My Little Monkeys

Both of the kids enjoyed field trips with their schools to the Dallas Zoo.  When I went back to view the pictures from their trips, I thought to myself, "who needs a Myers Briggs Type Indicator or Strengths Finder or Color of My Parachute inventory to determine the personality of a person?"  A picture is all you need.

Calleigh - Leader, Protector, Fighter, Risk-taker, Charmer, Fearless Princess

Carson - Energetic, Playful, Imaginative, Smart, Leader, Carefree

Have you met my friend, Kim, the stager?

We've had numerous showings on the house in just one week.  All of the realtors say our house has the "wow" factor and looks fabulous!  Although I would like to take credit for the great shape our house is in, I cannot.  My dear friend Kim came over for one solid week and worked hard - really hard - to get our house not only packed by staged to sell.  She did a fantastic job and the house looks better today than has in the eight years we've lived here.  Thank you, Kimmie, for giving me a home makeover.  If you want her professional expertise for yourself, you can reach her at kimcrumrine@cebridge.net or www.premierstagingservices.com.  She is well worth the investment :-)

Tell It Like It Is

Driving home tonight it hit me that we are really moving to California and I really have to say goodbye to one of my dearest friends and my mom.  So, right now I am overwhelmed with a sense of sadness.  

I know that moving to California is God's plan for us.  I know that it will be a great time for Michael and I as a couple and for our family.  I know Carson and Calleigh will come to love being so close to the beach, Disneyland, and the mountains.  I know that God will take care of us.  I know it will be good.

But right now it hurts.  And I am so terribly sad.

That is where I am and how it is in my world tonight.  The song I keep singing is by Brooke Fraser, Shadow Feet.  It goes like this:

Walking, stumbling

On these shadow feet

Toward home, a land that I've never seen

I am changing

Less and less asleep

Made of different stuff than when I began

And I have sensed it all along

Fast approaching is the day

When the world has fallen out from under me

I'll be found in You, still standing

When the sky rolls up and mountains fall on their knees

When time and space are through

I'll be found in You 

My Most Humble Apologies

For those of you whom I have made homemade spaghetti and meatballs, I apologize.  Upon review of our weekly dinner menu, Michael noticed that I was planning to make spaghetti and meatballs.  My dear sweet husband took a deep breath and gathered enough bravery to tell me that my meatballs were a little "tough."  He very kindly looked over my recipe, asked if it was the same recipe that his mom uses, and pondered aloud the difference between my meatballs and his mom's meatballs.  Meanwhile, trying not to take his questioning and comments as an attack, I defensively state "I follow her recipe to the T!  I don't know why mine are not as good."  (I didn't do so well on the not being defensive, I know)  

So, I made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner last night.  As I am preparing the meatballs, I notice some fine handwriting in the margin of my recipe.  Upon closer inspection, the very tiny print states "add water to make mushy."  For the past 12 years I have not added water to make mushy.  DUH!  That totally explains why my meatballs were so tough!  I admit that I laughed at my mistake and vowed to never tell Michael about my discovery.  I just wanted to amaze him with my cooking improvements.  He did end up asking what I did differently to make the "100%" improvement.  And, yes, I had to tell on myself.  It just wouldn't be me if I didn't leave something out or add something random to the recipe.  So, if you've had the displeasure of eating my homemade spaghetti and meatballs in the past, I apologize.  Let me know and I'll make you a new batch with my new and improved recipe!  We can laugh together at me  :-)

Sappy...I know. But I dare you not to smile.

Some things just aren't right.

I'm putting this out for a vote, mostly because Andi is at work and not looking over my shoulder as I type this (how would YOU like that?)

Lately, Andi has been cooking "creatively". Now, for those of you who know Andi this is nothing new. She has been leaving ingredients out or substituting ingredients for years. One time she substitued 2 sticks of butter for 1 in double delicious bars. First time I've seen cookies float. One time she substitued flank steak for cubed steak when making chicken-fried steak. It was........chewy. Sometimes she just leaves ingredients out all together.

Recently she aquired a book that is all about sneaking healthy foods into things you cook, so that your family unwillingly digests things that are good for them. Oh goody.

We've had chicken nuggets that used sweet potato puree in the batter. Fine. I ate that. We've also had macaroni and cheese that had squash puree in it. Okay......they're both yellow. I gave it a shot. We've even had a soup-of-sorts that was made with carrot puree. Now see, I don't think I'm being picky here when I say that carrots are best they are cleaned, finely chopped and then buried in a yard miles away from my house. Don't like 'em.

Yesterday, we had banana nut bread. I agreed to try it without knowing what the secret ingredient was. I took two bites. Not bad. No weird after-taste. No weird coloration. Tasted like banana nut bread. So I ask for the secret ingredient to be unveiled. "If I tell you what's in it will you still eat it?" says she. "Why wouldn't I? It tastes normal to me", says I.

"Cauliflower."

So I return my fork to my plate.

"You're not going to eat the rest of it!?"
"No."
"WHY?!"
"There's cauliflower in there."
"BUT YOU CAN'T EVEN TASTE IT!!!"
"But I know it's in there."
"You're serious?"
"Yep."

So, I ask our fine blog-reading community- Should there, or should there not be cauliflower in banana-nut bread? And ladies- to be fair- don't just weigh in yourself. Ask your husband as well.

For myself, I choose to remain firmly in the "no cauliflower ever of any kind in any food hidden or not" camp.

Words of Wisdom

Carson: My head hurts.

Uncle JD: Why?

Carson: Because my brain is so big it makes my head hurt.

Gotta love the honesty and lack of humility in kids.