So glad Mike was off work today!

Today was a crazy day!  My sweet boy has been sick for the past couple of days, and he woke up with a fever again today so I decided it was time to get him in to see a doctor.  I called as soon as the office was open, and we got an appointment for 11:20.  Thank God Mike was off work today so he could take care of Lynnie, which left me able to concentrate on caring for Bry.

Well, we had a few hours to kill, so I decided to make some carrot bread.  It turned out amazing!!!  The recipe calls for grated carrots.  I thought about using my mandolin, and as I was getting it out of my cabinet, I found my mom's VERY old Saladmaster grater thingy.  Yes, that is the technical term.  I had forgotten it was there!  It worked like a charm.

Here's the finished product.  So YUMMY!!!!

Well, looking in the fridge to get my carrots made me remember that I had made apricot jam last night.  I checked it out to see if it had set correctly, and it was perfect!!!  Really super yummy and exactly right!!!  I got the recipe from my friend Erica.  It's ridiculously easy and has exactly 2 ingredients: apricots and sugar.  Her original recipe was for peaches, but I used it for the apricots.  Check out her blog here.  I'll include the recipe and some pics of me making it at the end of this post.

Well, we went to Bry's appointment, and it wasn't great news.  He has a double ear infection and possible strep.  The Quick Strep test came back negative, but his doctor said it looked just like it so she was treating him as if it was strep.  She also tested him for mono, which came back negative.  She put him on an antibiotic that would work for strep and the ear infections and told me to keep him out of school through the end of the week.  She is also concerned that he could possibly have something called Kawasaki disease, too.  He has several of the symptoms, but two of the main symptoms don't show up for awhile, so she asked me to make another appointment for Friday.  If his fever is gone by Friday, we can cancel the appointment.  If it's not gone and she decides that it is definitely this disease, he could need to be hospitalized.  Apparently there is no other diagnostic tests to figure it out earlier than that.  Please be in prayer for my sweet boy.

Since today is Wednesday, Lindsay and I were responsible for cooking dinner for church tonight.  We usually have cooking teams set up, but we were the cooking team tonight.  I had really wanted to get up to the church this morning to start cooking, but that wasn't possible.  Thank goodness Mike was off to keep the kids home with him.  We made Shepherd's Pie, and it was so yummy!

I REALLY appreciated the fact that Mike was off when I got home, though. He had bathed Lynnie and put her in bed.  Bry had fallen asleep on the couch (poor kid!).  And Mike unloaded the dishwasher and got our dining room ready for produce tomorrow.  Whattaguy!

Since you already heard about my day, I'll just kind of recap the frustrating and awesome parts.  The most obvious frustrating thing is Bry being sick.  I HATE it when my kids are sick.  I would do anything to take it away from him.

Awesome:  Mike is such a great daddy.  I love watching him with the kids.  He did not complain once about having to spend his day off catering to my schedule and the kids being home.  And I snapped some cute pics of him playing with Lynnie.  That father/daughter bond is ridiculously strong and precious.  Any boy who tries to date her is going to be in big trouble!

Lynnie playing around

Lynnie and Daddy

Sweet Moments

My poor, pitiful, sick boy

As promised, here is the recipe I used for the apricot jam.  Thank you, Erica, for sharing the recipe and for being available to chat when I thought I had screwed it up!

I had about 12 apricots.  Erica's recipe calls for 8 peaches, but apricots are significantly smaller than peaches.  Several of my apricots were bruised, also, so I knew I'd be cutting off a few bad parts.

First, remove the skin from the apricots.  The easiest way to do this is to blanch them.  You submerge them in boiling water for about 30 seconds.

Then you move them to a ice water bath and submerge them for at least 30 seconds.

The peel slips right off!

Chop them up, and place in a pot.  I like chunky jam, so I didn't chop the apricots teeny tiny.

Add a cup and a quarter of sugar (Erica's recipe calls for just one cup, but apricots are WAY more tart than peaches) and cook over medium heat until it is 225 degrees.  If you don't have a candy thermometer, you can do the "cold plate" test.  Have a plate in the freezer while you're peeling the apricots. "After about 15 minutes, start testing the jam to see if it’s done. Place a tiny amount on the plate that you placed in the freezer earlier. Let it sit for a minute and then run your finger through it. If it immediately comes back together, you need to keep cooking. If you leave a trail, it’s done."  (That was a direct quote from Erica.)  

Carefully spoon the jam into a container and put in the fridge.

Enjoy!!!

I mean, seriously, can it get any easier?!?  I did need to call Erica because I was worried about how runny it was at first, and she explained the cold plate test to me.  I couldn't be happier with my jam, though.  I LOVE apricot jam.  I use it in my glazed meatball recipe, and this jam has a similar taste and consistency of the Publix jam that I usually use.  Maybe I'll share that later on.  :-)  Please let me know if you try it.  :-)

A Peace that surpasses ALL understanding

My reasons for being the best ME I can be!

Philippians 4:6-7
⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  (NIV)


This is one of those verses that, until recently, just kind of sounded nice to me.  I've heard it thousands of times, and it always makes me smile and do the "Christian" head nod.  "Yup, that's right.  Pray about it and have peace about it.  Got it."  I had a personal epiphany about this verse this past week.  I am in no way suggesting that you see it the same way I do, but I am sharing my experience with you.  


Let me give you a little background.  When I was working downtown for the City of Jacksonville over a decade ago, I tried riding the bus for awhile.  It was over $40 per month to park, and then I had to take a trolley from my parking area to my office.  Well, for significantly less than that, I could take a bus which picked me up just a couple of blocks from my house and dropped me off right in front of my office.  It was 75 cents a ride.  One evening I was about to leave work, and I realized I had a $20 bill and 50 cents.  I was the last one there, so there was no one around to ask for change.  No other businesses were open.  I was walking to my bus stop, livid that I was about to spend $20 on a stinking bus ride since the drivers don't give change.  Well, I got this crazy yet peaceful feeling in my gut. Something just told me that everything was going to be fine.  When I got to my bus stop and looked down at the bench where I was about to sit, there was a very shiny quarter.  I would have sat right on it if I hadn't looked before I sat down.


I think God told me something that day. I think he made that miracle so obvious to me that I could not mistake that feeling of peace.  AND it made it to where I easily recognize that feeling now.  It feels like a combination of butterflies in my stomach, overwhelming love, and just plain peace.  How do I explain feeling "peace"?  But it is a definite feeling, and when I get that feeling I know something awesome is going to happen.


So my personal epiphany started happening in the last couple of weeks.  It wasn't like one particular "AHA!" moment, but more like a process which I came to sort of understand and couple with the verse in Philippians in just the last week.  


The peace God gives me surpasses my understanding, but I know what it is when I feel it.  I am learning to stop worrying about things like money, because I get this peaceful feeling, and I know the money to pay our bills and buy our gas and groceries and even to have a little fun is going to be covered.  I know my kids are going to be healthy.  I know things are going to work out for VBS and Wednesday night dinners.  Of course I'm not saying I don't worry.  But part of my epiphany is learning that when I do worry, I need to take that straight to God.  Turn my worry into a prayer immediately instead of lingering on it.  


The biggest part of my epiphany, however, is learning that my instincts aren't really mine at all.  They're God speaking to me, also.  From really seemingly stupid little things to fairly big things, my instincts are really God giving me the answers to decisions I need to make.  For example, last week I was going to make that french toast bake recipe that I posted awhile ago.  I needed apples to make it, but something told me not to run out and buy apples.  A few hours later, after I'd already forgotten that I even needed to buy the apples to make dinner for my family, my neighbor (who has started doing deliveries for The Neighborhood Garden on Monday nights) knocked on my door with a full bag of apples that our boss hadn't been able to sell.  Melissa (our boss) told Maureen to bring them over to me, and she did.  See?  Something as small as apples.  I just had this feeling that I shouldn't go out and buy 2 apples for a recipe, and apples quite literally showed up at my door hours later.  I know it seems stupid, just like the quarter on the bus stop bench, but God proves himself to me over and over again in small and big ways.  He has used Melissa to provide for me and my family and even my friends quite often, and I always tell her about the "miracles" later.  She has gotten to the point where she just laughs.  I mean, really.  She didn't know I needed apples, but she listened to the idea God planted in her head and gave me the extra ones she hadn't sold.  She has had me do deliveries in the past at the exact time Mike and I needed money for tires or other unexpected expenses, which was also a time I had a peace that the money would come from somewhere.


I have a bigger example of this.  Several weeks ago, we had one bag that hadn't been sold.  Melissa told me to give it to someone, and a friend's name came to mind.  I'm sure you've heard it said, "laid on my heart" instead of "came to mind."  But it's the same either way.  So, I asked Melissa if I could give the bag to my friend, and she agreed.  The bag contained garlic, zucchini, and oranges, among lots of other things.  My friend had been having a tough week financially, and literally had been praying specifically for zucchini, garlic, and oranges - or for the money to buy them.  (I had no idea she'd been having a tough week, and I of course had no idea she had been praying specifically for those produce items.)  And she got home and the bag of produce with those things in it was sitting on her doorstep.  I mean, WOW!!!!  God proved Himself again in a BIG and OBVIOUS way, and He used me to do it!


So, to sum it up, my "epiphany" has had several parts.  First, my feeling of peace is very trustworthy.  In fact, it has never failed me.  Second, I need to turn my worrying into a prayer and petition immediately and then stop worrying.  Third, my instincts are actually God speaking to me, even when the decision I need to make is as silly as buying apples.  :-)


How does God speak to you?  How does the feeling of peace manifest in you?


Since it's been over a week since my last post, I'll just tell you a few ups and downs over the last week.  As usual, my biggest frustration is my house and how messy it is.  I've begun to wonder if I'll ever have a clean house.  I just keep telling myself that the older Lynnie gets, the easier it will be to get stuff done.


On Monday night, a storm knocked our power out for 4 hours.  This is actually another one of those "instinct" moments.  I always cook dinner for our Bible study group on Monday nights.  Last Monday night I couldn't decide between cooking breakfast for dinner or letting Mike cook his chili.  Something just told me to let Mike cook his chili instead of me cooking breakfast (which I actually really wanted to do).  It made sense, though, since we already had most of the ingredients for the chili, and he happened to be off work.  He started it really early, which annoyed me at the time because we needed to be working on the house.  Well, the chili was already done by the time the power went out. I couldn't bake the cornbread in time, but the main part of dinner and the salad were done.  The power didn't come back on until we were just finishing up with our study.  We would have had to order pizza or something if I hadn't followed that "instinct" and let Mike cook his chili.  So while the power outage was frustrating, it was also kind of cool in that sense.  Also, it was funny to sit around with our flashlights, cell phones, and candles and read our Bibles.  I have amazing friends who just laughed it off!


Our kids definitely kept us on our toes this week.  Thursday, Lynnie scratched Mike's eye and did some pretty good damage.  He needed a tetanus shot, eye drops, and heavy duty pain meds.  It kept him out of work for a day, but he was still able to have lots of fun with some friends of ours on Friday. 


I got to go on a field trip with Bryant on Friday, and Lynnie was apparently a perfect angel for Erica, who was good enough to watch her for me.  I was apprehensive, because Lynnie hasn't typically been all that good for Erica.  But Friday she was great and even took a nap without anyone holding her!!!  Erica was even able to get a shower while she was napping!!!  That means it IS possible!!!  :-D


I look forward to hearing from you.  I really want to know how you know when God is speaking to you.  :-)

A "Thank You" to some special Moms

My mom and my kids

Mike's mom, Valerie, and my Lynnie

I am blessed to have some amazing Moms in my life.  They lead by example, and I learn a lot from them.  I want to say a few "Thank Yous" to a few of my favorite Mommies!

First, to my mom.  Thank you for teaching me to sing while I do the dishes (and all the time, even when I'm supposed to be quiet - and even though no one wants to hear me!).  Thank you for always fighting for me to have the best of everything - the best education, the best childhood, the best medical care when it was necessary (which was all the time), the best church home.  Thank you for never settling when it came to anything I did.  Thank you for being at every basketball and volleyball game I had, even though I rarely played in either.  Thank you for always being my loudest advocate.  Thank you for teaching me that loving your kids is WAY more important than keeping a meticulous house.  Thank you for teaching me how to be a mother.

And to Mike's mom, Valerie - Thank you for raising such an amazing man.  Thank you for teaching him honesty and integrity.  Thank you for teaching him, by example, to have an amazing work ethic.  Thank you for teaching him to help others whenever he can.  Thank you for giving him the best life you possibly could so that he knows how to give his kids the best life he possibly can.  And, most importantly, thank you for sharing him with me.

To my Mimi, thank you for teaching me to cook and for sharing all of your delicious recipes with me.  And thank you for your conversations and advice.

To my Nana, thank you for teaching me how to love others.  Thank you for adoring Papa and being an incredible example of a strong marriage.

To Rissa, thank you for being so strong and so patient and teaching me more than you probably realize you're teaching me.  You've taught me how to be more patient and calm and accepting of life's situations.  Thank you for being such an amazing mom to your A and for being such an amazing example to other moms out there.  You're doing the job of two people, and you're doing it with grace, and I adore you for it.

To Samantha, thank you for having FUN with your kids and mine and showing me that you never have to grow up just to raise children!

To Erica, thank you for sharing your talents and being a true example of a Proverbs woman.

To Maureen, thank you for your constant joy and for showing me how I supportive I want to be when my kids have kids.

To Sara F, thank you for your smiles and hugs and laughter in all situations.

To Christin, thank you for teaching me to appreciate all the gifts God has given me and to never take them for granted or minimize them.

To JRV, thank you for showing me how to let kids be kids.  Thank you for showing me that it's ok to let kids play in puddles and make mud pies and just have fun!

To Lindsay, thank you for teaching me how to save money and encouraging me (whether you realized it or not) to be a stay at home mom.

To Mary, thank you for being so organized and taking such good care of our t-ball team.  Thank you for your love and hugs and for totally "getting" me and my twisted sense of humor!

I'm missing countless other mommies.  I appreciate so many of you for so many reasons.  You are leading me and teaching me by example, and I love you for it!  

Happy Mother's Day to all the beautiful Mommies out there!!!

Still want to hear about my day?  Well, keep reading! ;-)

Frustrating:  As usual, I had great intentions to get things straightened up, and very few of them happened.  I had a really rough morning.  It was one of those mornings where I thought I was on time (for Bry's t-ball game), but I was too comfortable so I ended up running for my life and being late.  Lynnie pulled her cute ponytail out, Bry couldn't find his hat (even though he specifically told me yesterday that he knew where it was), no one was able to join me for the game, which meant I couldn't be dugout mom since no one could watch Lynnie.  I was NOT in a good mood when I got to the ballpark.

Awesome:  Blessings started pouring in from there.  Our amazing team mom, Mary, had made little gifts for each of the t-ball moms.  Then Lynnie was a perfect angel at the game.  It helped that I let her play in the dirt as long as she wanted.  She wore herself out doing that, so she actually napped for the majority of the game.  Then Bry had some really great plays, including a hit off the pitch which resulted in a double.  Yay, Bry!!!!  When I got home from the game, our mail was there.  My cousin's wife, Tiffany, had sent me a beautiful Mother's Day card with some really encouraging words in it.  I've met the girl just a handful of times, yet she decided to really brighten my day with a Mother's Day card.  It made me cry very happy tears and made my heart smile at the same time.  I mean, WOW.  And Gwyn stopped by out of the blue with a bow for Lynnie.  I had asked her if she had ever thought about making a "house divided" bow since my hubby is a Florida State fan and I am a Florida fan.  She made one and randomly brought it over, and it is so so so cute!!!!  Talk about an unexpected blessing!

Here are some pics from Bry's game today.  We had so much fun!  What's the best thing you've learned from the mommies in your life?

Worn out after playing in the dirt!

Getting REALLY dirty!

Go Pirates!

I have the Best Friends EVER

Sometimes I forget important things.  Like to wash my husband's work clothes. He gets really annoyed when it's 10:00 at night, and he doesn't have any clean uniforms for the next day.  I'll admit, it's my job to do wash them.  For whatever reason, though, I always seem to forget to check that he has clean ones.  The biggest problem with this, though, is that instead of asking me or gently reminding me to wash them, he huffs and puffs his way through doing his own laundry.  Oh well.  One day he'll realize it's a lot easier and less time consuming to open his mouth and ask me.  But as usual, I digress.


Last night was one of those nights.  Mike realized he didn't have any work clothes.  I had already gone to sleep.  He had to be at work at 6:00 this morning.  Not a good scenario.  It went from bad to worse when he went to put his clothes in the dryer and realized it was D-E-A-D, dead.  Kaput.  Gone.  Finished.  Not working.


A few months ago, we thought it had stopped working.  Really it had just come off its track (or something like that), but Mike was able to easily fix it.  Yay for having a handy husband!!!  This time, not fixable.  


So I posted something on Facebook about it.  Last time I had posted something about it, several friends offered to loan me ones they happened to have in their garages.  I was hoping the same friends would still have them in their garages. Well, Bryant's t-ball coach and our good friend, Kareem, came to the rescue in a BIG way.  He not only had one in his garage, but he wanted to outright GIVE it to us, along with the washer if we wanted  it.  He called it "friendship of charge."  I mean, WOW.  Not only did he just outright GIVE us a FREE dryer, he loaded it up in his truck, brought it over, and helped Mike get it set up and the old one to the curb.  (The old one was gone less than 10 minutes after Kareem left! - Gotta love Arlington!)


Thank God for answered prayers and amazing friends.


I'd love to hear about your blessings, too.  :-)

My opinions, not that you asked.

My sweet kiddo at his play day at school last week

Warning, warning, warning!  This will be an opinion-laden post.  I understand that this is a very negative opinion, and that I'm probably not entirely correct.  But it's something that is bugging me, and I feel the need to vent.  If you are easily offended or get really defensive, please stop reading now.  I've already told myself all of the counter-opinions, so I don't need anyone to reiterate them.

Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, allow me to start my rant.

I volunteer a lot with Bryant's class at his school.  He has a fantastic teacher, but she has a really tough class.  I'm going to be completely honest and tell you that I was completely unsure about her at first.  When Mike and I went to the open house before school started, she didn't really have a lot to tell us about what the year was going to hold for Bryant.  She didn't look any adults in the eye when she spoke to us.  AND Bry had already met most of the "goals" she had for the entire class - knowing his letters and sounds, counting to 100, writing his name, etc.  I was terrified for him to start kindergarten.  I talked to a good friend who is a kindergarten teacher herself, and she gave me some advice that I am thrilled I followed.  She said that maybe the teacher is just more comfortable around kids than adults.  Ok, I could give her that.  She also said that teachers are trained to teach the exceptionally smart kids and the exceptionally not-so-smart kids.  I should give her a chance and see how it goes for a couple of weeks.  If I still wasn't happy, I could talk to the guidance counselor (who I am also friends with) and have him moved to a different class.  I was the only parent from open house who signed up to be a "class parent."  That worried me, but I figured others would step up.  Bry's teacher (from here on out, 'Ms. A') said she'd call me when she needed my help.  Already long story a little shorter, I had to kind of force my way in there.  

Boy am I glad I did.  Because I've gotten to see her in action, and Ms. A is phenomenal.  She has two kids in her class who speak Spanish as their first language.  She had a really hard time with them at first because they knew very little English, and even less about English letters and writing.  She also has a couple of kids who should probably be in ESE (her opinion, not mine), and several of the kids in her class present HUGE behavior problems.  I'm talking HUGE.  Kids climbing on the tables, outright disrespecting and disobeying her, that kind of thing.  And it's not her.  She handles them really well.  In one breath she can discipline a child and be very stern and direct, and in the very next breath she loves and encourages the same child.  If my kid acted that way, he would suffer SEVERE consequences at home.

And it's not just the behavior problems.  Probably 1/4 of the class rarely have their homework completed.  Some of the kids have teeth rotting out of their mouths and wear dirty clothes to school.  Those poor kids should not have to suffer that way.  But then some of the kids are dressed to the nines every day and always have work done and seem to be doing great in school.  It's really humbling, and I don't know how she deals with it all day in and day out.

I've given you all that background to tell you about the little project I'm doing for her for teacher appreciation week.  I am making her a little book.  I printed out a page for each kid to fill out with a few questions like, "The best thing I have learned this year is ______."  and "My favorite thing about Ms. A is __________."  I put the papers in an envelope along with a letter explaining the idea and sent them home with each kid.  I got less than half back, and I gave them over a week to complete it.  I did everything for the parents.  This was going to cost them exactly ZERO money, and I got less than half returned.  So I reprinted the appropriate amount and took them to class today.  I took the remaining kids out in groups of 3 and helped them complete the papers so Ms. A's book would be complete.  I think she's going to love it.

It is so so so so so frustrating to see the lack of parental involvement in that class.  I know for a fact that several of the moms don't work outside the home.  Again, there are some moms and dads who at least make an effort.  But the ones on the other side of that spectrum drive me crazy.  This is your kid's education!!!  And our teachers are WAY underpaid, and the futures of these kids are literally on the teachers' shoulders.  And yes, I understand that I don't know each individual circumstance.  I know I should not be this judgmental.  Believe me, I know all that.  But it's still hard to watch.  It's hard to watch Ms. A tell a kid to go sit down and hear that kid tell her, "My mommy says I don't have to listen to you."  It angers me to watch the disrespect I see in that class.  And it ticks me off to know that the parents just don't care, from what I'm witnessing anyway.

I am not at all trying to toot my own horn, but I am trying really hard to make this week as special as it can be for Ms. A.  She is incredible, and Bry is incredibly blessed to have her as his teacher.  He LOVES school, and it's in large part because of her.  I just wish the other parents could see what I see.  She told me that only a handful of parents ever came in to observe during the year, and only 1 other parent helps in the class with any regularity.  As a mom, I just can't understand that.  I have to know what my kid is learning and who his classmates are and what activities he's doing.  I don't know how some of the other parents can just not care.

Well, the good news is that I have all the papers completed now, so I can make Ms. A's book.  I hope it shows her that she has made a huge difference in these kids' lives - if for no other reason than she taught them to read and write (they all wrote in their own answers).

On to my day:

Frustrating: Of course it involves Lynnie mainly, but she wore her true and BRIGHT diva colors for most of today.  Some days it gets to the point that she has been fussing and unhappy for so long that I wonder if there is something health-wise going on with her that I'm not seeing.  She can't be this rotten forever, right?!  (And, for the record, before you go thinking I'm a terrible person for being so frustrated with her and might be ignoring something important, I have taken her to see the doctor several times when she gets particularly fussy.  Only one of those times did they actually find anything wrong.)

Awesome: 1) I took the kids to the gym with me and had an awesome workout!  Lynnie was great in the childcare area (in large part because Bry was in there with her).  I did that at the end of my day, so it puts me in a much better mood than I was in earlier!  2) I have everything I need to make Ms. A's book.  I think she's going to love it!  3) I took Ms. A breakfast this morning, and she liked it so much she asked for the recipe!  I made her that de-lish french toast casserole that I told you about last week.  4) Lynnie and Bry took a bath together when we got back from the gym.  They just love playing together.  It was the perfect ending to the day - put me in a great mood.  And now I'm motivated enough to go tackle the huge mound of dishes in my sink!!!

Do y'all have any good teacher appreciation gift ideas?  Preferably very inexpensive and not too crafty...

Much needed weekend - and a yummy recipe

Wow.  My weekend was nothing short of amazing.  Bry's t-ball team beat one of the toughest teams in the league and enjoyed a pizza party afterwards.  Then his friend Nick came home with him to hang out for a little while.

They had fun playing with the sprinkler.

Then Mike and I got ready for our night in Orlando.  Aunt Laura came to take care of the kids, and we were off!  We went to the House of Blues for a concert Saturday night and had a great time walking around Downtown Disney.  Then Sunday morning we slept in until 9:30 and went to my favorite Disney breakfast spot. Olivia's has the best grits I've ever had.  Even Mike admitted they were amazing.  Mike NEVER admits that a food he has is the "best thing ever," but he admitted it with the grits.  I'm so glad he liked breakfast! 

After breakfast we walked around Disney's Old Key West resort for a little while and half dreamed, half planned a vacation there.  I hope it will happen!

We decided to head home.  I had been to a state park and gardens a couple of years ago, but I couldn't remember the name of the park.  I just knew it was just south of Marineland.  We decided to take a scenic route home and took Old Dixie Highway to A1A.  I mean, WOW.  Anyone who looks at nature that beautiful and denies the existence of God is just crazy.

It was so nice to just enjoy the drive.  We rolled our windows down and enjoyed the breeze and the scenery.  We never would have been able to do that with the kids in tow.  Lynnie tolerates her car seat until she doesn't, and we have no choice but to take her out.  She's just not the best traveler.  We had great conversation (the few minutes Mike was awake anyway - hehe) and loved seeing all the sights on A1A.

I started seeing signs for Washington Oaks state park and gardens, and that was it!!!  We stopped in and spent a couple of hours walking around.  It was a beautiful day, and there was a refreshing breeze off the river.  I couldn't have asked for more beautiful surroundings.  We also realized that because of the fishing, picnic areas, nature trails, open fields, and huge play area, that it would be a great place to take the kids for a day.  We will definitely go back!  

Mike took a bunch of great pictures.   

This little guy was happily chomping on some grass

The grass really WAS greener on the other side, so this gopher tortoise crossed the road to eat it.  :-)

 It was a great weekend, but it ended too soon.  We had to relieve poor Laura!  Apparently Lynnie proved that she was a total diva.  Well, at least Laura knows I'm not crazy or making stuff up when I talk about how rotten she can be!  haha!


Tonight we had our young adult Bible study group over.  That is always a great time.  I love our group so much, and it really helps me stay encouraged.  I make dinner every week.  Tonight I made Shepherd's Pie.  I have my own recipe that I made up.  It's really, really, really delicious.  So much so that I debated being selfish and keeping for my own, but I think I'll share it with you just because I'm nice.  :-)  So here ya go:


Shepherd's Pie
2 lbs ground beef
1 chopped onion
minced garlic, to taste
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce 
salt and pepper to taste
Mashed potatoes (prepared instant or fresh - enough to cover top of dish)
1 can peas (or equivalent fresh or frozen)
1 can corn (or equivalent fresh or frozen)
1 can carrots (or equivalent fresh or frozen) 
8 ozs cheddar cheese


Brown ground beef, onion, and garlic.  Drain fat.  Add cream of mushroom soup and Worcestershire sauce.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Add this mixture to the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.  Top with peas, corn, and carrots.  (I almost always use fresh.  If I don't have peas I'll use green beans, and it's delicious.)  Spread it out evenly.  Top with prepared mashed potatoes (again, I almost always make my own).  Spread it out evenly.  Finally, top with all of the cheese.  Bake in 375 degree oven for 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and dish is bubbly.


I can't even begin to tell you how yummy this is.  I had people ask to take it home tonight.  Nearly everyone went back for seconds and thirds.  :-)  Luckily I had made 2 batches!!!


So, for my day, the only frustrating thing that really happened is that I didn't get dinner started on time and was nearly 15 minutes late serving it.  I HATE being late serving dinner!!!  But that also means that ALL of my nasty dishes from cooking were left in the sink.  I'm lucky that my friends are all very understanding and love me despite my nasty house!


A bunch of awesome things happened today, though. Three of my friends ordered from the produce co-op today.  I'm really glad to be making some sort of a difference in the business.  I hope to help it grow!  I also took Bry to visit the place I used to work, and it was really nice catching up with everyone.  My amazing babysitter spent the afternoon with me so I could take a shower and get stuff cleaned up a little bit before I started cooking.  She's so awesome!  And, of course, I LOVED our Bible study group tonight.  It's so refreshing to have a group of friends to come over and study the Word.  We can be open and honest and ask questions and get great answers and just study together.  It's great!


How was your weekend?

Well, the day started off yummy!

A couple of weeks ago, we made my friend Lindsay's french toast casserole recipe for our Wednesday night dinner.  Ha - we called it a "bake" instead of a "casserole" so finicky eaters would still try it.  My dad's that way - you call something a casserole and he won't touch it.  Call the exact same dish a "dish" or a "bake" and he'll dig right in.  Weirdos.  But I digress...


So it was a HUGE success, mainly because it was so stinking delicious.  So delicious you wouldn't believe how easy it is!  I made it this morning for breakfast.  I tweaked it a little just because my psyche apparently won't allow me to just leave a recipe as it is...So anyway I wanted to share the recipe with you.


One of the best things about it, in my opinion, is that you can use up bread that is on its last leg, and you can make it healthier by using whole wheat bread instead of white.  This morning I actually used some leftover hamburger and hot dog buns that I needed to get rid of.

The original recipe:


5 cups cubed bread
4 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups milk
1 tsp salt
Butter
Cinnamon
Sugar (for sprinkling on top)


Place cubed bread in a greased 9x9 baking dish.  In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, vanilla, milk, and salt.  Pour over bread and allow to soak in for at least 2 minutes.  Top with pats of butter.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.  Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.  Serve warm with maple syrup.


This recipe is ridiculously simple and ridiculously delicious.  But now allow me to tell you what I altered.  For one, the bread didn't seem to be enough so I added a lot more.  I actually ended up using almost 8 cups of bread.  I think it's because I tore my bread instead of cubing it, though.  And the bread was getting to be on the old side, so it wasn't as fluffy as a fresher loaf would be.    The mix just shouldn't be runny and should absorb almost all of the liquid.  I also added cinnamon, a dash of cloves, and a dash of nutmeg to the liquid in addition to sprinkling the cinnamon and sugar on top.  And last, I put thinly sliced apples on top to cover the top before I put the butter, cinnamon, and sugar.  My house smelled heavenly, and it was oh-so-yummy!

So my day started off amazing.  Unfortunately it didn't really entirely stay that way, but it's ok.  I'm still counting my blessings.  :-)  I'll just go ahead and tell you the frustrating and awesome parts of my day.  :-D


Frustrating:  1.  Yesterday Lynnie exploded out of her diaper while she was in her car seat.  I took the whole contraption out and washed it completely.  (Why do all of my frustrating moments seem to involve my kids' bowels or bladders?!)  I thought I had gotten everything out, but getting in the van after it had been sitting in the hot sun this afternoon told me otherwise.  It smelled like something died in my van.  I spent over an hour getting every last bit of trash and searching it over for the smell.  I still haven't figured out what it could be from because I didn't find anything I left behind that was poopy.  I hope it doesn't still stink tomorrow.  Mike and I are going to Orlando tomorrow, and I don't want to spend 3 hours in a smelly van!  2. I really needed to get some cleaning done since my amazing sister in law is going to be spending the weekend here with the kids.  So I figured I was being proactive and had a babysitter come over to play with Lynnie so I could actually get work done.  Well, that didn't work as well as I had hoped.  Lynnie was in one of her, "I want Mommy and Mommy only!" moods and wasn't too keen on playing with the sitter.  I was able to get dishes done, and my sitter helped get the living room picked up, so that's something.  3.  I  came up with a super cute idea for Bryant's teacher for Teacher Appreciation Week next week, and it requires almost zero effort and exactly zero expense on the part of the parents.  Well, out of 18 kids, I have received 4 of the little packets back so far.  This is definitely going to be a topic in a future post, but it is frustrating me today so I figured I'd mention it.  I gave the parents until Monday, and I'm praying more kids actually do the little project.


Awesome:  1. My sister in law watched Lynnie for me today so I could volunteer with Bry's class.  I really enjoy helping out when I can.  I have such a strong respect for Bry's teacher because of what she deals with on a daily basis.  She is really a Godsend.  Volunteering in his class also proves to me that I made the right decision sending him to his school and especially NOT homeschooling him.  Watching his teacher in action makes me realize I was definitely NOT born to be a homeschooling parent.  I don't have the patience, but she does.  I'm so thankful for her.  2.  I was able to consign some of Bry's clothes that don't fit him anymore and get a few extra dollars.  That's always nice!!!  3.  Mike is currently packing to get ready for our little getaway tomorrow afternoon.  I am so ridiculously excited to get a night away with him, I feel like I might burst!!!  Thank GOD for Laura for agreeing to watch our crazies while we're gone!  I'm also excited for this because it's going to cost us very little money.  The concert tickets were free, and our hotel room was only $35.  Can't beat that!  4.  Bry was able to make it to batting practice this afternoon.  His coaches are some of the most amazing people I've ever met.  They are so dedicated to his team and, ultimately, to helping each of the kids that they're willing to give up their Friday evenings to help kids improve their batting.  It does a mommy's heart good to see that!  5. I finished the book I've been reading for a couple of days.  My friend lent me a couple of Ted Dekker novels, and I think I'm hooked.  :-)  I love reading, but when I'm in the middle of a book it makes me think about every little thing I do.  I catch myself while I'm doing dishes or laundry thinking, "She picked up the shirt to analyze the stain.  Of course it was nothing short of her expectations, but she was pleased to discover the remnant of ketchup was gone completely.  'This homemade laundry soap really does work!' she thought as she smiled to herself."  Hahahaha.  I know, I'm a total loser.  :-)  It's ok.  I came to accept that fact a long time ago.  :-)


I hope y'all have a great night and a fantastic weekend!

It was a pretty typical day.

This is going to be yet another topic-less post.  I just wanted to share a little about my day since it was a pretty typical "Realistically Imperfect Mom" day.  I bet some of you can relate.  :-)

Mike and I planned to go to the gym together this morning since he rarely gets  to go, and he wasn't supposed to have to be at work until noon.  Well, he got a call at about 9:15 from one of his coworkers wondering where he was.  He was supposed to be at work at 9 this morning even though his calendar said noon.  Somehow the calendar on his phone (which is synced with mine) changed itself to Pacific time, so it was all messed up.  Super weird.  Luckily I actually had his laundry done (usually it's a last minute rushed fiasco).  I spent nearly 2 hours yesterday putting all of our socks together.  Our family has a lot of socks.  Thank God Mike was off yesterday so I could get it done!

Anyway, I got all of my stuff together and went to the gym by myself in time to do a Body Combat class and still have time for a shower.  Lynnie ran right in and was excited to play, so I was thrilled!  I was thoroughly enjoying having my butt handed to me in the class and we had about 10 minutes left when I heard my name.  One of the sweet child care ladies came to get me because Lynnie had been screaming for 20 minutes without relenting.  They had tried turning on music for her, taking her to the slide, giving her juice, reading to her, everything.  But she wouldn't stop crying.  Her poor eyes were swollen and her face was red and puffy from all the crying.  Of course as soon as I picked her up she stopped and even started laughing.  The ironic thing is that I put her in a t-shirt this morning that says, "What part of Princess don't you understand?"  Well, she was proving it to me!  So I left the gym exhausted and dripping with sweat and in desperate need of a shower.

Lynnie slept for about 10 minutes on the way home but woke up when we arrived.  I fixed us some leftovers for lunch, but she didn't touch any of her food.  She drank a lot but wouldn't eat anything.  There is a bad stomach bug going around here, and I've been praying over my kids constantly in hopes they won't catch it.  That's where my mind went - I really hope she's not getting sick.  Well, she was a total diva after lunch.  She wanted to be held, then she didn't.  She wanted to be read to, then she didn't.  She wanted to be outside, then she didn't.  The only thing that kept her happy for any length of time was when she found a crayon and started coloring on our coffee table.  I'm a terrible person and shouldn't get this started, but I just let her do it.  I have a cleaning product that will get it up easily, so that didn't worry me.  I was just glad she wasn't crying or fussy.  She also rather enjoyed taking all of the sock pairs out of the laundry basket and throwing them around the living room.  My house looks awesome right now.  I guess that's what I get for not putting them away yesterday.

We went to get Bryant from school, and she actually did fall asleep then.  Thank God for that break.  We got home, and she was really well behaved for the entire afternoon.  It's amazing what a good nap can do, isn't it?!  Well, I was able to get Bryant ready for his t-ball game and Lynnie's bag packed and actually leave in enough time to grab dinner at Chick-Fil-A for Bryant's school's spirit night before his game.  Bry is such a great big brother.  He helped Lynnie climb up the steps then slide down the slide while we were there.  It was a super nice time, and it did my heart good to see them play together.  We left and were actually a little early for the game.  I'm rarely early for anything.  My sister-in-law was there early to take care of Lynnie, too.  Thank God for my family!  Bryant and the rest of the team played really well for the game and were pretty well behaved in the dugout.  I was feeling thankful that my day had gotten a little better. 

Then Lynnie decided for whatever reason that she no longer wanted to be with Laura.  She only wanted Mommy.  Great.  My diva was back.  So I was holding Lynnie in the dugout and trying to keep the batting order organized at the same time.  I'll admit - it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.  Mike got to the game, and Lynnie happily went to him.  Phew.  Things looking up again.

Then it happened.  Bryant started doing the "ants in his pants dance," as I call it.  I asked him if he needed to go to the bathroom, and he told me no.  The kid pees all the time, so I try to limit his water while he's in the dugout. He had already had to leave the game once to go to the bathroom, so I believed him when he told me he was fine.  Less than 5 minutes later, he was on 3rd base, and I was getting the next batter ready when one of the other team moms came to me and told me she thought Bry had peed himself.  I couldn't register what she was telling me; I had just checked with him, after all!  Sure enough, my kid had peed his pants.  I took him to the bathroom, but he had gotten it all out on the field.  I was so ticked at him, and I wouldn't let him sit down on the bench after that.  Luckily it was the last inning and time to go home soon after we returned from the bathroom.  Ugh!

Luckily, my husband saved my night.  I have a PTA project I'm working on for Teacher Appreciation Week next week, and I figured I had a long night ahead of me.  I was stuffing envelopes, and Mike sat down without being asked or anything and just started helping me.  We finished way more quickly than I had figured we would, and that is why I have had time to write this for you tonight.  That man can sure be sweet when he wants to be!

So thanks for sticking with my rambling.  Any frustrating or awesome things happen to you this week?

I'll leave you with some sweet pics of my kids from yesterday and today.  They make me smile.  :-)

Lynnie and Daddy at Bry's 3rd nine weeks awards

Bry walking up to receive his award for having all Es.  Smart kid with bad taste in college teams

Who let that kid wear that hideous shirt?!

Bry receiving instruction from Coach Ed

Lynnie trying to hand me a book

Bry and one of his teammates

Lynnie trying on one of the batting helmets