, and I was really surprised at how well Gretchen did. She was out in the water up to her shoulders, and jumping off the side and dunking in - she loved it. The boys did too! I lathered them all up with sunscreen a couple of different times, so they were well protected. But dummy me, I didn't have my friend do my back, and now it is bright red like a lobster. And it hurts - ohmygoodness it hurts! This will teach me a lesson for sure!

Another meeting with our Adoption Caseworker

Well, we are getting closer and closer! Our adoption caseworker, Amy, came to our house on Tuesday to drop off 6 volumes (each 2" thick) of Austin's case file for our review. These are records we can either keep or destroy once we've read through them. I think we will keep everything under heavy lock and key until we have decided whether or not to permanently keep them. And then we might rent a safe deposit box. Definitely not papers that everyone should read - some very intense information.

It looks like we will be getting assigned an August court date to finalize adoptions. I'm so excited to be this close to officially calling them "my children"! Even their birth certificates will be new, declaring that we are there parents! It's amazing!

A couple of favorite recipes

I was reading a post on My Wooden Spoon and Lori was sharing a recipe she likes for peppers. She asked what our favorite recipes are that include peppers, so I thought I'd post two that I really enjoy. And the great thing is they are both very easy!

Sweet-and-Sour Popcorn Chicken
(from Sept/Oct '06 Simple & Delicious)
1 medium green pepper, cut into 1" pieces
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 T vegetable oil
1 can (20 oz) unsweetened pineapple chunks
3 T white vinegar
2 T soy sauce
1/3 c packed brown sugar
2 T cornstarch
1 pkg (12 oz) frozen popcorn chicken
In a large skillet or wok, stir fry green pepper and onion in oil for 3-4 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain pineapple, reserving the juice in a 2-cup measuring cup; set pineapple aside. Add enough water to the juice to measure 1-1/3 cups; stir in the vinegar, soy sauce and ketchup.
In a bowl, combine brown sugar and cornstarch. Stir in pineapple juice mixture until smooth. Gradually add to the skillet. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 mintues or until thickened. Add pineapple. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 4-5 minutes or until heated through.
Meanwhile, microwave or bake chicken according to package directions Stir into pineapple mixture. Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.
My note - I serve this with either white sticky rice or egg noodles. Yummy!

Best Peanut Sauce
1/2 c crunchy peanut butter
2 T soy sauce
1 t white sugar
2 drops hot pepper sauce, or 1-2 t pepper flakes
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 c water
In a small pan, stir together peanut butter, soy sauce, sugar, pepper sauce or flakes & garlic until well mixed. Gradually stir in water until texture is smooth and creamy. Cook over medium heat until slightly bubbly.
My note - after I cook the sauce, I like to add 1 or 2 cups of cooked shredded chicken (depending on how saucy I want it). Then I spread the peanut chicken sauce onto a prepared pizza crust (Boboli is good) and then add my other toppings - shredded carrots, minced bell peppers, diced red onions, chopped broccoli - whatever your faves are. I top the whole thing with some mozzarella cheese, and bake in the oven at 400 for 15 minutes. Very yummy, and depending on the amount of pepper sauce or flakes, it can have quite the kick! This is very similar to the Thai Chicken Pizza served at The Onion restaurant.

Hope you can try them out and enjoy!

Happy 4th of July!

We spent the 4th out at the lake, enjoying some fun time in the water and lots of great food and fireworks. Here are some pictures that show a bit of what we did on the 4th!

Menu Plan Monday

We didn't quite stick to last week's menu. On Thursday, Meegan's Gram ended up treating us to dinner - out to the buffet, so everyone got to eat just what they wanted! And Friday we decided to put a couple of t-bones on the grill for us, and the kids had spaghetti. But, hey, we tried!

Here is my menu for this week. We have an extra kiddo with us Monday through Thursday - my 7 year old niece is staying with us and going to our church's VBS. And I'm babysitting another little boy - age 2-1/2 - on Wednesday and Thursday. So we will be very, very busy this week! It's a good thing it's nice weather! We'll be playing outside a lot!

Monday - Homemade Fish Sticks with french fries, fresh watermelon and cantelope, and green salad.

Tuesday - BBQ Chicken Legs & Thighs (leftovers from Sunday), Mashed Potatoes, Vegetable & Fruit

Wednesday - BBQ hot dogs/hamburgers at church before classes - yippee - mommy doesn't have to cook!

Thursday - Ravioli Casserole & Garlic Bread after Tumbling Class - Meegan's gram will be at the house watching Gretchen while the boys take class, so she can put the casserole in the oven to be ready when we get home. Yea for Gram!

Friday - Steak on the Barbie, Oven Baked Potatoes & Veggie

Saturday - Pork Chops on the Barbie, Rice Pilaf & Veggie

Sunday - Roast in the Crockpot, Mashed Potatoes, Veggie

You can find lots more great menu ideas at I'm An Organizing Junkie. Go see the list of Menu Plan participants and enter to win a contest she is hosting over there!

Monday at Gramma & Grampa's!

Today we spent the day out at Gramma and Grampa's house. Great-Gram went with us, and we met up with G-G's two cousins Alice & Mayvis on the way out. We left our house at 9 am and didn't get back home until 3:30. It was a fun day, but the kids were pooped out, especially after our long day at church and Auntie Melissa's for Father's Day. Grampa got home from work early, right after lunch, so the boys and their cousin Aimee had fun taking walks and playing outside with Grampa. No one took naps until we left to go home, and then only slept about 45 minutes while we were driving. Needless to say, the evening was a little crazy - very tired little children who desperately needed a good night's sleep! We had a yummy dinner of Spaghetti, compliments of Daddy!, and then the kids soaked off all the dirt from the last two days in the bathtub. All were asleep by 7:30 pm, and hopefully they will all wake up in good moods on Tuesday morning!

I'd love to post pictures of our fun day, but my digital camera has bit the dust! The focus no longer works, and it's time for Mommy to get a new camera! I feel lost. I do still have my big 35 mm Nikon, and have been using it, but it feels so strange not to see the photo immediately and be able to get it on my computer! I really need to replace my digital soon!

Menu Plan Monday

OK - I've got to get back on track with posting my menus for the week! I've been doing pretty good about making up the menus to keep on our fridge at home, but I haven't been very good about posting them here! So let's see if I can get back on track starting today!

Monday - Spaghetti cooked by Daddy, followed by a big bath to wash off the mess!

Tuesday - Chicken Patties & Mac-n-Cheese with Daddy (Mommy has a meeting for RFL)

Wednesday - BBQ hot dogs/hamburgers at church before classes

Thursday - Pork Chops, Applesauce and Mashed Potatoes with a veggie

Friday - Chicken & Rice with a veggie

Saturday - Potluck with MOMS Club families at the park

Sunday - Potluck Dinner with Home Bible Fellowship Group

As you can see, this will be a relatively easy food week for us. Next week will be a little different, as my niece Aimee will be with us for Monday through Thursday for VBS.

You can find lots more great menu ideas at I'm An Organizing Junkie. Go see the list of Menu Plan participants and enter to win a contest she is hosting over there!

Website to check out

I'm taking a few minutes of quiet to surf the net and post a little on my blog. Dinner is in the oven, homemade bread is rising, and the kids are quiet with hubby watching a cartoon. Ah, a few minutes of peace. I know, I should be doing something a little more constructive - Bible time, prayer time, etc. - but I know this will only last 10 minutes at the very most, so I thought I would do something quick!

I've created a link on my blog list, but I really think you should go check out My Wooden Spoon. It's a great blog, full of free give aways and lots of fun food info. Go check it out!

And see, I didn't even make it through the whole post before I had to go tend to someone needing something! Oops, there goes Gretchen again - gotta go!

Menu Plan Monday

I think I was supposed to post this last night, but that just didn't happen. So, here is my Menu Plan for this next week. As always, you can find lots more organizing ideas at I am an Organizing Junkie.

Monday - Spaghetti with Garlic Bread - this is our kids' favorite meal, and one that is usually eaten without their shirts on - it's a messy one for them!

Tuesday - Round Steak, Rice-a-Roni, homemade biscuits

Wednesday - Cheesy Tater Tot Casserole (freezer meal exchange), homemade biscuits

Thursday - Pork Chops, Mashed Potatoes, Applesauce & Garlic Bread - mommy's favorite meal!

Friday - Enchilada Casserole & cornbread

Saturday - Dinner and Movie for mommy & daddy - heading out to a Thai restaurant. Kiddos will eat Leftover Love with the babysitter!

Sunday - Memorial Day BBQ at a friends house.

I'm always looking for great freezer meals - let me know if you have one you would like to share!