ants

Called the bug man earlier this week because we have ants in our kitchen. About once every year or couple of years we get the same type in the same place. He comes. And then it’s over.

Yesterday afternoon the girl was eating a snack in  her room when all of the sudden I heard an AAACK sound coming from her room followed by a lot of spitting PPPHHHTT sounds. Come to find out that little snack she’s been stashing on her desk for a little too long ended up with some little teeny buddies.

Ants. So I called the bug man…again…this morning. After I explained what they look like, he paused and asked me if I kept one. He knows I always keep one if it’s something like ants, because he needs to know exactly what they are before he can treat them. So yes, I saved him some.

He thought for a minute and told me they don’t sound like anything he’s ever seen before. He read that there is a new kind just coming into Texas. So now he’s wondering if we’ve got them. Nice.

Leave it to us to be the first!

I also had to ask if it would hurt if she accidentally ate one. Very harmless. Protein.

Good to know. In case ya know, she ever decides to be on Survivor.

*my* chicken and dumplin’s

I got a cookbook for Mother’s Day! I’ve been reading Christy Jordan’s blog, Southern Plate, for quite a while and decided that I needed her cookbook for Mother’s Day. And being the sweetie that he is…and knowing that some good food was sure to follow…hubby obliged.

I really enjoyed reading Southern Plate. It’s more than just a cookbook, but also a collection of stories about her family and her southern heritage. It made me laugh and made me cry a couple of times too.

It also made me hungry. Very very hungry.

When we go out to one certain place, my hubby always orders chicken and dumplings.

Or chicken and dumplin’s, that is.

Christy’s recipe reminded me that I could make them at home. But I chose not to follow her recipe because of fat content and dairy products.

So I created my own recipe. And it got three thumbs up from the fam!

I opened a carton of chicken broth and started bringing it to a boil. I added boneless, skinless chicken breasts (would use tenders from here on out) and brought that to a gentle boil covered until the chicken was done. I did end up cutting up the chicken to speed things along. Using tenders I wouldn’t have to do that step.

I then added two cans of chicken gravy. Many recipes in books and online use a cream soup here but since I can’t use those, I opted for the gravy. I used to buy Campbells brand, but now I just get Great Value at Walmart and it tastes exactly the same. So two cans of that and stir.

Then I mixed up two batches of “dumplings” from the recipe on the side of the box of Bisquick Heart Smart. I think it ended up being about 3/4 of a cup (or a little more) of baking mix and about 6 tablespoons of water. (recipe calls for milk, but I subbed the water) It turns out fine. Mix until it seems like it wants to stick together. I floured my fingers and kneaded it in the bowl a little bit.

When the chicken was done, I spooned out rounded eating spoons of the dough and put them in the broth, careful to space them out. I reduced the heat to a bit over simmer and covered for 10 minutes, then continued to cook uncovered for 10 minutes.

The gravy was a little thin so I mixed a little cornstarch with water and thickened things up just a tad.

And we didn’t have a single drop leftover.

The end.

the best part of picture day

There are so many things I could tell you about going out to take pictures the other day.

I could tell you about learning about being the “trusty assistant”. It was sort of fun learning about using a diffuser to shade her a bit from too much light and lessen the possibility of dark shadows on her face.

I could tell you about just how much fun it was just to be out on such a gorgeous day. Soon enough it will be stifling hot and miserable at 10 am.

But the real thing I wanted to tell you about was the great attitude my girl has about some things. As we were pulling out of the driveway, she was commenting on how “all” the girls at her old school felt the need to slather on a bunch of spackle makeup every day. And how they spent forever in front of the mirror to primp during the school day.

Her comment to me as we were pulling out of the driveway…”I don’t have to put all that makeup on to look pretty”. And ya know what, she’s right! She doesn’t.

She never wears makeup and it doesn’t bother her when she’s around those caked on girls at all. She doesn’t feel the pressure to conform or be like everybody else. And I’m glad.

It reminded me of a day many years ago when I was dating my hubby. He told me that I didn’t need to be wearing makeup to look pretty in his eyes. That statement made me feel like the most beautiful girl in the world.

When the email arrived that I could go and have a look at my girl’s prints, I was so excited. And as you already know, they’re fantastic!

But the neatest thing was when she came through the kitchen and saw herself. “I look pretty!”

Yes you do, my dear.

And now I guess I’m the second prettiest girl in the world. And that’s ok.

Looking forward to the day when she meets her someone special and he tells my fresh-faced girl she’s pretty just the way she is. Because it’s true.

free style school pictures

Wednesday we did something super fun.

I decided a while back that if this home school girl was going to have “school pictures” then I had better come up with a plan.

Cuz Grandma is waiting. : )

Thankfully I have a sweet friend who is also a super fantabulous, incredibly amazing blogger, Antique Mommy. But she is also an equally amazing photographer and Photoshop artist, which is easy to see on her blog and photography area.

Soooo, I asked real sweet like and she agreed to take us/her out for a fun little photo shoot.

The results are amazing! : )

This is one of my favorite shots…just straight on!

But being that Antique Mommy is not just a photographer but also an artist, she saw many more possibilities behind the lens than I ever could.

Enjoy! (and yes, I’m freaking out a little since I don’t do a lot of pics of my girl on here. Watermarks away!)

Since my hubby is a snarky one, he had to caption this…woe is me, I’m a modern girl trapped in log cabin times..I’ll never play Nintendo again.

But I think I’ll adjust. If Laura Ingalls could do it, so can I! : )

This is one of my favorites. I love the lush green in the background contrasted against her skin and sweater.

And AM couldn’t resist a little fun with Photoshop, since she’s a genius at it. So she gave us a little glimpse into the future with this little trick.

Look mom, no braces!

She took over 200 pictures of my girl. Of course not every picture can be a winner, but we came pretty darn close. The ones I shared here are just a few from the very tippy top of the iceberg. She sent me 80 amazing shots!

There is so much more to tell about this fun day that is a post unto itself. Check back soon for the rest of the story!

sausage casserole

I used to make this yummy casserole. But the hubs wasn’t completely in love with it so I quit making it.

I also wasn’t too sad that he wasn’t in love with it since the recipe called for a pound of sausage.

Holy heart attack, batman!

So I stopped making it. But I never forgot about it.

I dusted it off the other day to make it for lunch group.

But with one important difference….lean chicken sausage!

We have a great store near us that makes their own sausage with lean chicken breast. And it tastes the same as pork sausage…and it’s not loaded with FAT.

So! If you promise me you will only use this recipe with the leanest possible meat, I will share my recipe with you. Cuz it’s good! (no excuses either..I’ve seen lean turkey sausage at Walmart!)

Pinky swear?

Ok! : )

It’s called Sausage Casserole. And it’s great for any meal from brunch on through dinner.  And the leftovers freeze well too. It’s just a great all around recipe.

Recipe:

• 1 package sausage
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 green pepper chopped
• 4 1/2 cups water
• 2 packages Campbells noodle soup
• 1/2 cup long grain rice

Preheat oven to 350.

Bring 4 1/2 cups water to a boil. Add the 2 packages of noodle soup and the 1/2 cup rice. Cook/gently boil for 7 minutes uncovered.

Meanwhile, crumble sausage and brown with onion and green pepper until fully cooked.

Mix together in an oblong casserole dish (8 by 11 etc) and bake uncovered for one hour.

And then eat it! : )

This is the noodle soup. I don’t buy this sort of thing for anything else and most people get confused about it, so I thought I would show a pic of it. It has two packets inside and you use both in this recipe.

There is another brand called Mrs. Grass that I have found at Kroger. It has the noodles and the flavoring separate so you could use both packs of noodles and one packet of flavoring for less sodium, if that is a concern.

This recipe isn’t going to win any culinary awards, but it tastes really, rilly good.

Guess what we’ve having for dinner? : )

the other side

Happy Monday to you. : )

Thank you all for your sweet comments last week. Thankful to say that the week went by pretty well.

This year the dates fell in such a way that all of our ‘days’ hit in one week. Monday was his last day. Tuesday was ‘the’ day. And Friday was the memorial.

So it had the potential to be one very long week.

Thankfully for the most part, it went well.

Monday night was hard. In tears by the end of the day “for no reason”.

The rest of the week went fine.

But as always, I’m glad to be on the other side.

last day

We’ve been discussing the (possible/probable/whatever) move a lot around our house. But this week we’re kind of distracted.  

Today is the last day.

The last day Bub…ok…Landon..was with us. I thought you all might like to know Bub’s real name. Although more often than not, we speak of him as Bub ourselves.

Anyway, today is the 9th anniversary of Landon’s last day with us.

He was bedridden this last week. He wanted to play computer games at one point, so I carried him to the chair in big sister’s room and he played his little Tonka truck game for a while. And he napped and woke up on this day, as if normal.

But he was hurting.

Later in the evening, the girl and I curled up near the couch where Landon was resting and watching tv. Each of us drinking him up in our own way…talking and saying silly things and just speaking gently to him of our love.

Later in the evening, Daddy gave him a bath. His last. He wanted a mint that night so we gave him a mint and put on a medicine patch. And sent him to bed. You can read more of this night here.

So just for now..for this week..unless I am feeling particularly “in the mood”, the house hunt is off. I just can’t handle the stress of this week coupled with looking at houses and trying to decide another place to live.

And leaving the house we all lived in.

Just can’t handle doing all of that at once.

Today is a special day. It’s a day we lived life together. We hugged. We kissed. We laughed.

We loved.

And we still do.