What Happened?

Summer, it’s a time of fun in the sun, hanging out with kids and friends, looking for cheap (ok, free) stuff to keep us busy and for a change, slowing down to enjoy life.  That’s what I was thinking anyway.  Then, unexpected trips out of town that require new clothes and lots of dolling up.  How about Keagan’s sinus surgery yesterday?  Surgery was a never in our summer plans but she did it anyway.  And is home doing beautifully.  I pray her asthma attacks will be a thing of the past now.   How about playing middle man in the battle between the hospital ER and the insurance company.  Those are fun phone calls while little boys Cursed With Wildness are screeching through the house.  Come on, Calgon, take me away.  Really, take me, I need a break!

Another attempt at a good picture with my daughters.  I will not give up!

Amy

Makes Me Say, Wow, Really?

I’m fortunate to live in an area that has a lot going on in the summer.  Like the free movies from Select Cinemas.  You’ll find the kids and I there every Wednesday.  Yea, it gets a little loud.  Seems free can also mean no movie etiquette AT ALL.  Some moms snag little cat naps, I’ve seen a few attempting to read, a few knitters and texters.  No big deal. But I have to tell ya, when the Mom in front of me pulled out her gigantic laptop, powered it up and got online to check her email I about spewed my hot tea that I had snuck in.  Well, I thought, give her minute, maybe she’s way more important than the rest of us and needs to check her email everywhere she goes.  I get it, it’s a free movie and a kid movie at that but seriously, does this really need to happen?  My friend and I gave her some time but obviously she was going to surf the net for the duration of the movie.  Oh, and she was sitting next to our boys in the row in front of us.  Caleb turns around to tell me she is distracting him.  Subtle and quiet, thanks, Caleb.  She didn’t  get the hint.  Fed up, my friend had an employee tell her she couldn’t have her huge screen laptop up during the movie.  She’s wasn’t thrilled with us and we scrambled out of there quick after the movie to avoid a mom smack down in the parking lot.

Were we right?  Would this annoy you or am I getting old and crabby with little patience for others???  Let me know!

Amy

Movie Love

School is out, socks have been banished, kids are eating popsicles outside while swatting mosquitoes and I’m scrubbing grass stains off of little chubby feet (not my own, Chance’s).  Some people love Fall or Christmas time but this is my time of year.  The long hot days, hangin’ out at the pool, hittin’ the lake, waiting in line for snow cones.  Can’t get enough of it!  And summer movies.  You know, that list of movies that can only be watched during summer while sipping a cool drink with the blast of the fan attempting to cool you off.  If I could only pick 10, this would be my list:

1. American Graffiti:  One last night before college. 
2. Grease:   A no brainer, right.  What would summer be without Sandy and Danny?  Personally, I never got Sandy,  Rizzo was someone I could relate to!
3. Jaws:  Yea, I still watch it.  The theme song to Jaws was all I heard roaring in my head the first time I was scuba diving in the ocean.
4. Fried Green Tomatoes:  Love this movie!  Inspiration for the repressed housewife in, well, me.  Kathy Bates wrapped in Saran Wrap is a scream.
5. Bull Durham:  The ultimate baseball movie.  Love this flick!
6. Oklahoma!:  How could I not include this classic?  I am an Okie!  One of my favorite songs from a musical is ‘Can’t Say No"’.  A fun little flick that I watch alone, seems musicals cause family members to roll their eyes.
7. Mamma Mia:  Think I will be skipping this one, what with the daughter leaving to start on her own life and all. 
8. Under the Tuscan Sun:  Pure fantasy.  I feel a little sad after this movie.  Tuscany is so breathtakingly  beautiful and I would love an opportunity to live there.
9. The Seven Year Itch:  This is the movie for me when I need to get back in touch with my inner sex kitten, pure fun.
10. Gone With The Wind:  This is my all time hands down favorite movie, any time of the year!  For me, Clark Gable summed up what manliness is suppose to be.  Nobody could do it better!

Now tell me, what’s on your summer movie watching list???  What else should I load on my Netflix queue?

Amy

If You Give A Mom A Project

Right now I feel like the little absent minded pig in If You Give a Pig A Pancake, that great kid’s story about the little pig who just can’t stay on task.  For me, it started like this…… yucky ugly bathroom floor so what better to do on a winter day than rip it up.  Right?  Miserable job and my floor stayed naked for about a year.  Why?  Because I also needed to redo the ceiling so Danny and I finally scraped that off, got it all fixed up but had to do a little touch up painting since he’s messy.  Nothing out of control,  yet.  My darling husband decided that staining the concrete floors would be a great idea, 3 days before Keagan’s graduation.  Good thing I have such a great sense of humor.  Said floors get stained, look great and we were high on the fumes for 72 hours.  This is here it gets tricky.  I decided it would so great to put a brown glaze on my white bathroom cabinets, while at the same time repainting the trim work.  Best part of this deal is that I found the perfect paint at Lowe’s for $7 bucks on the returned paint shelf.  I can get a lot of painting  done while little boys are bathing, so why not.  Except the glaze is taking so long.  Then Mom calls, wants to give us her fridge, the almost new one, and she wants to give it to us now.  My old fridge gets pulled away from the wall, cleaned out and now I’m thinking the floor is nasty in the kitchen, so yep, out it comes.  We’ve been ripping up floors all day.  I was lured to the paint samples while at Lowes (again) getting a hose for the ice maker and found the perfect color for Caleb’s room……

Get home and decide it’s time to clean up the front porch, check the mower for gas and what the heck, go for a bike ride on my awesome new mom bike. Home again and it’s more scraping of crud off the floors, hang new curtain rod (on clearance at Wal_Mart), checking on my sad little garden, which reminds me to rotate my compost pile which reminds me to put the recyclables in the back of the van. Plus the kids are hungry, again.  Stinky boys need a bath and it’s there back in that bathroom that I remember the glaze I had begun earlier in the day.

Is this anyone else’s life???  Please tell I’m not alone in this insanity!

Amy

If It Smells Like Sunscreen….

Spring must be turning into summer.  My red headed, fair skinned Caleb must be slathered in sunscreen before and after school or he’s a little red lobster within minutes.  Though I’ve always used sunscreen on the kids, I never gave much thought to using it on myself until last summer.  A ‘suspicious place’ was found and removed on my arm that was ‘slightly’ abnormal.  It was completely removed and I shouldn’t have to worry about that area again .  Wake up call.  I’ve always loved the sun, loved laying in it for hours, being outdoors and soaking up that vitamin D.  Last summer was the first time I had ever put sunscreen on myself daily, covering my arms, shoulders, chest and neck.  Even found one I like, Neutrogena's Fresh Cooling Body Mist, it cools your skin as your spray it on and doesn’t have a too funky of a smell.  For kids, my dermatologist recommends Blue Lizard, great for sensitive skin and is fragrance free.  Yes, I will still be out sun worshipping but with my sunscreen, an awesome hat, great pair of shades, even my lip balm with spf.

Here is todays How I Convinced The Men Folk Meatless Is Not Sissy Food (whatever that is) recipe.  This is an easy yummy dinner that went over well in our home.  Serve with a big green salad.

TORTILLA CASSEROLE
Serves: 6

• One 16-ounce can pinto, pink, or black beans, drained and rinsed
• One 16--ounce can crushed tomatoes
• One 4-ounce can chopped mild green chilies
• 2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed
• 2 scallions, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 8 corn tortillas
• 1 1/2 cups grated nondairy Monterey Jack, cheddar, or jalapeno cheese
• Salsa for topping

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Combine the first 7 ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly.
Lightly oil a wide, 2-quart casserole dish and layer as follows: 4 tortillas, overlapping one another; half of the bean mixture; half of the cheese. Repeat the layers.
Bake the casserole for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly. Let stand for a minute or two, then cut into squares to serve. Pass around salsa to top each serving

Amy

Where’s The Beef?? Not On My Plate…..

It’s been over a month since I decided to do without meat in my diet.  Not much of a stretch really, I was a vegetarian for years.  But motherhood, life and all it’s craziness caught up with me and my habits changed and not for the better.   So, how did this trial run go for me?  Great, I know this is the lifestyle for me.  I feel lighter, healthier and best of all, my blood pressure has remained low.  Coincidence?  I don’t know but that’s all the motivation I need.  Ironically, I don’t think I’ve lost more weight.  Why should I, I only eat right and exercise daily.  ACK!  Makes me want to scream, but that’s an entirely different post. 

Have I convinced my family to join me?  Not so much, especially Danny and that’s ok, I know this is not for everyone.  But I did find a few recipes that most everyone agreed upon and wanted to share them here.  So, this week, I will post a new recipe daily that we have tried and least 3 out of 6 approve of.  If nothing else, going meatless even one night a week could stretch your grocery budget a little further.

Here is a recipe for Chick Pea Tacos, seriously, I could have made myself sick on these.  A great summer meal, add a cold Modelo with lime and you’re set!  Try it!  I would love to hear what you think!  Happy Eating!

Serves 4

• 1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced
• 1 15-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 3 Tbs. chopped cilantro
• 4 tsp. fresh lime juice
• 1 clove garlic, minced (1 tsp.)
• 8 corn taco shells
• 2 cups baby salad greens
• 1 cup prepared salsa (medium or hot)
• 1/2 cup nondairy sour cream

 

Directions

1. Place avocado in small bowl, and mash with fork. Stir in chickpeas, cilantro, lime juice, and garlic; season with salt and pepper.
2. Set taco shells in napkin-lined basket. Place salad greens, salsa, and sour cream in separate bowls, and set out alongside chickpea-avocado mash.
3. To serve, let each person build their own taco by filling each shell with 1/4 cup chickpea-avocado mash, some greens, salsa, and sour cream.

 

Amy

Graduation Weekend

My oldest daughter, Keagan, is graduating tomorrow.  She really is, it’s not a joke.  She’s not going to wake up tomorrow saying “gotcha”, nope, she’s serious about this graduation thing.  She has been so giggly, happy and perky over this.  Even this morning, she’s dancing around the house singing her Graduation Song, completely annoying to those of us who have given up coffee and need a little time to wake up.  She’s completely unaware of her selfishness.  Once graduation is over and we survive the summer, she’s leaving for college.  Just like that, leaving.  Does she have no idea what it took to bring all 10 pounds of her into this world??  This is the thanks I get?

She’s not ready, truly she’s not.  I still get her up in the morning, turn the bathroom heater on every cold morning, make breakfast, remind her take her asthma meds and let her skip school way too often.  Does this sound like someone who’s ready to be an adult?  Ok, she’s also extremely independent, full of street smarts that will carry her far in life, has more practical sense that most women my age (including me), a natural nurturer without smothering and so very very bossy.  She is the Queen of Her World.  What about her little brothers?  Has she even thought about them???  I personally think those were brave little faces when she told them about going to college in Stillwater.  I’m sure I saw sadness through their happiness about frequent road trips to Stillwater, stuffing their faces at Eskimo Joes and wearing a very unflattering shade of orange to show support.       What about Friday Night Sleepovers??  This is a night when she lets the little boys have a ‘slumber party’ in her room.  They get to stay up late watching movies and eating in her bed.  Like I would ever let them do that.

Today is the Awards Assembly, tonight the Senior Party.  Of course I will be there with her favorite batch of dip and chips and lemon cupcakes. I must have done pretty good with this kid since she wants me to go.  How cool is that?  Tomorrow I will concentrate on having to dress up little, worry about keeping the little boys clean and totally block out what is really going on.  Will I make it through the ceremony without tears?  I doubt it but seeing the smile on Keagan’s face, seeing her light up will, I hope, keep me in line.  At least until we get home.