Terrific Kid...

Jake got a Terrific Kids Award at school yesterday. He got it for being an "interesting story writer". :) I already knew he was a terrific kid, but this made him so proud and excited. He said the principal came to his class and gave a few of the kids the award. He thought that was really cool.

Jake is also getting ready for the opening day for little league on Saturday. We have had only one practice due to all the rain we've had. Opening day looks to be sunny and warm though which is good because we not only have the ceremony (boring...), team pictures and our first game (yay!). We are so excited to have a former coach. He is great and so much fun.


Laura is getting faster with her crawling faster. Isn't it amazing how fast kids learn? Her favorite thing in the world other than the tv remote is paper. It is amazing how she finds it everywhere and we will find her chewing something and we have to get it back. She loves to knock over waste baskets and dig through that, lol!


Today, I am cooking chicken. I bought 8 whole chickens at Krogers last night for 59 cents a pound. I am cooking two in crockpots and two together in my big roaster. I am going to shred the meat and freeze it for later. I am freezing one whole and I am thinking I will cut the others into pieces and freeze those two. I love a deal obviously!

And she's off...

Laura is now officially a crawler. Our life will never be the same, lol!

No pics today, but a funny...

ALWAYS check your child's homework before it gets turned in...



A first grade girl handed in the drawing below for a homework assignment.

After it was graded and the child brought it home, she returned to school the next day with the following note:
Dear Ms. Davis,
I want to be very clear on my child’s illustration. It is NOT of me on a dance pole on a stage in a strip joint. I work at Home Depot and had commented to my daughter how much money we made in the recent snowstorm. This photo is of me selling a shovel.

Mrs. Harrington

Source:
http://www.businesspundit.com/always-check-your-childs-homework-before-it-gets-turned-in/

More hairclips...

Today was a quiet day for me and Laura. She is cutting a tooth in her bottom jaw. It is bothering her, poor thing! She also might have a cold, though I am not sure if it might be due to teething.



I went for a walk with a neighbor today. We are trying to exersize since it is warming up slightly. It is funny--we mostly talk about recipes and cooking, lol! Laura loves being in her snugli while we walk. Today, I notice her head flopping and she had fallen asleep. :) Normally, though, she can't seem to get enough of the world around her. She loves being outside.



Tomorrow, we will be inside most of the day. My friend is coming over to start her quilt. She is making a "Trip Around the World" quilt. It should be a "trip" working with her on it!



Well, I have made some more hair clips. The felt ones are for the neighborhood girls. The cherry one is for Laura, but I haven't finished it yet. Maybe some other little girls in my life might be getting some....

Hair clips...

Here are some pictures of the hair clips I made this last weekend. Some are aligator clips covered with ribbon. I have bunches more ribbon to make some more. I also will add more embellishments like buttons etc to them.

I really like making the felt ones best. They are like little pillows with hair clips inside. They are pretty easy to whip up and that is coming from some who doesn't do needlework. I am trying to figure how how to punch out the shapes instead of cutting so I get nicer edges. Also, I will do some with blanket stitches, but I really liked how the running stitches looked. Maybe I will do some embroidery work after all. It is fun to see them come together.

Yesterday, all the neighborhood little girls came in and saw them on the table. They went wild for them and asked if I could make them some. That made me feel pretty good about my work. So... maybe they might be getting one or two from me. :) I am such a sucker when they act cute.

Ahoy, maties!

Jake and his Dad had a great time at the Aquarium. They first took a boat ride on the ocean and scooped up fish from the bottom. They didn't pull up a lot. Mostly anchovies and one pipe fish. The waves were high so it was like a roller coaster ride. I think Jake got a little queasy out there. :) Actually he is just looking at something in a box, but it was too cute to pass up.

After a round of putt putt, Sandy and Jake had a sleepover in the Aquarium itself. There were a lot of hands on activities. They slept next to the snake tanks. Jake had a good time seeing all the sea creatures and petting sting rays.

Girl's weekend

It is just me and Laura today. No photos to post since Sandy has the camera. I just played with Laura and crafted. I made some cool barrettes for Laura when her hair grows long enough. I will post some pictures of them this week. I am very proud of myself. **Patting myself on the back.**

Here are a couple of good recipes to try. The mini beef quiches can be made with sausage instead and are so good. I froze them to see how they did. They were good still, but you have to watch how long you nuke them to defrost because they will dry out if you go too long. From Taste of Home.

The second is such a good and easy casserole to make. I think it would be a good idea for Saturday night get togethers. It is easy and a real comfort food. Don't worry when you stir the ingredients together. It thickens up fast! You can also use cream of chicken soup instead. Also don't add salt until you taste it. The velveeta is a little on the salty side so it doesn't really need it. Ask me how I know! lol! From Recipezaar.com.


Ground Beef Snack Quiches

Taste of Home

My husband, Cory, farms, so supper can sometimes be quite late. A hearty appetizer like these meaty mini quiches is a perfect way to start the meal. They taste super made with ground beef, but I sometimes substitute bacon, ham, ground pork or sausage.

SERVINGS: 6
CATEGORY: Appetizer
METHOD: Baked
TIME: Prep: 15 min. Bake: 20 min.
Ingredients:
1/4 pound ground beef
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 cup biscuit/baking mix
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup cold butter
2 o 3 tablespoons boiling water
1 egg
1/2 cup half-and-half cream
1 tablespoon chopped green onion
1 tablespoon chopped sweet red pepper
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese
Directions: In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook the beef, garlic powder and pepper until meat is no longer pink; drain and set aside. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine biscuit mix and cornmeal; cut in butter. Add enough water to form a soft dough. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of greased miniature muffin cups. Place teaspoonfuls of beef mixture into each shell. In a small bowl, combine the egg, cream, onion, red pepper, salt and cayenne; pour over beef mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Yield: 1-1/2 dozen.


Ro-tel Chicken Spaghetti Recipe #46461

Easy, Easy, Easy!!! I got this recipe from an Aunt who made it for a family reunion. It has a great flavor and makes alot. Very Good! Does not include cooking time for the chicken.
by Anita Harris

50 min 20 min prep
SERVES 6 -8
4-6 chicken breasts, cooked & chopped
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can chicken broth
1 can Ro-Tel tomatoes
1 lb Velveeta cheese, cubed
12 ounces spaghetti, cooked & drained
In a bowl mix together the soup, broth& Ro-tel tomatoes.
In a 13x9 greased casserole dish layer as follows: Spaghetti, Chicken, Soup mix, Cheese.
Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven until heated through and cheese melts about 30-45 minutes.
As soon as you remove from the oven stir to mix well, adding salt and pepper to taste.

© 2009 Recipezaar. All Rights Reserved. http://www.recipezaar.com

New beginnings

Even though it is cooler today, the first day of Spring is absolutely gorgeous. It just seems like everyone is in a good mood. It doesn't hurt that it is Friday either. This weekend is going to be a fun one for Sandy and Jake. They are sleeping over at an aquarium at the beach with the Cub Scouts. I told Jake to pet one of the string rays in the petting tank for me. I love those creatures!

So it is a girl's weekend for me and Laura. Yay!

I thought I would show some pictures of our summer garden or at least will hopefully be our garden this year. Right now, it is located on our kitchen table.

We are planting tomatoes, beans, pumpkins, squash, zucchini, onions, garlic, etc. We are doing two experiments this summer. One is growing potatoes in a trashcan. It is the same thing as adding a tire, but we don't have tires, lol! We will grow the potatoes in two old trashcans we have and keep adding dirt as they grow up. At the end, we will knock them over and see if we have some taters! I love me some taters, so I am really hoping this will work. :)

The other experiment is growing crops on straw bales. I saw it online and it is an alternate to raised beds. It will require more water, but it will be fun to try. Here is info on how: http://www.carolinacountry.com/cgardens/thismonth/march06guide/straw.html

We decided to give it a try since we had some bales leftover from last fall that we used for a display, so what the hay....Get it! Hay!!!! I am too punny! :)

Here is my accomplishment for the week. I found a great deal on potatoes at Krogers. They had 10 lb bags of potatoes on sale for $2.71. I bought two bags and finally tried some freezer ideas with them. I made some Twice Baked Potatoes and then used the extra skins for Potato skins. I just baked the potatoes. Then I halved them. Scooped them out and mashed with butter, milk, cheddar cheese, and green onions. I meant to used bacon, but had run out of that. Restuffed the potatoes and froze them. They turned out really well. Here is a picture of them:

Happy Spring!

I know it is a day early, but it was so beautiful today that I am celebrating the beginning of spring today. Laura and I spent time outside in the yard on a blanket. Laura spent her time pulling at the grass and trying to eat a daffodil.

Laura is beginning to cut a tooth. You can just barely feel it, but it is coming. I am excited about the tooth, but will miss her little toothless gums. She is growing up way too fast...

She is trying to crawl...

And of course, when she crawls, it won't be to us, but to chase that cat! She loves him and believe or not, he lets her play with him. Hope this video works!

Irish Eyes are smiling...

Here are Jake and Laura in their St. Paddy's Day outfits. No pinching in this house. :)

I am still trying to decide what to fix for a holiday dinner. We might have green jello for dessert. Is that Irish enough? LOL!