Oatmeal Muffins....

so we celebrated friend friday again today which is still the highlight of my week. Last week, Jessica had brought these super yummy muffins which i decided to try to make today....oh my, are they delicious- we're talking melting in your mouth! .....hmmmmmmm....... here's the recipe if you'd like to try them - definitely worth it. - i will warn you though, you won't be able to stop at just one.

Oatmeal Muffins......

1 C. Oatmeal

1 C. buttermilk or milk

1/2 C. brown sugar

1 egg

1 C. flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 C. canola oil

1/2 tsp. cinnamon (opt.)

Mix oatmeal & milk and let sit 1 hour. Add brown sugar & stir. Add egg and stir. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and stir just till blended, not too much. Add oil and stir until blended. Bake @ 350 for 20 min. or until toothpick comes out clean. (NOTE: if your in a rush you can let oatmeal and milk just sit 20 min.)

one of my new favorite things...

We're heading out of town this weekend for my cousin's wedding in Missouri and happened to be in the library when i saw a bookshelf full of these "playalong" books....so cool. Basically, it's like a book on ipod. I picked up "Nineteen Minutes" by Jodi Picoult. Here's an excerpt from the jacket...

In nineteen minutes, you can mow the front lawn, color your hair, watch a third of a hockey game. In nineteen minutes, you can bake scones or get a tooth filled by a dentist......In nineteen minutes, you can stop the world.....

Sterling is a small, ordinary New Hampshire town where nothing ever happens -- until the day it's complacency is shattered by a shocking act of violence. In the aftermath, the town's residents must not only seek justice in order to begin healing but also come to terms with the role they played in the tragedy. For them, the lines between truth and fiction, right and wrong, insider and outsider have been obscured forever. Josie Cormier, the teenage daughter of the judge sitting on the case, could be the state's best witness, but she can't remember what happened in front of her own eyes. And as the trial progresses, fault lines between the high school and the adult community begin to show, destroying the closest of friendships and families.

Nineteen Minutes in New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult's most raw, honest, and important novel yet. Told with straightforward style for which she has become known, it asks simple questions that have no easy answers: Can your own child become a mystery to you? What does it mean to be different in our society? Is it ever okay for a victim to strike back? And who -- if anyone -- has the right to judge someone else?

the past eight years...

jeff and i celebrated our eighth anniversary today with papa murphey's pizza at his new co-workers house, it was great. it's humorous looking back on how we have and haven't changed over the years- how we'd rather vacation with friends now and share an evening out with another couple rather than just ourselves....i guess you could look at it a couple different ways, either we need some stimulating conversation or don't get out much....oh my.....

is this a love note?

so today jaden brought home a giant note from school from one of the girls in his class.....which was so sweet. he said she knew that he liked playing Rock Band and drew a picture for him.... oh my, has it really started?

gone google-eyed....

well, i think we have officially caught the cabin fever as the google-eyes that the kids found in the art box brought us at least an hour of entertainment today. we were getting such a kick out of them that we decided to go visit daddy in the office to see what he looked like with them on as well.... oh the things that humor us! :)

Pizza Bowl....

....so, we decided on a whim to go out for pizza and then bowling afterwards. It's probably been at least 3 years since we've been to the Morton Bowling Alley, so nonetheless, we were all looking forward to it. Funny thing was when we went to Monical's Pizza, we ran into 5 other families who were doing the exact same thing....what are the odds. The kids had a BALL.... Josie would cheer "go ball, go ball" every time she bowled, thankfully we had the bumpers so everyone did pretty well though Jeff did bring home the victory. Good times....Good times.....

the Green Gators....

...so jaden finally had his first indoor soccer game this weekend and boy was he excited. It was a bit like swarm ball, but so cute and i know he had fun, he even scored a few goals which he was pretty proud of. Here's a few pictures after the game, he was giving me his "i'm way too cool for this mom, "..... sometimes it scares me how fast he's growing up.

kicking & screaming....

again, jaden asked about going to the soccer field today to practice, just 2 more days....just 2 more days. Thankfully a friend come home from school with him, so for most of the day he kept busy playing legos and the wii and even outside for a bit- but as soon as his friend left, the inquisitiveness started,

....pleeeeezze mom, can you take me?

oh my this could be a long season. He did agree that watching "kicking & screaming" would be fine. If you haven't seen it, it's definitely a MUST SEE. It is often quoted in our household and it still makes me laugh. :)

Put me in, Coach.....

so, i finally made the deadline in signing jaden up for indoor soccer and boy is he excited. His team is the Green Gators but he's mostly excited that his dad is going to be the coach. He's been begging me everyday....

"Mom, can you take me out to my soccer field?"
"Just wait a few more days, jaden, and then we'll go when it's your game".
"But, I need to go practice now, mom"
"Jaden, nobody's there, it's locked and we wouldn't be able to get in"
"Welllllll, can you call daddy? he can open it"
"Really? why is that?"
"He's a coach, mom!"

...he brought home another note today that he had written in school-

Dear Dad,
I like that you are my couch. (I think he had a little help from his reading teacher- so sweet! :)

celebrating one...

my brother chris and his family came over this afternoon- it was fun and relaxing to hang-out, play games and celebrate Taya's birthday again. She still wasn't crazy about the cupcake and frosting, but she did LOVE her gifts- as i'm sure her big sister will be loving as well!.....good times! :)

Confessions...

so we were actually able to find a sitter on this ever popular date night and decided to make the most of it and go get dinner and a movie- so we ate at Basta's and went to see "Confessions of a Shopaholic".....very cute, - the only sad part was we had a sitter till twelve and ended up being home by 10:30ish. Hope you had a great Valentine's Day! :)

Be Mine....

so if your a bit late on the draw of sending out valentines- here's a Kate Spade site that has some fun designs you can send electronically for free! Happy Valentines Day! Enjoy.....

Happy First Birthday Taya....

has it really been a year?.....already?.....wow, time goes fast....LOVE this girl, and her big sister and brother, too- but today is her day, well, kind of. There was Mops this morning and then Jaden has his school carnival tonight- so in between all that - we did celebrate Taya- It was her first time eating cake and she wasn't a big fan about all the stickiness- there were a few tears, but then she started having fun with it....so sweet- sweet, sweet taya! Now the girls are down for naps and jaden's at a friends house- so must make the most of this time, enjoy.....

play date...

today we had a playdate with a friend. She has a daughter josie's age and a son taya's age. The girls were so sweet and had a ball playing dress-up and wearing taya's new headbands. I think Josie changed twice while they were here and taya slept the entire time, but we had great time....so fun catching up.

i heart wednesdays...

and my babysitter too.... "miss jenn" came with gifts today in celebrating Taya's birthday....CAN NOT believe she is turning one already....anyways, so sweet- she had it all wrapped up so pretty with the cutest headband that she had made wrapped around the box as a bow. LOVED it, as i'm sure taya does too, as now she has a few more clothes to her name opposed to josie's hand-me-down's...

....love this girl!....

Chicken Pot Pie.....

I hadn't had a chicken pot pie in probably 10 years until my next door neighbor moved in from Indiana this past summer. They just seemed so time-intensive. Well, I was over at her house one day when she was whipping some up to give as dinners- which she does quite often- actually every time she makes a pot pie- she doubles the recipe and gives one away as a ministry of sort..... oh the little ways i'm learning that you can show Jesus everyday. Well, i happened to be the recipient of one of these dinners one day and oh my...... YUMMY-NESS! and the funny thing is- it's a bit like lasagna where it's even better the second day. So if your a Chicken Pot Pie Connoisseur, try this recipe- super, super easy....

CHICKEN POT PIE:

2 pie crusts

1 C. Chicken, cooked & diced

1 Lg. can of Veg-All (without the Lima Beans)

1/2 can of Corn

1/4 can green beans

1/4 can of diced potatoes (if not in veg-all)

1 can of Cream of Chicken Soup

season to taste

......mix all ingredients in large bowl, be sure to drain cans of vegetables besides the Veg-all. Spread one pie crust in pie plate, spoon in mixture, cover with second pie crust. Trim around edges and pinch to seal. With left-over crust, you can roll out and use cookie-cutter to add a personal touch. Bake at 400 for 30 min.

...my baby fix

so today was not only my brother's birthday but also the day i got to spend with my newest little neighbor. My friend across the street brought her baby girl over and we took a few pics, uhm........so sweet.....and she's so happy- loved it! ;)

Book Club...

So our book club met again today and chatted about "the Shack" over some yummy Key Lime Pie that Jess had made....so fun. I'm excited about our next read. "The Memory Keeper's Daughter" by Kim Edwards, here's a bit from a review by Curled Up With a Good Book:

The year is 1964. David Henry is a happily married orthopedic surgeon. When his wife, Norah, goes into labor in the middle of a snowstorm, David realizes that the birth will have to take place in his own office instead of at the hospital as planned. Unbeknownst to the couple, Norah is carrying twins, a boy and a girl. When David delivers the second baby, he is hypnotized by the “unmistakable features, the eyes turned up as if with laughter, the epicanthal fold across their lids, the flattened nose” (16), “the gap between her big toes and the others, […] Brushfield spots, as tiny and distinct as flecks of snow in the irises” (17).
David, unable to bear the idea of causing his wife the pain that he knows comes with a Down’s syndrome child, asks his nurse Caroline to bring the girl to a home and then tells Norah that the baby died. After seeing the conditions at the “home for the feebleminded,” Caroline cannot bear to leave the baby there. She leaves town determined to raise the child on her own.

So the twins begin their lives, separated at birth. So also begins a quarter century of secret keeping and hidden loss. Phoebe is raised lovingly by Caroline, who must struggle against societal prejudices in order to give Phoebe the same opportunities as other children, while Paul grows up in a household filled with unexplained tension, ever touched by the shadow of the sister he never knew.

A powerful novel, The Memory Keeper’s Daughter is both an exploration of grief and loss and a meditation on the power of love. Most importantly, though, it is a study of humanity......

Fireproof doesn't mean the fires never going to come.....

Tonight our church held a "Dinner & a Movie" as a fundraiser for our teens ministry. They served up some delicious chili and then watched our children as we all saw the movie Fireproof. If you haven't seen it, i HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend it. Sure it may not be in the running for any academy awards but the story line will no doubt touch you in a very real and intimate way. I know i was glad i grabbed some extra napkins....very inspiring.

Friend Friday....

TGIF......definitely a reason to celebrate! I LOVE them! - hey, any excuse to have friends over to pass these cold winter weeks sounds great to me. The house gets a little disheveled, dishes pile up and there's usually a disagreement or two to diffuse with the kids but definitely a highlight of my week! thanks so much ladies....you guys are GREAT! :) ....and besides i'd never get any knitting done on my own.

Note: my friend Sara made the skirt in the picture, so talented, she may be starting a line soon if your interested!

new kids on the block....

so we have a "new kid" on our block. Our friends across the street just welcomed home their 2nd little girl this past weekend and she is a cutie- so much hair, just like her big sis. I got to go visit her today while my sitter came to watch the kiddios and for 9 lbs. 10 oz. she looked soo tiny.... that was until i took dinner over to some friends from church who just had their baby and was 7 lbs. Sooo sweet - now looking at Taya it just amazes me how much she's grown in a year - she's not a baby anymore! ....sniff, sniff... i think i will go and rock her for awhile... :)

a tough cookie....

this weekend at ally's hockey game josie had an unfortunate encounter with the bleachers and ended up with quite the bruise. It started out as a large red circle on her cheek but now has crept up so she has a black eye, i must say she's been quite a trooper. Here's how it's looking today....

...letter to dad

jj was so excited when he came home from school today- "it's a surprise for dad, mom." well, thankfully, jeff was able to pick him up from school so he was right there to open this much-anticipated surprise.... it was a letter addressed to jeff.

"Dear dad, (though it looks like bob)
I like to wrc (work) with you.
Love, Jaden"

it still makes me smile!

...visiting the great white north

this weekend we went up north to visit my brother and his girls in Green Bay, such a great time! ....and WOW do they have a lot of snow! The weekend was jam packed full of fun-
in home pedicures so my niece kayla would be dance ready for snowball the next night.... she got ready at a friends house but from the pictures she looked BEAUTIFUL!!!!, off to pamperin park for pictures and snowball fights, Green Bay Community Church, dinner at Chives - a definite must if your in the area, dancing to the Renegade's (a friend of my brothers band), Ally's hockey games! "GO #20!", the superbowl, Elayna and Jaden's magic shows and the milwaukee zoo!.....whew..... what a weekend! Thanks guys- sooo much fun! ;)