Pineapple Chicken Salad

Last weekend I made Pineapple Chicken Salad. It was quite delicious! Andy liked it as well and he was really unsure about it when I told him what I was making. We ate it in pita pockets. A great summer meal! Follow the link for picture and recipe.

Preschool Celebration

My handsome boy!

His smile is precious!

With his best friend Jack.

Cookie and lemonade. Ty loved being a big boy with Luke!

Saying goodbye to his teacher. He'll have 2 different teachers next year. We loved Ms. Kim! She teared up saying goodbye to Luke. She said he is such a neat, well mannered, nice boy. It made this mama proud!

Tuesday was Luke's last day of preschool for this year. On Wednesday they had their End of Year Celebration! Luke will continue at LE again next fall in the 4 year old class. I was able to take my personal day on Wednesday and spend a special day with Luke! It was fun to watch him sing songs and do all of the hand motions. Then we had a cookie and lemondae with his classmates. He chose pizza for his special lunch so we went to Puccini's. We had a great day!

Chicken Veggie Pasta

This is one of my long time favorite recipes. I don't think I've posted it on the blog before - can't remember! This has been a favorite of mine since I was in middle school I think. I used to ask for this at my grandparent's house when they would make my birthday dinner or something for a special occasion. The recipe originally came from my Aunt Susan, not sure where she got it! So it is a family recipe. Andy loves this as well and so do the boys!

Chicken Veggie Pasta
1/4 c. margarine
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
2 c. broccoli florets, chopped small
1 c. carrots, sliced
2 c. chicken, diced & cooked
1 c. pea pods (I usually leave these out)
1/4 c. green onions, sliced
1 c. water
2 T cooking sherry
2 tsp. chicken bullion
1/2 tsp tarragon
1/4 c. Parmesan, shredded
2 T water
1 T cornstarch

Cooked spaghetti

Melt margarine. Saute garlic 1 min. Add broccoli and carrots, cook 5 min. Add chicken, peas, onions, water, sherry, bullion, tarragon. Cook 3-5 minutes until veggies are crisp/tender. Combine cornstarch and water. Mix into veggies to thicken sauce. Serve over hot pasta and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Oh happy day!

Yesterday was an exciting day for me! I finally got my iphone! I've liked iphones since they came out. But back when they were $500 I thought those are cool but I'll never pay that much! When they went down to $99 I realized I could get one but had to wait for my current cell phone contract to expire. It expired this weekend! So after waiting a year and asking for $ for my birthday to get the phone, my waiting is over! I've had the money in my dresser since January. I went to the store last night and got the phone, a car charger, and a protective case. It wouldn't have been my first choice in a case but it is a safer case so I went with that. With 3 boys I never no what will happen! Last night and today Andy and I keep playing with the phone. I bought an iTunes gift card so I have downloaded a few paid apps - but mostly free apps! I love it! I have a feeling I'm going to use this thing for EVERYTHING! At Target today there was a book I saw that I wanted to read. So I just pulled out my phone, went to the note app and recorded the title! I am not going to be as forgetful now! I've filled stuff in the calendar through august. Still learning how to work the phone. Next: upload my music! That will wait until tonight! If tips, tricks, or fave apps? Comment!!

Update on my Ty

Tyler is 20 months old! I can't believe it - he'll be two before I know it! There has been a lot going on with my little fella so here's an update:
* He LOVES Thomas the Train right now. Obsessed! Andy said he woke up and started saying "Choo-choo" right away this morning. We have some Thomas videos, books, and toys so he is all set from his big brothers!
* Ty keeps getting sinus infections. Like all the time. So this past Saturday I took him in and found out he had yet another infection. The doctor and I were on the same page b/c we both said allergies?? and that maybe we need to start treating allergy symptoms and see how that goes. I was on the same page b/c I'd talked to Cara the pharmacist on the phone that morning and those were her thoughts!! Thanks Cara! Plus he is on an antibiotic to clear up the infection. If the allergy medicine doesn't do the trick we'll go to the allergist. He mentioned the dog and how it would be a waste of time to go to the allergist if we weren't willing to get rid of our dog...BUT not thinking about that until I find out that I have to! Poor Tyler is on a heavy dose of Augmentin. Plus we've started over the counter Zyrtec.
* Tyler had a great visit at CCH Ophthalmology yesterday. No changes = good news! His eyes were dilated, we were there two hours, and all was good. Thank you, Lord!
* He is saying so many new words - choo choo, peek a boo, paw-paw, bapple - love how he puts the /b/ at the beginning!, ewww, wow, !!! He is talking so much more than our other two were at this point. Andy gives Luke the credit for how much Luke talks to Ty during the day!!

Our little guy is doing great!

Going to CA!

So Silas is having ear surgery for his microtia in June. They have to travel to Los Angeles, CA for the surgery. Cara and Jason have to be at the hospital at 6am and then will have an 8-10 hour surgery to wait through. So I'm going along as the nanny! I'll stay with Madelyn and Caroline, help out around the house, and do whatever Cara and Jason need me to do. We leave on a Thursday morning and I will be home on Monday evening. They have to stay for 2 weeks. It will be hard to leave my boys for the first time for a trip but I know Cara and Jason need my help. I will be out of school, Andy will be taking care of the boys, my mom and dad bought my plane ticket, so there was no reason not to go help out! It will be fun! You can read more about Silas' surgery on Cara's blog. His right ear, pictured below will undergo microtia surgery to repair the outer ear. They will return in December to repair both the outer and inner left ear. His right inner ear cannot be repaired due to a facial nerve and the possibility of damaging the nerve so just the outer ear will be repaired this June.

Guatemala 900

In honor of my friend and teammate, Jenn, please read the following excerpt take from her sister's blog Bio Girl. The link I took the excerpt from is here.

Jenn and her husband have been working on their adoption for two and a half years. They have been trying to start a family for seven. After four IUI's, an IVF and an FET they decided that adoption was the way to bring their family together. They were quickly placed with their beautiful daughter, and hoped to have her home to hug and kiss and show her the love within six months. Unfortunately that is not what has happened. Due to government issues and dragging of feet sweet Avery is living in a foster home in Guatemala. They can and do go visit her, but the date of bringing her home is still unknown.

This is not a unique case. Jenn and her husband are part of the Guatemala 900. Nine hundred children who are caught in the middle of a political battle. The parents of these 900 are petitioning Washington to come to their aid. To assist them through relations with the Guatemalan government to release these nine hundred children to their loving American homes.

Please support Jenn and Chris by signing this petition to bring Avery home. It is a heartbreaking situation and maybe this will help. Thank you!

Happy Mother's Day

What a great day it has been! Andy called me this morning while he was backpacking and told me to go to his nightstand and open the drawer. Inside I found the necklace I'd really been wanting and a very sweet card. It was such a nice surprise! I made banana bread this morning and Wilson woke up and quickly remembered to tell me Happy Mother's Day - even without any reminders! When Luke got up he brought me presents he made at preschool that he had hidden with daddy's help under his bed. They were precious. After church the boys and I hung out outside for a couple of hours - I read a magazine and helped Luke with his new bubble machine. Wilson dug in the dirt and rode his bike. Tyler took a nap! Then Andy returned from his camping trip. Tonight we met my parents at Qdoba for dinner and then went and got icecream. It was a great day!

I am so blessed to be a mom of three wonderful boys. I love it - almost every minute! Ha!

It's been one year!

We've lived in our "new" house for a whole year now! Time has flown. It feels like we've been here forever. I am so happy with the location - close to work for both Andy and myself and we absolutely love being on a court. It is perfect for our family. There is no traffic and there are tons of neighborhood kids that the boys like to play with outside. We are so blessed to have our home. In the time that we have been here Andy has worked on many projects. We've also had the stove replaced and the windows replaced. He built a laundry room and redid the cast iron pipes under the concrete floor of the garage as PVC pipes. Andy built a treehouse for the boys in the backyard which is 90% done and cut down a dead pine tree. He has fixed countless problems from the previous homeowners home fix-its that were done incorrectly! We have hung some things on the walls and have curtains only in the living room but we are getting some important projects done!

Things I still want to do in the next few years: repaint the upstairs, get a new front door (the big door, not the glass door), new shutters, redo the soffit with vinyl, drywall the basement so there isn't paneling, paint the play room, landscape the front yard and stump removal for 3 stumps in the backyard. Some of those are a bigger priority than others but those are the things that quickly came to mind!

We are so happy to have found the right home!

Goodbye Grizzly...

hello handsome!!!

Much, much, much prefer this look compared to the crazy pic above! I'm not sure what he did to the lighting but it makes him look like a character from a scary movie! This is my Andy, the one I met in highschool before facial hair. I told him it made me think I was kissing him in high school again! He lost 7-10 years by shaving the beard so now it looks like I robbed the cradle! He plans to immediately start growing the goatee back and I'm okay with that. As long as it stays trimmed and under control. :) I have to admit it sure was weird to see him without the beard. It's been at least 8 years since I've seen Andy like this. It took the boys and I a little while to get used to it and Andy even said he didn't recognize the stranger in the mirror at first. Thankful for razors and trimmers today! Ha! I love you. Andy!

Homemade Pizza

Tonight I tried Annie's Eats Perfect Pizza Crust and Chicken Ranch Pizza. We really enjoyed the new pizza! I also made one with just pepperoni for the boys. Andy usually makes the pizza dough so this was my first time. It worked really well. I wasn't a pro at shaping the pizza but it was tasty! Annie recently posted a Pizza Dough Tutorial which was helpful. Click the links for the recipes and pictures.