I've said it before, and I will say it again, I have the BEST church family! I cannot even begin to explain all the reasons I am thankful for my church family, not just the church the organization, not just the church the building, but yes the church the people.
one thing I like about the church is that they accept us....and they are there though good times and bad.
after our last experience I truly thought I would never feel comfortable in a church again, yet here I am!
And I can say I am looking forward to becoming more involved next year :-)
I want to share a conversation this morning as we were getting ready for church
---------------------------------------------------------
Me- "Girls do you want to get moving and get ready for church, or do you want to stay home with dad?" girls- "we wanna go to church!" me -"are you sure? you remember it's summer now so no Sunday school, do you still want to go to Church?" girls - "YES Church! Church! Church!"
------------------------------------------------------
How cool is that?
Oh the boy is at boy scout camp.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
My Church family
Saturday, July 2, 2011
the journey that took us to boy scouts
Today I am thankful for the boy scouts, I certainly never thought that Mapboy...the kid who wont go outside. the boy who doesn't like bugs, or dirt or mud, the boy who wouldn't swim, or ride a bike, would ever EVER want to join the scouts.
And now here we are. If you saw him the other day after cleaning out some things that we needed for a church fundraiser covered head to toe in dirt....or if you heard him saying to his little sister "bees wont hurt you unless you hurt them" if you had seen the big smile on his face as his dad drove him off this morning to a week of camp! Yeah I give a lot of credit to the scouts, and his friend H who talked him into Joining!
Scouts ROCK!
Being thankful ROCKS!
I am waking up my blog today
I want to restart my 365 of thankfulness, but I want to be realistic, so I am calling it "approximately 365 ones of mostly thankfulness"
I Am sure my tens of followers will be thrilled! :-)
I Am sure my tens of followers will be thrilled! :-)
Sunday, May 15, 2011
A Recipe----Chicken catch a tory Ravioli Stew-- a Rachael Ray recipe
Link to the recipe
So this is the recipe I made for the pot luck, and for my sisters birthday party. I thought I had posted it, but I guess I didn't The recipe is very easy, it's from Rachael Ray's "Cooking Rocks!" cook book for kids, which is why the wording on the recipe is a little weird, it's geared toward kids, and the GH she refers to is "Grown up helper" Mapboy used to make it back when he used to like cooking. and he asks me to make it quite often.
I do a few things different, I use Boneless skinless Chicken thighs instead of breast tenders, I find the breast meat dries out especially if you have it in a crockpot at a potluck KWIM?
Also to lower the sodium we use Herb ox Sodium free Chicken bullion mixed with water instead of the Chicken Broth...because I do this, I also do not go through the trouble of draining the spinach, instead I just add a little more of the bullion to make up for the added liquid---Ive tried it both ways and there is not a difference in flavor for me, so I go with the easier way :-)
Also I almost never can find fresh Thyme so i used dried, and I also use frozen Ravioli.
It makes the whole house smell awesome! Enjoy!
Place three cloves of garlic on a cutting board and WHACK each clove with a small, heavy frying pan. Pick out the skins and chuck them into a garbage bowl.
Ask your GH to add the EVOO to the soup pot. Throw in the smashed garlic and two stems each of the rosemary and fresh thyme. The leaves will fall off the stems and give a delicious flavor to your special stew.
Add the mushrooms and help stir as the mushrooms cook, about 3-5 minutes. Season the 'shrooms up with salt and pepper as they're cooking. Next, you or your GH can open the can of stewed tomatoes and add them to the pot.
Then, use a sharp, small knife to chop the roasted red peppers. Keep your fingers on the hand holding the peppers curled under so you don't chop off your whole finger! You just want to cut up those peppers into pieces as big as your mouth. Add the chopped up roasted red peppers and add one cup tomato sauce to the soup pot.
Put defrosted chopped spinach in a kitchen towel. Gather the towel up and twist it to get the water out of the spinach. Squeeze the spinach over a garbage bowl until it stops dripping. Separate spinach with your fingers and add it to the soup. Pour in the chicken broth and stir the stew really slowly or it will slosh out of your pot! Have your GH cover the soup and raise the heat to high.
Ask your GH to cut up the chicken for you on a separate, plastic cutting board (different from the one you cut the vegetables on). Cut the chicken tenders into 1-inch pieces and add them to the stew. Ask the GH to go wash up right away with lots of soap and water – and also to wash the board – so that the raw chicken doesn't get on anything else in the kitchen or any other food. If you touched the raw chicken, you go wash too.
When the stew comes to a boil again, add the ravioli and leave the lid off. Cook the stew until the ravioli is almost done, about five minutes. Turn off the heat and let the stew cool down a bit.
As your GH to help serve up the stew and pass cheese and bread at the table to go with it.
This is one of many "Yum-o!" recipes – it's good and good for you. To find out more about Yum-o!, Rachael's nonprofit organization, go to www.yum-o.org.
So this is the recipe I made for the pot luck, and for my sisters birthday party. I thought I had posted it, but I guess I didn't The recipe is very easy, it's from Rachael Ray's "Cooking Rocks!" cook book for kids, which is why the wording on the recipe is a little weird, it's geared toward kids, and the GH she refers to is "Grown up helper" Mapboy used to make it back when he used to like cooking. and he asks me to make it quite often.
I do a few things different, I use Boneless skinless Chicken thighs instead of breast tenders, I find the breast meat dries out especially if you have it in a crockpot at a potluck KWIM?
Also to lower the sodium we use Herb ox Sodium free Chicken bullion mixed with water instead of the Chicken Broth...because I do this, I also do not go through the trouble of draining the spinach, instead I just add a little more of the bullion to make up for the added liquid---Ive tried it both ways and there is not a difference in flavor for me, so I go with the easier way :-)
Also I almost never can find fresh Thyme so i used dried, and I also use frozen Ravioli.
It makes the whole house smell awesome! Enjoy!
Chicken Catch-A-Tory Ravioli Stew
Serves 4
Submitted by
Rachael Rayon 09/17/07
Cacciatore is the real way to spell the name of this stew. It's the Italian word for "hunter." Chicken Cacciatore is made with wild mushrooms and strong flavors. It is hearty, so it would keep a hunter full for a long hunt. This stew uses some of the same ingredients and flavors of the original dish, but it's even easier to make. Everyone in Rachael's family really loves this recipe!
Ingredients
- 3 cloves garlic, skins on
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
- 2 stems fresh rosemary
- 2 stems fresh thyme
- 1 cup pre-sliced fresh mushrooms, or have a grown-up helper (GH) slice them for you
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 can stewed tomatoes with peppers, onion, and celery (15 ounces)
- 2 roasted red peppers from a jar, drained
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1 package chopped frozen spinach, defrosted in microwave and drained (10 ounces)
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 3/4-1 pound chicken breast tenders
- 1 pound fresh ravioli, any flavor
- 1 cup grated parmesan, Parmigiano Reggiano or Romano cheese, to pass at the table
- Crusty Italian bread or rolls, to pass at the table
Preparation
Have a GH heat a medium soup pot over medium-high heat.Place three cloves of garlic on a cutting board and WHACK each clove with a small, heavy frying pan. Pick out the skins and chuck them into a garbage bowl.
Ask your GH to add the EVOO to the soup pot. Throw in the smashed garlic and two stems each of the rosemary and fresh thyme. The leaves will fall off the stems and give a delicious flavor to your special stew.
Add the mushrooms and help stir as the mushrooms cook, about 3-5 minutes. Season the 'shrooms up with salt and pepper as they're cooking. Next, you or your GH can open the can of stewed tomatoes and add them to the pot.
Then, use a sharp, small knife to chop the roasted red peppers. Keep your fingers on the hand holding the peppers curled under so you don't chop off your whole finger! You just want to cut up those peppers into pieces as big as your mouth. Add the chopped up roasted red peppers and add one cup tomato sauce to the soup pot.
Put defrosted chopped spinach in a kitchen towel. Gather the towel up and twist it to get the water out of the spinach. Squeeze the spinach over a garbage bowl until it stops dripping. Separate spinach with your fingers and add it to the soup. Pour in the chicken broth and stir the stew really slowly or it will slosh out of your pot! Have your GH cover the soup and raise the heat to high.
Ask your GH to cut up the chicken for you on a separate, plastic cutting board (different from the one you cut the vegetables on). Cut the chicken tenders into 1-inch pieces and add them to the stew. Ask the GH to go wash up right away with lots of soap and water – and also to wash the board – so that the raw chicken doesn't get on anything else in the kitchen or any other food. If you touched the raw chicken, you go wash too.
When the stew comes to a boil again, add the ravioli and leave the lid off. Cook the stew until the ravioli is almost done, about five minutes. Turn off the heat and let the stew cool down a bit.
As your GH to help serve up the stew and pass cheese and bread at the table to go with it.
This is one of many "Yum-o!" recipes – it's good and good for you. To find out more about Yum-o!, Rachael's nonprofit organization, go to www.yum-o.org.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Twenty three ---- vacations
Today I am writing my blog entry while on our way home from our little
Mini vacation I won't be able to send it until I get home but I am writing it now!
It's been a great week and I am very thankful for re time we have spent together but I sure am looking forward to get back on the same
Old schedule Also can't wait to get back to the gym again, I hurt my knee one day just landed on it wrong so it's probably a good thing I haven't been making it to the gym this week huh?
I had made some goals for the family of things to achieve for this week and I have to say that we didn't reach one of them but I think we all had fun so that is good!
Tomorrow is Easter we are looking forward to spending the day with good friends!
Today I am thankful for school vacations! For this opportunity to bond as a family to just have fun! It was nice! Even If we didn't finish our set goals!
Here is a picture of my youngest and my oldest just being kids :-)
Twenty two --- Butterflies!
Oh it's so hard to keep this up while on v acation
sorry I didn't do Twenty One *sigh*
So Today we went to the place with the butterflies
everyone was so excited, until we got inside and we all remembered that Jess is terrified of butterflies landing on her!!!!! It took most of the day to get her to stop being so frightened and actually look at the butterflies once she did she had a great time.
Today I am tired LOL So i will get right to the point :-)
Today I am thankful for the patience I have learned to have with my daughter, and rice paper butterflies (I think that's the name) which is her favorite
sorry I didn't do Twenty One *sigh*
So Today we went to the place with the butterflies
everyone was so excited, until we got inside and we all remembered that Jess is terrified of butterflies landing on her!!!!! It took most of the day to get her to stop being so frightened and actually look at the butterflies once she did she had a great time.
Today I am thankful for the patience I have learned to have with my daughter, and rice paper butterflies (I think that's the name) which is her favorite
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Twenty - - - video
Today I will try something new
I have a video that I took today at Jordan's Furniture. Why did I decode to change it up? Well I like to keep it fresh....ok so maybe it has something to do with my taking that video and then running out of batteries LOL so not being able to take any pictures all day LOL
Lets hope the upload works :-)
Today the kids wanted to go to Jordan's Furniture. The water fireworks show, the Trapeze was great the kids loved the ice cream LOL the furniture was nice----and expensive!!!!! I actually enjoy making fun in my mind about how pricey it is LOL
The kids did fantastic!!!
What s great day!!!!
Ok can't do a video
I'm going to try it from the computer.
This is Wally the green monster taking care of a pesky Yankee, Moo thought it was so funny she asked me to take a video of it :-) No Yankees were harmed in the making of this film ROFL!
Today I am thankful for computers that do what you want them too :-)
So glad this worked out!
I have a video that I took today at Jordan's Furniture. Why did I decode to change it up? Well I like to keep it fresh....ok so maybe it has something to do with my taking that video and then running out of batteries LOL so not being able to take any pictures all day LOL
Lets hope the upload works :-)
Today the kids wanted to go to Jordan's Furniture. The water fireworks show, the Trapeze was great the kids loved the ice cream LOL the furniture was nice----and expensive!!!!! I actually enjoy making fun in my mind about how pricey it is LOL
The kids did fantastic!!!
What s great day!!!!
Ok can't do a video
I'm going to try it from the computer.
This is Wally the green monster taking care of a pesky Yankee, Moo thought it was so funny she asked me to take a video of it :-) No Yankees were harmed in the making of this film ROFL!
Today I am thankful for computers that do what you want them too :-)
So glad this worked out!
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Nineteen -- a Day at the Zoo
Today we went to the Zoo with some friends
Jess was very happy on the way to the zoo, but once we got out of the car and she realized it was cold AND raining she wanted to go home....it was tough but I must say she did awesome! it used to be we would have had to leave, but she didn't even have a real meltdown, just a mini mini tiny one :-) and she eventually recovered and we even saw her smile and have some fun later on :-) I'm so proud of all my kids, they have been doing so well even with the disappointment of finding out we were not going to DC this vacation there was not too much complaining, And they are getting along pretty good! Well you know they are siblings so it's never going to be perfect!
The boy had a headache....He seems to be getting a lot of headaches lately. *sigh*
Today I am thankful for the ability to see how far we have come.
here is a picture of my Jessica actually having fun today :-) Ohh can I also be thankful for the Church, and Judie who gave her this thing....what is that called anyway?
Oh here I jsut watched The redsox lose in Oakland and I realized I crossed over the date again....it's tomorrow ROFL
Jess was very happy on the way to the zoo, but once we got out of the car and she realized it was cold AND raining she wanted to go home....it was tough but I must say she did awesome! it used to be we would have had to leave, but she didn't even have a real meltdown, just a mini mini tiny one :-) and she eventually recovered and we even saw her smile and have some fun later on :-) I'm so proud of all my kids, they have been doing so well even with the disappointment of finding out we were not going to DC this vacation there was not too much complaining, And they are getting along pretty good! Well you know they are siblings so it's never going to be perfect!
The boy had a headache....He seems to be getting a lot of headaches lately. *sigh*
Today I am thankful for the ability to see how far we have come.
here is a picture of my Jessica actually having fun today :-) Ohh can I also be thankful for the Church, and Judie who gave her this thing....what is that called anyway?
Oh here I jsut watched The redsox lose in Oakland and I realized I crossed over the date again....it's tomorrow ROFL
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Eighteen--- Bird watching
OOPS THIS DIDNT POST LAST NIGHT FOR SOME REASON....OH WELL YOU CAN SEE IT NOW!
Today we did a bit of work around the house....seems like our 50-50 Vacation (50% projects around the house, and 50% fun activities is turning into more fun than work LOL and that is ok for me at least for now.....ask me in a week when I still have projects to complete LOL
When we finished our work we went to Parker river it was a great day and totally Meltdown free!
the kids and parents are doing so great Sibling civility LOL
Today that is what I am thankful for....Sibling civility!!!!!
we were lucky enough to see a pair of osprey there and a kestrel No I didnt get a picture of the birds LOOL but I did get a picture of this
Daddy got a spontaneous hug from this little redheaded cutiepie!
Today we did a bit of work around the house....seems like our 50-50 Vacation (50% projects around the house, and 50% fun activities is turning into more fun than work LOL and that is ok for me at least for now.....ask me in a week when I still have projects to complete LOL
When we finished our work we went to Parker river it was a great day and totally Meltdown free!
the kids and parents are doing so great Sibling civility LOL
Today that is what I am thankful for....Sibling civility!!!!!
we were lucky enough to see a pair of osprey there and a kestrel No I didnt get a picture of the birds LOOL but I did get a picture of this
Daddy got a spontaneous hug from this little redheaded cutiepie!
Monday, April 18, 2011
Seventeen -- Thankfulness
We have been so busy with vacation and all
I didn't stop being thankful, I just stopped blogging about it.
But I am trying to stick with it.
Friday we went to the drive in we saw Rio and Diary of a Wimpy Kid
The kids had a blast!
Saturday we went through and purged a ton of toys....well actually not quite a ton.
Today (Yesterday) Sunday, Palm Sunday and the egg hunt :-) you should have seen my boy, an his friend Hunter helping my two girls find Easter eggs I am thankful for those boys, my wonderful church family, and the chocolate that the kids brought home! HA HA!!!!!!
so I want to say that since I've been doing the 365 of thankfulness I have notices that i have an improved attitude, I think about things I am thankful for all day long....so much so that I at times Find it hard to choose what thing to blog about.
How cool is that?
So today want to say that I am thankful for thankfulness
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Fourteen - - - - Sunshine!
To all my Tens of readers....Sorry I did not Post a picture for my 365 of thankfulness.
We had a tough time last night and I did remember to do it, I just didn't get to it until after 1 AM so I figured I would just skip rather than do it so late.
Yesterday we had anxiety Today things are better!
I want to tell you that Jessie has been learning about nutrition in school, and I am thrilled that she is criticizing my dinners :-) "I don't see the fruit group" "where is the meat group Mommy?" How Cool is that?
here is a pic of a daffodil form our Yard, Moo is thrilled they are finally blooming! :-)
Today I am thankful for Sunshine....and Daffodils...and the color Yellow
Sorry I needed to be thankful for three things today :-)
We had a tough time last night and I did remember to do it, I just didn't get to it until after 1 AM so I figured I would just skip rather than do it so late.
Yesterday we had anxiety Today things are better!
I want to tell you that Jessie has been learning about nutrition in school, and I am thrilled that she is criticizing my dinners :-) "I don't see the fruit group" "where is the meat group Mommy?" How Cool is that?
Today I am thankful for Sunshine....and Daffodils...and the color Yellow
Sorry I needed to be thankful for three things today :-)
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Twelve -- report cards
Today we got Jess' report-card
Reading report cards is blah!
I spent the day preparing For kindergarten registration.
Moo had to get immunizations :-(
I offered to buy her an ice cream as a reward and she said "mommy it's still going to hurt, even with ice-cream" so true little one, so true.
Happy Birthday to my sister Nan!
Today I am thankful for this five year old future kindergartener
They grow up so fast!
Monday, April 11, 2011
ELEVEN --- not perfect!
Well I am totally refocusing my blog today :-) because today was a great day! But there were some things that went so good! Like coming home expecting a crockpot full of delicious food only to discover that I had forgotten to set the crockpot up properly so disappointed! Or gaining a pound despite the working out, Or the iPod going dead for no reason right after I took a picture of the boy readin to his sisters. Thankfully i googled and found out how to fix it. Or the blog entry I wrote about Moo playing in the playground at her school, and Christcare group umm I accidentally lost it. I could whine but, I will embrace the imperfection. Today was awesome! today I am thankful for imperfection.
Here is the pic of the boy reading to his sisters - - picture is edited by Devin who used some app.
Sent from my iPod
Ugh lost my blog entry
Forgot that this app won't save what you are working on if you back out of the app to check your facebook grr the whole blog entry is gone! It was the best blog entry ever too and I don't think I can recreate it ROFL. Yeah that's the ticket! LOL. I will post the new blog entry in a few :-)
Sunday, April 10, 2011
TEN -- Church
Today I want to tell you that I belong to the best church, they have gone out of their way to make myself, and my kids feel at home! I almost didn't join, the situation at my last church did not end well at all, I didn't want to join another church like the last church. I was very weary, but I did and I am so glad.
I'd like to offer words of hope to those of you with kids with Special needs, and are struggling with your church.
There are churches out there that are accepting, kind caring and loving toward our kids!!!!!!
Today I am thankful for my church, that they are there for me when I need them, that I can sit and be part of the service without being bogged down with worry about my kids
here is a picture of Jessica after church today.
I'd like to offer words of hope to those of you with kids with Special needs, and are struggling with your church.
There are churches out there that are accepting, kind caring and loving toward our kids!!!!!!
Today I am thankful for my church, that they are there for me when I need them, that I can sit and be part of the service without being bogged down with worry about my kids
here is a picture of Jessica after church today.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
NINE -- Shopping
Today was a great day! The family was together, we did some shopping and just enjoyed each other.
I want to talk about my Jessica. It used todos me run and hide, the idea of shopping with her, the meltdowns, the tantrums, the looks we would get.....ok well we still get those but they are not as bad as they used to be, and today she actually put things back. Reluctantly but still..... She has been making so much progress lately it's hard to know but I would say part of it is the iPod touch and the talking apps she loves so much. She will sit on the couch and think of things to say just to hear them repeated back to her. I love it!
So well today I am thankful for the iPod touch! Even though I really t bought we were kind of sort of using Jess' autism as an excuse to get it, it really has helped her in my opinion!
Friday, April 8, 2011
EIGHT - Sisters
Today Was Disco day in Jess' class We got instructions to dress Jess in 70s attire . Most people who know me, know that I hate these special days when they are supposed to dress in pajamas, or other such things KWIM?
Instead of stressing over it, this time I utilized my good buddy Google Images LOL I showed the girls what 70s fashion was like and I let them lose in their closet LOL and I was really amazed, Moo loves clothes and fashion and she went to town dressing up Jess the giggles and laughter was awesome.
So Today I am thankful for Disco Day because I think it gave my girls a chance to bond and become a little closer, Just look at these sisters... I ask that you look NOT at the actual fashion but focus on the smiles :-)
Instead of stressing over it, this time I utilized my good buddy Google Images LOL I showed the girls what 70s fashion was like and I let them lose in their closet LOL and I was really amazed, Moo loves clothes and fashion and she went to town dressing up Jess the giggles and laughter was awesome.
So Today I am thankful for Disco Day because I think it gave my girls a chance to bond and become a little closer, Just look at these sisters... I ask that you look NOT at the actual fashion but focus on the smiles :-)
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Seven -- forgotten
GeoTagged, [N42.60740, E71.30879]
So yesterday I forgot to do my 365
I have decided to do 365 days a picture each day of things I am thankful for. I started it on April first and here it is April seventh and I have already forgotten a day. Oh well, six out of seven ain't bad LOL yesterday was an awesome day so it would have been hard to put it all on one post.
Today I went to work out at the gym
My step toward a healthier life. It went well.
Ok speaking of healthy, have you tried this yogurt (see included image)
I tasted it and was instantly reminded of my mothers blueberry pie I mean really I had to look in the mirror and check to make sure I wasn't turning violet Violet. ;-)
Today I am thankful for a lot, but specifically Yoplait blueberry pie yogurt! Thank you for reminding me that my mother made blueberry pie for me! I had forgotten!
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Joined a gym - FIVE
I've been trying to eat healthy, and work out once in awhile but today we took a bigger step, we joined a gym. I'm really feeling like this was the right step for me and DH---Today was election day-we voted on our way to check out the gym. How amazing it is to be able to do that... No big deal hmm
they said about 20%. I could whine about that, but I won't.
So tonight I want to say I am thankful that I live in a country where I am free to vote or to chose not to vote, and have my say in the government.
school meetings -Four
I am Posting this entry on April 5th but I really wrote it on April 4th it is number 4 on my 365 of thankfulness :-) as soon as i post it I will then write my April 5 post :-)
Today we spent most of the day talking about, thinking about, or dealing with My boy's issues we had the Eligibility meeting for an IEP and I am not going to bore you with the details, but I thought today I would tell you that I am thankful For my boy. He is struggling so much right now his self esteem is low, his anxiety is high, he is so amazing, if only he knew how amazing he really is.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)