A Bit of Random

Today was Isaac's field day. Man was it hot! I am so glad he is in the a.m. class.
poor thing didn't have as much fun as she thought she would.

Mark was able to come for a little bit which thrilled Meggie.

We went to our first Dragon's game of the season. Luckily it cooled off a bit before it started.

We had a great time, saw a home run and ate dippin' dots, which according to Meg, "cooled off her burnin' hot belly"

Lastly, I experimented with a new recipe (which for the life of me I can't remember where I got it)

It was pork tenderloin, grilled and basted with a honey/pineapple juice and red peppers. Served with pineapple rice. Yummm and it was healthy too!

The smell of love

I am always amazed at how strong your sense of smell can trigger memories.

I can still smell the little ice cream shack that was located in the middle of a two lane highway across from the first house I ever lived in... I haven't been in it in about 25 or more years. I'm not even sure it is still standing, but I can smell it's distinct cherry-ish, almond-ish sugar cones and that I always had Superman ice cream.

This weekend my mom and I ~with the help of two other little ones~ made strawberry preserves and the smell of three gallons of strawberries was overwhelming! They were so colorful and vibrant... really, what food says summer like strawberries?

Even more remarkable is the smell of the warm preserves. It is simply intoxicating. I am amazed that fruit with sugar and pectin can transform something already wonderful into a jar of sunshine that we can open on the dreariest of February mornings.

This is the jelly that I have eaten my entire life.

It was on the english muffin when I was a baby, drinking my coffee (that's a story for another time).
It was on the toast I would eat when I was sick.
It was on the peanut butter sandwiches I had for lunch.
It was mixed with butter, so I could dip my biscuits in it.
It was all of these things because my mom made it.

And now it's on Isaac and Meg's toast, peanut butter sandwiches and biscuits.

This is a tradition. One I have enjoyed my entire life and one I plan on continuing and hoping that my children will have as many wonderful and comforting memories as I do that include "Strawberry 'erves".
Thanks mom. For everything.

Rhubarb-a-licious

After keeping my eyes peeled the last couple of weeks, I finally spotted some rhubarb at the farmers market last week. So this weekend I was busy making rhubarb treats.

I started with some strawberry rhubarb skillet jam. I didn't have an actual recipe, I used some different ones like this one and this one... and I feel like I am missing one... sorry!

We had it on biscuits Friday....

and fresh lemon scones on Saturday morning.
Mmmmmmmmm.

Finally, I made a strawberry rhubarb pie on Sunday for dinner with my parents and brother in law... unfortunately, my dad doesn't like rhubarb.

However Mark and I had it again for breakfast, and lunch, ahem....

I wonder why I am not losing weight....


I am going to go back to see if they have more, and am going to try it out with raspberries

We're having issues....

Two year old not listening issues.

Four year old being too big for his britches, issues.

When Mama gets stressed, she bakes, issues. (which doesn't help with the trying-to-be-healthy-and lose weight issues.)

Daddy is going to be gone for 10 days, inducing said stress baking.

New discipline actions have been implemented... no more zillion warnings... you get one and after that is straight to time out.... as of now, 9:15 am, both hooligans have been in time out, one of them twice. I'm tired. I am tired of yelling, tattle telling, whining. Oh my gosh the WHIIIIINING!

Wanting to move, buy a new home, sell our house, issues.
I have officially become a real estate stalker. Mark is convinced I know more about the houses on the market than most agents... I'm not so sure that is a good thing.

The house he wanted, sold. The house I like, he doesn't. Issues I tell you.


I'm trying to remain optimistic. Realizing that my issues are pretty run of the mill, pretty boring actually, except to me.


Homemade Strawberry Tarts and Apple Pie seem to help a bit.
Send any good baking recipes!!!

In a fog....

It has been over a week since my last post and I have no excuse other than I have the blah's.

To try to cure myself, I decided to try to replicate my Granny's chocolate gravy.

I love a big country breakfast, unfortunately my husband and children do not... the solution?
Breakfast for dinner!
In true southern fashion, Granny always used lard... while I would sop up large amounts of her gravy and biscuits, I can not bring myself to purchase or cook with it.
I think that we will be having this again and again especially if spring does not come soon!!!!

Little Monsters...

So I borrowed this book, Baked, from the library this week. It has some unbelievable looking and sounding recipes in it. Mark isn't a big sweets eater, so I always have to make sure someone is either coming over or we are going somewhere when I get the urge to bake, or I will eat the goodies all by myself.... and trust me it has happened...once... maybe twice.

One way of getting around this is making cookies, and freezing dough to make at a later time. Which is also a trick to making you look like a domestic goddess... always having fresh baked cookies when people unexpectedly drop by.
Anyway... back to the cookies.
I made the Monster Cookies from the book... they are good.... the dough is almost sinful.

These babies have it all. A combo of oatmeal, peanut butter and chocolate chips then to top it off you add in M&Ms.
The recipes says it makes 3 dozen... I got about 5. Apparently my dough scooper is smaller than theirs... here's how I look at it. Since I got almost twice as many cookies as they did, when I walk by the cookie jar and grab one cookie, I'm really only eating half of one, since it's half the size. Isn't that nice? So instead of thinking I ate 5 - cough - cookies yesterday, I really only ate 2 1/2. Cookie Math!

In unrelated news, when I picked Isaac up from school today, I was telling Kaityln's mom about his professing his admiration for her daughter the other day... and the teacher came up and said that during class today, Isaac looked at Kaitlyn and said, "I think I love you" to which her response was a small smile and a shrug...

In even more unrelated news, I was tired of not being able to breathe through my nose last night and went to take some Robitussin and discovered there was none to be found! We did however have some left over prescription cough syrup that our pediatrician gave Isaac last fall. I took a quick swig and was asleep/passed out in as soon as my head hit the pillow... for an hour and a half. I was up the rest of the night, itching and my mind racing... apparently there is something in the cough syrup that didn't agree with me. So I apologize if you find this post is random and long, but I am still feeling a little medicine foggy!