52 posts tagged “family life”
So, we've been slackers. We haven't carved pumpkins since, oh, 2004. But that's ok. We did today, well, Steve and the kids did. And they are spectacular.
Everyone is home now and life is back to normal. We took an impromptu visit to a local park for some hiking and fishing. Then followed it up with dinner at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants.
But I went to bed at 2am, so it didn't really work out like I planned. We got up early to go hiking in the mountains. Yes, real mountains, well, as real as they get in the MD/VA area. Of course, we didn't get out of the house til 11:30. There was a lot of stuff to pack, lunches, band-aids, hand sanitizer, extra snacks for possibly whiny hungry children, the usual stuff. We also had a friend of Victoria's with us, but it's nothing to have an extra teenager in tow.
Two nights ago I was in New York City. Now I'm in Tampa. And we drove to both places. I'm too lazy to figure out how many miles I've traveled this weekend, but I can assure you it was a lot.
Steve had planned on taking the entire family to Tampa for his business trip, but then they told him they didn't need him to go. So he planned an impromptu trip to NYC to see "Phantom of the Opera". The girls are currently obsessed with it, and the boys like it too. What's not to like about a phantom right? Sure there's kissing and love, but there is a murderous phantom. He made the reservations, bought the tickets, went to work on Friday where they told him Tampa was back on. Heh.
So 4 hours up to NYC on Friday. I never imagined my kids would be excited to get dressed up and go to the theatre. American Girl store, dinner and the theatre crammed in. Saturday morning, Toys R Us and some random souvenir shops to find Phantom stuff for Victoria. Saturday afternoon, 4 hours back to Maryland. Then frenzied clothes washing, house cleaning, and pool prepping. Sunday, back on the road and in Tampa by 11pm. Craziness. We even crammed in dinner at Cracker Barrel.
Tomorrow it's Ashley's 10th birthday. We'll spend most of the day at the beach on the gorgeous white sand. I'll have to track down a cake at some point.
I'll leave it up to Steve to post the pictures from New York City. I'm tired and it's way past my bedtime.
Just another Sunday. Get up, get ready, go to church. Teach Sunday School. I must confess teaching has been pretty rewarding. The kids really seem to listen and get what I'm talking about. It could have something to do with my happy fun prize bag.
Go to Gary and Rob's for an afternoon of screaming at the television watching the Redskins and having a big family dinner. This week's dinner was beef stew with buttermilk biscuits and a dessert of dark chocolate fudge brownies.
As soon as the game is over, Rob, Steve, Victoria, Alex, and I are heading to the 9:30 club to see a David Crowder Band concert. I will be going as a slob since I dripped oil on my sweater and my favorite suede boots. Afterwards we are going to stop by Ben's Chili Bowl for one of their famous chili dogs. I've never had one and I think I may be looking forward to it more than the concert. Seriously, I love food way too much.
So if anyone has any tips on getting oil out of suede, feel free to pass them on. I'm going to go surf the internets for awhile.
I woke up earlier than usual this morning. Victoria was going to a friend's farm to dress up like Boots from Dora the Explorer for a hayride thing they do. Sure beats asking to hang out at the mall, so I drove her down. The costumes weren't just cheap costumes, they were like mascot costumes. She promised me to get a picture or two. We'll see if she conveniently forgets.
After dropping her off I took the opportunity to call Hannah and stop at the grocery store. I wanted to make "Quick Tortilla Soup". It's windy with a good chill in the air. Perfect day for a huge pot of soup.
When I got home, I made a huge pot, big enough for a couple of days. Steve was outback attempting to turn the pool from a lovely green back to clean. The pool guys are coming to close it in a little over a week. I'm always so relieved when they come to close it. I'm so tired of trying to keep the thing clean by this time of year (hence the green hue it currently has).
Now Steve and Alex are at the dump getting rid of our old dishwasher and stove along with other random crap that was sitting out in the garage. There is still much more out there, but the van will only hold so much.
Josiah is playing some SpongeBob video game. Sophie is working on a project for school, something to do with the United Kingdom. Ashley is hanging out at the neighbors. I told Hannah I would post the recipe. So here I am. I was racked with guilt for putting it off until now.
Quick Tortilla Soup
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 tbsp taco seasoning mix
1 garlic clove chopped
6 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup thick and chunky salsa
1/4 cup lime juice
2 cups cooked chopped chicken
1 can black beans
2 cups frozen yellow corn
1/4 cup snipped fresh cilantro
2 cups broken tortilla chips
Toppings such as grated cheese, diced avocado, sour cream, and diced tomato.
In 4 qt pot, cook onion, jalapeno pepper, taco seasoning mix and garlic over medium high heat until tender crisp. Add chicken broth, salsa, and lime juice. Cover and bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Stir in chicken, cilantro, beans and corn. Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle with broken tortilla chips and serve with toppings.
So there ya go. A good soup for a nice cold day. I already sampled it several times, just to make sure it was edible and all. (Tamzen, I bet it would be good if you used vegetable broth and left the chicken out too!)
Video: Share a video that makes you laugh every time you watch it.
This is a little video snippit that I took of Alex back in March 2006. Our little point and shoot has 30 sec video. Alex didn't realize it at the time so he was trying to get his smile right while waiting for me to snap the picture!
I had to take a break. This book weighs very heavy on me. I know it's fiction, but still it weighs heavy on my heart. I've found myself crying many times in the last 24 hours. I have to step away from it every so often. I need time to think and breathe. I think I'll grab one of Sophie's Judy Blume books for some light reading after this.
During my break time, I decided to catch Alex and Victoria up on their parts of speech. Nothing like a lesson in simple subject and simple predicates with a little diagramming thrown in. I'm amazed at how fast it is all coming back to me now. I really do love this stuff. I find that I am a good teacher, but I get frustrated when they don't get it right away. I've always just gotten it, and I don't understand when they don't get it right away and start to just give up on me. Luckily, the lightbulbs came on quickly and we finished 2 lessons. I think they'll be good for school by time I'm done with them.
I went back to the thrift store today and bought more books. I think I'll be making a habit of stopping by every week or so. Today's haul included a favorite childhood book of mine, Nobody's Cat. I remember taking it out of our school library many times. At $.25, I couldn't pass up buying it and sharing one of my childhood memories with the kids. Although, I only remember that the poor cat was a stray. I don't remember a happy ending. He could've been hit by a car or something. Guess I'll find out when I read it to the younger kids tonight. I don't think the 12 year olds will want to sit and listen to this one.
Alex discovered Man Vs. Wild this summer and spent a lot of time making lean-tos in the backyard.
Seriously, did I really give birth to her? She went from 6lbs 12oz to a full grown young lady in 12 short years!
Yup, this is actually all hanging from my rearview mirror.
Because everyone should wear goggles when they are watching tv and eating popcorn!
It seemed like a good idea at the time. Now, not so much.
Ashley's 9th birthday party in June.
Steve and his cool glasses. He bought them when he was in Arizona and wanted my opinion so he took this picture. Obviously, he didn't know I was going to stick it on the internet.
Sophia and one of our chinchillas, Schnitzel. They really do make great pets.
For the past hour, the arch of my foot feels like it is on the verge of getting a charley horse. I keep bracing myself every time it starts. Then nothing, it goes away. I almost wish I would just get the dumb thing, be done with it so I am not walking around in constant fear. Ok, oooh, there it goes again. Maybe I don't want to get one.
I made a new recipe for dinner. I was tired of the same old same old. I made tamale pie. First off, it is cheap. Secondly, I love tamales, so a dish with a tamale like crust (or bottom, because wouldn't a crust be, uh, crusty?) sounded good to me.
The kids kept coming into the kitchen trying to guess what I was making. The ground beef with taco seasoning made them all think tacos. The pot of cornmeal mush had them all confused. The box of brownies I left out when looking for the cornmeal added to the confusion along with 4 packs of my emergency mashed potatoes. They were hovering about, looking over my shoulder, peeking into the pots and pans, anything for a clue as to what I was making and whether they would actually want to eat it. I finally told them all it was a surprise and that none of us had ever had it. Then I shooed them out of the kitchen so I could finish it up.
As I took it out of the oven, they all came running. "Will you tell us now?". I told them tamale pie. They seemed relieved as I pulled it out and put it on the counter. I'm sure part of it's appeal was the cheese I had smothered the top with. It didn't call for cheese, but you can't go wrong with adding cheese to most mexican dishes, in my opinion. I cut them all a slice and served it up with sour cream. They loved it. They want to know when I am making it again.
Hmmm, considering it is cheap, easy and well liked, probably pretty soon.
