Recent Funnies...

Last weekend, we were in Salem for a wedding and while eating breakfast, Terry's mom had put some preserves on the table. Well, Brent was proceeding to put some on his toast and Janice said, "You're not putting enough of it on there! You need more than that!" To which, Brent replied, "No, cuz jelly is sugar and I don't need that much sugar. I can taste it and it's fine." Of course, she had Sugar Free jelly, so she proceeded to tell him that it was okay to eat more cuz it was sugar free. *eyeroll* Brent just did his own thing. No biggie. But we started talking about ingredients (and he LIKES to look at and read the labels on things) and so he started reading the ingredient list to us:

WATER**, STRAWBERRIES+, POLYDEXTROSE**, MALTODEXTRIN**, FRUIT PECTIN, LOCUST BEAN GUM**, NATURAL FLAVOR **, CITRIC ACID, POTASSIUM SORBATE (PRESERVATIVE), SUCRALOSE (NON NUTRITIVE SWEETENER)**, CALCIUM CHLORIDE**, RED 40**.

He got the 'water, strawberries' okay. Polydextrose he sorta fumbled through. Then he got stuck on maltodextrin and just stopped reading and said, "Oh, so this must be where they started writing it in a foreign language." ROFLMBO! We laughed so hard at his little comment, that was made in ALL seriousness. But how true is it???
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Last night Terry informs me that due to a miscalculation on the part of someone he works with, there was a truck coming in and no one would be there to meet it. So, of course, he volunteered to meet the truck. At 4 AM!! *sigh* He got the call when the guy was close to Perryville and said he'd meet him there. So he gets up and gets dressed and leaves for the plant. This morning he informs me that thanks to his being out in the middle of the night, we now have a dead mole in our driveway. ???!?!?!?

Apparently, as he was walking down the driveway, something darted out in front of him from the van tire. He just instinctively kicked it and sent it sailing about 5 or 6 feet. LOL Not knowing if it was dead or not, and based on the size thinking it was a field mouse, he went over to stomp on it. (I know...G.R.O.S.S.) Well, apparently, he raised his right foot up so high that he gained momentum on the 'up swing' and it ended up causing his left foot to leave the ground too and when his right foot came down ON the critter, rather than 'smashing' it, it just rolled. And with the momentum he had and the rolling motion of one foot, then both feet went sailing out from underneath him...and yep, he landed on his butt. (Of course, the boys thought the telling of this story was captivating, but when Terry got to this part, I thought the boys were gonna fall off my bed, they were laughing so hard!)

So the boys went out to see the mole...while I did some online looking for information about it. We had a science lesson! LOL We talked about WHY their bodies are so hard (to the point of 'rolling' when someone stomps on them...) and why their hands are SO HUGE. Their hands are almost comical in how disproportionate they are to the rest of the body. We learned quite a bit about moles... Brent measured this one...it was almost 7 inches long, and the average mole is about 5 1/2 inches long. So this was either a monster mole, or an old one.

What's really odd is that we've seen NO mole tracks in our yard. So we're thinking he just was out venturing for food or whatever, but can't find anything that would tell us how far from their homes or normal tunnel area they would travel.

Very strange, but very comical. :)
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I have much much more to update on from the past month. Hopefully I can work on that while the boys are in therapy this week and then I can just post it all at once! But right now, it's just past 11 PM on a Saturday night and I have to get some sleep!

When life gets busy

A couple weeks ago, the boys were in Oklahoma for a week, spending the week with my sis and her family. They got to fly on an airplane (for the first time) and really really loved it. They had a lot of fun while they were there, but I know they were certainly glad to be home. LOL And I was truly glad to have them home. It’s nice to get away but it’s really nice to get home. We drove out there at the end of the week for a dual purpose. 1) to get the boys, but 2) to go to a college graduation for a nephew.

The night of the graduation, we went to dinner with the family to celebrate (and what a GREAT place…..Bourbon Street Café! YUM!) and as we were leaving, I (stoopidly!) didn’t remember that there was a step to get into the restaurant, meaning I would have to step DOWN to get out of the restaurant. L Naturally, I fell coming out and twisted my ankle in the process. (I can’t feel too bad, Brent fell too….) Well, of course, there were about 5 people walking by at the same time as me falling, and they just looked at me and said, “Ooo, I bet that hurt!” Ya think???? Of course, I laughed it off and said I was fine. Terry was there with me and was making sure I was okay….he tried to help me up (good husband that he is) and I was so embarrassed and in pain that I kinda bit his head off (which I later apologized for!) and just got up on my own. Oooooo, it hurt. I got to J’s and got my shoe off and it was swelling. L But the fact that I had to walk nearly ½ mile to get to the car was probably a huge help for it…. *sigh* Hello. I’m Amanda and I’m a klutz.

Well, due to there being a congregational meeting at church that Sunday, we decided to leave on Saturday evening to drive home…we didn’t leave OKC till 7:12 Saturday night….we made it home at 3:02 AM, with a 30 minute stop in Springfield. Yes, I flew. Hello. I’m Amanda and my nickname is Mario Andretti.

We went to worship the next morning and stayed for potluck and the meeting and then came home and crashed. Literally. We slept and didn’t wake up….well, we missed church that night. But we had gone on very little sleep in the previous 3-4 days, so I know we needed it.

The next day (Monday) started our therapies in St Louis for the boys with Dr Worth’s office. Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday each week now we will be driving to St Louis and the boys will be getting their therapies. So far, we haven’t been given our ‘home work’ to do on the other 3 days of the week, but I’m told that will start soon. They want to get the boys going on the beginning parts of it and then add things slowly. We’re at the office for about an hour (for now) each time we come up. (In fact, I’m sitting in one of the consult rooms as I type this while the boys are doing their thing.)

I’m trying to find the positives in all this…this 3 hours a week of me being able to do nothing but sit in the office. I’m trying to use this time to work on my Ladies class Bible study. Last week, I used part of the time to organize pictures for National Scrapbook Day this past Saturday. I used another day to work on typing in recipes for people on Facebook that have asked for them. (I’ll also post them here.) I will most likely bring up some crocheting this week too, to make the wash cloths I’ve promised as a prize for the American Idol contest I’m a part of each year on PaperbackSwap.com. I can make one wash cloth in about 2-3 hours, so I figure between the next week or so and perhaps weekends, I can get them done with no problem. (Fact is, I’ve procrastinated terribly about this…I promised them as a prize before AI started this season, so it’s my own fault for not having them done yet.) It’s just so hard to spend 2 ½ to 3 hours a day in the van (driving) and not get tired. I decided last week to get a couple books on CD so we could listen to them as we drive. We started one today…I’ll write a review when we’re done with it. Hopefully I can find more that are appropriate for the boys to hear….there just aren’t that many at our library! LOL (So if anyone has any suggestions for some good ones that are free, please let me know!!)

Last Friday was a bit wild for us. Well, for me and the boys at least. We had what I've heard some call a hurricane come through our area! LOL I know it was really a tornadic system, but there've been some reports of the winds being hurricane strength and the fact that the tornado around our area was so large in size and never touched down is making them call this one differently. The boys and I had errands to run on Friday morning, but there were a couple of storms then, so we waited till the radar looked clear. We first went to the library and only spent about 30 minutes there (where Brent decided to do some reading and a report on "gold" so we looked for books on that subject!) and as we were leaving the library, the sirens went off. So we're driving through town and I'm trying to figure out the best place to go, while C is in the back seat saying "I wanna go home...I wanna go home" and B is there saying, "Mom, you gotta find somewhere." "Mom, where you gonna go?" "Mom?" !!!!! I was frantically trying to find my cell phone to call Terry, but no luck there. Then I was going down main street and saw a tree had blown over and then right in front of me, one of those white plastic lawn chairs was spinning in circles about a foot off the ground. I knew then I HAD to find somewhere to go. So we hid out in the eye dr's office! LOL We were there when the electricity went out and stayed about 30 minutes. After we left, we worked our way across town to go home (No one had electricity in the whole town, which is odd in itself, and so no businesses were open. There was no point in staying out in the fray.) and passed many many trees that were down...blown over from the roots up. Large trees. Old trees. Truly astonishing. There were bits of roofs all over the place and our wonderful people in town were standing around taking pictures instead of helping people! Ugh. Ya gotta love po-dunk towns.

Anyway, we got home (after having to take 2 detours cuz of the trees across the roads) and found that we only had one shingle off the house and sticks and debris in our yard. There was grass and leaves literally plastered to the siding of the house, but no other damage. Of course, we didn't have electricity, but that's no big deal. Or so we thought! LOL Our electricity didn't come back on until 9:30 that night! But it did us good to have no light....no TV, no radio, no Wii, nothing. Just us and ourselves. LOL We went out to dinner, of course, and the restaurants were packed. But even that was dealable.

This week, we also have TKD and ball practice for C, and B has his first baseball game on Thursday (actually, it’s the second, but the first one was rained out). Well, this will be our schedule for the next several weeks, but whatever. We’ll get used to it! This weekend, we also have Cory’s college graduation, so we’re traveling to Salem. I’m kinda looking forward to it….we’ve not been in in quite a few weeks, but I know that Clayton isn’t gonna enjoy it as much as he normally would, simply due to the constant traveling and being away from home these last couple of weeks. I’ll just have to really watch him and make sure that he gets some ‘down time’ with me each day to refocus. It will all be well.

I told terry the other night that I feel like a ‘working woman’….I feel like I have a part time job right now. We’re never home and I’m planning my meals out well in advance, plus I’m having to plan my cleaning and laundry as well. I’m just not used to that! LOL I’ve always respected the many working moms/wives, but it’s been so long since I’ve done it that I’ve forgotten how to do it. Plus I don’t think I did that good of a job when I did it before, anyway. LOL It’s just so hard to keep it all clean and be gone all the time…when what we want to do when we’re home is crash and go to bed! LOL Oh well, we’ll adjust!

Time to go….they are done with therapy. Time to get back in the van and drive home so we can continue with this day. Maybe I can get some house cleaning done to get caught up on the mess that was created over the weekend!

Hello. My name is Amanda and I'm exhausted. :-)

Requested Recipies

Recently, I began my 3-month meal planning strategy and posted here about it...also posted about it on Facebook. Well, I had many who requested some of those recipes, and after finally getting them posted over there, I decided to post them here too in case anyone else could benefit from them! ;)

Almond Chicken

2 c rice
½ T Butter
½ chopped onion
Chopped celery
3 c. cooked chopped chicken breast
1 c mayo
1 c cream chicken soup (small can)
½ c. slivered almonds
Crushed cornflakes and butter

Make rice and set aside. Sauté onion and celery. Combine chicken, rice, onion and celery in casserole dish. Stir in mayo and soup, then almonds. Top with cornflake mixture. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.


Creamy Broccoli Chicken

1 can cream of broccoli soup
1 bag chicken breast (frozen, skinless, boneless)
1 bag frozen broccoli
1 cup milk

Place chicken breasts in crock pot and cover with frozen broccoli and soup. Cook for a few hours. Add milk during the last 30-45 minutes of cooking time. Serve over rice.


Ravioli Lasagna

Frozen Cheese Ravioli (need between 1 and 2 bags)
Spaghetti sauce (either jarred or homemade…)
Hamburger, cooked and drained
Mozzarella cheese

Cook ravioli according to package directions and drain. Add meat to sauce and warm through. Layer meat sauce, ravioli, and small amount of moz cheese in casserole dish. Repeat until dish is full. Top with meat sauce and a layer of cheese. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes until bubbly….let set for about 10 minutes and serve with garlic bread.

**The cheese ravioli takes care of two steps here…the noodles and the ricotta cheese mix. It’s not perfect like regular lasagna, but is a good quick version. Terry says it's not as good as my homemade regular lasagna, but he'll take it when he has to. LOL


Ritzy Chicken

2 sleeves Ritz Crackers
1 can cream chicken soup
1 c sour cream
½ c chicken broth
4-6 cooked and diced chicken breasts
4 oz melted butter

Crumble 1 sleeve crackers and pour in casserole dish. Drizzle with ½ of the melted butter. Combine chicken, soup, sour cream and broth; pour over crackers. Repeat bottom layer on top. Bake for 30-40 minutes at 300 degrees.


Cheesy Chicken

6-7 chicken breasts (about 1 3-lb bag frozen)
Salt, pepper garlic powder
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can cheddar cheese soup

Put chicken in crock pot and cover with soup mix. Cook several hours until done.
Serve with rice or noodles.


Chicken Rice w/ Green Beans

3 lb bag frozen chicken breasts
1 can cream chicken soup
1 can cream mushroom soup
2 cans water
1 package dry onion soup mix
Frozen veggies (carrots, peas, corn, beans, etc)

Place veggies in crock pot on bottom. Cover with chicken. Mix liquids and pour over chicken. Cook for several hours, until chicken is done. Serve with rice.


Nacho Cheese Chicken

3 lb bag frozen chicken
1 can diced tomatoes in juice
1 can nacho cheese soup
1 small can green chiles

Place chicken on bottom of crock pot and pour combined ingredients over top. Cook till chicken is done, serve over noodles.


Aroz con Pollo

4 chicken breast halves (or 6-7 skinless boneless chicken breasts; about a 3 lb bag)
1 onion
1 small red pepper
Garlic
Rosemary
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 bag frozen peas

Place chicken in crock pot. Mix all other ingredients but peas and pour over chicken. Cook till chicken is done. About one hour before ready to serve, thaw peas and add to mix. Allow to cook that one hour and serve over rice.


Italian Chicken Spaghetti

1 can tomato sauce
6-7 chicken breasts (1 3 lb bag)
1 sm can tomato paste
3 T water
Garlic
Oregano
4 oz mozzarella cheese

Put chicken in crock pot and cover with sauce mix. After cooked, remove chicken and stir in cheese to melt. Serve chicken and sauce over hot spaghetti noodles.


Chicken Cacciatore

1 lg onion, thinly sliced
3 lb bag chicken breasts
2 cans tomato paste
4 oz sliced mushrooms
Garlic and oregano and celery seed

Place onions in crock pot and cover with chicken. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over chicken. Cook for several hours till chicken is done and serve over hot noodles.


King Ranch Casserole

1 can cream chicken soup
1 can cream celery soup
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1 can Rotel
1 onion, chopped
5-6 (or more) cooked chicken breasts, diced
1 bag Doritos chips

Mix chicken with canned ingredients and pour in casserole dish. Bake for about 20 minutes until bubbly. Crush Doritos and pour over during the last 10 minutes….watch that the Doritos don’t burn, because they will burn quickly! :)