What I Loved About Last Week 16th Ed.

Did you know this is my 200th post?!  Not bad for 4.5 3.5 years I guess...

Here's what I loved about July 2-8:

1. Made some zucchini bread.  That is a great way to use up a lot of zucchini (especially if you're gifting friends with the loaves.)  Does anyone have a healthy zucchini bread/muffin recipe that you'd be willing to share.  The recipe I have is delicious, but it calls for a CUP of oil.  I subbed a cup of unsweetened applesauce this time, but I wasn't super pleased with the results.  

2. 4th of July.  I have always held this date dear to my heart because it was always a big day for my family when I was growing up.  This year was especially poignant as it was the day we were due with our baby that we lost in November.  I hadn't given it a ton of thought during the day, and didn't say anything to anyone about it, but my sweet, loving daddy gave me a big hug at the end of the day and said that he'd been thinking about me all day.  It meant the world to me and still brings tears to my eyes that he remembered.  Although my arms are empty and my heart breaks, I am trying let my heart rest in God's plan for my life.  I heard this song this week and it took on a new meaning for me.

3. Independence Day Celebrations.  There are lots of traditions surrounding the 4th of July in my family.  Painting patriotic finger/toenails, parades, ice cream cones, cookouts, fireworks... And this 4th of July was no different.  We had a wonderful day!  I got to see all 3 of my best friends (although I didn't get a picture with Jolene), we spent time with my family and some more great friends, we played games, we shot firecrackers and lit dozens of smoke bombs, ate lots of ice cream cones, got candy at a parade, seriously, I couldn't have asked for a better day.  We had oh so much fun!

Ira doing a little dancing before the parade started.

Me and best friend from college, Brianna

Me and my best friend from high school, Laura

Ice cream face

4. Watched (finally) Toy Story 3 with Ira.  Ira absolutely loves the first 2 Toy Stories, but when Andy and I "pre-viewed" the 3rd one, we were worried that it might be a little too dramatic for him (when he got it a year or so ago.)  We finally decided to watch it with him one day while Ruby was taking her nap.  Wow.  He loved it, and it was so surreal to watch it with him.  I won't ruin any of the movie for those who still haven't seen it, but it's about the main character, Andy, growing up and going off to college.  I was literally bawling at the end (just like I did the first time we watched it, but probably even more so because I was watching it with my little boy.)  

5. Chronicles of Narnia.  I decided to start reading these aloud to Ira.  We started with "The Magician's Nephew" and I can't decide who is more into them, Ira, or me.  We've been reading a chapter or two a day and are on the 10th chapter right now.  It's been about 4 years since I read these, so I'm looking forward to reading them all again and sharing them with Ira in the process.

6. Charlie.  We finally (after about 8 months) brought our Charlie Brown (our chocolate lab) home.  8 months ago, he was digging/jumping out of his cage all. the. time. One of our kind neighbors (the one who died of a heart attack last December) brought him home more times than I know and I bailed him out of the pound once.  Not knowing what exactly to do, we took him to Andy's parent's house (the farm) until we could figure out a way to secure his kennel.   Andy had been saving leftover rebar from his jobsites and cutting them into 16-18" pieces to hammer in around the cage so that even if Charlie dug, he couldn't get out.  But we were still concerned about him staying in his small (10x10ft) kennel.  We priced fencing our yard with chain link, but it was ri.diculous.  Finally, Andy's parent's had the idea to buy more panels for his kennel.  It's more than double it's original size now and we are thrilled to have him back home.  Andy's parents nearly cried when we brought him home because he is such a good dog.  Ira and Charlie have become very good friends and play together every morning now after we feed him and fill up his water bowl and swimming pool (he's so spoiled.)  

Well, I think that about sums it up!  Have a great rest of the week!

What I Loved About Last Week - 15th Ed.

Sheesh, I didn't really take many pictures or write down much about last week (usually I write down keywords on a notepad by the computer) So this one's going to be from the 'ole noggin alone... results may vary...

Here's what I loved about last week - June 25 - July 1st.

1. Met with my Napro doctor again.  No, I am not pregnant. Keep praying on that one.  We have decided to pursue post-peak Progesterone shots to see if they make more of a difference than the Progesterone capsules were.  I am both excited and scared.  Excited because this is THE protocol that Pope Paul VI Institute in Nebraska would follow -  Scared because first off, it seems much more serious than just using progesterone capsules and secondly, because I have heard that the shots are painful.  The progesterone is compounded in sesame oil, which means that it is a thick shot – think cortisone shot.  It is administered in the rump (I know, laugh away) and has to be administered slowly because of how thick it is.  Andy gets to learn how to give them to me.  Fortunately, the progesterone is longer lasting than the capsules, meaning I only have to have the shots every 3 days.  Prayers for bravery (for me) and a steady hand (for Andy) would be appreciated!

2. Rubyisms.  Luckily, my light-of-my-life’s (Ira & Ruby) keep me from stressing too much over the shots.  Ruby has been obsessed with going out and playing in the snow lately.  I would think the hours that we spend outside each day would be enough to convince her that it is most certainly summer.  Nope. Pretty much every day this week, she’d ask, “Should we put on our pink mittens and go out and throw snow?!?!” And she was genuinely disappointed each time when I told her “There’s no snow, Ruby, it’s summer!”  So silly.

3. Garden dinners.  We are still battling the squash bugs (removing 100-200 eggs from the plants every few days) but luckily, it seems as though we’re at least keeping up with them, because we are still getting zucchini from the garden.  Seeing as how it was the end of the month, I had to get really creative with dinner one night last week.  We had like nothing left in the cupboards (or at least not enough to make a meal out of really… cheerios with black beans and green chilis anyone??) So, Andy smoked some zucchini slices and we topped them with couscous that I had made with tomatoes (canned from last year) basil, green onions (both from the garden), and balsamic vinegar.  It ended up being really delicious.  Even the kids loved it. (Ira has decided that his two-year-running dislike for zucchini is a thing of the past – HOORAY!)

4. Shopping with my mother-in-law.  I am seriously SO blessed by my mother and father in law.  They are about the nicest, most generous people you could ever know.  Last Thursday when we were talking during swimming lessons, she mentioned about going shopping to get the 4 grandkids clothes for having their picture taken together later in July.  Later that day, she picked us up and we went into town and got the kids some adorable coordinating outfits for pictures.  She also let Ira get some Angry Birds underwear, an Angry Birds shirt, some cool (size 2 big kids!) leather flip flops, and a Toy Story Book.  She got Ruby a purple tank top, Nike flip-flops, and a “You are my Sunshine” book.  No, my kids aren’t spoiled at all…  After shopping, we went and got drinks at Sonic (strawberry vanilla limeades – SO GOOD!)  Although the kids got a little antsy while shopping, we had so much fun and enjoyed the diversion from being at home all day.

5. 3-2-1 Cake.  My parents (also kind and generous) surprised us with six, yes 6! boxes of angel food cake.  On vacation, we learned how to make this awesome treat called 3-2-1 cake.  You use one box of angel food cake mix and mix it with a box of any other kind of cake mix (confetti, strawberry, yellow are some of our favorites) in a ziplock bag.  Then, when you’re ready for a sweet treat, you mix 3 Tablespoons of cake mix & 2 Tablespoons of water in a microwaveable mug.  Heat for 1 minute in the microwave and voila!  Delicious, easy, one serving of your favorite cake.  Try it, you won’t be disappointed!

6. Swimming lessons are over!  Ira didn’t pass, but he really improved his swimming a lot over the course of lessons.  I am sure that with some more time and practice, he will be able to pass next year.

7. Family day. Last Saturday, for once, we didn’t have anything at all planned.  We had a nice lazy morning and went swimming as a family in the afternoon.  Ruby, who is just about too big for her britches, decided that she likes to jump off the side of the pool all by herself. She jumps in and bobs to the top at which point we grab her and help her to the ladder (in 5 foot water no less.)  She and Ira spent the better part of an hour jumping in. I’m glad that she’s not afraid of the water, but I wish she feared it just a little bit more.  We’ve talked to her about never jumping into a pool when mommy or daddy aren’t in, but I’m just not sure how much of that she “gets.” Pretty glad at this point that nobody we know owns a pool.

8. Pickles.  For the first time, I canned some dill pickles on Sunday.  We had fresh dill from our garden and 8 pounds of pickling cukes that needed something done with them, so I pickled them with a recipe from my Ball Canning Book (Grandma’s Dill Pickles for those who also have the book.)  They are absolutely, positively delicious!  And the pickling cukes really are more crisp and crunchy.  We don’t normally eat a lot of dill pickles around here, so I had thought the 7 pints would last us all year.  However, with as tasty as these are, I’m guessing I’m going to have to make a lot more to last us through the whole year.

9. Early Independence Day.  We celebrated 4^th of July a few days early with Andy’s family.  On Sunday, we went out to their house and had brats (with our yummy dill pickles on top) and shot off fireworks.  Ira is still pretty leary of lighting anything (although he did let grandma pay him a dollar to light a smoke bomb.)  Ruby loved helping light things (again with the no healthy fear thing…) and doing sparklers.  Andy and I had fun throwing firecrackers in the lagoon and watching (and listening) to them explode.  While we were shooting fireworks, a kitten showed up and the kids had lots of fun petting it and holding it.  I tried my hand at some long-exposure photography (despite the fact that I didn’t have my tripod) with the fireworks.  I got a few good ones I think!  It was a great end to a great week!

Stomping snap-n-pops.

First shot

 

Last shot

Happy Fourth of July!

Fourth of July has always been a big holiday for my family. I can remember celebrating fourth of July with ice cream cones, painted nails, parades, and fireworks about as far back as I can remember. It's a tradition I certainly want to pass on to my kids. This year was a little soggy with all the rain... kinda not quite what I think of when I think of the 4th, but whatever...

Our preparations started on Wednesday when my little sis and I made bows for our little girls (and for a family friend...).

On Thursday night, I painted Ruby's toenails. Yes, I'm just that crazy. I put her in her bouncy seat and at first she was kicking like crazy (it's what she does in there, I should have known better.) But like every girl knows (it must be inherent) pedicures feel so good that you could fall asleep... which is just what she did after awhile. It was a good thing too, because I had to do 2 coats on several of the nails!

Saturday we went to my hometown for a parade. One of the floats was throwing stuffed animals! Ira was lucky enough to get an adorable teddy bear. He named him Red Robin, but also calls him Teddy the Bear sometimes too. We spent Saturday evening with Andy's family. We blew up some fireworks in the soggy mistiness but finally were forced inside when it started raining. Ira wanted nothing to do with lighting anything. He was perfectly content throwing snap and pops - and that's fine with me!

Sunday after Mass we went to my folks' house for a cookout. My family has a tradition that you can eat as many ice cream cones as you want on the 4th of July, and my mom is awesome about getting tons of different and delicious ice cream flavors. It's kind of turned into a contest (not like the hotdog-eating one though!) I had 10 cones this year as did my dad, but Andy snuck one in at the end and beat us all with 11. Ira had 3 (or was it 4?) and Ruby did not have any...obviously... Sunday evening we sat out on my parents' deck and watched quite the show of class A fireworks blowing up all over their neighborhood. It really cracks me up because the law states that you can't blow up anything that goes higher than 6 feet. Maybe these people were confused and thought that it couldn't go more than 6 feet... from an airplane... or that the mortars had to be less than 6 foot... in diameter... Regardless, it was fun to watch and longer than any fireworks display I've ever been to (it was still going strong after 4 hours...)

Anyway, that was our 4th of July. I had fun with Photoshop yesterday with all the pictures. Happy (belated) 4th to you and yours!