My Brother Has Waaaayyyy Too Much Time On His Hands

This is what my brother sent me yesterday in an email. He said he was googling pirate Halloween costume ideas and this picture popped up. Right.


It's funny in a disturbing kind of way. He also worked on a picture of my parents at their wedding.

This is the original.


Ben thought this one was just a little truer to the original colors. Carrie disagrees because she thinks all of the 1970's was orange. Let me also mention that my mom still looks very much the same (if not even prettier)...too bad the same can't be said of my Dad. (I love you, Dad.)


Does anyone else think they look a little stunned?



Don't forget to vote for our friends, The Woods. Even if you live in Timbuktu and couldn't care less, they would certainly appreciate it! It only takes one teeny-tiny minute and you can vote everyday until Oct. 20th.

Soups On, Folks!

It seems a little silly to be sitting at my computer blogging about the wonderful soup we had yesterday evening when it's a balmy 74 degrees outside. I meant to blog last night after dinner, but when I got home from my Bible study, I was way to tired and this is the first opportunity I've had today to sit down and do it, but that's the weather in West Texas and we just all have to live with it.

As I finished all the chopping of my veggies for this soup, they looked so colorful and yummy and "soupish" that I had to take a picture.

I know it looks a little 1970ish in the photo above and I think it's because of the old, cruddy camera I am using right now. If only I had a really good one that could capture our children's childhood and all the other wonderful things I feel the need to take pictures of. (Hint, Hint, Brad.)

This soup really is delish. It has all kinds of wonderful things in it.

Like Italian sausage


And chicken broth


And fresh rosemary


And lots of yummy zucchini (we love zucchini)


See, this is Brad dumping in the zucchini...he's very helpful that way. I was up to my elbows in pesto sauce making pesto pinwheels so I couldn't dump the zucchini in, but I could take a picture! :)


There's also tortellini in the soup. Hence the name "Tortellini Soup," but there are no more pictures of my beautiful soup because my camera's batteries gave out. Sigh. And it really was beautiful. It makes me happy to make pretty food.

My children also love, love, LOVE this soup. I usually make a full batch and freeze half so we have to throw together on one of "those nights." We don't like leftovers too much so I tend to freeze a lot of stuff. You just have to bring it back to a boil and throw in the frozen tortellini and five minutes later there-you-go, soup for dinner! Eli likes this soup so much that he took to school in his lunch today.

And I wouldn't leave you without the recipe. I found it in a Paula Deen magazine (that woman sure can cook!), but I've made a few changes. I'll just give you my version and you can tweak it to suit your own family.

Tortellini Soup
1 lb. Italian sausage
3 medium carrots, thinly sliced
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 (32 oz.) boxes chicken broth
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
3 medium zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced
5 or 6 sprigs fresh rosemary chopped very fine or 1 t. dried rosemary
salt and pepper
1 (20 oz) package refrigerated or frozen cheese-filled tortellini

In a large pot (and I mean BIG), combine sausage, carrots, onion, bell pepper, and garlic; cook over medium heat until sausage is browned and crumbles. Stir in chicken broth and tomato sauce; bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add zucchini and rosemary and simmer for 20 minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. I also add a little dash of crushed red pepper...we're just like that around here. (If freezing half: Ladle out half of the soup mixture into a bowl to cool. Make sure you have a pretty good ratio of veggies, meat, and "juice". Put half of the tortellini in a quart size Ziploc bag and, when cool, pour the soup into a gallon size Ziploc bag. Label with contents, date, and reheating instructions and place both bags, side by side, in freezer) Add tortellini and simmer for five minutes or until tender.

I think Eli summed it up best at dinner: Slllluuurrrppp. Long, dramatic pause. "That sure is good stuff!"


On another note: Our good friends, The Woods, need your help. A few years ago they bought a foreclosed house with the intention of fixing it up. It has great bones, but to say it needed some work was an understatement. They had to do major renovations before they could even move in (which they did one week before they had their third child). Life happened and they have been unable to finish the kitchen. Now they are expecting their fourth child while in the process of adopting two more. When I say they have big hearts and generous spirits, the words don't do them justice! By the end of April, they will have six children under the age of five. A local TV news here in Amarillo is having a kitchen remodel for the worst kitchen in Amarillo...Josh and Careese made the final top five! Please click here to vote for them. You'll have to register, and it takes a moment, but then you can vote once a day until Oct. 20th (starting today). Please, please, please vote for my friends' kitchen. They need it so very, very badly. She doesn't have countertops and her stove is sitting on an old door and she's pregnant...what better reason is there than that?!

We Don't Get Much Rain 'Round These Parts

Today was a gulley-washer. It's notable because we really don't get too much rain here in West Texas. I couldn't even find my umbrella it's been so long since we've had a good, soaking rain...apparently nobody else could either because there was a significant number missing from church this morning.

Phoebe just didn't know what to do with herself.


It was perfect nap weather and that's what we did this afternoon. Well, that and I went grocery shopping by myself! I saw three other moms I knew sans children so Sunday afternoon (when the Cowboys are playing) in the rain must be the time to go grocery shopping.

This was a huge change from yesterday when it was sunny and warm and windy! Brad played in a softball tournament and his first game was at 7:30am. The children and I made it for about the last 20 minutes.

Okay, yesterday morning it wasn't really that warm...but it wasn't nearly as cold as Eli thought it should be (notice the mittens).

After that game (and breakfast at Mickey D's) the children and I headed south to the WT Homecoming parade and Fair On The Square. Our friends, The Sheltons (they are awesome!), let us sit in front of their B&B to watch the parade. They are right on the parade route and Jill and Van put out coffee and lemonade and cookies and Chex Mix...like I said, they are awesome!

Phoebe lounging on the front porch before the parade began...cookie in hand.


Waiting for the parade to begin.


When the parade finally did begin, it was being led by the WT mascot, Buff the Buffalo. (Actually, I have no idea what the buffalo's name is and no one around me did either, so I made it up.) Now, it was a live, wild buffalo...being "herded" by 15 eighteen-year-old college boys with ropes. Does anybody else seem to think this might be just a little unsafe?! When Buff passed by us, he was galloping at full speed and I was just happy to see him go. The rest of the parade was fairly parade-like...and exceptionally long. We made a candy haul, though. I'm saving it to give to trick-or-treaters at the end of the month!

When exactly did this boy get so tall and lanky?


We hit the Fair On The Square and really, the only impression I took from that experience is that I will never take my two children by myself to Fair On The Square again. There were just way too many people and stuff going on for me to feel very comfortable. I'm glad I went, but next year, I'll make Brad go with me...softball tournament or no.

I'm glad the weather was so nice yesterday, but today was an awfully nice change, too. The weather should be a little cooler the next few days and tomorrow is officially the first "Soup Weather Day" of the season. Yeah!

Phoebe And The Chocolate Mint

I know that I already posted today, but I took some pictures after lunch that seriously need to be shared. Brad and I have started to go to lunch on Thursdays. It's just the three of us and the only rule is we have to go somewhere we've never been. It gets us out of the rut and sometimes it's my favorite part of the whole week. Today we went to Joe Taco. It was great...and the three of us ate for $12.81! Amazing. I didn't know it, but Brad gave Phoebe a chocolate mint on the way out the door. I think she enjoyed it. The pictures are a bit all over the place because I was laughing so hard at her expressions it was hard to focus.








I hope you enjoyed something today as much as Phoebe enjoyed this mint!

6:42 AM

This is my very favorite part of the morning. I get up about an hour before everyone else in my family does. I need the quiet and the space and the coffee to get ready for the endless energy from a five-year-old boy and the sneaky, silent pilfering attacks of a 19-month-girl. Plus there is always the day to day rebellion of our little, old house. Yesterday night it was the kitchen sink. It's backed up and no amount of plunging or Drain-O will open it up...supposedly the plumber will be coming some time this morning. I don't think I'll hold my breath. Not that I had anything too pressing to do...just coffee with a friend and then back home to play with Phoebe. The coffee I can reschedule, the play time is easily done while the plumber is under my sink. I'm just thankful that it's only the kitchen sink. There is always some kind of plumbing issue when you live in an old house...even if the pipes are newish like ours. There are tree roots and water leaks and the pipes back up all the time.

But back to the reason I like this hour. Things don't seem nearly as insurmountable this early in the morning. The worries from yesterday seem are put in a little more perspective. So what if the economy crisis has everyone scared or unqualified to buy a house right now? So what if you have to take your children to breakfast because the kitchen sink doesn't work? So what if Brad's investigation of said sink left my kitchen cluttered and dirty when I am spending so much time trying to keep the house looking nice for the buyers who aren't coming? So what if both of your children are coughing and wheezing from allergies or something? It's nothing major and it'll all come out in the wash.

I used to use this time to have my quiet time with God. But then I got angry (or depressed or whatever) and I felt like that time was pointless. When you struggle with whether God even really loves you or not, it's hard to actually want to spend time in communion with Him. But maybe that's just another excuse in a long line of excuses. It's something I'll post about later (along with the tie-dye story, I promise!), but it could be an entire post in and of itself and I want to do it justice. I'd like to get back to that time and I know it's a matter of habit. Each morning, after I've gotten my coffee, I think, "Oh, I'll just start tomorrow, " and that's the end of that. One morning, I'll surprise us both, I guess.

My house is waking up and it's taken me twice as long to write the last two sentences than the entire first two paragraphs! I guess that's just the way it goes...not that I would trade it for anything else.

Ditch and Stitch

This weekend I "ditched" my family and "stitched" with a couple of friends. Two of my friends have gone a quilting retreat with a group from a quilting shop here and town and they decided this year just to keep it simple and have one with just a few friends. There were supposed to be four of us, but one gal's husband fell out of the house they were building on Thursday night and broke his ankle and she had to play nursemaid. We missed her terribly...but she did come out for a few hours on Saturday. I had every intention of quilting, but then I talked myself out of making two quilts for Eli's new bunkbed (denim comforters will be just fine and a lot less work!) and decided instead to work on the children's Halloween costumes. I even finished them! While I did not work as hard as Liz and Dixie (who actually pieced some quilts), I did meet my goal (and taught myself how to make ruffles) and reminded myself that I actually do enjoy that kind of stuff. It got me all fired up for more crafts and sewing. It's a good thing, too, because I'm sure there will be alot to do for our new house. Let me also interject that I am not that great (unlike my mother who is fantastic!) and I am exceptional at short, easy, instant gratification projects...like curtains and Halloween costumes. There are no pictures of this little get together since we all wore "comfortable" clothes all weekend and didn't put on makeup. I stayed up way too late, talked too much, ate too many "snacks", and just generally had a a great weekend. Brad kept the children and they seemed to have a pretty good weekend, as well. Phoebe keeps walking around the house calling, "Da-ie, Da-ie?" He even put the dishes in the dishwasher (he usually just rinses them off and leaves them in the sink)...I guess there is something redeeming about having your house on the market! :)

Same Song, Second Verse (Or Third...Or Fourth...Or Fifth...)

I think my cell phone is cursed. No, I think I am cursed when it comes to cell phones. If my cell phone were cursed, then getting a new one would make the curse go away. As it stands, I've been through three phones and the hits just keep coming!

My sweet husband, Brad, whom I love more than life itself, was trying to be so helpful yesterday when he decided my iphone needed to have the updates installed. Unfortunately, instead of installing the updates, it just wiped out all the data I had saved on my phone. All my contacts? Gone. All my music? Gone. All my special ringtones? Gone. It was exceptionally frustrating. Especially since I find this particular "helpful" gesture extremely annoying. Just when I figure out an electronic device, he "updates" it so then I have to learn a completely new way of doing things. He says he's trying to keep me from getting older than I already am. (Keeping in mind that we view age with a "you're only as old as you feel" mentality around here...I'm about fifty. Always have been.) Sometimes I just wish he'd load the dishwasher and leave my cell phones alone if he wants to be helpful. So I sent out an email today telling everybody I usually call that if they want me to call them they have to email me their number (because I have nothing memorized) or call me on my cell...too bad I accidentally sent them Brad's phone number. He's been getting calls all day. My phone has been strangely silent. Oh wait, maybe that's because I have no good ringtones anymore.

In other news, we finally bought all our lights today. It only took us trips to both the Home Depots and Lowe's here in town...and took all day long! It probably would have been a lot faster if the salespeople at said places actually moved faster than molasses.

And finally, here is my ingenious way of keeping my children out of the house and occupied while trying to get ready for the weekend.


Yes, they are painting the fence with water. I used to do this with my pre-k kids when I taught public school. It's one of the ways we would review our letters. Everybody thinks it great and it keeps them occupied. See, I'm not always "no fun"!

Things That Made Me Smile

This bowl of fruit.

I bought it at a roadside stand (in the Donut Stop parking lot of all places!) and it is heavenly. It smells delicious and looks so proverbial that I just had to take a picture. Of course at the this point, there are far fewer than what is represented in this picture. There was also a lesson learned from buying fruit from the nice roadside man. Hide the free sample the nice old man gives you because he thinks your daughter is so precious because she's pointing and asking for a peach. She can't eat it because she dressed so finely and peach juice stains and she's not so precious when she's throwing a fit and squealing because you won't give it to her. We went home and had it for lunch, but not without some damage to my eardrums.


Eli's explanation of how Star Wars fits into the story of creation. He told me that God made them too before he made all the other "peoples" and then they went up into space and we were made and so God loves them too. I'm guessing that they must have come after Adam and Eve's banishment from the Garden, but before Noah. I'm thinking we have some more work to do on distinguishing reality and fantasy...and basic Bible stories.


The fact that I was washing my windows at 7:30 yesterday morning. Although that may have been more of a grimace. We decided to hire a realtor to sell our house and when you hire one from this particular firm, they have a "realtor" open house. All the realtors from that firm (all forty-something!) walk through your house and find all the things you should do to make it more "sellable." I know that the criticism is constructive, but it didn't stop me from feeling like a whole group of people I don't know were walking through my house trying to find things that were wrong with it! Our realtor hasn't given us any of this great "feedback" that will help us sell our house quicker. I'm just waiting with bated breath.


That my house is very, very clean. Enough said.


Phoebe's pigtails. I'm not sure I will ever get enough of them.

First Day of Fall...Sort of

Yesterday was the official first day of Fall. It's seems a little arbitrary to actually note it's passing since in most of Texas, it still feels like the end of summer. We were at a whopping 85 degrees yesterday and we were probably one of the cooler spots in the state. My children celebrated by running around in their underwear at a friend's house. It's kind of a long story that involves tie-dye and a big bucket, but I'll blog about that later! :)

I'm ready for Fall. I'm ready for the brisk weather (but not too cold, of course!). I call it "soup weather." Cool enough that a big pot of soup simmering on the stove makes the whole house smell yummy and cozy, but not snowy and blustery enough for stew. That's "stew weather." I'm never ready for that! I'm ready for the Pumpkin Patch. I'm ready to start thinking about Halloween (not quite ready for Halloween because I haven't made my children's Halloween costumes and I have to make them because I'm crazy like that). I'm ready for the the trees in our neighborhood to start turning and litter the sidewalk and streets with leaves. I'm ready for jackets and pumpkins and scarecrows. Our Fall is exceptionally busy with trying to sell the house, getting the last details of the new house finished, moving, unpacking, my sister's wedding, and all the day-to-day stuff that make up a life. I just hope in all our "busy-ness" that we actually get to enjoy the Fall a little. At least my children are taking a little time to enjoy the changing of seasons. These leaves are an indication that Fall is just around the corner. Well, that, or the tree in our backyard is dying. Hopefully, it's the latter.



Notice the cooperation. Notice the teamwork. I really had nothing to do with this. It was my job to take pictures because this is not something that will happen next year at our new house. I'm pretty sure you need trees to have leaves.


Sigh. Maybe a Pumpkin Spice Latte will help me feel a little more "fallish." But really, is there anything a Pumpkin Spice Latte can't fix?

By the way, the t-shirt Eli is wearing in the above pictures was mine when I was no bigger than a minute. (Sounds better than "when I was a little girl," huh?). My mom saved it all these years and now Eli gets to wear it. That's because we are so cool and vintage-y and "green" like that! (Ha, Ha). It is an exceptionally soft shirt, though.

At The Fair, Part II

I have a friend who is really good at making the ordinary something very special. Her family has parties for the first day of school, a scavenger hunt on Valentine's Day, and "Reading Club" everyday. ("Reading Club" is my favorite! She and her two children sit on the trampoline and read for 20 minutes every day. How cool is that?!) She believes that giving something a special name makes it something to look forward to and be remembered. They have a lot of "dates" at their house. "Mommy Dates" and "Daddy Dates" and "Family Dates" where they take turns doing special things with the children...stuff we all do, but they have a name for it. It turns a trip to the fair into a Family Fair Date and makes it just that much more fun. I am trying to emulate my friend and make ordinary, everyday things so much more special and fun and memorable by giving it a name. So we had our own Family Fair Date last Thursday night. Brad went under duress, but I think he had fun...despite the $20 entry fee and $5 funnel cake. I did make us dinner before hand so we wouldn't overload on grease and save a little money.

Our first stop was the petting zoo, again. This time we paid the $1 and bought the food...the animals really loved us then!


Phoebe was still hesitant, at first, but then she started to enjoy the animals...especially because she got feed them.


We walked around a bit after that. I love to look at all the photography and crafts and baked goods and canned items that people submit at the fair. We even got to watch a salsa competition. It was riveting! No pictures though because mostly my children rolling their eyes at the boredom. Oh wait, that was Brad. Then we found some livestock. Phoebe really liked this part! The bunny judging was the next morning and this nice gal pulled out some of her bunnies so the children could pet them. I haven't seen Phoebe as exited about anything (except food) as she was about those bunnies! She just laughed and "hopped." Of course, her feet never actually left the ground, but she bounced up and down saying, "Hop! Hop!" I so wish I had gotten a video!



Then we went to see the goats. Oh my heavens, how they made Phoebe laugh! Especially the Nigerian Dwarf goats...I think she thought they were just her size. The went on until another big goat "brayed" at her and she wanted me to carry her after that. Truth be told, it was a little disturbing.


There was more about Phoebe during this part of our date because Eli spent the entire first hour and half asking and begging and pestering about when we were going to ride the rides. I think he might have mentioned it 967 times between the front gate and the first ride. So finally, it was time to ride the rides!


Phoebe and Daddy waiting in line.


Eli and Mommy.


Eli and I rode the "bug roller-coaster." Now, I am not a roller-coaster kind of gal, but I figured I could handle a kiddie roller-coaster. It was fun (and I acted like I enjoyed it for Eli's sake), but I was so glad when it was finally over. The stuff we do for our children!

I only look a little panicked in this picture.


Phoebe didn't like being left behind. Here's how she spent the entire ride.


Then it was time for Dad to ride something with Eli. They chose that big Pirate boat that swings back and forth. Being prone to motion sickness, I cannot think of another ride I would rather not ride at the fair, and that's the kiddie one! I held the crying Phoebe while they did. Sorry it's so fuzzy...old camera and all.



Phoebe finally found a ride she was tall enough for. I think it might be the best one of all.