Today's happy moments

Today was a great day! 
Here are some of the things that made it happy:

One of my students completely transformed her bow grip!

Michael built this and took a picture for Daddy.

Michael's picture of me in the kitchen.

 Yummy Crock Pot Blueberry Cobbler!

A little overcooked based on the recipe...

will change cook time next time!
http://www.crystalandcomp.com/2011/09/crockpot-blueberry-cobbler/

 The boys are really into puppets right now...

Michael is pictured here with "Mr. Grumpy Pants".

He used to be scared of him and just started playing with him today!

 

A walk yesterday (note crocodile puppet) and today.

Michael is practicing holding Mr. Grumpy Pants like a baby.

Oh, and I read my Bible first thing this morning...

 and ended the evening reading the rhyme Bible with the kids.  

What a great day!

<>< Stacy

Drive-In Movies

Have you ever been to a drive-in theater?

We have been to 'The Big Mo' 2 times this year.  The cost is cheaper than a regular movie and you get to see 2 movies (if you can stay awake that long).  I highly recommend going in the fall when the movies start earlier because it gets dark earlier.  Or you can take a little snooze during the 2nd movie like I do....

This time, we saw BRAVE and THE AVENGERS. 

The kids watched the first movie and slept through the 2nd one.

 There are 3 fields with different movie showings.

Pack a picnic dinner!

Play on the playground to kill some time!

We brought a ball for Michael to play with too.

Get Comfy!  Bring pillows, blankets, lawn chairs, whatever you want!

Enjoy a movie old-fashioned style!

<>< Stacy



Oops! = Yum!

Have you ever messed up a recipe?

Well, I decided extremely last minute to make some crock pot Sloppy Joes Monday (from a cookbook, of course).  I realized about halfway through that I was missing an ingredient - canned condensed tomato soup.  Yikes.  I decided to substitue other tomato products, but I could tell it was going to be too thin for sandwiches (even after cooking it on high with the lid off...). 

Get creative?

So I thought, "what if I served it over pasta?".  Then, I googled it to make sure I wasn't crazy and found tons of Sloppy Joe Pasta recipes.  And so we had....

Sloppy Joe Pasta...........................extremely kid friendly too!

Topped it with cheese and served it with corn.  The kids gobbled it up and asked for lots more.  I am quite sure it turned out better than serving up Sloppy Joe Sandwiches.  So this "accident" may become a norm around here!  The recipe tasted excellent I might add!

<>< Stacy

"I'm....gonna soak up the fun....."

This weekend, we buried  St. Joseph...upside down...by "Nana's tree".  (That's the tree Casey's mom planted just before she died.  It moved to our house when Grandma and Grandpa Kondik moved to Florida.)  From what I am told, St. Joseph should help us get our house sold.  Especially this one that came all the way to us from Florida family!

After my realtor called this morning about a 6:30 pm showing, today became a day of CLEAN, feed the kids, CLEAN, teach, CLEAN, snack for the kids, CLEAN, teach, CLEAN. 

I simmered water with vanilla and cinnamon all afternoon

so the house would smell good.
(Can't bake cookies in a broken oven!)

We were out of the house at 6:15 and headed to chick-fil-a for free kidz meal night!  I was feeling terribly guilty for shuffling the kids around all day and giving them NO attention so I tried to make up for it this evening....

1. We played at Chick-fil-a!

(Then we ate ice cream too...)



2. We skyped with Daddy!

The boys and I sang, danced and acted crazy to their "VBS Spacequest" music.

Christopher knows more words than me!!

I'm sure Daddy was entertained...

3.  We read tons of stories from our awesome children's rhyme Bible.
Michael didn't want me to put it down (again)!

http://zondervan.com/9780310701972

 

 4.  Michael and I tucked Christopher in
and stayed up to build with blocks.
Uncle Kyle MADE these blocks for Michael's birthday.

Do you like our farm?

 I'd say we had a great evening to make up for a crazy day!

Of course, there is nothing sweeter than your little (big?) boy

asking you to cuddle for a few minutes and

telling you he loves you all night and all day. 

I'm so glad my life has slowed down right now so I can soak in these precious moments.

<>< Stacy

Exciting News!

Michael and Christopher
have something to tell you

...........................(read the shirts)............................

Biggest Brother Michael  &  Big Brother Christopher

Yes, you read the right.
We're expecting baby #3 on Janury 13th, 2013.

Here is baby at 11 weeks:

Baby had its hands up in front of its face. 
See the tiny little arms?

No, that's not a really big nose...
that's its hands in front if its face again.
(We've nicknamed the baby Pinnochio.)

I haven't been sick at all,

just tired, tired, tired.

Very tired!

We are all extremely excited!
The boys like to hug and kiss the baby.

Michael hopes it is a sister, but he "won't be mad if it's not."

-- he said he'll still love it if it's a brother --

(Whew! I was worried!)

We should find out if it is a boy or a girl in August.

But for now -- praying our house sells in the next 3 or 4 months!

Favorite parts of pragnancy so far:

Parking in expectant Mom parking spots.

Craving weird combinations like boiled peanuts and watermelon.



Potty Training?

Well, we tried this on Monday:

1st day on the job

But he's really not quite ready.

He's very willing and LOVES to try.

He constantly asked me to sit on "the froggy",

but he really doesn't know when he has to go.

My goal:  start in August.  For Real.

I did get a few good laughs from his "trying".
Pretend grunt, giggles and smiles, pretend grunt, giggles and smiles.....

<>< Stacy



Go Gamecocks!

Ok, I admit.  I don't really follow sports very much - especially without Casey here.

But I hear our baseball team has been rockin' again this year!

The boys have been exploring around in their

toy box (aka: dress-up bin)

and have insisted on dressing up like this........

So.....

Go Gamecocks!

 Christopher (2)

Michael (4)

* Gamecock costume from last year's 75% off Halloween clearance at Wally World!

 

<>< Stacy

Please vote!

Please hop on over to Sun Printing on facebook
and type "Happy Wheels" on their wall.
You can vote once per day in June.

Because sometimes I still cry over this:

Christopher Robyn 8 months old

And I try to forget intussusception statistics like this:

when untreated it can lead to death within 2–5 days

Well, I really try to forget everything.

But I remember everything.

 

 

Then I remember holding him for the first time
after 7 days on a ventilator.

And I thank God over and over for our little miracle.

 

Now we try to give back to organizations like Happy Wheels .

Happy Wheels made Mondays a little better with a new book or toy.

 

 

Please help Happy Wheels win $1,000
by typing "Happy Wheels" on the wall of Sun Printing.

Experimenting in the kitchen

For those of you who know Casey, you know very well why I have never cooked a decent meal in our first 6.5 years of marriage (well, I take that back - I made a mean fried rice once or twice).  Casey is an awesome 'take whatever you have and throw it together' cook.  Owns tons of cookbooks.  Knows a little about everything.  Loves spices.  Learned it all from Grandma.  Can't give the kitchen up to anyone in our house.  Finds cooking "stress relieving" (most of the time).

But Casey hasn't been around much lately - so I've been piecing together 'meals' for 6+ months.  Bless my children for eating whatever I came up with during the school year...(I may or may not have resorted to a lot of heat-it-up eat-it-up stuff). 

But I am excited to finally have some time to get busy in the kitchen. 

My style is mega different from Casey's,
but I think I'll enjoy cooking none-the-less. 

Today I got directions from my mom for making one of my all time favorites - stewed/creamed (?) tomatoes and corn! Our neighbors gave me 4 tomatoes from their garden and this was the perfect use for them.  I thought it turned out pretty good for a 1st try ----- it tasted yummy!

Still cooking...

Yum, yum!

The neighbors also gave me a HUGE bag of cherry tomatoes, so I attempted a good taboule salad with tomatoes and cucumber for tomorrow.

Looks like you may find me in the kitchen after all!  Watch out Casey!


<>< Stacy

"Superdad" Day!

I decided to celebrate Father's Day as "Superdad Day" this year!!!

Check out how I brought the theme to life.........

We started the morning with Superhero PJ's

I decorated the mantle with a printable Superdad banner, a Superdad card,
and some printable pages Michael colored for a special touch.
http://mydelightfuldesigns.wordpress.com/2010/06/17/everyday-hero/

Church with MY Superdad!
All 3 of us were there with him.
Best Dad EVER ~ my Superhero!

                A few snapshots with Daddy..............................................

 

I cut out a printable from that same website for Casey's gift bag
and attached some superhero candy to the other side. 

I even found black superhero wrapping paper!
Oh, and can't forget the Batman costume we brought from home...
the boys had a lot of fun with the superhero theme!

A "Superdad" shirt, a frame with picture that says "Superdad" and
matches Casey's new office, and a #1 Dad car magnet.

Coffee mugs that say:

" Dad - Man - Myth - Legend "
and

" Grandpa - Not all heroes wear capes "

 I also anticipated leftover cupcakes from the boys' birthday party on Saturday
and made printable Superdad cupcake stakes. 
http://www.piggybankparties.com/oink/2011/06/free-download-super-fathers-day.html

And that's how we celebrated the amazing
Dads in my life on "Superdad" day!

<>< Stacy

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Superman t-shirt - Target

Superhero mugs, wrapping paper, #1 Dad magnet, and cards - Hallmark

Superdad frame - Kohls

Superhero candy - Dollar Tree

Always keep an eye out for coupons!  Especially Hallmark and Kohls!