Fajitas!

The women in this household (and there are A LOT of us!) are very blessed. Not only do we have a wonderful guy who goes off to work everyday and brings home the bacon . . . he knows how to fry it up too!!

In this recipe, he didn't actually use bacon, though. :)

I have never made these I hope I am properly telling you what to do!

Step 1: Chop peppers (your choice of color), steak (we used rib-eye), and onion.





Step 2: Cook steak strips in the pan with a little olive oil.

Step 3: Saute peppers and onions in the pan with a little olive oil.


Step 4: Warm up the tortillas just a bit so they are bendy! :)

Step 5: Assemble. We like ours with a little sprinkle of cheese and sour cream.

Step 6: Threaten to stab your precious wife if she takes one more picture of you. :)

Hope you enjoy these. I'm sure Andrew will comment if I left something out. Enjoy!!

Pictures and the World!

Thanks to those of you who gave me picture advice. I tried Flicker (already had an account) but they would only let me upload about 20 to 30 pictures and that was my month allotment! Crazy!

I had never noticed the "add another picture" feature on blogger. Will definitely use it now! Thanks Jen!

Here are my sweet girls!

My heart is heavy this morning. I've just been thinking of the challenges that lay ahead of us as parents. How are we ever going to raise these girls to desire to follow Christ - to be truly sold-out for Him and not follow the things of the world? The world is so alluring and there are so many ways to "compromise". I know it takes lots of prayer and just one day at a time but still seems so hard.

Recipe to follow - I promise!

Blog Photos

I love putting pictures on my blog. I truly do. It really inspires me to blog and reminds me what I have to blog about (like Andrew's Fajitas that I have had pictures of for a month) but I find blogger very difficult to load pictures onto.

Anyone have any suggestions? It takes forever and you can only load one at a time. Perhaps there is a better way and I don't know about it.

Any comments would be appreciated!

For now you'll just have this post while I work on loading the tons of pictures I took Andrew was making the recipe.

Abigail's first professional haircut!

I had to add "professional" in there because I have cut her hair many times! I decided that it was uneven enough at this point to justify spending the money on a haircut. I'll probably still trim it from time to time.


Such a big girl!

She just sat there . . . quiet as a mouse!

You Must Watch This!

If you don't do anything else of importance today, you must watch this:

Clayton's Story

And if you are touched by it . . .

pass it on!

My Sister

My Sister

(pictures taken by Abigail (well . . . except the last one))

My sister holds me tight.

My sister kisses me goodnight.

My sister is so smart.

My sister has my heart.

My sister plays with me.

My sister will never flee.

My sister loves me lots.

My sister helps me tie knots.

My sister knows when I am mad.

My sister helps me when I'm sad.

Abigail and Elsie - Sisters

They don't yet know how fortunate they are to have each other! Or . . . perhaps they do!

I'm so thankful I don't have the ingredients!

While reading through my many cooking and recipe blogs just now. I came across a recipe for this:

Nutella Caramel Hazelnut Brownies!!!!!!!!!

My heart started to race and I panicked! My eyes scanned through the list of ingredients and began to beat faster!

"I think I have ALL those ingredients."

In which case, I would just have to go satisfy my current nutella obsession and whip these up (yikes!).

I read a bit further and breathed a sigh of relief when I noted that I do not have caramel sauce or hazelnuts in the house (I think).

Crisis avoided. I will not make these (today that is) because I am missing two ingredients!

(Recipe and acknowledgements follow). I cannot guarantee these are good because as of today at 1:30 pm (eastern time) I have not baked these!

Nutella Caramel Hazelnut Brownies
Added by bell'alimento on March 15, 2010 in Brownies and Bars, Desserts
5.00 Mitt(s) 2 Rating(s)
Nutella caramel hazelnut oooey gooey brownies.

Related Blog Post
Print Recipe


Prep Time 10 Minutes
Cook Time 30 Minutes
Difficulty Easy
Servings
System US MetricUpdate
Ingredients
½ cups All-purpose Flour
⅓ cups Cocoa Powder
¼ teaspoons Baking Powder
1 pinch Salt
1 cup Sugar
½ sticks Unsalted Butter
2 whole Eggs
1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
¼ cups Nutella - Melted (more If Desired)
¼ cups Caramel Sauce - Melted
1 bag (8 Oz.) Small Bag Of Hazelnuts, Or More If Desired

Preparation Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Into a mixing bowl, add your flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder. Using a whisk, mix together and set aside. Into your stand mixer, add the sugar and butter; cream together. Add in eggs one at a time and mix well. Add in your vanilla. GRADUALLY add in your flour mixture until it’s well combined. Batter should be thick and sticky.

Spray an ovenproof dish with cooking spray. Place a piece of parchment paper (slightly larger than your dish to allow for handles) inside. It will adhere to the bottom of the dish. Take HALF of your brownie batter and smooth it on top of the parchment paper. Take your caramel sauce and spoon it on top of the brownie mixture covering the entire layer of brownie. Place the remaining brownie batter on top, smoothing it out. Place in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes until sides are firm and center is no longer giggly.

Allow brownies to cool completely before removing. Cut your brownies to your desired size using a serrated knife. Make a small indentation with your finger into each brownie. Take your melted Nutella and drizzle over the tops of the brownies. Garnish with the hazelnuts.

Just what I was thinking . . .

Sometimes I will have a blog post rattling around in my brain for days. You bloggers know what I mean, I think. I have had something on my mind, something to express, but couldn't really put it into words - or at least I couldn't write about it in once nice, clean, neat post.

Then . . . someone goes ahead and does it for me.

There is more to my thoughts than just this post but this has really been in the forefront of my mind lately.

Please take the time to read this today:

http://raisinghomemakers.com/2010/contentment/

- Are we always looking for something new, exciting, challenging to fill up our time? Those things aren't necessarily wrong. But while my children are young (and when they get older too, I suppose), I am trying to be content, quiet, and intentional in the way I spend time with them - not always shuttling them off to one activity or another just to fill time - but to really get to know them on a deep level.

I have simply been thinking lately that "busyness" is not always a state that I want myself or my children to be in (that is contrary to culture - you're not cool if you're not busy) and that is okay!

Teeth!

Elsie is finally getting her first tooth (or teeth actually). Abigail got hers a week before her six month birthday and Elsie's are coming in two weeks before her 8 month birthday.

Poor girl is miserable. She's been sleeping through the night consistently for a few weeks now but was up some last night. She is also just extra fussy. I don't blame her! :(

Not Apologizing

Abigail being pushed in her car by Daddy.

I feel like apologizing for not posting - or not being interesting - or something.

But in all honesty . . . the reason for that is because I'm spending my time

- Reading to my children.

- Cleaning my house (I got ALL the laundry done by the time Andrew got home today - wooo!).

- Gardening.

- Cooking.

- Working.

All things that I am hoping are a blessing to my family.

-----------------------

We had a good, yet interesting, weekend.

Here is a very brief synopsis of the interesting part:

On our way home from a lovely dinner out with Andrew's parents, we came across what looked like a car accident. We found out later that it was actually a guy who had been standing by his broken down vehicle and was hit by a drunk driver. Anyway, we were essentially the first people to happen upon the scene so Andrew stopped and tried to help the guy who had been hit (and the guy who hit him was also there). To make a long story a bit shorter, the man ended up dying at the hospital. Such a sad thing. I was proud of my husband for helping, even though there was nothing that could be done.

Father's Day was good and uneventful. I made breakfast. . . we went to church . . . we had lunch with family. . . we came home for naptime . . . we went swimming . . . the end.

Already Friday

How can it already be Friday and I haven't posted yet?! Crazy! This whole work and try to do everything else thing is really taking away from my internet time! ha! That's okay though.

My kids are staying up later these days so that cuts into things too but you know what . . . I'd rather spend time with them!

Abigail has been very "2" this week. "Shepherding" (a.k.a. parenting) has been the name of the game for me. Thankfully she responds very well to time-outs. Tonight she was cranky at Nana's house and she even said "I sit by self" meaning she needed to go sit on the naughty step for a while. She went and two minutes later I went to talk to her and she was in a much better mood. Amazing!

I have been doing the usual the rest of the time. My time is spent in this order (usually):

Parenting - spending time with family
Cooking
Cleaning dishes
Working
Gardening/Mowing
and finally . . . cleaning.

Oops! I hear a teary girl coming my way so I'd best go.

Hopefully some exciting pictures and video coming soon!

I exercise!

Abigail has been obsessed with exercising lately. No, seriously! I mean obsessed. She asks to do it multiple times a day and will usually last through most of the video. It has been motivating me to do it more too! We are currently using Jillian Michael's 30-day shred. Great DVD if you're looking for something like that.

Here is a video of Abigail exercising.

(She even got in trouble today because she went downstairs and turned on the TV to exercise when I told her it was nap time.)

Abigail Ice Skates

Abigail has a book over at her Nana and Papa's house by that title (Abigail Ice Skates) and it is so true these days!



The child is obessed with ice skating. She loves to do it. She loves to talk about it. She loves to watch videos of it (especially the one where her Aunt Jennie's skirt falls off - not sure what the says about Abigail).



Anyway, we've been ice skating twice in the last two weeks. That's pretty good for a 2-year-old.



We're so fortunate that Abigail has an aunt who is an ice skating instructor because I certainly do not have the skills to take a wobbly 2-year-old out on the ice.



Here is a video (or two - we'll see what I can get loaded) for you viewing pleasure).

7 months

I don't mean to be taking blogging breaks! I recently took a mostly work-from-home part-time job and it seems that instead of blogging during nap time, I am working! It's good. I am so thankful for the opportunty to do this job. Every time that I am doing some work and then can just get up and go take care of my kids, I feel so thankful!

Anyway, my sweet darling, Elsie, is 7 months old today.

Just because she's 2nd born doesn't mean that her mommy doesn't celebrate the milestones!

This may come out wrong but I think all of you moms will know what I mean.

I'm having such a love-affair with this child. It's not that she's never a challenge or that I didn't/don't love my 1st born the same.

But . . . I'm just so much more relaxed with #2 and I identify with her (being a middle child myself) so I feel like we're sticking together!

I love it when she just can't quite fall asleep and I go into her room and rock her a little bit. The overwhelming feeling of sweet love when I'm snuggling with her cannot be beat! I would have never done this with Abigail - for fear of spoiling her sleeping - but with Elsie, I just don't care! :)

It's true what they say about love multiplying (not dividing) when you have more than one child.

Happy 7-month birthday to my sweet girl.

Sloppy Lentils

I can't believe it has taken me so long to post this fabulous recipe. Anyway, I loved loved loved this! Of course, I'm a huge fan of the good old sloppy joe. It's one of my favorite "easy" meals so it's no wonder that I loved this healthier version of Sloppy Joes.

Here we go!

First I combined the following ingredients in my crock pot.

2 cups water (the original recipe uses 3 cups, so notice the change for crock pot preparation!)
1 cup lentils, rinsed (red or brown lentils are preferred)
salt to taste (optional)
1 cup chopped onion
28 oz can diced tomatoes or tomato sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 tablespoon chili powder
3 tablespoons rapadura, molasses, or honey
1 Tbsp white vinegar

(Please note that you need to read the labels on your ketchup. Most "regular" store brands will have HFCS in them. Avoid. Avoid. Avoid!)


Added the lentils!

I also made my own hamburger buns from scratch (the ones from the store - a regular store (not whole foods or trader joes) have nasty chemicals in them) from my mom's recipe. They were a little flat - so more like thin buns but I think I forgot the last rising time and I rolled them a little thin. They will be better next time.

Here is a picture of the buns!

The sloppy lentils in the crock pot.

The sloppy lentils (and peas) right before I gobbled them up.

My notes: At the end of the day (right before dinner), I checked the crock pot and noticed that it was still pretty sloppy. So I went ahead and cooked another 1/2 cup of lentils on the stove top (only takes about 30 minutes) and added it to the crock pot. I suppose you could fix this by adding even less water or tomato sauce initially (or adding more lentils when you first start). I need to tweak this a little to figure out the exact right ratio.

Sloppy Lentils Crock pot

2 cups water (the original recipe uses 3 cups, so notice the change for crock pot preparation!)

1 cup lentils, rinsed (red or brown lentils are preferred)

salt to taste (optional)

1 cup chopped onion

28 oz can diced tomatoes or tomato sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup ketchup

1 teaspoon mustard powder

1 tablespoon chili powder

3 tablespoons rapadura, molasses, or honey

1 Tbsp white vinegar

salt and ground black pepper to taste

4 hamburger buns, split

cheddar cheese, grated (to top your lentils when serving)

Combine all your ingredients in the crock pot (besides the buns and cheese!). Turn on low and cook for approximately 5 hours, until lentils are tender and the mixture has thickened and absorbed most of the liquids. Serve on open faced hamburger buns and top with melted cheese, as desired.

My notes: Andrew ate his closed and we just used sliced cheese, not melted, on the sandwiches. Also, the recipe makes A LOT! Thankfully I loved this so much that I was happy to eat the leftovers for about 4 or 5 days after the initial dinner. Next time I might cut it in half and see what happens.

I hope you like this as much as I did. It is not gourmet but it makes me hungry just thinking about it.

If you're doing weight watchers, the sloppy lentils filling (minus the cheese and bun) is only 2.5 points. I originally calculated 3 points for the filling but there were more servings than my initial calculations told me, so I think the points were lower after all.

Let me know if you fix this and what you think!

Mmmmmm! So easy and so yummy!

Official Productivity List

This is for my husband . . . my accomplishments for the day (so far).

Returned movie to blockbuster
Got gas
Went to bank
Shopped at Target
Shopped at Whole Foods
Got lunch
Mowed 1/2 of yard
Cleaned out van (a big job!)
Vacuumed Van
Washed Van
Got more gas for mower
Put baby to sleep
Mowed 2nd half of yard
Watered garden (in progress - wow, getting the hose out there was a CHORE!)
Watered Plants
Cleaned up Kitchen
Showered

Now I'm blogging! :)

I'm getting ready to fix dinner for me and Elsie (who is still asleep). Then I'll probably take it easy. I might work on the dog fence or cleaning a little but will probably pop in a movie.

I miss my girlie and my Andrew!

I also got a little sun today. I hope it's not a burn. I'm not a fan of sunburns!

Long Weekend

I didn't really mean to take a break. I just got busy, I guess.

Abigail and her daddy are on an overnight trip with some other members of the family so just Elsie and I are hanging out today and tomorrow (until evening).

So far we've: gone to blockbuster to return a movie, got gas in the van, went to the bank, went to Target (big girl panties for Abigail!!), went to Whole Foods, mowed the yard (I did - Elsie napped), and put away groceries. I'm didn't get the yard done so I'm going to head out again in a bit when Elsie sleeps again. I need to get gas for the mower first.

I also need to clean my car and my house needs some work too. I'm going to try to fit some rest time in as well! We'll see.

Anniversary Snapshot

Here is what our anniversary looked like . . . year #7 . . . two very small children . . .

Woke at 7 am to baby needing to be fed.

Oldest woke at 8 am - I made her Oatmeal Yogurt Waffles.

We cleaned, played, did laundry, etc.

Nap time: One down then the other wakes up.

Got an email from husband saying he'll be late getting home because he's going by Lowe's.

Teach voice lesson at 4 pm.

Made dinner (sloppy joes and broccoli). Mashed bananas and breastmilk for Elsie.

Girls and I eat before Andrew gets home because we're hungry. Cranky tired baby and hungry toddler. Yikes!

Andrew gets home and grabs food on the run.

He works outside building more raised garden beds while I put the baby to bed. She is not interested in going to sleep easily.

Toddler and I (ha!) pull weeds in the garden. Actually she flings dirt on me while I pull weeds.

Andrew goes inside to work for himself in his office. I rock baby to try to calm her down. Falls asleep in her crib finally.

Bathing toddler (@ 8:30!! yikes).

Put toddler to bed.

Do dishes.

Get cup of tea.

Go to bed. Perhaps I'll see my darling love again before I turn out the lights!

Whew!

But you know what, I wouldn't change a thing! I know there will be years when we can go out and celebrate or perhaps even travel but in the exhausting yet sweet season of having young children (one is sitting on me right now), I am enjoying time at home with this precious family that will soon be grown.

On this day . . .

seven years ago, I became the wife of a wonderful man!

Thanks, Love, for all the wonderful things that you are and for our wonderful girls!

Pasta with Asparagus and Peas

I got this recipe from Giada De Laurentiis while I was in Kansas visiting my parents in February. They have Direct TV so I spent as much time as I could commandeering the remote to watch the Food Network.

I didn’t have all the ingredients (the original called for tomatoes – which would have been yummy in this) so I’m only posting my modification. Please add cherry tomatoes if you’d like!

Cook pasta according to instructions and reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water at the end.

In a saute pan, heat oil and garlic until fragrant. Add the trimmed asparagus and cook for 3 minutes. Add the peas and cook for two more minutes.

Add the chicken stock and simmer 3 minutes.


Not sure why but I took a picture of the grated parmesan. Ha!

Toss the mixture together in a large bowl and top with grated parmesan cheese and fresh basil.

I made this recipe when Andrew was still in New York so I did not get another adult’s opinion on it! :) Abigail and I enjoyed this light and healthy meal, however, and thought it was delicious!

My only note would be that the asparagus gets a little mushy when you try to serve this dish as leftovers. I still ate up all the leftovers but I prefer my asparagus to be a bit more tender crisp than the reheating provided. Still yummy.

Here is the original recipe including the tomatoes, which, like I said earlier, would have been nice.

Oh, I forgot to mention that this was fast and easy to make!


Ingredients
8 ounces short cut pasta
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 pounds thin asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups (about 9 ounces) cherry tomatoes
1 cup shelled peas
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock
1 cup grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves

Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving about 1/2 cup of the pasta water.

In a large saute pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the asparagus, season with the salt and pepper, and cook for 3 minutes until slightly soft. Add the cherry tomatoes and peas. Cook for 2 minutes. Pour the chicken stock into the pan and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook until the tomatoes start to burst and the stock is reduced by half, about 3 minutes.

Transfer the asparagus mixture to a large serving bowl. Add the cooked pasta and 1/2 of the Parmesan. Toss well, adding reserved pasta water, if needed, to loosen the pasta. Garnish with the remaining Parmesan and chopped basil.

**I have been neglecting to mention that I always use whole wheat pasta. Never just the white stuff. Enjoy. **

Groupon

Okay, I can't sit around all day and wait for everyone to comment! :) Kidding. (Well, I'm sort of kidding. I hope my parents read my blog because they are sort of the reason why I do it - so they can hear news of their grandkids from afar. Oh well.)

I'm writing this brief post of 1,001 to tell you about today's Groupon in the Cincinnati area.

It is for my mother-in-law and sister-in-law's tea room. If you're in the Cincinnati area and love tea . . . check them out!

http://www.groupon.com/deals/tea-parlor

1000!!!!!!!!!!

Can you believe that this is my 1,000th post?!

I mean, what in the world do I have to say that would take 1000 posts to do it in?

I feel like celebrating!

I wish I had something that I could do as a giveaway but . . .

alas, I have little money, even less crafting skills, even less time.

So, I'm going to ask something of you in return.

In celebration of my 1,000 post of seemingly pointless blogging, would you please leave a comment? Doesn't have to be nice or anything, just say "hi, I read your blog".

Seriously, everyone? Pretty please?!

It would thrill me to no end.

Thank you. Thank you! Thank you!!

I have several more recipes coming up and a video of Elsie trying her first bites of food (organic bananas) that I'll try to get posted the rest of this week. I'll be spending the rest of the week in the kitchen! Seriously, taking a meal to people tonight - snacks for small group on Thursday - and having friends over on Saturday. Have I said that I love to cook?! (but not clean - ugh!)

Sisters!

Here are comparison photos of our girls taken when they were six months old. Abigail's were taken a few weeks before her 6 month birthday and Elsie's a week after her six month birthday (Abigail was already sitting up then!).

They definitely have very similar looks.

Sisters!

Elsie @ 6 months (in case you were confused!) :)

Abigail @ 6 months!

Again, Elsie . . .

And Abigail . . .

What do you think? . . .

In other news, a big milestone post is coming next! I just have to formulate it. Stay tuned.

Elsie's Dedication Part 3

Elsie's Dedication Part 2

Elsie's Dedication

Thanks to my mother-in-law for taking these videos of Elsie's dedication last Sunday. There are several short ones so I might do a few different posts. These are mainly for my mom and dad but if you want to see us (and our girls) feel free to watch! :)

Bloggers in Real Life!

I was excited to finally be able to meet another mommy blogger yesterday.

Amanda, from www.myeverydayblog.com was in the area visiting her mom (she really doesn't live that far from me) and so it was arranged for us to meet.

It was fun!

A first for me . . . meeting another blogger that I did not previously know in life.

Stop by and visit her blog. She has a new cute baby, Claire, that is lots of fun to look at! :)

What having children does . . .

I'm not sure that I have gone into detail on my blog what a shock it was to me to have my first child. Our lives CHANGED! It is quite astonishing to me that they changed so much because we didn't live a radical lifestyle before she was born (no partying - ha - makes me laugh just to think, very little excessive spending or traveling, etc).

Now I know what happened. A spotlight was turned on by God himself! This spotlight shown deep down into my soul, into the parts of me that I prefer to hide. The parts that are ugly, selfish, greedy, etc. This child was given to us for a purpose (many of them) but challenging my selfishness was purpose #1.

Sorry for those of you that were close enough to witness those first brutal weeks when I couldn't do what I wanted, when I wanted anymore. My husband took the brunt of it and I thank him for his calm patience with me. I would have smacked myself! Getting over ourselves is a painful and not-so-very-fun process.

Anyway, I have always realized that this is what happened but have never found a great article to describe it until I read this blog today. Please read it if you have time. It is amazing and awesome and exactly what I've been thinking for 2 years and 4 months (since our darling was born).

http://onething.beautifulheritage.com/?p=4831

By the way, the lady who wrote this (I believe) has 9 children. I've read her blog for a while and so I'm not 100% sure of that number. Anyway, read it . . . comment if you'd like.

With one child . . .

Abigail spent the night at her nana and papa's last night and stayed all day today. Elsie had a doctor check up (6 months!) today so my mother-in-law was gracious enough to keep her for me! I just wanted to document what all I got accomplished today with only one child. I wish I had known how easy it was to get around when I only had one!!

- Breakfast, shower, and left before 9 am
- Stopped at Ell Farm for some raw honey
- Stopped at Benken's Floral and Greenhouse for some garden plants (tomatoes, peppers, strawberries, etc).
- Went to doctor appointment (Elsie is healthy and big - not a big surprise).
- Fed Baby.
- Went to Kohls and returned three clothing items that were too big (wow!) for smaller sizes.
- Stopped at the bank.
- Stopped at the place where we get farm fresh eggs and got 3 dozen.
- Ate lunch.
- Did one load of laundry.
- Loaded Dishwasher.
- Cleaned Living room (picked up, dusted, and vacuumed).
- Cleaned Guest Room (all the above).
- Cleaned Abigail's room (all the above).
- Checked email.
- Blogged!

Ha!

Going to snuggle with a baby now, drop her off with her nana, give a voice lesson, pick them both up and make dinner.

The end!

Chicago Trip Part 2

On Tuesday we drove downtown to pick up my mother-in-law, who graciously took the bus up to Chicago in order to save me the torture of attempting to drive the girls home by myself. I am in her debt forever for doing this. Seriously! Saved me!

Anyway, after we picked her up, we headed to the American Girl Store. Abigail had a blast looking at all the dolls, playing, and seeing her "baby" there in the store. She threw a few little tantrums in there when we tried to help her push our big stroller around the store.

Again . . . anyway, here is a sweet picture of her making a friend!


Elsie is waiting patiently in her seat for her big sister to be done looking at dolls. Elsie will be able to enjoy this herself one day!

Busy pushing babies around in the wagon and stroller!

After we finished at the American Girl Store, we met Daddy (who was downtown at a conference - did I say that?) at the Rainforest Cafe. Abigail enjoyed seeing all the "animals" and didn't act scared of any of them until the end.

At the end of the meal, we suddenly discovered how wet she was. Her diaper had leaked all over her shorts and in her booster seat so she had to go pantless in downtown Chicago for a while because her bum mom forgot to bring a change of clothes. Oh well!

Here is our family outside the Rainforest Cafe after eating.

Abigail did score some goodies at the American Girl store. Both she and her doll got matching ballerina outfits. Abigail LOVES hers and spends hours a day dancing around in it!

See??

Our trip concluded on Wednesday morning with a lovely breakfast with my sister before heading home. I was pretty impressed that we only stopped one time on the way home - at the cow palace in Shelbyville for lunch and a bite of ice cream. The trip was also very uneventful! I'm so thankful!

Again, I want to say publicly how thankful I am to my mother-in-law for coming to Chicago and saving me from driving home alone. We would have made it but it wouldn't have been so pleasant! Thank you!!

Chicago Visit Part 1

Oh my goodness! We had a blast visiting my sister in Chicago. Here is a recap!

On Saturday, May 1st, we drove up to Chicago. It was a wonderfully uneventful trip! No throwing up or tantrums or anything. Wonderful!

We dropped Andrew off downtown and headed out to my sister's place - about a 40 minute drive from downtown.

The highlight of the trip was getting to meet my new nephew, Isaac Keith. What an adorable and sweet little boy! It was really neat to see my sister as a mom and to see her joy in her new little baby.

Here is a picture of my sister, Jenny, with the two babies, Isaac and Elsie. Elsie is only 5 months older than Isaac. They will be best buddies growing up!


Baby Isaac - 4 weeks old!

We spent a lot of time hanging out at the house. With 3 kids, it's not easy to get out and do things. We did make it to church, out to eat, etc. On Sunday night Jenny, Elsie, and I went to the nail salon to get pedicures (Elsie didn't get one - she just came along) which was my birthday present from Jenny and Luke. So nice!

Abigail enjoying her stickers at their house.

On Monday we attempted to take all three kids out to do something. However I can't share about it yet because it involves a gift yet to be given. Perhaps I'll share later! Sorry to be mysterious! :)

Sweet Elsie Pie!

Sweet Abigail. It is getting more difficult to get pictures of Abigail. She's been saying "no picture" all the time but likes to look at them (of herself). Silly girl!

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!

I am so wonderfully blessed to have a sweet, caring, godly example for a mother. She has always been there for me, lovingly caring for me however and whenever I needed it.

Now that I'm a mother, I can more fully appreciate what she went through to raise me in the way that she did.

So . . . thank you Mom! I am most thankful for you introducing me, at a young age, to Jesus Christ. He is the Savior of my life and I can't imagine living without Him!

I am also thankful for your involvement in my life, encouraging my interests and encouraging me to grow in areas where I needed to!

Thank you, Mom, for being a wonderful grandmother. For caring for us, even if we're far away. You're always there to take my calls and listen to my problems and offer advice. You're hands on and so wonderful with my kids when you're close by!

Here is my sweet mother with my sweet daughter!

P.S. I had a lovely mother's day - mostly thanks to my husband. I really feel strongly that mother's day should be about celebrating your own mother and not the husband celebrating the wife. However, my kids are little and need help so I appreciate what he did to make it wonderful. He made us breakfast, tilled my garden, stayed with the kids while I went shopping, went and picked up yummy mexican food for dinner, and made me a fresh lava cake for dessert! I'm stuffed!

P.P.S. I have so many posts swimming around in my head including: chicago trip recap, Abigail's adventures, Elsie's first taste of solid food (today!), Elsie's dedication at church today, and some more recipes so stay tuned!

Happy 6 months babygirl!

(This should have been posted yesterday but when you read about our day yesterday, I think you'll understand why it's a day late).

My dearest Elsie,

We hardly call you Elsie Pie anymore. I'm not sure when or why we lost that nickname. It was so cute!

You are such a sweet baby. Still very happy and relaxed. We are blessed!


You've been with us for 6 months now and I still can't believe you're that old. What happened to make the time go so fast?!

You love:

To hear Daddy play the guitar and piano. This often will put you to sleep where you're at - like playing on the floor or in your bouncy seat.

To be talked to and played with. Here are Aunt Jennie and Papa Wayne talking to you!

To be played with and talked to by your big sister! You respond to Abigail like nobody Elsie. Even if you're tired or hungry, if she walks over you have a smile for her. I hope this is always the case!!

To play! You've really become interested in toys and playing. You're adventurous but also content with what is around you. A wonderful quality, darling!

Elsie I cannot describe how much I simply enjoy being around you. You have such a sweet spirit that will carry you throughout life. I enjoy hearing you talk and coo each morning, knowing that I am privileged enough to be called your mom and to spend the day with you.

Here you are waiting for your sister to be done shopping in the American Girl store! :)

Today you will be dedicated at church. This is the life verse that your daddy and I have picked out:

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

16Be joyful always; 17pray continually; 18give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

This is our prayer for you! It's pretty self-explanatory really! You're already joyful . . . living up to your middle name "joy"! Pray continually - this is a big one darling! Constant communication with the one who loves you most and created you is essential! Give thanks in all circumstances - I have learned this is an essential thing to do in order to live a joyful and content life. God will bless you, even though it may not be in the way you think it will be - with material possessions, promotions, wealth, or other worldly gain!

I am having the time of my life watching you grow, little pie. Always remember that your mother loves you and is filled with joy overflowing when I see you or think of you!

Love,

Mama

Beef Enchiladas

We love Mexican food! Unfortunately so many times enchilada recipes contain cream of whatever soups. These soups are usually full of chemicals and MSG. I have searched and searched to find good enchilada recipes and I think I have finally found one so I'm going to share!

The reason why I say "I think" is because I'm always looking and recipes and have seen some other beef enchilada recipes lately. If I find one that is tastier and easier to make than this one (and I don't think I will) then I will share it!

Enjoy!

First of all, the recipe called for enchilada sauce. I didn't have any. So I decided to see if I had the ingredients to make it. I did! :)

I have never read the ingredient label on enchilada sauce so I don't know if I can recommend just buying the sauce or not. It was easy to make! :)

For the sauce:

Combine and Heat:
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Flour

Stir together until smooth and cook for 1 minute.


Add 1/4 cup of chili powder. Seemed like a lot to me at the time but the sauce was really good!

Stir to combine and cook for 30 more seconds.

Add:

2 cups chicken stock (I used the organic swanson stuff since I didn't have any of my own made).

10 ounces of tomato paste (read the label on this carefully - sometimes the can with the added "stuff" contains High Fructose Corn Syrup - you can find it without)

1 tsp dried oregano (rub in your palm to release more flavor!)

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp salt

Simmer for 15 minutes and it's ready!

Now for the enchiladas!!

Chop the onion and add it to the pan with a little olive oil. Saute a few short minutes until the onion softens.

Add 1 lb of ground beef and brown. (Mmmmm! Yummy grass-fed, antibiotic-free beef).

Add the enchilada sauce and about 1 1/2 cups of shredded colby jack cheese. I just eye-balled it!

Spoon mixture into the tortillas. Okay, so I made these waaaaaaaay too big. The original recipe said it made 8 enchiladas and I only made four - so mine were twice as big as they should have been. Oh well!

Roll the tortillas as best you can (like I said - mine were too big!) and lay them in a 9x13 baking dish.

A word about the tortillas. . . most "regular" tortillas you purchase will have some sort of partially hydrogenated oil in them. We're trying to avoid that! So, I found these lovely ones at Meijer which are made with olive oil and whole grains.

I want to try to make my own sometime but haven't gotten around to it yet!

Sprinkle with the remaining meat/sauce mixture and cheese!

Bake for 20 minutes at 350.

Delicious!

It's not that my husband doesn't compliment my cooking - he does - but he was extra complimentary about these. He kept going on and on so . . . it's a keeper recipe!


Here are both recipes (sauce and enchiladas) in condensed form:

Easy Enchilada Sauce
Recipe courtesy of Emeril Lagasse

Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup chili powder
2 cups chicken stock
10 ounces tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions
In a medium saucepan heat oil, add flour, smoothing and stirring with a wooden spoon. Cook for 1 minute. Add chili powder and cook for 30 seconds. Add stock, tomato paste, oregano, and cumin. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes. The sauce will thicken and smooth out. Adjust the seasonings. Serve atop your favorite enchiladas.


Beef Enchiladas

Courtesy of jaimeschechter.blogspot.com

Ingredients:
1 small onion, chopped

1 lb ground beef

16 oz Colby-Jack cheese

8 flour tortillas

12 oz enchilada sauce

salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
In medium saucepan, add chopped onions and cook until soft. Add ground beef and brown. Salt and pepper to taste. Add shredded cheese and enchilada sauce; mix well. Spoon mixture into tortillas and roll. Place in a greased 13×9 pan. Make about 8. Top with remaining meat mixture and then with the rest of the cheese. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. ENJOY!

Abigail "isms"

My sweet (sick) daughter is just beginning to really talk and come up with things on her own. I had quite a stellar parenting moment this morning. We were eating a lovely breakfast with my sister before we left Chicago. I was attempting to get Abigail to take some dramamine before hitting the road but she knows what it is and how bad it tastes.

So, being the wonderful mother that I am, I just shoved it into her mouth. Not the best idea - in hindsight - but live and learn, right?!

Anyway, she chokes, gags, and screams in a restaurant full of people. Bad mother moment.

Anyway . . .

As she is gagging on this bad tasting pill she yells out in a very loud voice (while crying):

"I need a bucket."

Meaning, she needed a bucket to throw-up in. Ha!

I have been laughing at this all day. She didn't end up throwing up but it's funny that she knows she needs a bucket to throw up in and her dramatics are still making me laugh!

Anyway, lesson learned. Do not torture your daughter in public by shoving dramamine in her mouth - wait to do that in private - ha ha!

We're Home!

I'll try to document my trip more later but for now I'll just say that we're home. I'm tired! :)

We had a great trip and the girls did great in the car, which is an answer to prayer!

Abigail does have a cold now, which seems to be settling into her chest. I hope a visit to the doctor isn't in order but if it is, we'll do it.

Andrew is still in NY until Friday.

It will feel so good to be all together again.

For now I'll just be unpacking, getting dinner for Abigail and me and getting the girls to bed.

A BIG BIG BIG thank you to my mother-in-law who took the bus up to Chicago on Tuesday to drive back with us today. She entertained Abigail the whole way home and it was spectacular!