Monday, July 25, 2011

good morning sunshine

what a perfect way
to start my day!





Thursday, July 21, 2011

an old favorite

it must be the lazy dog days of summer.
i used to have 
"this is a blog post"
moments often during the day...
but my brain is toast these days-
so because nothing witty is sprouting
from the mouths of my children,
and no photo-ops are emerging from our
daily summer routine, 
i'm sharing what we had for dinner last night.
original, eh?

it is one of my standby/favorites & 
since Brian ate it in like 3 minutes flat,
i'm assuming it's still a keeper!

there's always chicken in the freezer,
so depending on what you have you can
grill, broil, or saute it w/ a little
salt & pepper & some olive oil. 
the glaze is actually a recipe i snagged
while watching Regis & Katie Lee
(yes, there was someone else before Kelly)
when Ali was a baby, and I had time 
to watch things like that after having
a whole, hot cup of coffee and actually
completing my Beth Moore Bible study 
in my matching nightgown & robe.
i digress....

 apricot glaze
saute 1T minced garlic in 2T butter till fragrant.
in a small bowl, whisk together:
2T orange juice
1T lemon juice
1/2t cornstarch

whisk everything together in the 
saucepan & then add:
1/4t ginger
1/3C apricot preserves.

mix & thicken over low heat
& serve over your cooked chicken -yum!

the potato recipe is actually one of Ali's favorites,
so i feel a tad guilty for fixing them
while she is away at camp.

Trader Joe's sells the perfect potatoes
for this recipe.
they are actually called
"teeny tiny potatoes"
(no joke)
& they are fabulous!

the recipe is called "hasselback potatoes"
& you can find it
i just love Nigella Lawson.
in fact, sometimes when i'm cooking
i pretend i'm her.
really, i think we favor each other... 
don't you see the resemblance?
no?
the rumpled yet glamorous hair...
OK, the flawless, porcelain skin?...
the full, sultry lips?
the rosy, high cheekbones?
the voluptuous curves not hidden under a
paint-stained mission trip t-shirt from 1987?
no? 
OK, we both have brown eyes.
how's that?

we rounded out our little meal
with some Trader Joe's french green beans,
and all was well with my little world.
(except the fact that my big girls
were still at camp)
BUT they will be home for a quick sleepover
tonight before they head down to
the beach with their youth group pals
for the day. can't wait to kiss those
sweet little faces!!

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

the good, the sad, and the ugly

ahhh, there really has been a lot of "good" around here...
like getting a little more sleep at night for instance.

then there's...

lots of pool time






plenty of dart tag
( I'm a tad concerned that the older one
looks a little too serious about his role)

as for the "sad"...
these two left for church camp last night :(
sad for me...happy for them
actually, they're staying right here in 
town in church host homes,
so I could spy, I mean check on them at any time...
honestly, I LOVE the heart of our church. 
our teens will be partnering with a 
different local ministry
every morning to serve in within our city,
and going downtown to pray with 
people in the afternoon.
their evenings will be worship/teaching
 times @ the church .
friday will be a fun, one day beach 
trip to celebrate together. 
the girls were sooo excited.

as for the "ugly",
evidently we are just one of many
adoptive families in a wrestling match
of sorts with the IRS over our
adoption tax credit return...
we've submitted the required paperwork
twice so far, and were told to expect 
a possible 3rd request.

ugh, ugh, ugh.

 maybe I should send the
dart tag duo 
to knock on some doors...

Thursday, July 14, 2011

4 weeks

I cannot believe we are now exactly
four weeks post-op.
where does the time go when you're 
having well, um, fun?!


we fit in some sparkler time



Quinn called this his "statue of liberty" pose

we've eaten lots of popsicles
(check out that new little smile 
emerging under that tape!)


we also saw Dr. Matthews last week.
he actually wasn't totally pleased
with how her lip is healing...
not what you want to hear.
we are applying, as Gracie calls it,
her special lotion
(1/2 castor oil, 1/2 sesame oil)
as often as possible during the day.

we were told that the nasal stents will need
 to be in for probably 4 more weeks. :(
the process of cleaning & changing tape
is still NO fun, but getting slightly easier.
God REALLY does give grace in the areas
 you think you would never be comfortable in - 
grace for daddy to hold her down,
& grace for mamma to clean a sore nose
& insert that tool of torture, I mean healing,
as her baby screams "no mommy!!"

sleep...well, she's had a handful
of nights where she slept all the way through.
it's just so frustrating to her to not
be able to breathe well through her nose.

we've tried to adhere to her surgeon's dietary 
restrictions for Gracie as well.
he's very anti- refined sugar - that makes sense.
he also told us that Asian scars can heal 
better when you eliminate wheat & dairy from
 the diet. she's done surprisingly well.
there are many gluten/wheat free products now
(for a small fortune, I might add)
and then there's, of course, fresh fruit & veggies -
imagine that!
she's LOVED the homemade popsicles.

here are her 3 favorite recipes!
(W.Mart has great popsicle molds for
$3 in the frozen food section!)

Summer Splash 
juice of 1 1/2 whole oranges
  (Trader Joes is the only place I could find valencias around here)
1C chopped strawberries
1/2 C blueberries
1t flax seed 
3/4 cup silken tofu (sneaky, eh?)
3T agave nectar(sold right by the artificial sweeteners)

combine all in blender until smooth. 
pour into molds & freeze!

Orange Joy
juice of 6 oranges, or 2C of freshly squeezed orange juice
1 whole pineapple, cored & cut up
3T wheat germ
1 or 2 bananas
1/2C water

puree in blender until smooth.
pour into molds & freeze!

Peanut Butter & Chocolate
1/4C dark chocolate chips, melted
1/4C organic peanut butter
1T wheat germ
1C soy milk

puree in blender until smooth.
drink half, just to make sure it's OK, then pour into molds and freeze!







Wednesday, July 6, 2011

a fabulous fourth

if someone could tell me where the long weekend went,
I would greatly appreciate it!

Gracie is more herself everyday, and we're ALL 
looking forward to the day when we no longer
need to care for those positioner tubes in that sweet little nose!
she didn't skip a beat, though, in keeping up
with everyone these past few days!


we spent one morning at one of our favorite places - 
how could you not have fun with a name like that?!

investigating the chicken situation

our own little"Sal"
(one of her all-time favorite books




ma & pa even had the chance to put on 
fancy grown up clothes to attend a beautiful wedding...
without children
and the minivan
and goldfish snacks


we celebrated downtown for the 4th

even that crazy nose tape couldn't hinder
this little firecracker's fun

our grown-up girls
sniff sniff

Quinn & his buddy Sam

Gracie entertained everyone around us by hollering out
the color of every firework as they exploded...
"puwple!"
"gween!'
"wed, white and bwue!"