My Day part 2

Today is my birthday! Its not over yet... its just beginning. My kids are in the kitchen baking up a storm and dinner will be delicious!!

 During my trip to the grocery store, I passed one of my favorite super special treats. Stuffed Cherry peppers. Ever try them? I was first introduced to them by a friend back in NY. Whenever we would gather together, she would bring along one of her famous Kathleen Salads... oh, the memories. It was a delicious bowl of greens,veggies,garlic and seasoning topped with theses awesome round delights. Oh boy... they had me at hello.

 Sam's club sold them by the jarful. Im not talking about a mayo jar, I mean a J-A-R... barrel jar. For 9.99 I indulged all day till my hearts content... or I was sick. Whichever came first. (Did I happen to mention I was pregnant with #5 at the time?? Maybe thats why she is so feisty?) Anyway... After her birth, I was showered with delicious meals and jars of stuffed cherry peppers. They are contained in olive oil and stuffed with a chunk of perfectly aged provalone cheese and wrapped with prosciutto. Oh the goodness!

 Since I moved to the south I have not been able to find these Italian delicacies... until I walked past the deli-bar. Low and behold there they were. I quickly scooped up a few and ran happily to the register. They are not always there, but when they are... I buy them!! They don't taste as good as the ones back home... for lack of pure Italian-americans in the south I'm sure ;)... nothing beats their cooking!!!! But they satisfy my craving and make me happy! On Our next trip back up to Ny , we will certainly be filling the car with one of a kind specialty foods only found on that wonderful island... I thought I would share my special find with you. A special treat... found on MY birthday! How special is that???

My Mother's Day Sweet Treat...

Today was an exciting day for our little neighborhood. It was Garage Sale day!!! Our community had their bi-annual sale. I, of coarse, chose not to participate. If you remember correctly... last year was ALOT of work and very little money. I chose to sit this one out. I did however, tell the kids to get up early so we could treasure hunt.

 As I woke up and drew the curtains back I could not believe the hustle and bustle. My quiet street had turned into a mass car lot. People were coming and going all over. Cars were parked everywhere and people were SHOPPING!! We quickly got dressed,popped some waffles in the toaster and loaded our wagon (with kids and cups.) Off we went.

 I love community yard sales. Its such a great way to chat with neighbors that might not normally cross your path. Everyone was spring cleaning and winter hibernation was over. The kids and I stopped at all the driveways and chatted and shopped. We saw "old" neighbor friends, met new ones and enjoyed the warm sunshine.

 Hannah (miss money bags) hit the jackpot at one particular home. Everyone walked away with a little treasure... happy as can be. 

 As usual, the Pied Piper returned... and I was accompanied back home by 4 extra children. The babies played on the lawn, I watered my flowers and my older girls and their new found friends bought lemonade from the lemonade stand across the street and shopped a bit at "local" sales. We all had a great morning.

 Its now 1 p.m. My peaceful block is back. Most neighbors packed up their goods. Our yard sale is over. The day was a fun day for us. Im looking forward to the rest of the summer...

Secret Club

Im a member of a secret club. I have been for a long time. My membership card is torn and wrinkled and has been "punched" 5 times. Prior to my initiation, I never knew such a club existed but as my membership was handed to me, I saw the members. They came out of hiding.I was taken under the more experienced members wing and counseled. I had so many questions. I wanted answers... They had some but not the ones I wanted. I wanted out. I didn't want to be part of their group anymore. I wanted to shed the requirements. I wanted to step out and run along the others who knew nothing of them.

 It was too late. I will always be a member. There is no turning back. We all have the same stamp on our heart, there is nothing I can do about that.

 As the years passed and unfortunately my experience grew, I began taking new members under my wing. I was now on the other side, looking at this poor girl, telling her what she didn't want to know. She wanted out. I told her there is no way. She now had the same stamp.

 A couple days ago I got my latest stamp on my card. It does not get easier. Sometimes its easier to just stamp it yourself... you've been down this road before, you know where it leads.

 Im happy for the women who get to put their card away... no more stamps for them. They almost look like the others who are oblivious to us... even though I can't help but be envious that its not me.

 Perhaps one day it will be. I can step out and be one of those smiling women, but my membership card will never be hidden. It will always be with me, close to my heart. One sweet day I will cash it in at the gate. My rewards will be there and I will no longer need my membership card.

Oh My!

What a crazy 2 days!! We were without phone and internet for 2 days and life has been busy! We live in a fairly new neighborhood, so construction is always going on. Since I live next to 2 empty lots, crews come by periodically to "freshen" them up. Since its the spring, they came by to dig new trenches for the silk-screen wall going up and the hydra-seed going down. During their careless digging they CUT thru my phone lines disconnecting me from my cyber-world. I was NOT happy. No need to fear, I quickly scouted and hunted the proper people in due time and today all is well. Whew.. what did people do without internet?

 Anyway, while we were all alone in our computer-free world we had fun. I posted some pictures of our activities...

1) Our broken phone wire

2) Hannah WON a trophy and 1ST PLACE in her Mpact girls club at church. She WON the "Women Of The New Testament " award. She learned about community service, collected the most canned goods for our church food pantry AND earned her Tabitha award! We were all so proud of her. We went to sonic and had oreo sundays to celebrate!!! Hannah works hard and diligent at everything she does. I was filled with pride when she showed me her prize!!

3) Molly made Spy glasses in her rainbow class at church. She now wears them all day... every day. She is hysterical

4) We braved tornado warnings, heavy winds and massive rain. The skies were nasty but saved me 2 days of watering all of my plants and flowers. One of the branches on my little tree broke =(. I was so sad, but all of my sunflowers survived the storms. We look forward to the sun and glad no tornadoes touched down near us!!!

5) We watched the season finale of scrubs with smiles on our faces and a happy pie in our mouth. Yummy! That was some really good pizza!!!!

Now that we have internet, we are back in our schedule, learning about the war, enjoying the sun and making our solar oven.

Solar Update...

Our oven will be assembled tomorrow!!! We have read, researched and collected material. We will asseble as best as we can and then pray for sun so it can work... stay tuned!

49 Days Till...

Our First homeschool conference!! We are super excited and can't wait to cram into our hotel room and begin our adventure. The workshops look amazing and all the vendors sound exciting!! Can't wait to get our hands on some great summer material and be inspired beyond measure. My imagination has me meeting very very large families in long skirts and long hair.Hee hee. I LOVE IT!!! Maybe I can buy some home-made clothing for my kids !! I can't wait. I still have so much to do before then. TONS of pre-registration paperwork to fill out. Yikes... and pray its not too late to schedule the kids into their programs as well.

 

To Do List:

Book Hotel Room... Check

Send out paperwork and registration fees....

Pick workshops and lectures we want to listen to...

Clean out car...

Pack tons and tons....

Take pictures (tons and tons)...

49 Days!!!!

Yummy Yummy In Our Tummy...

In preparation for Hubby's softball game this evening, I whipped up a batch of home-made chocolate pound cake! After all, nothing says a good ball game like something sweet to eat. This recipe makes 2 loaves and we would have had plenty to share with our other spectators. Unfortunately the rain did not go away and the game was cancelled. We were all bummed and look forward to the rain date!!

 In the meantime we enjoyed our chocolate divinity and nestled in our nest.

Some Of My Spring Flowers...

One of the Elephant Ears (grown from bulbs..)

One Of the Raspberry bushes

Lilac Bush

Still Need More Flowers...

Hostas (yr 2)

Pink Daisies

Echinacea

My row of Sunflowers

Yellow Rose Bush (yr 1)