Who gave me the sickenss in May???

I know you must be wondering what normal everyday things we have been up to

 

Let's catch up shall we?

 

I started feeling a little sick on Friday and just bad enough that I laid around all weekend.

Until I woke up with the monster eye issue today

What the heck?
If hadn't felt terrible anyway I would have called in because I looked crazy...
A trip to the clinic, good medicine, great cough syrup and the eye is slowly getting back to normal.

 

We did venture out to a sweet friends graduation party Sat. night. 

We got to know Kelsey while she was a youth intern at our church.  Before long we had her at our house as much as we could.  She was more like family to my girls.  She invested in them, mentored them and gave them an occasional lecture on their teenage behavior before she finished college and left us this weekend.

Her parents were so sweet to ask us to her dinner and are so precious.  They thanked us for taking care of her and I reminded them how sweet she is how she took care of us some too.  I pray my girls continue to have relationships with older Christian girls who can model what college years should look like. 
Thank you Kelsey for loving my girls!

I have spent a little too much time on Pinterest
Ask Jennifer, I've sent her a few that reminded me of her

Saturday I did something I rarely do.  I watched a movie.  The whole thing and no one made me.
I had been meaning to go see Argo when it was in theaters and never did.

 I watched it Sat. and cannot quit thinking about it.  It was a really good movie. 
I made the family watch it later that day.

The girls were not really excited about it but I think they liked it a little.  It made Katie nervous...

Argo is: 
Based on real events, the dramatic thriller “Argo” chronicles the life-or-death covert operation to rescue six Americans, which unfolded behind the scenes of the Iran hostage crisis, focusing on the little-known role that the CIA and Hollywood played—information that was not declassified until many years after the event.

 

See, I lived in Iran in 1979 and left just a couple of weeks before the hostages were taken.  My dad left just days before. 

I was 14 and not old enough to be scared enough.  I remember vividly how upset and scared my mother was and I thought it was quite an adventure.

After the movie, now I'm scared.  I realize we were really lucky to get out when we did and how fast things got bad.

They were bad when we were there but escalated everyday.  I really wish I still had my dad to talk to about it... I don't remember us ever really discussing it after the fact.

Before we left we hadn't been to school in weeks. 

Now, as a kid I liked the not having school work but we weren't allowed to go out and I was bored to death! 
Now that I've started thinking about that time again I found that the American school has a group page on FB and one of the guys who graduated in '79 wrote a book about it I'm now going to need to read.
You should watch it.  Then be glad I got to come home.  I am.

Today I have watched more tornado coverage than is healthy I'm sure... and in between that I've watched enough House Hunters International to plan my retirement and enough Dateline to help you out if you ever need help with a crime.

Hope you aren't sick in May

 



 

Mom's and really expensive cookies

Happy Mother's day to all the mom's in my life and in my children's.  I have always said that it takes a lot of Mother's to raise my kids.
I was so lucky to have two sweet Mom's who owned the day care my children went to. 
Then there is Jennifer who could step in for me if die.  They love her that much.
My sister and her ever present threat of spanking them with the fly swat can't be left out.
And all my sweet sweet friends who have invested in my children.

While we were all piled up in the bed this morning (my favorite part of the day)

 I told my girls again this morning how much my mom would have loved them if she could have met them.  Kellie said she was sure she would have been her favorite...

And because something is wrong with me I wanted to spend my Mother's day afternoon baking.  My grandmother would have understood, my mom, not so much...

The girls asked for cookies.

 I decided I wanted to try Macarons...

The seem to the popular cookie right now.

My opinion - they are very sweet, good, but I prob. won't make them again....

You pipe them onto the cookie sheet and I dropped the metal piping tip down the garbage disposal.  It is stuck on the blade now and won't come off...
Looks like the macarons are going to cost me a plumber visit...
They defiantly aren't worth the price I'll pay for that!

 I'm about to wear my present out to get some dinner with all my people.  Have a good Mother's day!

Eighth grade is coming to an end

First prom, now 8th grade banquet...
It's too much.
They are almost grown...
But I am loving almost every minute of these teenage years...

 

we did a little spray tanning

 

 

a little make up

 

 

 

 

 

and dinner before the dance

 

They followed up the dance with swimming at one of the friend's.

 

A good time was had by all (I hear)

 

 

 

 

I didn't need to know about the s'mores

Darn that Pioneer Woman. 
She has once again exposed me to something I didn't need to know about.
One of the teachers at school who is a wonderful cook brought me a treat.
A treat from a PW recipe.
I've never been interested in s'mores before.
But when she told me there was peanut butter and Nutella on it I had to try it.

And now I can't quit thinking about it.
I'm helping with a wedding in Dec. and she wants s'mores... I think we've found the answer.
I had to make one yesterday.
I'll need to make some for her to try soon.
PW dips hers.  I though that was a little too much chocolate.
I don't think I've ever said those words before.

Go try them.  Now.

Seventeen

 

17 years ago

I had a sweet baby girl

 

 Man time flies

 

and that makes me old

 

 

You always had good hair!

 

 

This was her 3rd birthday

 

 

I had to force her wear a dress for this picture.

It was her tomboy phase

I'm sure there were basketball shorts under there

(I miss bluebonnets)

 

And now you're almost all grown up

 

 

doing things on your own, even if it scares you

 

 

humoring your mother on occasion

 

 

loving life

 

 

loving family

 

And being so much more than I ever imagined in a daughter.

You are beautiful and I am so proud of you.

Happy 17 my sweet girl.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first of the lasts

Oh what a weird week we've had.
It has been crazy busy. 
Katie backed into a friend's new truck at church Wed. night.  And by new truck, I mean brand new, off the lot, picked up about 4 hours before Katie put a dent in it. 
She has been just devastated over this.  She feels so bad.  "He can't even enjoy his new truck...." (read while crying loudly to get full picture)

Last night Katie had her last dance recital.  I didn't think about this fact till right before we went.
Mike really hated to miss the draft and when he mentioned skipping it I suddenly realized that this is the last one.  That made me a little sad.  And by a little I really mean I don't miss them going to dance every night and competitions but hate we are at the point where we are doing things with her for the last time in high school.
That explanation got Mike to go without complaining.  He did want to know if he could check it on his phone while we were there so that he could say things like "he is the worst general manager in the history of football"....

 

There seems to always be a weird dance

 

this year they were insane asylum patients

 

 

Make's a mama proud...

 

Where I embrace being a "Pilgrim"

Tonight at church we are having a dessert auction.  Katie said I should make homemade butter (not exactly a dessert) but I had already planned that.
You see, my making the homemade butter five a couple of times along with jelly, etc. has made Katie feel like she knows that I think we are "Pilgrims".  Now, my being raised in Miss. with a mother and aunts that canned everything that would fit in the jar, put tons of shrimp in the freezer for the winter, had gardens, and never wasted anything is more where I got it.
 I feel like my mother would have said she had churned butter and her day and would just buy it....
But if doing those things makes me a Pilgrim, I'll own it.
You would think we were eating all natural and such, too bad it's butter and jelly I'm interested in making.

Let me get back to tonight's church auction.  All of the youth group knows about the butter.
So I made Zucchini Cinnamon Muffins and am putting a jar of homemade butter with them.

I also made Chocolate Whoopie pies with Marshmallow Butter Cream filling.

While I'm talking about cooking, let me tell you about my latest food obsessions...

                        Trader Joe's -- I have read of everyones love of it in the blog world and have now managed to visit the Dallas/ Ft. Worth area stores three times.  Each time I have found more treasures!  The first visit I googled what peoples favorite products were and went from there.  Yesterday I had a good friend text me "I've got about 10 min. to run in a Trader Joe's, what would you buy?"  I quickly gave her my favorites.

My very favorite, top of the list is their Croissant rolls.  They come frozen. 

The Almond are incredible and the plain are great too. 

They put the ones in a can to shame! 

aren't they beautiful?

 

 

I read on a blog recently about copying the Starbucks Passion Fruit Lemonade, bought the tea bags, played with the recipe and can't quit drinking it.

 

and it's pretty...

 

I put 3 tea bags in a large glass of hot water and let them sit a half hour or so.  I have made homemade lemonade and used country time from powder and both are good.

I put about a 1/3 of a glass of tea, fill with lemonade and you can add simple syrup or my favorite, a package of equal, all over ice... Yummy.  Trust me on this one.

 

What are you loving lately?