Take Out

Helping

Caden's Better

I didn't post yesterday, but poor little Caden was sick. He woke me up early in the morning on Sunday to say "Mommy, I need to throw up." Thankfully he'd been sleeping in the sleeping bag beside my bed so the bag caught it rather than the carpet. He literally laid on the floor in the living room with his trash can all day. Thank God for our DVR and multiple recordings of Clone Wars. He felt so bad. I managed to get a little sprite and saltines in him throughout the day, but when I tried tylenol for his fever, it all came up. He was miserable.

This morning, I woke up to "Mommy, I feel great." He's back to his old self, blasting everyone with his imaginary blaster and slicing things up with his light saber. He ate really well all day. I even managed to get 1 bite each of meatloaf, zucchini and green beans in him for dinner before he asked for something else.

Peek A Boo

Lemon Chicken

An Afternoon Matinee

Play Dates

Today was a fun day (well, except for the huge tantrum Jaelyn threw this morning - hoping the Zyrtec is affecting her badly and we aren't in for another round of issues). Anyway, Caden went to school this morning while I ran errands and then we met Kelley and Alyssa at Chick-fil-a for lunch. It's been a long time since we saw them last so it was nice to catch up in person. Once we were home, Caden and I had an hour to pick up around the house (me) and play (him) until it was time to get the girls off the bus. Today was a 2 1/2 hour early release day. We rushed snacks and headed to the giraffe park for another play date.

Jaelyn has become fast friends with a little girl named Allison in her class. She's been begging for a play date. The girls have actually planned a few themselves, but without Mommy involvement, they haven't worked out. Allison called Jae on the phone last night. The girls giggled for 30 minutes before they let the moms talk to plan a get together.

The park was packed. Allie saw a few kids she knew right off the bat and when we walked on the play ground, I immediately heard several kids yell "Jaelyn." Hmmm...didn't know she was so popular.

Jaelyn and Allison had a great time playing and I enjoyed talking with her mom. We've met a few times in the past (MOPS and around the elementary school). Jen's best friend is also the mom of one of Caden's best school buds, so there was some common ground to chat about.

Dan got off early and met us at the park too. That was a nice surprise.

Metal Mouth

Jaelyn got her braces this week. She's so cute with them in. She's requested Tylenol a few times, but overall, she has adjusted really well. Nothing could be as bad as turning cranky. She's expected to have them about 9 months.

Happy Birthday Dan!

Dan turned 36 today. He's old! We celebrated with filet mignons, potatoes (which he hasn't had in the longest time) and a few green veggies. For dessert, we had Baskin Robbins' World Class chocolate ice cream with home made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Back to the diet tomorrow! I hope you had a nice birthday, Dan. I love you! - K

The Giraffe

Caden's Playdate

Up until now, other than my friend Kelley, school and our family, I haven't left Caden anywhere. He pitches a huge fit when it's time to separate from me and honestly, it's just not worth it. Any play dates we've had have included mom and kids. Today, he had his first play date on his own. Nathan's mom invited him to come over and play and yesterday he was all excited about the idea. This morning, however, he informed me he changed his mind. I talked it up and convinced him he'd have fun. He finally said he'd go, but he asked me if I would speed shop. We do lots of things speedy around our house (speed clean, speed bath, speed shop). Things are more fun when you do them fast. Nathan was waiting at the door for him and Caden went right in without a problem. He took his light saber and a few Star Wars library books and was all set. Krissy told me he got weepy once for a few minutes, but she suggested play doh and he was fine. It's so good to see Caden stretching himself and maturing. If he doesn't, all day kindergarten is going to be so hard next year!

I've Gone Green

A New Admirerer

The same little boy has come and rung our doorbell for the last 3 nights in a row asking if Jaelyn could come out to play. Everytime, we've told him no because Jaelyn was either doing homework or eating dinner. Today, I put the trash out front and I saw Jordan sitting on the curb in front of our house. Maybe he was afraid of being rejected...again. I told Jaelyn he was there and that she could invite him to play in the backyard. I opened the gate and in he came. I'm not sure how I feel about this newest admirerer. I don't think I am ready for little crushes!

Colors

The Perfect Day

We had the best day yesterday. We left our house around 9 and drove to Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware. The kids have flown over the Atlanta a few times, but it was there first time seeing and stepping in the Atlantic Ocean. It was an easy, but kind of expensive, couple hour drive. Thank God for EZ-Pass. We stopped for lunch and a little shopping at an LL Bean outlet and then hit the beach. The weather was perfect - beautiful blue skies, 70 degrees with a cool breeze. I had the kids dressed in shorts, short sleeve shirts and jackets to begin with, but Dan had on pants and long sleeves. If Dan thinks it's going to be cold and covers up, you need to pay attention. I changed all of us into pants. We were a little over dressed, but there were some seriously crazy people under dressed in bathings suits getting in the frigid water. Crazy! Next time, I'm bringing an alternate set of clothing.

Anyway, the state part was really nice. It has easy, short hiking trails and bike trails all over it. We are going to try tent camping there soon. Stay tuned for that post. It might turn out to be a comedy of errors, but it sounds fun now!

We spent almost 3 hours on the beach digging a humungous hole, throwing a frisbee and playing in the surf. I haven't had that much fun in a long time.

I even impressed Dan with my frisbee throwing skills :p. Jaelyn is the one with skills. She can throw and catch the frisbee almost as well as me and Dan. Caden got in a few good throws, but wild child Allie was, well, wild!

We were sad to leave the beach, but we knew the kids would be hungry and we had a 2 hour drive home. Dan cracked me up with his unevenly rolled wet jeans and his white socks. I'll let the picture speak for itself!

We got home a little after 8. We went straight in and put the kids to bed. It was a perfect day. Thanks for planning it, Dan!

I've discovered the continuous mode on my camera. All I have to do it focus, hold down the shutter and it keeps taking pictures until I move my finger. It's been great for capturing action shots and for getting that perfect 1 shot out of the bunch. I took literally 450 pictures yesterday, of which I saved 68 good ones. Here are a few of my favorites...

Pass the Pigs

A Day at the Beach

Toad

The kids came inside screaming a little while ago. They had discovered a huge toad in our yard. By the time I made it outside, the poor thing was covered in cobwebs and sand from where it had most likely been trying to evade my children. I saved his life by scooping him up on a shovel and putting him through a hole in the fence. The kids are sad. No more Toady to play with.

Scarves

I'm going scarf crazy at my house. I grew up in Florida so I have never really understood the need for a warm scarf. 2 winters ago, I remember making fun of my friend, Angie, for her love of scarves. I never saw her with the same one twice; she seemed to have so many. Fast forward to last year, when I was given my first scarf for Christmas. I am now an avid scarf fan and realize their true potential to help you keep warm. I totally get Angie's obsession with her scarf collection. In preparation for this winter, I've been busy. This week alone, I've knitted me a black furry scarf, knitted Caden a varigated blue scarf and sewed the girls boa scarves out of polar fleece. Dan has yet to place his request, but I'm waiting! Watch out, if my momentum holds, everyone on my Christmas list might be getting a scarf for Christmas :p.

Flu Shots

Chicken Marsala

I Miss Dan

Normally when Dan is on vacation, I can only stand so much of him before I'm ready for him to go back to work (please don't take that the wrong way). Too much togetherness is normally a bad thing for us. I start to annoy him. He starts to annoy me. It's nothing major...little things. I was a little concerned when he decided to take a month off after coming home from Iraq. That's a lot of uninterrupted togetherness.

Fast forward to the end of his vacation and I really enjoyed it. I was not ready for him to go back to work this week. We've had so much fun in the last few weeks. I've missed him this week. Think the Army would let him go to a one week on/one week off schedule? That would be perfect!

Prayers for our Friends

Our good friend, Danny, is on his way to Afghanistan for a year deployment. Seeing the pictures on his wife's blog are heart wrenching and hit so close to home after getting our Dan home. Would you please pray for Danny's safe and quick return and for Kim as she becomes everything to her kids (again) Jacob - 4, and A.J. - 2?

Thank you, Danny, for all you do to keep us safe! And thank you, Kim, for keeping things running at home while he's gone. YOU CAN DO THIS!

Sick Little Girl

Allie started throwing up after dinner last night. She threw up all over the carpet in the living room and a pillow before we could get her a trash can. Bless her heart. She felt so bad. She continued to throw up till bedtime. We put Jaelyn and Caden in their beds and let Allie stay in the living room so I could help if she got sick again. She was asleep in 5 minutes. I got up several times with her throwing up in the night. I kept her home from school today much to her and Jaelyn's chagrin. Jaelyn kept asking "Why doesn't Allie have to go to school?" and Allie kept saying "but I need to go to school to tell Alex I threw up." (yes, that love affair is ongoing) She stayed put in front of the TV this morning and kept down 2 pieces of dry toast. By lunch time, she was starting to bounce. She ate a cheese quesadilla for lunch and is currently in time-out in her room for being sassy with me so I'd say she's feeling better.

Knitting

*with the help of a tripod :)

The Last Munchkin

My To Do List

I had a long list today and I think I've almost completed all of it...

Update blog - check
Grocery shop - check
Put food away, clean, repackage and freeze meat - check, check, check, check
Wash, fold and put away 3 loads of laundry - check, check, check
Get dinner planned and started before the girls come home - check
Homework - check
Dinner - check
Girl Scout Meeting - check
Fall into bed from exhaustion - CHECK!!!!

The Ultimate Meatloaf

I watched an episode of Tyler Florence's Food Network show on the flight from Baltimore to Atlanta. I love cooking shows, but I hardly ever watch them. Tyler made his Dad's meatloaf with tomato relish and it looked amazing. He kept talking about how good it smelled. It stayed with me and I was inspired when I saw ground pork at the commissary this morning. I made it for dinner tonight and it was unbelievable. Tyler was right about the smell of the tomato relish...heavenly. Let me know if you make it.

Dad's Meatloaf with Tomato Relish

Ingredients
Tomato Relish:
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and finely diced
2 tomatoes, halved, seeded, and finely diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 (12-ounce) bottle ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Meatloaf:
3 slices white bread, crusts removed, torn into chunks by hand
1/4 cup whole milk
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 pound ground pork
2 eggs
Leaves from 2 fresh thyme sprigs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 to 4 bacon slices

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a skillet with a 2-count of oil and place over medium heat. Saute the onion, garlic, and bay leaves for a few minutes to create a base flavor. Throw in the red peppers and cook them for a couple of minutes to soften. Now add the tomatoes; adding them at this point lets them hold their shape and prevents them from disintegrating. Stir in the parsley, ketchup, and Worcestershire; season with salt and pepper. Simmer the relish for 5 minutes to pull all the flavors together. Remove it from the heat; you should have about 4 cups of relish.

Place the torn white bread in a bowl and add the milk to just barely cover, swish the bread around in the milk and let it sit while you get the rest of the ingredients for the meat loaf together.

This is where you get your hands dirty! In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef and pork with 1 1/2 cups of the tomato relish, the eggs, and thyme; season with salt and pepper. Squeeze the excess milk from the bread and add the soaked bread to the meat mixture. To test, fry a small "hamburger" patty of the meatloaf until cooked; the patty should hold together but still have a soft consistency. Taste the patty for seasoning.

Lightly oil a cookie sheet. Transfer the meat mixture to the center of the cookie sheet and form into a log about 9 inches long and about 4 inches wide. Coat the top of the meatloaf with another 1/2 cup of the tomato relish. Lay the bacon across the top lengthwise.

Bake the meatloaf for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until the bacon is crisp and the meatloaf is firm. Rotate the meat loaf while it's baking every now and then to insure that the bacon browns evenly. Remove the meatloaf from the oven and let it cool a bit before slicing. Serve with the remaining tomato relish on the side. Unbelievably moist!

It took me about 1 1/2 hours to bake it, but I had to turn the oven up to 400 after an hour to get it done. I skipped the parsley and used dried thyme. I also halved the recipe. It was the perfect amount for us for dinner tonight and left over lunches tomorrow.

Sewing Project

Flower Power

Last year, Jaelyn had a poncho that she loved from a hand me down bag. It was too small this year so I found her a similar knitted poncho at Children's Place. I was so proud of myself and I really thought she'd love it. She wore it once before she complained that it didn't have arm holes. The poncho was given to Allie, but Jaelyn still wanted one. I took her to Joanns this weekend and let her pick out fleece material. It was a hard decision and I had to steer her away from leopard and puppy dog boy prints, but in the end, I think she picked the perfect thing. We worked yesterday evening and this morning, she wore her new poncho, complete with arm holes, to school. I think she rocks the whole hippie flower power thing!

Scrolling Required

I've spent at least 2 hours updating the blog. All of Pensacola is there. Now that I've figured out how to change the posting date, I can insert posts in chronological order so scroll down!!!!

A Walk on the Trail

Outings with Friends

We met a friend of Caden's from school today on the Ma and Pa Trail. I've wanted to check the trail out for a while, but it just hasn't happened. We met near the equestrian center and walked on the trail to Annie's playground. It was a nice walk; although I'm going to be sore tomorrow. Krissy thinks it's about 3 miles round trip. The trail was paved in some places, gravel in others and a lot of it was a wooden foot bridge through pretty woods, over a stream, around farm land...you get the picture. Just really nice and well maintained. Annie's was pretty empty and the boys had a great time playing in the castle type structures. I brought our light sabers so they chased each other around. Nathan is as into Star Wars as Caden. As a matter of fact, Miss Krissy is going to let Caden borrow their red light saber so that he'll have the right color to be Darth Vader for Halloween. He'd already informed me Vader has a red one and his purple and green ones will not do.

Prayers for Nana

I have a new prayer request. Dan's grandmother, Luria, has just been diagnosed with breast cancer. She's meeting with a surgeon tomorrow to start talking about a course of treatment. She has a lot on her plate right now....dealing with this new diagnosis and Daddy Doe's declining health. Will you please join us in praying for complete healing for Nana?

A Walk in the Woods

Yesterday we visited one of our favorite walking spots. It was a beautiful cool day to go trekking through the woods. We had rain the end of last week so there was a little bit of mud. Of course, the kids couldn't walk...they had to run and play tag. I think Jaelyn was the only one who ended up on her butt. We went further than we've ever gone before before turning around. We did a mile maybe and the kids didn't start to whine until we were almost back to the car. Next time, we are going passed the fallen tree!

Love my camera's timer. I can't wait to get my twisty legged tripod for Christmas that Dan ordered me. It's on his closet shelf and he'd give it to me today if I asked, but I'm determined to wait!The kids crossing the creek ~ No one fell in today. That was a plus. Dan complained that I always cut off his head. Sorry...maybe he should be in charge of the camera some!

And last, I can't resist this pose whenever we are walking like this. I have a similar picture framed in 8x10. They look so sweet and loving towards each other, don't they?

Fall is Around the Corner

The Power of a Red Pill

After having a headache for 5 days, my doctor prescribed this little miracle pill...no more headache!

Jedi Wars

$1.41 at the thrift store this afternoon for a Darth Vader helmet equaled hours of priceless fun!

My Heads Been Hurting

I'll post again one day. I've been sick - swimmy headed (my medical term) and have had a headache for the past 5 days, pretty much since I've been home from Florida. I went to the doctor today and he gave me tension headache medicine that has helped the headache, but I'm still slightly light headed. I'm not sure what's the matter with me. No fever or aches so it's not swine flu, no congestion or drainage so it's not allergy...maybe viral??? Who knows, I'm just planning on sleeping and letting Danny take care of me until I feel better or he has to go back to work, which ever come first.

Caden's 1st Day

What can I do with these? Guacamole!

My Cantaloupe

Coming Home