Time has flown, our garden has grown

It's hard to believe that we started our garden back in April and now it's June already. Our kids are growing up as fast as our garden is. Everett is attending his first Vacation Bible School at our church this week and Camille is beginning to form a few words and has now mastered going down the stairs. We've had a good summer so far, including an amazing trip to Brazil.

And for the photos...

A view of the whole garden

Everett v. The corn

Zuchinni (we've had 3 ripen already...yummy)

Green Beans

Grape Tomatoes

Everett and the freshly picked zuchinni

Camille and the sidewalk chalk

We've also got broccoli and carrots coming up in the garden as well!

How does your garden grow?

Allen and Everett dug up a small area in our yesterday to start a garden.  We're going to just start off with a few veggies.  We're hoping to do squash or zucchini, green beans, tomatoes and maybe one or two other things.  I'm excited about having some fresh veggies this summer!  

Everett is super excited about picking out the seeds and had so much fun digging in the dirt.  If this small garden works out well, we're hoping to expand a little more each year.

We'll keep you posted and may be sharing some of our produce this summer...depending on how it goes.

My Top 10 Kitcheny Things

1.  Jane's Krazy Mixed-Up Seasonings "Original Mixed-Up Salt".  I love this rubbed on pork chops, chicken or steak.  It's delicious in veggies, potatoes, etc.  My mom always used this growing up and now I've really come to appreciate it.

2.  Pasta Pot.  I have a cheap one from Target we got as a wedding gift.  It's just a regular oblong pot with a lid that sort of screws on.  The lid has several holes in it so you can drain the pasta with the lid.  I love not having to use a colander.

3.  Rubbermaid Stain Shield Containers.  We have a small set and I refuse to collect or use any other type of containers.  I can't stand a bunch of mismatched lids and containers.    (Probably need to convert to BPA free eventually but for now these will do.)

4.  OXO mixing bowls.  They have non-slip bottoms and handles and a pourable side and are just easy.

5.  Coke Zero.  It's really grown on me and I like it better than Diet Coke now.

6.  Spaghetti Pie.

8 oz. spaghetti, cooked

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 lb. ground beef, cooked

2 cups spaghetti sauce

4 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

Toss cooked spaghetti, Parmesan cheese, and egg.  Place in a 9" pie plate.  Press along bottom and sides to form crust.  Mix meat and sauce.  Spread over noodles and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, let stand 5 minutes before cutting.  8 servings. 

I make this every other week...definitely a staple.  Thanks to my sister for this one.

7.  OXO Locking Tongs with Nylon Heads.  Got these as a gift recently from my DH and I'm loving them.  They're perfect for non-stick pans.

8.  Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip Muffin Mix.  Delicious and often BOGO at Publix with a coupon!

9.  Baked-Crisp Parmesan Chicken.

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

¼ cup red-wine vinegar

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes

½ teaspoon dried oregano

1 garlic clove, minced

6-8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 

1 cup fresh breadcrumbs

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons dried parsley

¼ teaspoon ground pepper

1. Whisk together oil, vinegar, salt, red-pepper flakes, oregano, and garlic in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.  Add chicken to marinade in dish, turning each piece to coat.  Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 8 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Stir together bread crumbs, cheese, parsley, and pepper in a medium bowl. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.  

3. Dredge each chicken breast in breadcrumb mixture to coat; shake off excess. Transfer to prepared baking sheet.

4. Bake chicken until breadcrumbs are golden and chicken is cook

ed through, 45 to 50 minutes. Using a spatula, loosen chicken from sheet before serving.  

You can estimate the ingredients, depending on the amount of chicken you're cooking.  I make this one all the time too.

10.  Stretch-Tite Plastic Wrap.  The best, hands down.  My mother-in

-law has used this for years and when I tried it at her house I couldn't believe how great it was.  It's fairly inexpensive and lasts forever.  

There you go...my top 10.  If Oprah can do it, so can I.  You just don't get any freebies with me.  I might do some other top 10 lists soon!

my boy

Everett is in that stage where sometimes he seems all grown up and other times he still seems like my little baby.  He's a joy to have around and is such a sweetheart.   I snapped these photos of him yesterday afternoon.  I love this sweater on him and I wanted to have some photos of him in it as a memory.  All the poses were his idea...

She's 9 Months

The Simple Things

There were 3 toys in our collection that I liked a lot but they each drove me crazy because they either came apart or had little parts that would come off for no apparent reason.  I finally fixed the problems...superglue to the rescue!

The little blue handles on these pliers would come off all the time, why is that?  No more!

All four pieces of this ball game would come apart.  It would constantly be in four pieces on our floor...never again!

This Little People Pirate Ship is so cute but the green stand and the flag both were made to take off and on.  The only problem is the never stayed on.  Now they do.

I know these things are small but it makes me happy to know they won't come apart anymore!

Cute Kids

We've been cooped up a little lately because of rain and colder temps.  Sometimes it's fun to see what kids can come up with even when stuck indoors.  

We happened to have a special delivery.

When we did brave the outdoors for a short walk...the kids looked cuter than ever with their hats on.

Superman and a Butterfly

We had a fun Halloween. Allen had the entire day off, which was fabulous for all of the errands I had to run...thanks babe! We went to a neighborhood party and then we each took Everett around to a few houses. His favorite candy was a marshmallow pumpkin, much to the disappointment of Allen...who can't imagine a kid not choosing something chocolate!

Camille was a cute little butterfly...thanks to Aunt Kate for the wings! :)



Everett told us about 3 months ago that he wanted to be a robot for Halloween...that is until he uncovered some of his cousin Oliver's old Superman pajamas from a stash of clothes I had. Then he wavered between a robot and Superman for awhile. Allen and I really wanted him to go as a robot because we thought it would be more creative. Plus, his Superman pajamas were missing the cape.

Alas, after a trip to Home Depot to buy the robot making essentials, he no longer wanted to be a robot. Instead of insisting that he be a robot, we settled for Superman. I went out the next day and bought material to make a cape. Allen and I put one together that night...which was no small feat since we don't have a sewing machine. All in all, I'm glad he was Superman. Half the time I had a hard time just getting him to wear his cape...it would have been impossible to try to get him to wear a whole robot costume.



Apparently Superman was popular this year. Here is Everett with two other Superfriends from our neighborhood.

keeping track of life

How do you keep up with all of the things you have going on? I keep everything in a little pocket weekly planner, day timer, which I always have in my purse. I am a snob about it...it must be an actual "Day Timer", not a day runner or a day tracker or a day whatever. I LOVE IT! You keep track of your whole week on just one page, there are these little tear off corners which make it easy to keep track of what week you're on, and the planner is slim and tiny and hardly takes up any room in my purse. There have been a few panic-stricken times that I thought I had lost it but I luckily have never actually have. I have had one every year since 1998, when I was first introduced to them by my friend, Mia. It's funny to look back on the old ones and see what I had going on. It's also a great place for me to keep track of my kid's milestones. Allen's tried to convince me lately to use Google calendar, but the thing is, I don't have Google Calendar with me when I'm at playgroup or at the park, etc. I guess if I had a blackberry, that would work, but since I don't, I'll keep my day timer for now. It works for me and for our family.

Yeah for my 100th post...if you're keeping track. :)

Pumpkin Patch

On Monday we went to a little pumpkin patch at a church down the street. Aferwards Allen and Everett carved our pumpkin. Everett wanted to do a scary face this year with lots of teeth. Here are some photos of the evening:

Halloween post still to come...