Phew, What a Week!

What a week. We started with the arrival of our beloved Auntie on Sunday. The girls could hardly contain their excitement as Saturday night drew to a close. Peach even asked me, "Mom, what can we do to make time pass faster?"

"Ummmm..... sleep, honey! Lots and lots of sleep" is what I told her. So they tried their darnedest to get some sleep, and then they woke up to run to the airport with my mom. That was such an exciting day for us all. It had been 11 months since we last saw Auntie. Needless to say, our week of excitement had begun.

The next day we hit up a couple Memorial Day parties. Of course, we stayed up later than normal that night. And that theme continued into the rest of the week.

Tuesday--late softball game (I use "late" relatively)
Wednesday-- first dance rehersal
Thursday--dance rehersal
Friday--Dress Rehersal and dinner out at CiCi's (to help donate to Joplin's Red Cross relief)
Saturday--we literally spent all day getting ready to go to the recital that started at 2. When we have five children, who still are pretty needy (due to their ages), it does take us all morning to get them fed, bathed, fed again, in costume and loaded into the van. And we got home at 7ish. Loooonnnggg DAY!

That's just where we are in this journey called life. I swear, if I were not living this life, I'd have a hard time believing just how long it takes us to get out of the house. But I live it, folks. And it takes FOREVER! But that's okay. They are so much more than worth it.

I'm just happy to report that as this Saturday draws to a close, I can say we survived. My husband and I were concerned about surviving this day in particular (the three little kids can cry at a moments notice, they were already tired, and the recital was all afternoon/aka NAP TIME) since we don't have any sitter outside of family and were therefore, taking the little kids with us! I have to admit, my husband and family were the ones who made it happen since I'm still mostly immobile--GOD BLESS THEM!

So tomorrow is a lay-low kind of day. My mom just bought the girls the original Annie, and I plan on having them lie around and watch that. And then next week we start our busy summer.

Luckily, I received a surgical shoe at my 3 wk check up last week, so I can drive the kids to VBS starting this week. I do still have to use a crutch to walk(while wearing my boot), so I'm not sure how I'll manage getting my three older kids into the building while struggling with our 2 yr old and trying to carry my baby in the heavy car seat carrier. I'm thinking I'll just go sans-crutch and tough it out in my boot. I'm excited to get some awesome time in with my two younger kiddos while the three biggies are away at VBS for a few hours every day next week. I see some duck-feeding in our near future!! That is a favorite activity of Boushka--and Scrunchie says she'll go wherever I go. So I think we're set!

I think this picture sums up this post. Do you see her lip? Ah, love it!

Dress Rehersal

Our dance recital is tomorrow--well, actually by the time this posts, the recital will be today. 

My big girls are so excited. I've had the opportunity to watch them a couple times since November on parent's night during their regular dance class. They have been working hard on their dances, and it shows.

Tonight, I was able to see them in all their costume and up on the big stage for their Dress Rehersal. They are performing at a great venue, which makes it seem like even more of a big deal! And to top it off, flowers are sold at the recital (it's acutally a fundraiser for the business)--and the girls know about it. In fact, Peach has told me that she just knows we'll throw flowers at her as she finishes her dance on stage.  Yes, I wondered where she got this {{VERY CUTE}} idea...

...then it dawned on me. I know there is an episode of her favorite show, Olivia, where Olivia is having a daydream where she is dancing on stage and everyone throws flowers at her. So my Peach must have it in her little head that people actually do this. Unfortunately, I had to break it to her that we are not allowed to throw them on stage as she does her grand finale. So she'll have to settle for receiving them as we pick her up from her dressing room.

And of course, my sweet little Brownie will get some too. And speaking of my Sweet Little Brownie-- She is just way, way into this dancing thing. She gets up there and just shakes her little booty. The girl's got rhythm. She truly enjoys her dance time, and I can't believe how awesome it is to watch her.

And Peach too. She is more of a perfectionist. She makes sure she follows each and every step precisely. And I just love watching how graceful she is. Her arms just flow with the music beautifully.

I was almost moved to tears tonight as I watched them preform. I'm still not quite sure why, but I think it has something to do with watching them do something that they love, that I also love, and that I wished I could have done more of as a child.  I did dance a bit in high school, but I had to quit once I went to college because the commute was too much. 

So 11 years after my last recital, I have the absolute pleasure to watch my two older girls make their debut on the same stage I danced on. I am so proud of my dancing queens! And I should mention that Bug and Boushka have both expressed great interest in dancing. We'll see if Bug sticks with it for the fall. I'd just love to have a family full of little dancers.

Days of yore

WARNING: Sappy love letter to my babies follows--

Sometimes it's good to reflect.

 Remember.

 

Recall.

 Those three R's we all learned about...,

...right?

 

 For me, all three are important.

 It's in these moments of recall that I can find peace on bad days.

 When I am annoyed with a partiuclar child's unruly behavior, it helps to be nostalgic. 

 It helps the kiddo too, 

 ... because remembering a toothless grin, or a first steps helps me feel at ease. 

 And when I can feel at ease, I tend to keep my behavior in line with "calm mom" demeanor.

 And when I don't get out of line, they tend not to go (too far) out of line. 

 Is it just me, or do we all look back on our children's earlier days and think the good thoughts?

 Like in this picture of Boushka-- it makes me smile and warms my heart. 

Like childbirth...,

...the pain I experienced raising them during rough times is nothing in comparison to the love I remember feeling and still feel for them. 

 So today, I'm needing a little reminder of days gone by. 

 I'm in a funk as I sit on this couch waiting to heal. 

 But as they are resting upstairs in their beds and I'm missing them...

 at least I can still look at their tiny little faces,

 their cheesy grins,

 their tiny little feet,

 and feel the love in my soul. 

SUYL: Appetizer Recipes

I'm participating in Kelly's Korner SUYL Appetizer recipes!

Here are some that I really enjoy:

*Cocktail Meatballs 
 1 pound lean ground turkey
 1 egg
 2 tablespoons water
 1/2 cup bread crumbs
 3 tablespoons minced onion

Sauce
 1 (8 ounce) can jellied cranberry sauce
 3/4 cup chili sauce
 1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the turkey, egg, water, bread crumbs, and minced onion. Roll into small meatballs.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, turning once.
4. In a slow cooker or large saucepan over low heat, blend the cranberry sauce, chili sauce, brown sugar, and lemon juice. Add meatballs, and simmer for 1 hour before serving.


*Double Duty Bruschetta (this is always loved by a crowd)
6 roma  tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil
3 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 French baguette
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions 
1. Preheat the oven on broiler setting.  
2. In a large bowl, combine the roma tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, basil, salt, and pepper. Allow the mixture to sit for 10 minutes.  
3. Cut the baguette into 3/4-inch slices. On a baking sheet, arrange the baguette slices in a single layer. Broil for 1 to 2 minutes, until slightly brown.  
4. Divide the tomato mixture evenly over the baguette slices. Top the slices with mozzarella cheese.
5. Broil about 5 minutes, until cheese melts. 


*Artichoke Dip (I serve this with tortilla chips, pumpernickel bread chunks, bagel chips, carrots and celery)

 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
 1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup grated Parmesan/Romano cheese 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
 salt and pepper to taste
 1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
 1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a small baking dish. 
2. In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, mayonnaise, Parmesan/Romano cheese, garlic, basil, garlic salt, salt and pepper. Stir in artichoke hearts and spinach. 
3. Pour into greased baking dish. Top with mozzarella cheese. Bake in the preheated oven 25 minutes, until bubbly and lightly browned. 

Mexican Relish (Serve with tortilla chips) 
1 can black beans, drained
1 can corn, drained
1 can black olives, sliced
1 green pepper, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
salsa (choose a brand you enjoy and add until the mix is covered with sauce)


Directions
1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Chill until ready to serve. 


*A variation of a recipe from allrecipes.com

Birthday Girl

Somebody had a birthday today!

It wasn't our Brownie...

It was Grammy!

She always makes us feel special on our big day...

...so we all tried to make hers special too!

There were babies, daughters, granddaughters and a son-in-law to celebrate with!

Peach was awfully proud to show off her (not quite finished) book that she is writing and illustrating.

We weren't planning on celebrating Grammy's day until this weekend (due to the fact that all of our nights are taken up with dance rehearsals this week), but at the last minute plans changed. So the book wasn't quite done.

But with almost all of the writing done and none of the illustrating done, she couldn't hold back. So Grammy got a sneek peek at her present.

She sat and watched the craziness unfold!

Here's part of the craziness-- Brownie putting tissue paper in her hair as if it were a bow!

There was some lap sitting,

face holding,

and certainly some posing!

And more posing!

It's hard to get this many girls to sit still long enough to pose!

They get so bored they resort to picking their noses. 

We did enjoy some cake and chocolate ice cream--YUMO!

The birthday girl enjoyed it too!

And so did she--blue frosting smeared across her cheek doesn't give it away, does it?

And Auntie certainly helped celebrate with cake. 

It was a wonderful time together with the family. Just a calm, relaxing evening with good food, family, sweet smiles and birthday wishes.