Once Upon a Time...by Caden

Encase you can't figure out his stretch spelling...here it is in my grammar :)

Once upon a time there was a king named John.  He told his servants to bring him two great knights.  They did their task and brought back two knights on dragons.  The first knight was named Caden.  He had a lightening dragon.  The other knight was Ayden.  He had a ice dragon.  He asked the brave knights to fight the enemy.  The knights said, "what do we get in return?"  The king led them to a vault.  They asked what was inside.  The kind told them.  It was a room full of diamonds and gold.  "You will get a little for both of you."  So the brave knights decided to help stop the invasion.  They got on their dragons and went to war.

I sure hope he finishes it soon.  I want to know what happens next!!! :)

Really Almost Done Now

I have to sew one more white strip around the edge so that there will be a break between the multicolor blocks and the binding! I ordered what I think will be really nice batting today. I can't wait to start quilting! I love it. It makes me smiles every time I look at it! It's going to look great on the wall!

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Jae's Blue Belt

Getting Closer

I spent the day piecing my quilt together. There are a few things I did that bother me a little, but not enough to pull the seams out once I'd sewn it. I can't wait to quilt it and do the binding!

Random Pictures

Last weekend the girls and I spent Saturday in Springfield shopping.  I loved having a girly day out with them!

 

This is how Gracie spends most of her day.

 

I'm still not quite sure what happened.  Caden and Jae tested for their Green belt black stripes in December.  They never got their belts.  Then one night last week, Caden came home with his blue belt.  We are still not quite sure why we skipped the stripe, but yea Caden!  And Jae when she goes back to Karate.  She didn't go last week.

 

Sew Much Fun

I set up a sewing area in the spare room (the second half of Allie gigantic room).  Jaelyn got out a small table and set up her sewing machine next to mine.  We've been sewing together.  I'm working on a word quilt.  Jae decided to start her own sampler (have I posted this???)  Skip to the pictures if it's a repeat.  I helped with technique (tech-ni-kwA if Jae is pronouncing it) of how to make the letters and tried to get her thinking two steps ahead with size and seam allowances.

 

Piecing the letters

 

Adding the border

 

I did help with machine quilting and stitching on the binding,
but I think she could have handled it. 

We sewed small loops on the back so she could hang it on her wall.  I'm very proud of her finished project.  She did good!

 

 

I know I posted at least one picture of some of my words for my quilt...here's more

 

It's coming right along, but I really need to work on the heart...think "seam allowance"

 

I love the border for the heart.  It'll eventually be around the whole outside edge of the quilt.  I have one more heart and about 3 more words I want to make before I'll finalize the layout and start sewing it together.  I love it!

 

Father/Daughter Mother/Son Night

Saturday night was the highly anticipated Father Daughter Dance.  The girls had fun shopping for their outfits and getting all dolled up.  They might or might not even have on a little make-up :).

 

The corsages were a nice touch, but they apparently fell apart from crazy dancing and then got thrown away when the tables were cleared.

 

 

 

The girls had so much fun dancing with Dan and their friends.  It was a memorable night.  Dan found a little app that made a video, but I want more!!! :)

 

 

Caden and I took advantage of being on our own.  We started our date night with Pizza at Pizza Hut (his choice).  Then we drove to Rolla for a couple of errands I needed to do and...

 

...pie for dessert.  Who wants to go to a silly dance when you can eat pie???

 

Yucky Winter Weather

A winter storm hit us last week.  Thankfully, we only received a small edge of the storm.  The kids were excited because it meant two days out of school.  It started Thursday with sleet in the morning quickly followed by a snowy/sleet mixture followed by rain.  We were left with an inch to two of sleet and ice.  Friday, if we owned ice skates, I promise the kids could have skated in our yard.  It's starting to melt which is a very good thing because Gracie doesn't like to potty in ice and snow.  She's had two accidents.  I'm not sure Dan's leather chair will ever be the same where her bladder must have exploded.  Oh the mess!

 

Jaelyn decided to skip the sled and just slid down the hill on her bottom. 

 

Gracie had a great time knocking the kids down.  In this picture, she was running between the two girls.  If one got up, she'd jump on her and knock her back down.  It was a wonderfully, fun game...for the dog.

 

 

I stocked up at the commissary today because according to the weather channel, we could be in for another storm (with several inches of snow) on Tuesday.

Chicken and Spinach Flautas

I made these for lunch yesterday.  Caden and Jaelyn are picky, picky eaters, but I was pretty sure they'd eat these so I didn't give them the choice.  Once I shredded the meat, I added all the spices except the cumin and chili powder.  Then I separated the meat and added those spices to the adult batch.  Caden absolutely loved them.  He ate 3.  He even ate half of one of mine with the spices and spinach.  He said next time I can put spinach in his.  That's HUGE for my incredible, non-veggie eating boy!  I will be making these again with extras to freeze for easy snack and meal times.

 

Chicken and Spinach Flautas

 

Ingredients

• 1 pound boneless, skinless Chicken Thighs (about 4)
• 16 ounces Beer (or chicken broth)
• 2 cups Water
• 1 teaspoon Paprika
• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1 teaspoon ground Cumin
• 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
• 1 Jalapeno Pepper, minced
• 3 cups Baby Spinach, chopped
• 5 burrito-size Flour Tortillas (9 inches)
• 6 ounces Queso Quesadilla or other melting cheese, shredded
• 1 teaspoon Olive Oil, or cooking spray
• Salsa, for serving

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 450*F.
2. Put the chicken thighs in a deep sided saute pan and cover with the beer and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the chicken from the liquid and shred it. Mix together the chicken and seasonings.
3. Pour out all but ¼ cup of the cooking liquid. Add the jalapeno and spinach and cook over low heat until for 2-3 minutes, or until the spinach is wilted.
4. Cut the tortillas in half. Spoon 1/10th of the chicken (about 1 tablespoon) along the long edge of a tortilla. Repeat with the spinach and cheese. Roll the tortilla up, starting with the straight edge. Place seam-side down on an oiled baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
5. Brush the flautas with olive oil or spray with cooking spray. Bake for 10 minutes, then turn them over and bake for until 10 minutes, or until crispy. Serve with salsa.

Philly CheeseSteak Sloppy Joes

I've finally permitted myself to check out pinterest.  I know from friends that it's a horrible time sucker.  They are right, but the other night, I had time and let Pinterest suck it away.  It wasn't a total loss.  I found two new recipes that were both hits.

The first is Philly CheeseSteak Sloppy Joes.  I didn't waste the time making the cheese sauce. Instead, I added sliced provolone cheese to the rolls when I toasted them.  A great tip I found was to pull some of the bread out of the rolls so the meat has a little bowl to sit in.  It made them not quite as messy and cut some calories (which we've been watching).  Give this recipe a try.  You'll love it.  It's also super easy to make ahead of time and just heat up before dinner.

Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes
Adapted from Rachael Ray

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1 softball-sized onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons steak sauce, such as A-1
1 cup beef stock
Salt and ground black pepper
4 dinner rolls
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup milk
1 cup provolone, shredded

In large skillet over medium-high heat add the oil and then brown the ground beef, about 5-6 minutes. Add the onion and green pepper and cook another 3-4 minutes, until the vegetables start to get tender. Stir in the steak sauce and beef stock, season with salt and pepper, bring up to a bubble and cook about 2 minutes.

Split open rolls and remove most of the soft insides, leaving a bed to hold the meat mixture. Toast the rolls and set aside.

While the meat is cooking, melt the butter in a medium-size pot over medium-high heat. Stir in the flour and cook about 1 minute. Whisk in milk, bring up to a bubble and let thicken, about 2 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in the cheese.

To serve, place a scoopful of the meat mixture onto the bottom of the rolls, then top with the cheese sauce and replace the top of the roll.

Caden Approved

I tried two new recipes this week. Caden didn't eat the first one (Jaelyn liked it though), but he did eat this one. I'll post the recipes this weekend. It's a snow day and the kids have taken over the computer :).

Crafting and Such

I finally finished the baby blanket I've been crocheting. It took me a lot longer than I thought. I liked having a bigger project to work on; although I'm not sure I'd want to make anything much bigger, so no one ask me for a big blanket.

I'm exited about my new project(s). I'm quilting. I'm such an obsessive compulsive perfectionist. When things aren't quite right they drive me crazy. I recently found a blog from an UnRuly quilter. I bought her word play book and I love it. Theres freedom in quilting. There is no measuring and making everything perfect. That's not to say that I won't make normal quilts, because I have one planned I need to start on soon, but I am going to enjoy playing around being more free to have fun. I bought a big table and have set up a sewing corner. Jae even started her own unruly sampler quilt today. We sewed together for several hours. It was fun and a great way to spend time together.

What Kind of Brownies???

I've been crazy in my kitchen lately. My friend, the queen, would be proud. I puréed black beans and added them to my brownies. You have to get passed the texture, which is a little odd, but after that they are actually good and are "almost" healthy. Yeah, they have sugar and chocolate (dark chocolate has good antioxidants, you know?), but they have hardly any fat because the beans replace the oil and egg. They also have 10 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber (with the recipe I used anyway). Jaelyn loves them and she needs every bit if fiber she can get. That makes it worth making them. Caden liked them until he found out they have beans in them.

This was my second batch. I used dried beans instead of canned and I think they have a much better flavor. Last week, I made iced zucchini brownies. The brownies where blah, but the icing, oh my!!!! Even though they had healthy zucchini, the fat and sugar made them a bad, bad choice, but oh the icing. I could have just eaten it all by itself and been a happy camper.

I Found It - When Caden is 100

My life will be terrible when I'm 100.  My hair will fall out.  My teeth will be fake.  Everybody will hate me.  Soon I will dy.  I will sleep all day.  My job will to go to the doctor every Thursday to get my medicine.

Step One

There are always hoops with the military. This latest thing is no different. Dan wants/needs to get his master's degree. The Army has a program called ACS (advanced civil schooling) Dan's branch guys have 5 free slots at NIU (the national intelligence university) and one of those is his...after he's jumped through his hoops or cut his red tape, whatever idiom you want to use. Anyway, the first step is to apply to three schools. Check. Dan received his first acceptance letter on Friday. Funny enough, it's a Missouri University, but this particular program of study is in DC. Once he gets the rest of his acceptances (fingers crossed), he has to apply to the ACS program. Once he's accepted there, then his penciled in slot will be official and we'll be moving. It makes me tired thinking about it. Im not researching anything until we get that final acceptance.

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Scattered Thoughts

We are finally free of the flu and all of it's accessories (tissues, Gatorade and saltines, thermometers, medicines...you get the idea).  I've cleaned my house AGAIN and hopefully have killed all the little germies.  My biggest worry was that I'd get flu B from the kids since I had the other strain.  The kids went back to school last Thursday.  They were both tired.  Jaelyn actually fell asleep on Thursday evening while in time-out and slept for an hour and a half before getting up to eat and going back to bed.  She also went to bed early on Friday and took a nap Saturday morning.  I could definitely tell a difference in their recoveries.  Caden's asthma earned him Tamiflu.  Jae just had to tough it out on her own.

I've been crocheting more.  I made the cutest little hat for a baby girl and I've started a baby blanket for a baby boy that's due soon.  I'm about 1/3 of the way through.  It's so sweet and soft.  I have plans for a couple of quilts for people as gifts and then I have a friend who's going to pay me to make her son a quilt.  I won't make much, if any after materials and shipping, but it's a learning process for me.  I know I'll need to go back to work in the next year or so.  It would be great to find something I can do from home to make us a little bit of play money :).

Doing "Homeschool" with two kids last week definitely taught me that I should never think about homeschooling.  Jaelyn actually did pretty well (as long as it wasn't reading - she hates to read).  It was Caden that I butted heads with.  He just wanted to play or watch movies.  I had the worst time getting him to do his make-up work each day.  It's maddening because he's so smart.  He brought home two writing assignments recently.  The first one is about penguins...

Penguins are incredible animals.  First, penguins can't fly.  Ther bones are not hollow.  Ther wings are to stif and short.  Penguins like to eat krill.  Krill is a tipe of shrimp.  Ther are 17 kinds of penguins.  The biggest tipe of penguin is the Emporor penguin.  Those are some incredible penguin facts.

He's been doing research projects at school.  He told me he wrote this all from memory with no notes or books in front of him.  I wish I could find his other assignment.  I put it someplace safe with the intention of scanning it here.  I've searched high and low, but can't find that safe place again.  It was about when he will be 100 years old (celebrating 100 days of school). It was so cute.

The Flu Strikes Again...And Again

Caden got sick Thursday night and Jaelyn was gloating she was the "last man standing."  You really shouldn't ever gloat.  It hit her a day and a half later.  Caden's first flu test was negative on Friday, but I took them both back to the doctor today.  Both are positive for Flu B.  Caden got Tamiflu because he has asthma.  She wouldn't give it to Jaelyn, but she did get antibiotics because she could hear something in Jae's breathing.  Pneumonia is definitely not something we want.  Both kids are running fevers between 100 and 102.  They have headaches and stomachaches and assorted aches and pains.  Caden has had bouts of vomiting.  Not fun at all!  I spent the day cleaning today in the hopes of killing any germs they might be leaving in the house because I really don't want it again (so far, I'm the only one who's had Flu A).

Karate

On occasion Caden has been the only student at Karate class.  He gets a good workout and usually gets to learn some neat stuff.

Allie's Music Performance

Caden's Birthday Dinner