Fourteen

My how time flies!  My sweet Katie is 14 today.  That seems impossible to me but here we are.  She is turning into a true teen...

We got up early to open presents before school.  She was thrilled to get the Tom's she's been asking for.  Jennifer is the best!  Her best friend suprised her by showing up at 7 with donuts for her.

I found this banner from years past and hung it up after school today... Elvis barked at the dogs on it...

We took Katie and friends to dinner.  They dressed up, I felt very under dressed...

A little cake and a lot of candles

the girls went out and hung out on the trampoline and were a little suprised when dad showed up shooting them with silly string.

Hope they go to bed at some point tonight.

Katie you are a pleasure, I'm so glad to be your mom.  Could you stop at 14 though?  Please? 

Not much to tell...

Busy week... busy kids...a birthday party this weekend to plan...many teenage girls staying over...It should be fun...or something like that...

I made dinner, it was really really good.

Risotto

1 medium Onion chopped
4 tbsp Butter
5 cups Chicken Broth - approx. amt.
1/2 cup white wine
2 cups Aborio rice
Salt and Pepper to taste
Zest of 1/2 lemon
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Peel and chop the onion.  Melt the butter in a large sauce pan.  Add onion and cook till soft and translucent.  Mean while in seperate pot heat chicken broth to gentle simmer.  Once the onion is soft, add the rice and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for about 3 minutes.  Adjust the heat as necessary. 
Ladle in the chicken broth about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly.  As liquid is absorbed ladle in more broth.  Con't this till you have used most of the broth, about 20 minutes.  Rice should be tender when tasted but not mushy.  Add 1/2 cup wine if desired, lemon zest and parmesan cheese. 
I added leftover cooked chicken and veggies.

Elvis had a run in with the girls and some underwear...

organization, who needs it?

Remember in the last post I metioned Kellie bringing out a huge amount of dirty clothes just as I thought I was done??? 

Well, I'm still working on that laundry.

Today when I asked her to bring me her empty hangers she told me she didn't have any....
Me:  Hmmm, so these million articles of clothing didn't come off of hangers???
Her:  Nope, I don't have any.
Me:  If you don't bring me your hangers I'm going to get them and I doubt you want me to go in your closet do you?
Her:  I'll be right back.

that was the first batch

We just had a lesson on hanging clothes....I think she has no less than 20 shirts with peace signs on them.  You'd think I would notice and not let her have anymore but I really hadn't noticed this till I hung them up all in one day...

I also discovered that she had duplicate shirts.  When I told her to give her sister's shirts back to her she explained that she likes to have two in case a friend comes over and they want to dress alike....

After I sent two huge batches of hanging clothes to her closet, I tried to explain how she could use this time while everything is hanging neatly to organize her closet... you know, tee shirts together, nicer shirts, dresses, pants, etc.

Her reply was "oh, I don't need that.... you just do this (flipping through the hangers) nope, nope, nope, YES!"

We wouldn't want to be organized, what a crazy thing for me to suggest! 

I'm blaming her father for this. 

The man who still has his fishing stuff in the living room....

It worked out well...if I remember correctly

So, I completely forgot about Katie having an extra dance practice today.
Mike had all the new pink fishing poles and much other assorted fishing stuff all ready and sitting in the living room late last night when I remembered the conflict...
He's been a little pouty today and still hasn't put away the fishing stuff in the living room.  As you could have guessed I was a little glad the whole trip to the lake didn't work out....

• It's in the 60's with a very cool breeze.
• I've done about 8 loads of laundry and thought I was almost done when our little messy child produced what looks like everything she owns in her laundry basket...
• I cleaned up the scrapbook stuff on my dining table that has been there for a month

I couldn't have gotten any of that done from the lake....

Let me tell you what else I did with a few minutes of my spare time...
Mike's aunt brought me a cute leather purse from Italy a while back.  I have had it hanging in my closet admiring it and hating to use it.  It's just darling and I didn't want to mess it up and it's a little on the small side so I just haven't used it, till today....
Today when I went to put my things in it I found the cutest necklace in the bottom of it.  I told Mike about it and told him I didn't know if maybe she left it in there by accident when she gave it to me...
So, I called the sweet aunt to tell her again how much I love the bag and about the great necklace and make sure it was mine.
First, she reminded me that it was Christmas before last that she gave it to me...( I swear it hasn't been that long)
Second, she reminded me that she gave me the cute necklace because it coordinated with the bag...

Hmmm, that sounds familiar... now I remember... it's like Christmas all over again! 
I explained to her about my neurological disease that seems to cause me to completely forget things...
I told her it's really not too bad living this way... 
I'm just as excited about my necklace and bag from Italy today as the day she gave it to me!

Now I'm hating to take the tag in Italian off my wonderful necklace and I'm going purse shopping tomorrow so I don't mess up my cute bag....



I managed to cook dinner and get a few things ready to eat this week...
I made a batch of rice for fried rice tonight and used part of the rice to make this to take for my lunch for a couple of days... It was easy easy and very yummy!

Sushi Rice Salad

3 tbsp rice vinegar
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp wasabi paste

4 cups cooked white rice
1 cucumber, chopped
1/4 cup scallion, sliced
add shredded carrots or shelled edamame if desired
salt to taste
1 tablespoon sesame seed, toasted
 
In small bowl blend first five ingredients .  In large bowl mix rice and rest of items, pour dressing over and mix well.

Off to do more laundy and get ready for the week...I have Jury Duty on Wed. if I remember to go....

Torture, maybe. But at least I'll be high tech

I entered the world of the iphone this week.  It is very exciting.  I'm loving it way more than I expected.  I may already have a little addiction to one of the games....

The funny part of this is that I am SO not high tech.  Katie just thinks it's so funny to watch me try to answer her phone that she was sure I couldn't handle the i phone.  After I got it Thursday night, she and I sat and played with it while waiting on the little sister at dance... She asked me at some point if I thought I was "high tech now" I assured her I was very very high tech now.  I don't think she believed me...

The next day while playing with all the things on the i phone I clicked on the "notes" section.  Katie had at some point left me a note... "Mom, you are very high tech.  Love K" 

It made me laugh.  But not as hard as the note I found today...Katie's best friend had gotten my phone and left me a note...."Cara, you are very high tech, compared to hobo's..."
 She redeemed herself by adding that I was "her favorite of all friends parents in the history of parents"...

I'm glad they are beginning to see how high tech I am, compared to a hobo.



After being gone all last weekend I really needed this weekend at home to get things done.  And you know if that's what I plan it doesn't happen...

The girls needed to go do a little shopping today. 

Kellie ripped two pair of jeans this week.  Right before the end of school.... she has also suddenly outgrown her ballet and tap shoes.  With a month left of dance.  And you know if I buy new one's she'll outgrow them by the fall...she's going to end up with a big 'step-sister' foot I'm afraid...

And since today was taken up with shopping, groceries, etc. it's only typical that now Mike wants to take the boat out and take the girls fishing tomorrow after church.  

I know I should be glad for the family time and such but today it was cloudy and 45.  I'm thinking even if it does make it to the 60's tomorrow it's still going to be cold on that lake.  And I can't get the laundry done from the lake...

He went and bought the girls pink fishing rods and reels tonight.  I'm sure we were short on fishing equpiment!
His theory is that they will be more interested if they have the girly kind.  I'm thinking it isn't giong to make much difference.

 I think, speaking from experience that when a fish doesn't jump onto their pretty pink fishing pole with in the first few minutes and they have eaten all the snacks and the water is too cold to get into, that they are going to be torture.
Then that will make dad a grumpy fisherman.

Oh, and both girls are bringing a friend.

And he wants to take the two dogs. 

Sounds like the making of a great, wet dog smelling good time to me....

feel free to pray for me...

I need a few more hours of weekend

Well, this weekend flew by!
We had a good friend and her daughter ride with us and that made the drive sooooo much better!

Our first stop in the middle of no where was sporting this fancy sign on the bathroom door.

We started Friday night with dinner with family...

Uncle Ted really looks like he is up to something here...

Then there was the 'hokie pokie'

We were up very early Sat. to get the girls to the competition.  They went to classes and Jennifer and I did a little shopping and lunch. 

There was a lot of dancing going on

We found a couple of patches of blue bonnets on the way back. 

 Really, we saw two. 

We got to choose between the patch with the cactus all in them or the patch next to a very very small house where everyone was out in the yard watching us... I believe they were offering us a drink as we left, right about the time their friend rode up on a horse.

That's when we realized might have already crossed the line back into West Texas...

We met a very nice highway patrolman.  Really, he was so nice.  The first thing he told me was that he was just going to give me a warning... so, I liked him right off the bat.

He had us a little scared when he returned, gave my drivers lisc. back and then asked me to roll down the back windows so he could look inside. 

He then looked at the three girls in the back and asked if we were indeed their mothers...

They looked a little confused and we had to encourage them to tell the nice man that yes, we were  their mothers...

I asked him if he wanted one of them but he declined...

He went on to explain a lot of statistics on how Texas recoved drugs, weapons,....and about there he lost me for a minute while I wondered if he thought we had our children hiding some drugs we were smuggling back from the Dallas area... I started listening again in time to hear him say 'but in Texas last year we had ____(can't remember the number for worrying about the drugs and such) missing children and we didn't recover one'....'we were taught to recover the drugs and such but not how to recover children...'

So, I really was impressed with the nice officer.  He was trying to do a good job...

But I had to wonder if all kids he asks were as convincing as ours...

Busy busy

We have had one of those crazy busy weeks.  I feel like we have run and run and run.  Dance, choir, church, dance store, book store, dance store, etc...

We are leaving tomorrow for the girl's dance comp. in Dallas.

While they are dancing I am going to spend good time with sweet niece Jennifer and another friend or two or three... I'm going to try to hit a couple of favorite restaurants and as usual, pack as much into the short weekend as I can.

A few favorite things from this week:

• I broke down and bought a couple of pair of capri pants for spring.  I'm so happy about loosing weight but hate having to buy new clothes every season...

• Kellie handcuffed herself to her desk chair and didn't realize she could just stand up

• 
  
  Finished a good book

• 
  
  Mike's out of town tonight which means the bed to myself and clean sheet night... ahhhh....

have a great weekend!

Easter Sunday

Katie thought it was too early for Easter baskets

Chocolate

Not sure what Elvis and katie are doing here

Katie got a new Bible in her basket

they cleaned up for church

1 Corinthians 15:3-4

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,  that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures

For that I am thankful.

A Crafty afternoon

For two weeks I've had all my craft stuff all over the dining room table.  Today I decided I needed to finish my project and put it all back in the closet where it belongs so we can use our dining table again...

Let me pause for a small story about the messy dining room table while we're on the subject...

Last Sunday I invited a friend from church over for lunch.  I prefaced the invitation with the disclaimer that my dining table was a mess with crafty stuff and I hadn't mopped since the dust storm the day before... and if she could handle that, we'd love to have her for lunch.
She comes, I slide all the crafty stuff to one end of the table so the adults can eat at one end...I then ask Kellie to put napkins on the table for me... When I sat down I noticed that she had put "What-a-burger" napkins out for us.. Not sure how they made it into the pantry with the napkins, but there they were...
So, guess the crafty junk on the table didn't look that bad compared to the fine table linen we put out for guests!

I started an address book for my sister for her birthday.  I really just found a project to use some old pictures of her....

how about that pagent swimsuit? 

on of my favorite pictures of my mom... smoking and talking on the phone, does that just scream 1960?

this should be her favorite page, the picture of her with her new sister

Then I made a couple of cards for my cousins while I was printing pictures...

In the picture on the right, I'm the one in the middle with my shoes on, the two Ark. cousins are missing their's... I may have mentioned this in the card...

Easter eggs

I had all the supplies to dye eggs and planned on doing it tomorrow with the girls but then Kellie's friend that is over told me she had never dyed eggs. 

How can that be?  We had to fix that.

I don't think my girls have missed a year.

There was much fussing over who was 'hogging' all the egss.  As usual.

I see deviled eggs in our future.

Elvis is tired.

Very tired.

He slept through the egg dying.... 

He would wake up for deviled eggs though.

2 hair cuts in 2 weeks

Two weeks ago, both girls and I went for a haircut.  Kellie fussed and fussed and only wanted her hair (that is too long) trimmed. 
That's it.  Just a trim.  Nope, not an inch... Wait that's too much.
Then there was the fussing that she cut too much....

Two days ago she decided she needed her hair cut short.  Today.  Right this minute. 

I had to explain the the 'you can't get your hair cut on Monday's rule' and how we avoid any place with the words clips or cuts in the name and how we don't cheat on our hair person....she had to wait till today...
She got up today excited about going after school for her hair cut!

Look who can't quit grinning and flipping her hair.

I'm not sure what prompted the sudden need for a new look but I understand it....  Just wish she had decided on the first hair cut I paid for!