No More Glasses!

When I received a letter in the mail two years ago saying that Morgan didn't pass her eye test in preschool, my heart sank.  I felt bad that my little girl would have to start wearing glasses at such a young age.  It turned out that she only really needed them for school and she was actually kind of excited about them!

Then, last year, Morgan, Blake and I all went for eye exams.  (Blake and my first eye exams ever!)  We all received good news.  Blake and I were fine and Morgan's eyes had improved!

This past winter I was fortunate to win Morgan (and Rich) a pair of Silhouette glasses.  So now she had two pair to choose from and would match her glasses to her outfits for the day. 

Last week, Morgan had another yearly eye exam.  I had hoped that this year she wouldn't need glasses anymore, since she had improved last year, and my wish came true!  Her eyes have improved enough that there is no need for glasses!  As excited as Morgan was to have glasses in the first place, I think she was even more excited that she didn't have to think about putting them on each day anymore.

 

I just hope that her eyes aren't working their way in the opposite direction and this year is the year that they happened to balance out.  Do eyes do that?  Can eyes work their way from being farsighted to nearsighted?  I guess I'll find out at her eye exam next year.  For now we're celebrating being free of wearing glasses! :-)

Wordful Wednesday: A Whole Lot of New!

A new lawnmower...

...that came with new hats. 

 New valences for the kitchen...that were actually my parents' old ones.

 New hay...

 ...to go along with the new calves.

 And even MORE new chicks/chickens!

(These lost their home, or barn, to a fire.)

Side note: Could this post look any more 'country'?

For more Wordless Wednesday, visit Go Graham Go and the WW HQ.

Please be sure to enter my Current Giveaways. You can find the links in the sidebar! :-)

Blueberry Boy Bait

This is probably more commonly known as 'Blueberry Buckle', but since Rich's grandma told me what they used to call it, I've enjoyed using the name 'Blueberry Boy Bait'.  I have to say it would work quite well as 'bait' too...well, maybe more of a 'bribe'.  Being it is one of Blake's favorite foods, I'm pretty sure I can get him to do pretty much anything for this blueberry treat!  Maybe I should call is 'Blueberry Boy Bribe'? ;-)

 

Blueberry Boy Bait (Blueberry Buckle)
*3/4 cup sugar
*1/4 cup shortening
*1 egg
*1/2 cup milk
*2 cups sifted flour
*2 tsp baking powder
*1/2 tsp salt
*2 cups blueberries

Crumb topping:
*1/2 cup sugar
*1/3 cup sifted flour
*1/2 tsp cinnamon
*1/4 cup soft butter

1.) Thoroughly mix together the sugar, shortening and egg.
2.) Stir in egg.
3.) Sift the flour baking powder and salt together and stir into shortening mixture.
4.) Spread batter in greased and floured 9" square pan.  (We use 8") Sprinkle with Crumb topping (Just mix the ingredients mixed together in a separate bowl.)
5.) Bake at 375 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until wooden toothpick stuck into the center comes out clean.

Makes 9 servings.

This is a classic blueberry treat that I used to enjoy growing up.  It comes from the Betty Crocker Cookbook.

I linked up at Delicious Dish Tuesday and What's Cooking Wednesday:

Wordful Wednesday: Summer Break So Far

The kids last day of school was last Thursday and this is what we've been up to since:

 

Kindergarten picnic on the last day of school.

 Last day of school gift of their favorite Avenger Velvet Posters to color. (50 cents each and they couldn't be happier!)

 Working up the garden.

 More chicks!

 More dancing...in the park during a craft fair.

Having friends over.

Cheerleading camp.

 Pickin' strawberries...

 ...and, of course, eatin' strawberries!

We've also had a couple cookouts with our Dads for Father's Day and went to see a little 6 year old friend play softball.  Morgan finally got to spend some of her winnings at Toys 'R Us too...still $75 left to spend, but I think her new Hello Kitty Radio Alarm Clock and Blake's Battleship game will keep them satisfied for a while :-)

(As you can see I switched to 'Wordful Wednesday' since I can never seem to keep it 'Wordless'!)

For more Wordless Wednesday, visit Go Graham Go and the WW HQ.

Please be sure to enter my Current Giveaways. You can find the links in the sidebar! :-)

Jack the Giant Slayer Blog App and GIVEAWAY! (7/3) *Closed*

*Disclosure: I was provided the following materials to share with my readers in promotion of the Warner Bros. release of the Jack the Giant Slayer Blog App.  I was not compensated in any way.

Warner Bros. is proud to announce the arrival of Jack the Giant Slayer released on DVD & Blu-ray on June 18!

Unleashed on the Earth for the first time in centuries, the giants strive to reclaim the land they once lost, forcing Jack (Nicholas Hoult), into the battle of this life to stop them and rescue the princess!

The question is... are you courageous enough to rescue the princess? Are you brave like Jack? Take the quiz (in the blog app) to find out!

About Jack the Giant Slayer:     
Unleashed on the Earth for the first time in centuries, the giants strive to reclaim the land they once lost, forcing Jack (Nicholas Hoult), into the battle of this life to stop them. Fighting for a kingdom and its people, and the love of a brave princess, he comes face to face with the unstoppable warriors he thought only existed in legend... and gets the chance to become a legend himself! Directed by Brian Singer (X-Men, Superman Returns)

Starring: Nicholas Hoult (About a Boy), Ewan McGregor (Star Wars, Moulin Rouge!), and Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones).

Giveaway:

Congrats to comment #85, Shay!

One of my readers is going to win Jack the Giant Slayer Combo Pack (Blu-ray + DVD + Ultraviolet)

To enter to win,  please leave a comment below with your results from the How Brave are You? Quiz in the blog app. Please be sure to leave your e-mail address, so that I can contact you if you're the winner!

Extra Entries:
(1 extra entry per method. Leave a comment for each.)
*Subscribe to my blog in the upper left hand corner.
*Follow me through Google Friend Connect
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*Leave a comment on a non-giveaway post and let me know which post.

Open to U.S. and Canadian residents 18 years and older. Giveaway will end Wednesday, July 3rd, 2013 at 11:59 EST. Winner will be chosen shortly after and contacted via e-mail. The winner will have 48 hours to respond otherwise I will have to choose a new winner.

New Friends for Our Flock

Quite a while ago my brother had asked me if he were to hatch out some chicks, for my nieces to experience, would we be willing to take them afterwards.  As you can see, I agreed!

These seven chicks came to us Saturday after the dance recital.  The yellow one, Peep, is the one my brother hatched.  The other six black ones he bought as pullets (female chicks) to be sure that there were at least some chicks if none happened to hatch....the other nine that hatched are coming this weekend.

I'm not sure where they're all going yet, but I'm sure we'll figure it all out when we need to. ;-)  Eventually all the hens will be in the barn and roaming around free-range with our other five though and the roosters will be fattened up for us to eat. :-)


(FYI: The corn by their feet came from the 'Layer' feed we had to give them the first night not having 'Starter' feed for them yet since the local feed store was closed...we got them the feed for their age early the next day.)

Wordless Wednesday: Growing Pets

 

The kitten when it came, at about 5 weeks old, and now at about 8 weeks old.

He's about double in size and his eyes focus a lot better...and even scowl! LOL!

 

Mattie when she came here, at about 6 weeks old, and now at about 5 months old. 

She has more than doubled in size, although most of it is fur, and is about 5-6 lbs.

For more Wordless Wednesday, visit Go Graham Go and the WW HQ.

Please be sure to enter my Current Giveaways. You can find the links in the sidebar! :-)

Sausage Gravy & Biscuits

Sausage Gravy & Biscuits is Rich's FAVORITE breakfast food, so I try to make it on occasion.  I'm not going to say this is the best recipe, but this is what I've gotten used to making, and we sure enjoy it!

 

Biscuits:
*2 cups all-purpose flour
*4 teaspoons baking powder
*3 teaspoons sugar
*1/2 teaspoon salt
*1/2 cup shortening
*1 egg
*2/3 cup milk

1. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.  Cut in shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Beat egg with milk; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.

2. Turn onto a well-floured surface; knead 20 times.  Roll to 3/4 inch thickness; cut with a floured 2-1/2 inch biscuit cutter.  Place on a lilghtly greased baking sheet.  Bake at 450 degrees F for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve warm.

Sausage Gravy:
*1 lb pork sausage
*2 cups milk
*1 Tbs butter
*1/4 cup flour
*salt and pepper to taste (I also use onion salt)

1. Brown sausage in large frying pan/sauce pan on medium heat.
2. Combine 1 cup milk with flour in a tightly sealed container and shake until combined.  May have to crack seal on occasion while shaking to allow air to escape.
3.  Add milk/flour mixture to pan with sausage while stirring.
4. Turn heat down and add the rest of the milk, butter, salt and pepper.
5. Simmer and stir until the gravy reaches the desired consistency.

Both recipes were found on allrecipes.com.

I linked up at Delicious Dish Tuesday and What's Cooking Wednesday:

Morgan's Dance Recital 2013

Morgan's dance recital went really well this year! She only did ballet, so she was only in one dance routine plus the opening and closing numbers. Last year she was in three routines and Blake was in one, then they were both in the opening and closing numbers...I think I missed MOST of the show with the running around for costume changes!  This year I was able to sit and enjoy all 2.5 hours...maybe one costume change would have been nice...for a little break. ;-)

Here is Morgan's group dancing to "A Whole New World".

Morgan is the tallest and is usually to the right and back.  I'm kinda happy that my camera on my phone doesn't do the best, so I don't have to worry about whose faces are showing! Plus you can't see that they're constantly watching their teacher. ;-)

Her ballet group is made up of the other two girls she danced with last year, a new girl and another who has danced with the studio for a while.  Two of the girls also do competition and you can really tell by their confidence and talent.  Competing is something that I always think about for Morgan, but then the cost and the amount of time it takes always brings me back to reality. ;-)

Morgan really wants to do a 'Lyrical' dance next year.  It sounds like one of the girls she danced with the last couple years will probably do it with her.  I'm excited about this type of dance for her, because I think it's something that she will really enjoy....at least if I'm understanding what this type of dance is.  It's all confusing to me if they don't have tap or ballet shoes on-lol! ;-)

I'm so proud of Morgan and how much she's improved and all that she is learning.  It was a great year of dance and a wonderful recital.  I'm glad for the break through the summer, but I'm looking forward to more dance in the fall!

Busy!

It's such a busy time of year!  I feel like my head is spinning with everything that is going on, so I'm doing my best to just take it one day at a time and not think too much about it! ;-)

*********

 



Over Memorial Day weekend Morgan had complained of a toothache.  She had a toothache about three weeks before and I got her to the dentist
 ASAP.  They thought it was either a nerve or an absess since there was swelling, but there was no sign of a cavity (thank goodness!)  They put her on antibiotics and she seemed better.  So when her tooth started to hurt again, and actually was keeping her up at night, I took her to the dentist again.  Knowing that it was still bothering her, they concluded it must be the nerve touching her filling and is going to need a 'pulpotomy' (child's version of a root canal.)

So needing a pulpotomy was definitely the bad news of the visit, but there was also some fun news.  While we were in the waiting room the receptionist informed her that she was the winner of the "No Sugar Bug Club" for the month and received a $100 Gift Card to Toys R Us.  (She was entered for not having cavities at her last cleaning.)  That was last Wednesday....I've been asked "When can we go to Toys R Us?"  EVERY DAY since!  LOL!

The picture taken after her last cleaning for not having 'sugar bugs' that was drawn as the winner.

 



***********

 

Last Thursday was my dental cleaning.  I REALLY tried to get in while Morgan was there the day before.  The receptionist was even joking with a coworker that she'd like to try cleaning teeth sometime and I told her she could do mine!  LOL!  I always get anxious about any dental work and wanted to get it over with...also didn't want to have to go 2 days in a row! ;-)

 

Since I went to the dentist, I was unable to help at the kids' Field Day, but stopped by afterwards for a couple pictures.  It was warm and humid, but they sure had a ton of fun!

 

************

 

This past weekend, Rich and I went away for his cousin's wedding.  We had a blast!  The food was awesome, the venue was beautiful, the best man's speech (another cousin) was the best I've ever heard and we danced...a lot!  There was a shuttle from the hotel to the wedding venue, so we didn't have to worry about driving....turned out to be a great thing! ;-)

 

************

So far this week has been a bit calmer.  I started a project that was bigger than I realized though...maybe if I work at it at least 2-3 hours a day, every day, for the next 2 months I'll actually get it done in time!  And Morgan's dance recital is Saturday, so we'll have her regular practice tonight, the rehearsal tomorrow night and the recital Saturday afternoon....I should take the project to work on through all that waiting! ;-)

************

 

So, on top of this stuff, the rest of the month is filling up quickly!  We have birthdays, anniversaries (one has a party-65 years!  AMAZING!), the town's fair, open houses, a town festival, Morgan dancing for an art fair and a baby shower.  Father's Day is in there somewhere too ;-)

 

With the last day of school next Thursday, I'm going to have the kids home with me for the next couple months as well.  I hope to stay on top of blogging, but it may be a little more sporadic than it has been.  Just know that I'm still around! :-)



Blake: Melting My Heart and Making Me Laugh

As a parent I always feel like I'm messing up.  I'll lose my patience or give in when I know I shouldn't or...well, this list could go on forever.  But then there are times when I know I must be doing something, at least somewhat, right.  Some of those times come when Blake says things like these:

After being deep in thought:

"I think there are three kings...God, Jesus and Burger King."

After coming home from school one day:

"Mrs. S. said her mom almost died, but the doctors made her better....I think God helped too."

Out of the blue:

"I think we all have two fathers...our dads and God."



Blake doesn't know it, but he's definitely reminding me there is One who is always going to love me, despite my imperfections, and guide me through motherhood.  I am so blessed that God trusted me to care for 'His' little children!!

Copperhead Blog App PLUS Movie Ticket & Signed Poster Giveaway!! (6/9) *Closed*

*The following materials were provided to me to share with my readers in promotion of the release of the Copperhead Blog App. I was not compensated in any way.


Did you know that this year marks the 150 year anniversary of the Civil War & The Battle of Gettysburg?

We were all taught about the Civil War in school, but how much do we really know about the challenging stories of the brave families during the era? Mothers, fathers, and children all experienced intense hardship as family members left to fight in combat. 150 years later the timeless stories of families affected by war still remain especially pertinent.

Commemorate the 150 year anniversary & keep your kids learning during the summer by catching Copperhead, a Civil War movie the whole family can watch together and talk about!

About Copperhead:From director Ron Maxwell, (Gettysburg, Gods and Generals) Copperhead is unlike any other Civil War movie. Far from the Virginia battlefield, it’s the exciting story of Abner Beech (Billy Campbell), a peace-loving but stubborn dairy farmer in upstate New York. He detests slavery, but opposes the war for the sake of the “union.” Abner is neither a Yankee nor a Rebel. He is a Copperhead. This is an extraordinary story of family and community. Learn more: http://www.copperheadthemovie.com

Giveaway:

Congrats to comment #16, Amanda Rauch!

One of my readers is going to win the following:
*Official Copperhead Movie Poster hand signed by Director/Producer Ron Maxwell (Gettysburg,      Gods and Generals) (27 X 40)
*The Copperhead Official Companion Book [Author: Harold Frederic]
*Movie Theater Cash [Valid for 1 Movie Admission]

To enter to win, please leave a comment below with your results from the Test Your Civil War Knowledge! Trivia in the blog app. Please be sure to leave your e-mail address, so that I can contact you if you're the winner!

Extra Entries:
(1 extra entry per method. Leave a comment for each.)
*Subscribe to my blog in the upper left hand corner.
*Follow me through Google Friend Connect
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*Tweet this giveaway and leave the URL in your comment
*Follow me on Pinterest

*Pin an image from this post to one of your boards

*Leave a comment on a non-giveaway post and let me know which post.

Open to U.S. residents 18 years and older. Giveaway will end Sunday, June 9th, 2013 at 11:59 EST. Winner will be chosen shortly after and contacted via e-mail. The winner will have 48 hours to respond otherwise I will have to choose a new winner.

Wordless Wednesday: Cat House

I had to laugh at Mittens resting in the window of the house Rich made for the kids to spray the water through on Fire Safety day.

 

For more Wordless Wednesday, visit Go Graham Go and the WW HQ.

Please be sure to enter my Current Giveaways. You can find the links in the sidebar! :-) 

Taco Omelet

Having free-range chickens means a never-ending supply of eggs...as long as the cat doesn't get them!  ;-)  So, I like to make myself an omelet for breakfast, and sometimes lunch, nearly every day.  Having omelets so often gives me several chances to experiment and this Taco Omelet is definitely a favorite when we have some leftover taco meat!

 

Taco Omelet:
2 eggs
1 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp salsa
dash salt
dash pepper
dash garlic salt
handful of taco meat
handful of chopped green pepper
handful of chopped onion
1 slice American cheese

*Whisk eggs, milk, salsa, salt, pepper and garlic salt in small bowl until well blended.

*Poor egg mixture into omelet pan (small frying pan) and then add the rest of the ingredients to one side of the egg mixture.

*Allow to cook until the egg is mostly set-up then, with a spatula turn the half without the meat/cheese/veggies over onto the other half and allow to cook.

*Flip omelet over and cook until done.

(Something I haven't tried yet, is cooking the onion and green pepper together first...maybe in some butter!  I get too hungry and impatient to wait that much longer, but I'm sure it would taste awesome!)

I linked up at Delicious Dish Tuesday and What's Cooking Wednesday: