Hairy Chicken

To finish the story from the previous post....Grace called my Pot Roast hairy chicken. She said why do I need to eat this hairy chicken?

And then she told me she thought my pie would be gross but it turned out yummy:)

Thats my girl!

It's not always perfect around here....

Sorry to break it to you but its not always perfect around here. Mornings don't always go smoothly, my kids aren't always well behaved, my house is not always clean, and we do pick a pizza up for dinner from time to time.

I am on day 3 of things not always being perfect and its a bit much to take. However we are having Pot Roast for dinner with a dutch apple pie topped with a bourbon caramel sauce....I guess at least one thing will be perfect:) Pot Roast and apple pie is the greatest meal on the face of the planet!!

My beautiful, 5 yr. old daughter is on day three of melt downs and whining, I may tear all my hair out. I love you Grace but really:) We are going to make her teacher a popcorn cake for her birthday tomorrow, maybe this will help with her mood. I doubt it but maybe. In the meantime the naughty spot will be her favorite past time until she figures it out. And if you stop by which I don't advise right now, the screaming and whining is now my favorite sound track, so don't be alarmed.

I tell you after 7 1/2 years of being a mom you would think I would have these stages figured out....NOT!

Don't take this post as a complaint because that's not what it is. I guess I am just a little frustrated and impatient at the moment.

Because believe me when I sit down for dinner tonight all of the frustration will disappear...Pot Roast is my anti-drug:)

I had a couple of dreams....

As you know I celebrated cabin fever this weekend with our close friends. It was fabulous....however I forgot my camera so there is no documentation(insert tears and sad face here).

But back to the weekend. On the second night we decided to sleep with the window open in order to be able to hear the waves. Holy Moly that was amazing! I sleep terribly all of the time but especially when I am not in my own bed. So the waves were just enough of a lullaby to hush me to sleep. The gentle sound of the breeze and the rain combined with the motion of the waves slapping against to the rocky patio in the front of the house was the most wonderful combination of sounds and the smell of the fresh rain and the salty water, and the beach was intoxicating. I am convinced if I could get a dreamweaver sound machine this is what I would want it to sound like (I am not sure they have figured out smell on these things yet?). So I fell asleep quicker than usual, however I was awakened three times by the most bizarre dreams. I am not sure what dreams mean if anything however they are fun to ponder over.

Number One- I was in a band with Elliot we had a VW van and everything, we were totally hippies (hence the reason Brian wasn't there:) and we were traveling through the back country(ghetto really) of some weird big city. Not sure what this means it was short....thank heavens.

Number Two- Someone broke into my house in the middle of the night grabbed a large portion of my hair at the very top and cut it off. This was all they took before they promptly took off before I could wake Brian. This one was totally disturbing:(

Number Three- This one was my favorite, this one was something I had been praying for, this one I was thankful for even though it made me cry several times. I was in Grace's classroom expect the students were the kids from her preschool class (strange). They were having a fire drill and I was in charge of getting a bunch of small girls out to the playground. Except when the alarm sounded the girls got scared and they ran out of the building without me. We had to collect their shoes outside for some reason so I grabbed Grace by the hand and we headed out the door to find the others and get her shoes. As I walked out the door I brushed shoulder with an older man that had a camera around his neck. I kept walking and then it hit me I knew the man, so I turned around. When I turned around so did the man and it was my grandpa. I started towards him but he waled the opposite direction and then started shouting my name,"Jessie, Jessie, where are my girls." His name for me. I kept on waving my arms but he couldn't see me. So I walked towards him and tried to grab him, but he disappeared.
It was strange, he was so real, he had jeans on that were just a bit to short(because he could never find the length and waist side that would fit properly, because he was so tall) brown shoes (just like he wore my whole life), and a camera around his neck(the same one he handed down to me years ago). I have been praying that God would let me see him in a dream. It was dreamy and short and if it doesn't ever happen again that will be ok. But I was and am thankful I had the dream.

Do you dream? I have happened upon many that claim they don't. I do and maybe thats why I don't sleep well?

I contemplated not sleeping with the window open the next night, but I couldn't resist. Cabin fever was great. It was relaxing and much needed.

Friday Night At The Bowling Alley...

We took our kids bowling on Friday night and I must say it was a super big hit. Everyone had a blast!! And aside from the poor bowling alley man who had to visit our lane not 2 but three times to tend to issues created by our inexperienced little bowlers it was uneventful. Just fun family time and lots of memories.


The Most Stylish Little Bowler


And My Little Dude:)

Love this stage with my kids. We have entered the kid stage and it is fun!

Something to Look Forward To.....

Cabin Fever Baby!! Last year we started a new tradition in which we would go away for a weekend with these two people...

And enjoy this view.....

And do absolutely nothing!! WooHoo. Nothing does include reading, saunaing, eating, puzzling, playing games, etc. But you don't do anything you don't want to do. And there is no TV, cell phones, or computers. You need not pack anything other than comfy clothes and pajamas:) Sounds wonderful to me:)
So Cabin Fever here we come the countdown is on only 6 more sleeps.

Whats A Playdate Without A Giant Bottle of Vodka?

I will explain quickly because our grandparents read this blog and I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea. However we did have a playdate and it did include a giant bottle of vodka:) We made homemade vanilla with it though. We didn't consume any.

Whats that you want to make some too?

Ok You need some vanilla beans, a giant bottle of vodka and a bottle to put the ingredients in. it is supposed to be 1 qt of vodka to 5 vanilla beans. We used a little less vodka because I didn't buy a big enough bottle.

Oh and we used old wine bottle to bottle ours up. Leave it for 6 weeks and there you have it home made vanilla.....yummmm!

Add some coffee and a good friend with fun kids and it is the playdate of champions:)

Soup For The Soul

I have become the soup maker at work which is hilarious to me. It is hilarious because a year ago I would tell you that soup is one thing I am not so great at making. Up until recently I really had no heart for it. I know its strange....I love eating it, in my opinion my mother-in-Law or MOML as I refer to her makes the best soup on the planet and that will ring true for the rest of my existence I am sure.

But I have been called to be the soup maker for the store on the corner of Smith and Northwest and it has been so satisfying. First of all the girls in store title all of my soup Best Ever, or Mamas (that is their nickname for me) so if you go there that is how you know I made the soup.

So now that soup has become a new love for me, we have been eating a lot of it. I realize good soup takes some idleness as you wait for flavors to blend and stocks to thicken, however feeding the end result to someone and watching them warm from the inside out is the greatest reward. We have a guy that comes in and orders soup everyday and I find myself asking the girls if he finished it, what his comments were did he like it, and it is doubling exciting if he orders the same kind more than once. I love to feed people what can I say:)

Here's a recipe for you.

I am calling it...Best Ever Tomato, Beef and Bean Soup
(I could work on the naming part I suppose)


1/2 cup each onion, carrot, celery diced (mirepoix)

1/2 lb- 1lb of ground beef Use however much you feel like or don't use any at all....my husband likes to have a bit of meat but I still only use 1/2 lb

1 can black beans with juice

1 can diced tomatoes - 15oz can

1 can tomato sauce - 15oz

4 cups chicken stock - homemade is best but boxed or canned is fine. I like to use low sodium so I control the salt though.

1 tblsp- cumin

1 tblsp- oregano

salt to taste

2-3 cups of little shell noodles

-Saute off the beef and veggie matter - until beef is brown and veggies are tender

-add beans, tomatoes, sauce and stock. Add Cumin and Oregano

-Simmer for awhile - 20 to 30 minutes this lets all the flavors come together

-Taste and add salt you desire.

-Add Noodles and cook for 10 minutes.

Everyone gobbled this up last night even Grace who declares she does not eat soup. She said she wanted more beans????? Who would have thunk.

I do not aspire to tell anyone what kind of choices to make when feeding their families, or even declare that I feed mine any one way. However I do like to stay under the umbrella of healthfully. Trying to keep in mind that what I put in their bodies is the fuel that gets them through the day. So with my recipes always feel free to used dried instead of canned, home canned instead of store bought, homemade instead of packaged, organic or regular. Its up to you.

Let me know if you try it:)

The Angry Blueberry:)