I take it back...I LOVE the Fall...in the South

Weather today: Absolutely PERFECT! 80 degrees or so and NO humidity. Tell me where it's like this all year round and I'm there in a heartbeat.

After school we went to the park to have lunch. We tried a new park which was pretty cool. It had a couple of slides, a Sand Box! many other toys and lots of shade.

here's a shot of Tyler eating his peanut butter and honey sandwich. I cut it in half for him but he decided to eat both halves at the same time. He's definitely a Stud.

After lunch the kids hit the sandbox. Fun sandy times...next time we'll bring our sand toys.

What I didn't picture was that we also met up with some new friends. This was our first outing with our new playgroup for Tyler. Sebastian (2 1/2) was Tyler and Lauren's new friend and my new friend was fellow Mom's clubber, Christine (I knew we'd get along after learning her first name.) The kids got along great. It took about .0126 of a second for the kids to warm up to each other and get to playing. Awesome to see them playing so well. I'm so happy Tyler will have a little "boy" friend. We're going to get together again next Wednesday and I'm already looking forward to it.

When I pulled up to the house after the park I saw a Rooms to Go truck parked in the driveway. Yay!! This means Lauren's bedroom set was being delivered. Not So Yay!! I Had No Notice.

Apparently they had the wrong number for me and although they tried to call 2 days ago they never got a hold of me. Luckily for them I pulled up 5 minutes after they got there. I dashed inside and emptied Lauren's room so they could bring up and set up her new big girl furniture.

Here's Matt cutting some more boards to provide more support for under her mattress. He's such a carpenter don't ya think?

putting the boards in place. Lauren loves her new furniture.

did I mention she loves her new furniture?

and below are some shots of her room:Dinner tonight was nothing much to talk about so I won't. I will say I cooked lamb for the first time. It was alright but nothing more. Instead I'll close with a picture of Lauren snuggled up for bed.

Night all.

P.S. GG came out of her surgery just fine and with no complications. I just talked to her and she sounded great. I hope this will relieve all of the pain she's been having. Thanks for all your prayers.

a bunch of nothing but thought I'd post anyway...

Early this morning (but long after Matt left for work) Lauren came into my bedroom in tears saying she was scared. I asked her why and she dramatically fell to the floor and said she had a tummy ache. This tummy ache (sans fever) persisted until I told her that it probably wasn't a good idea to go to school if she had a tummy ache. She then burst into renewed yet authentic tears and said she wanted to go to school. There you have it...the tummy ache went away and I haven't heard anything more about it all day. But I will be on the lookout because tummy aches aren't a usual occurrence for Lauren.

I'm thinking about how she cried when she thought she Couldn't go to school. Man, her school must be a lot more fun than I remember my schools being. =)

While she was at school I was hit with a strange amount of energy and did a 2 mile jog on the treadmill followed by a shower. In the meantime, Tyler got to watch TV in the basement and later in my room while I showered. Perhaps I'll call DFACS on myself about now.

After school we stopped at the grocery store to pick up a couple of lunch ables (the kids call them "kids' meals") and then headed to the new library's patio to eat lunch and then spend some time at the (drum roll.....) LiBrArY!! Lauren having obvious library withdrawals, picked out 6 books in about 3.5 seconds. To make this post even more interesting (or boring depending on your perspective) I'll list the books she picked out.

The Quilting Bee by Gail Gibbons
Let It Shine by Ashley Bryan
Easter Parade by Irving Berlin
Ice Cream by Elisha Cooper
Celia Cruz, Queen of Salsa by Veronica Chambers
All in Just One Cookie by Susan E. Goodman

We've already read all of these books More Than Once. And honestly, I'm just not that into The Quilting Bee.

For dinner I made my first Really Bad Dinner. I made Rigatoni with Roasted Pumpkin and Goat Cheese from my latest Everyday Food magazine. It's so bad that Everyday Food won't even allow me to view the recipe on-line. You can try yourself here. Then click on the Rigatoni w/ Roasted Pumpkin and see if it works for you. It would have been good minus the Pumpkin. Pumpkins are obviously meant for only pie and even better yet...saved for carving into jack-o-lanterns.

Matt had his initial inclinations but decided not to Leave Me over my horrible dinner because I made the most delicious oatmeal bars the day before. Which brings us to our first picture:

Chewy Oatmeal Blondies with Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chips

These were absolutely Delish! I made them the same way she did except only used 1/8 cup of peanut butter. Delish-us and perfect...go make them now.

And speaking of perfect. Here is a worksheet Lauren brought home from school today. She's perfect as you can clearly see. She sure knows her buttons.


And finally we've come to the end of this post. I need to end with a prayer request for my Grandma Anna, the kids' GG and my mom's Mom. Grandma Anna is getting a most needed hip replacement tomorrow and we need prayers for the surgeons, the surgery and also for a timely recovery. I wish I could be closer to the family at this time to help out but I have great confidence that my family who is nearby will be able to handle all this excitement and recovery. Thank you all so much.

County Fair 2008

Check out these pictures to see how much fun we had at the fair. We saw a monkey show, ate a corn dog lunch, and went on 40 tickets worth of rides. Lauren and Tyler loved it.
This ride was the best (following pic). It went slow, slow, slow until it got to the corner and then whipped them around to go the other way. I just now realized they are in a Coors Light car...not sure how appropriate this is for a kids ride but oh well.

We finished our trip at the fair with a gi-normous funnel cake and $4 diet coke. We're now looking forward to the Fayette county fair in a couple of weeks.

A couple days ago I received a card in the mail from the animal hospital who “took care of” Jack for us. It was the sweetest thing. Everyone in the office not only signed their names but they each wrote a little sentence expressing their sorrow for my loss. Also included were 2 paw print stamps from Jack. What a sweet card. It brought back the all too familiar tears. I really miss that big ole cat.

Oh dear, what do I watch tonight. Amazing Race, Cold Case and/or Desperate Housewives. Tivo is going to have to help me out tonight.

Hope y'all had a great weekend.

the weather is turning

blowing bubbles (doesn't Tyler look bigger than Lauren in these pics?!)

I confess: I don’t love the Fall. I’m not ready for the Fall. It frightens me that leaves are already starting to turn colors and one even had the nerve to attack my car as I drove by. I think I’m just traumatized by the years of Oregon drizzly and cold winters. Every time Fall comes around I just start to get down in the dumps sort of waiting for the weather to turn. But I will admit…I’m loving the low humidty…only 30%. Today was in the 70s but in the sun if felt so warm and comfortable. It was a perfect day.

When I picked Lauren up from school her teacher said she had a really good last few days. She's not getting upset as much. Maybe she just needed to be told that there's no crying in the 4 year old classroom. She is a little grumpy and hot-tempered after school but I just assume that's because she is so well behaved and busy at school. Let's just say we still need to take a daily nap during the week.

While Lauren was at school Tyler and I played with "Mr. Tato" (Mr. Potato Head,) and then we slid down the stairs on our "baum baums" (bottoms.) He also brushed my hair and played "hair-cut". He's not very gentle, let me tell you. It was endless fun during those 3 hours.

Dinner was easy tonight because I did it all this morning. I threw some corn, onions, ham and potatoes in the crock pot and topped with cheesy sauce. The recipe is from the Economical Eats blog. Lauren and Tyler refused to touch it. Not sure why...it was incredibly cheesy. Tyler ate only apples and Lauren ate only spinach noodles. Unfortunately for her, I'm all out of spinach noodles now.

Currently Matt is on his way home from Valdosta. His company sponsored? a golf tournament and Matt got to show off his golfing skills (or lack thereof.) He did win a new golf bag full of beer but he didn't tell me whether this was based on his golf score or a random drawing. I'm guessing the drawing....

And to close...

Never thought I’d say this but…How ‘bout them Beavs?! Don’t get too cocky though because the true test comes later in the season when you actually play a good team.

I hate to brag but...

I believe every mom and dad believe their child/children are the smartest, most beautiful, best behaved and the most well-mannered kid/s on the planet. Well, I hate to brag but my kids no doubt excel in all the aforementioned areas but above all they absolutely have the best table manners. I offer proof by way of pictures. I have no doubt you will wish they were your kids.

(hey at least she's eating her spinach noodles.)

Today was the Partners Pizza day at Lauren's school. Tyler wanted to impress all the older ladies in the 4 year old preschool so he picked out a very GQ-ish outfit. From his styled hair right down to his brand new white Nikes. He's out the door ready to go.
We met Lauren's class at the door of the pre-school and walked over the golf cart bridge and right into the parking lot of the pizza parlour. I wasn't even aware there was a Partners Pizza right there. Mr. John who taught/entertained the kids about pizza did a great job. He was showing the kids how to expand the pizza by throwing it in the air. At one point he threw it so high up it got stuck in the rafters. All the kids and parents were cracking up. Here are some shots of Lauren and her classmates making their very own pizzas.



(a note on the headband. she got this as a party gift from Eryn's birthday party and has insisted on wearing it everyday since. maybe I'll take this opportunity to grow her bangs out.)

After the kids finished prepping their pizza Mr. John took it in the back to put it in the oven. While it was baking he took all the kids sans parents (bummer because I wanted to go too) on a tour of the oven area. The kids came back out with lots of shouts of how cool that was.

Not long after their return the pizzas were baked and ready to eat. Mr. John even brought out a couple of pizzas for us Moms (and Dads...there were 2.) It was a very fun field trip and I'm so glad that I am able to attend all her school functions. Thank you Matt for working so hard...and allowing me to stay home. We sure miss you when you're gone though. (He's out of town yet again this week)

When we're at home now there are a couple of new favorite things the kids prefer to do. The first is play school. Lauren loves to be the teacher and also the student if I will be the teacher. She will lay out her blankets on the floor and then bring buckets full of toys out and place them on each of the blankets. These are called stations. If I'm the teacher I will let her and Tyler know when it is time to switch stations and then finally when it is time to get together for group time. At group time Lauren usually likes to be the teacher and read to her students...aka, Tyler. Here she is reading a book to Tyler who is sitting in his special dump truck.

Their other favorite activity is playing outside. While I'm making dinner in the kitchen I let them play in the front and back yard after drilling them on the rules. 1. No going in the street. 2. Staying in our yard. 3. Telling me if ANYONE comes over or talks to them. (today Lauren came in and told me Mr. Buddy talked to her....good girl.) I also check on them every 2-3 minutes. They love the independence of getting to roam all over our huge front and back yards.

And speaking of making dinner... Today I made a curried shrimp from my Self magazine. This was delicious with shrimp, veggies and mango. I love curry.

Now I'm going to devote my full attention to the 2 hour premier of the new Survivor: Gabon. Are there meetings one can attend for reality tv addictions?

can you say "Gas Crisis?!"

I had less than a quarter tank yesterday so I begged Matt to fill it up for me. I didn’t want to deal with the emotions/stress of a city, state? In a gas crisis. I rode along with him to be a witness if some other gas seeker went berserk. We had to go to 4 gas stations before we found one we could fill up with a rationed amount of $50 worth. (that's almost a half a tank on my super huge-mongous SUV...give or take.) The first two gas stations only had premium available but while we were waiting in line they both ran out of gas and the 3rd was completely out...caution tape and all.


Today...

...while Lauren was at school Tyler and I went to a Mom’s club ice-cream social at the park by L’s school. Tyler enjoyed a cup of chocolate chip cookie dough with marshmallows and then a chocolate ice-cream cone with more marshmallows. We also fed the ducks and played on the playground. Tyler loves to find friends to play with. Usually he just latches onto some kid running by and chases them. He gets what Lauren doesn’t yet…he realizes it’s a lot more fun to play with the other kids.

When I picked Lauren up at school her teacher, Ms. Lee, told me she had a minor meltdown today. She dropped her empty cup of pudding on the floor and started crying. Ms. Lee told me that she just ignored it and told her we don’t cry unless we get hurt in the 4 year old classroom. Harsh, but Lauren probably needed to hear this from a teacher. Back at home I kept acting like I dropped things and said “oops” or “goodness gracious, I dropped this _____, I need to pick it up.” I e-mailed her other teacher, Mrs. Maginnis, about an unrelated item and mentioned Lauren’s meltdown. She said that, "Lauren seems to get frustrated with herself or afraid she is going to get in trouble." That sounds a bit like her Momma. Didn’t my middle school principal threaten to call DFACS when I ran out of the classroom because I mis-spelled a word on a spelling test?? (just kidding mom, but I do remember it to be a big deal….my fear of failure.) Help me think of ways to teach Lauren to not be so hard on herself.

We planned on going to the fair this evening but Matt had a very successful meeting in Stevenson, AL (the very Northeast corner of Alabama…to get there from Atlanta you drive in GA, TN and finally into AL.) This successful meeting kept him longer than expected so we weren’t able to make it to the fair. It’s important that Matt and his office do as much business as they can because rumor has it there’s a big announcement coming up regarding Harris Group. Matt has his suspicions which have nothing to do with the Atlanta office but we’ll keep you posted. Instead of a corn dog at the fair we decided to just go out to dinner instead.

Since I didn’t have to cook dinner I was still itching to make something. So while the kids played in the sand box I baked! up some Cocoa Oatmeal Bars from one of the blogs I read daily. Matt and I shared one on our way to dinner.

We ate dinner at Carrabbas , a chain restaurant in Peachtree City. The kids did great…especially Tyler who ate almost his whole meal with a fork and the food was pretty good.

Our fair plans have been post-poned until either Friday (when I will take the kids and myself since Matt will still be out of town on his next business trip) or Saturday afternoon after my Mom’s club sponsored Spa Day. (I’ll be getting a microdermabrasion treatment. Yikes!)

Currently, I’m getting addicted to The Mentalist while Matt is on the phone with Bank of America to protest a few incorrect charges they made and also to close our accounts because he’s so pissed off. He’s thinking of USAA…I’m not familiar with them at all. Any thoughts?

friends and football...typical Sunday

We had intentions of going to the county fair today but when I looked on-line it didn't open its doors until 2pm. (didn't the Lane County Fair open at 10am or so?) This is right in the middle of nap time and I'm pretty sure Tyler just wouldn't have enjoyed himself. Our new plan is to go Tuesday evening since Matt (for the 3rd week in a row!) will be going out of town on Wednesday. The fair opens their doors at 5pm and we'll go and have an elephant ear and a corn dog for dinner. (I just threw up in my mouth.)

So instead of the fair, Tyler and I went to Kroger. He loves to grocery shop with me because he gets to ride in the car shopping cart** and drive all over the store. He is also joined with his blankie and sippy cup of juice so he's a happy and well-behaved shopping companion. **the shopping cart car is not exactly the same as portrayed in the link...but wouldn't that be cool?!

Later we had Tera come over to play while her Dad (Mike,) Matt and a couple of other poker guys watched football in Mr. Mike's basement. Football is always watched in Mike's basement because he (being the new bachelor he is) has 3 tvs set up and subscribes to Direct TVs football packages. Matt's fantasy football star running-back ran for a total of 3 yards today so Matt's pretty much the week's big loser. Hey Matt, don't be shy to ask me for advice. As you wouldn't dare to argue...I pretty much know everything. j/k

As usual Tera and Lauren...and after his nap, Tyler all had a blast playing together. Here's a pic of the girls in the garage making some stamp art. I checked on them a little later (like 3 minutes later) and saw they had made some hand print art with the ink pads. We scrubbed and scrubbed but both girls will be sporting some reddish/black hands at school tomorrow. oops. But the artwork turned out great and the girls were very proud of it. I love how Tera and Lauren play together. I'm pretty sure I have more fun watching them play than I did as a kid actually playing.....or maybe I'm just getting old. They play house...first Lauren is the Mommy and Tera is the baby. Then Tera is the sister to Lauren, and at one point Tera was the Doggy. They both will hold their ground with each other and if one is snappy (which they both are at times) they immediately forgive and forget. Aah, the simplicity of childhood friendships.

While they played, I took Lauren's toddler bed out of her room and moved it into Tyler's room. I rearranged a little and hung his crib comforter up on the wall. I think it looks pretty cute...err rugged cute...for a tough, manly, little toddler boy. Here are the pictures of his room from each corner.

...starting at his door and going clockwise by corners...

and finally a straight shot of his "big boy bed"

Lauren's bedroom set should be here in a week or so so I'll send more pics then. And Mom, if you want to get started, here's her bedding set..."Surfer Girl." We'll need a new valance (as I'll be putting her lady bug decor in the basement bedroom) and new basket covers. Either you can teach me how to sew (again) or we'll be more than happy to pay you double or triple the cost. =)

And since I mentioned the basement bedroom...we've slowly been working on that. Here's the new comforter I bought for it. I'm trying to make the BRIGHT yellow wall work so I thought I'd add other primary colors and make good use of Lauren's old lady bug decor. As you may notice...this is where all the action happens! ...the treadmill action, silly! This is where all my General Hospital workouts take place.

Here's the view from the treadmill.

And let's close with a gripe about gasoline...

the state of gas in the South:
while I was at Kroger I noticed the lines at the pumps were at least 3 cars deep and they only were selling premium. When Matt went out later in the day he drove by Kroger and another gas station and they were COMPLETELY out of gas. The price read $0.00 on their sign. I'm a little nervous since I'm down to a half a tank. What's going on? What's it like in your neck of the woods?

busy day

Today was our neighborhood garage sale. I'm guessing about 10 homes or so participated and it brought in a decent amount of bargain hunters. I had read that soothing music helps the sale so I turned on XM radio to the Starbucks channel and let her mellow-ly rip. It must have helped because we sold over $200 worth of treasures. We sold the crib, 2 baby gates, all my maternity clothes and a bunch of baby clothes among other things. If I will ever get pregnant again it would be right now since I sold my stuff. Now that the crib is gone, poor Tyler is camping out in a sleeping bag in his bedroom. Lauren’s new bedroom set should be in in about a week and then we’ll move her toddler bed into his room.

The kids had their swim lessons again today and Matt took them since I was busy wo-manning the garage sale. Matt gave me the scoop about how it went. Actually, the other parents watching the class Lauren is in gave him the scoop on how Lauren was doing since he had to chase Tyler all over the YMCA to keep him occupied. He said Lauren is really progressing. She’ll float with a floatie without any assistance now and she’s learning how to kick and make her self go. After her lesson was over she sat on the bleachers and watched Daddy and Tyler have their lesson. Tyler had a rough time at first. He wanted his juice-water but Daddy said no. Halfway through he got over it and finally had some fun.

After nap we headed out to the jumpy place for a birthday party. Lauren was invited to a classmate’s party and we all went to have some fun.

Lauren is the 2nd from the left and the birthday girl is in the dress and being hugged by her brother. Sorry for the blurry picture but I'm going to have to blame the camera and not the photographer. We so need a new camera. (and that is not Tyler laying on the floor although he did wear a red shirt. He was throwing his own fit off to the side.)

Lauren played with her friends and did a lot of the slides and activities herself. Tyler had a blast playing with all the older kids. He loves to be around other kids and has so much fun getting knocked over and jumped on by them. Matt and I enjoyed seeing our kids play and also got to meet some of the other parents and students in Lauren’s class. At the party we had pizza, cake and ice-cream and we just called that dinner. This party was right in the middle of the Oregon v. Boise State game. Since the Ducks lost I’m (we’re!) actually glad we didn’t watch it. =)

Here's some more (although poor quality) pictures of the kids at the party.

don't ya think L looks like a young (blond) me in this pic?

We were so busy today that we would really like to just rest and hang out at home tomorrow but the county fair is going on this week and I think the kids would really enjoy it. We'll see....

Happy Saturday evening, y'all.

finally Friday

Tyler is over-joyed that it's Friday. Actually he's just happy that Lauren isn't home and he has Mommy all to himself. Lately when we get into the car to go pick up Lauren from school he says, "Mommy, don't go get Lauren."

On the way to her school he's pretty good at directions. I can already tell he favors his Daddy in this respect as I have no (NO!) sense of direction. He tells me which way I need to turn and can also recognize the street I would need to take to go to Home Depot and Walmart. He's such a bright kid and on his way to being a very productive consumer.

I thought I'd post the above picture to ensure everyone that he does play with boy toys too. When it's just him and I; planes, trains and big dump trucks are high on his list. It's just when his sister is home he would rather play with her and has to settle and play with whatever she wants to play. He loves to play with her (and her with him) and it's so fun to watch them interact. He's learning so much more by having her around than he would if I had put him in a Mom's Morning Out like I did with Lauren.

Today after school, Lauren hopped in the car with a box of raisins. She got another prize from the "treasure box" for having good behavior all week. She's so proud of her treasure and I made sure that she got to eat the entire box. Luckily I had some more raisins for Tyler. Also in the car she enthusiastically told me that they got to listen to a Little Red Riding Hood story on a "big, big, big, CD." I asked her if this was a record and she said "yes, it a record and a big big CD." Welcome to the next generation...where records just aren't understood.

Back home I could tell Lauren wore herself out at school. As I understand it (from Lauren) she's been playing a lot more on the playground...slides, bike-go-round etc. and today she was absolutely exhausted. At lunch she burst out crying and when I ran! to her she said she bit her finger while eating her raisins. Not 2 minutes later she did it AGAIN!! I mean...how do you bite your own finger while you're eating...sure you can bite your lip or tongue but your finger?! Some days I think she's ready to give up her afternoon nap but other days there's no doubt that she really needs it. My plan is to take it day by day because when she does take a nap she's just not quite tired enough at bedtime.

While the kids were sleeping I finally got back on track and hopped on the treadmill for a General Hospital walk. Lauren woke up and came down to the basement about 15 min. into my workout. She hung out and watched the soap with me until I told her to be my "big helper" and go tell Tyler he can get up. (He will just jabber in his room until I or someone comes to tell him he can get up....yes, I know....I'm completely blessed with my children's sleeping habits.) So, after he got up the kids played together while I finished up my workout and then took a shower.

For dinner, while the kids played in the garage and in my car, I made Saucy Beef and Onions. It was pretty good. Tyler hasn't been eating dinner for the past 3 days but Lauren ate a good part of it after being bribed with more fruit. I actually think she liked it. The recipe follows:

SAUCY BEEF AND ONIONS

12 oz lean ground beef or veal (I used pre-cooked ground beef and added it to the softened onions at the same time I added the mushrooms)
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
2 medium onions, cut into thin wedges
1 clove garlic, minced
1 12-ounce jar fat free beef gravy
2/3 cup light dairy sour cream
1 Tbsp Worchestershire sauce
3/4 tsp snipped fresh thyme or sage or 1/4 tsp dried ground thyme or sage (I used dried sage)
1/8 tsp pepper
2 cups hot cooked rices or noodles (I made both...rice for the adults and pasta for the kids)
2 Tbsp fresh snipped parsley

In a large skillet, cook meat, mushrooms, onions and garlic (salt & pepper to taste) until meat is brown and onions are tender. Drain off fat. In a mixing bowl, stir together beef gravy, sour cream, Worcestershire sauce, thyme or sage, and 1/8 tsp pepper. Stir into meat mixture. Heat through. Serve meat mixture over rice or noodles. Sprinkle with fresh parsley for garnish. Makes 4 servings NI: 339 calories, 13 g fat, 1 g fiber

The weather has suddenly taken a turn...the humidity has disappeared and it's been in the 70s and lower 80s...PERFECT. We decided to celebrate the perfect weather and eat dinner outside.

and Lauren wanted a solo...
For the rest of the evening the kids played outside with neighbor Joshua, I got more junk...I mean treasures...ready for the garage sale tomorrow and Matt worked on a welding project for Mr. Buddy next door.

Matt wants to watch "Be Kind, Rewind" so I will (a bit reluctantly) be heading down to the basement, aka. theater room, to watch our Netflix movie.

Enjoy your Friday.

say hello to my little friend

I no longer sweep, wipe up crumbs nor use a dust pan. I simply Dyson it. This hand held kicks the snot out of the dust buster your mom made you vaccuum the stairs with. I'm not sure how I would survive my two kids (3 if you count myself) without my little friend.

This week Lauren is learning about the letter Dd. Here is a pic of her homework she did. She had to cut out pictures of things that start with D and glue them to her homework sheet.

She enjoys school so much that she is now playing school while she's at home. Usually her student is Tyler but today I was her student. She wanted me to trace my name and "then color all the items blue."

Here she is getting her princess Barbie ready for school. and since Lauren is playing with her doll...Tyler wanted to play with it too. All he was able to get his hands on were her shoes. pink shoes none the less. So far it's been a pretty ordinary week for us. Matt was out of town for a couple days in Jessup, GA. They are kicking off a huge project with a mill down there. He just got home about 30 minutes ago and jumped right into the bedtime routine with the kids. When he's gone it's not too difficult but his absence is definitely felt. He's very good about playing with the kids while I cook dinner and helping me to clean up after dinner. The kids really like him because he rough-houses with them and pretty much does whatever they want. When he's gone I need to remember that the cleaning can wait and it's alright to have a frozen pizza if the trade off is playing with the kids. I get in a rush-through-the-evening-routine mode when he's not here. I always feel I'm a few steps behind what needs to be done. So relaxing and enjoying the moment is something I need to work on.

So now lets relax and talk about food.

Yesterday's dinner was a Ham and Cheese Focaccia. aka ham and cheese pizza so the kids would eat it. (they didn't eat much but I finished theirs...and did NOT count my weight watchers points.) I couldn't find the recipe on-line so if you want it let me know and I'll get it to you. This was accompanied by Fruited Orzo. The fruit and yogurt were really good but the orzo kind of freaked my texture taste buds out.

Today we had Zesty Chicken Turnovers. (the recipe calls for a 4oz can of diced green chili peppers but I accidentally bought a can of diced jalapeno peppers...so I ended up using only a 1/4 of the can.) These were delicious and Matt just ate one (and then another one) and said he could eat them all. These were that good. I paired mine with a salad...but added some other choices and fillers for the kids. Lauren ate almost everything but said the turnover (chicken sandwich) was too spicy.
And now I'm going to go relax with my husband or maybe just the tv since he went in the office and started entering receipts. We have a movie "Be Kind Rewind" to watch but I'm not sure how excited I am to watch that one...it sounds a little lame. I'll let you know if we end up watching it tonight.