lady lancers....

....and so it begins....lady lancer basketball.....yesterday was the first game....we all dressed in our red, white & blue and headed over to cheer on the lancers...

basketball games are going to be a bit more of a challenge for me than the football games....
bleachers & indoor activity + two year old boy = troublesome situation
.....i think my kids ate their way through the two basketball games.....when they weren't eating snacks they were sprawling out with the bag of goodies i brought from home.....

we resorted to candy too!.....

overall it really wasn't a bad experience.....grant was definitely *over it* by the time we were leaving......but i really couldn't have asked for better.....as for brett, he could have asked for a little better.....realistically though, for a first game, the girls did great.....they didn't get the win but that's ok......many more games to redeem themselves...

Way to Go Lady Lancers!!!

the recent happenings of.....

...sissy & porkchop

sissy update.....my daughter read me two books last night.....my daughter READ to me!!! it was a precious, beautiful sound.....

porkchop update....one week from today we will be at children's hospital......grant will undergo surgery to fix his hernia.....poor kid has no idea....at least he is young enough that he won't remember anything and he will be back to himself in a few short days...

those are the recent happenings in our family......the above pictures were taken today on our lazy, no school-no work day.....grant has some serious bed head going on :)

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Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup with Italian Grilled Cheese

Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup with Italian Grilled Cheese

Soup

1 pkg. (9oz) Refrigerated 3 Cheese Tortellini
2 boxes Campbell’s Select Creamy Tomato Bisque
2 boxes Campbell’s Select Italian Tomato Soup
1 tbsp fresh chopped basil
Shredded Parmesan cheese
- Combine 1st 4 ingredients and bring to a boil over medium heat, then simmer 10 -20 mins.
- Ladle into bowls, top with parmesan cheese

Sandwich

1 loaf good fresh Italian Bread
Pesto
Sliced Mozzarella
Sundried or Sliced Tomatoes (your preference)
- Layer - bread, slice cheese, spread of pesto, tomato, slice of cheese, bread
- Brush top of bread with olive oil and place into a heated grill pan or skillet & cook, top other side with olive oil and flip.
- this could be done in a panini press

Enjoy!! Bon Appetit!

grands & bikes....

after the children's show saturday brett & i went our separate ways.....me to the christmas village & he and the kiddos to the uab blazer homecoming game....mimi & pops met up with them at half-time.....and the blazers pulled out a win ~ whoohoo!!

sunday afternoon after church, lunch & the falcon's game......we headed outside to enjoy the beautiful weather......

audrey has decided that she wants a new, bigger bike from santa this year.....a feasible request....but she has also decided that she is going to ride it without training wheels.....hmm, a little harder request.....sunday she gave it the good ol' college try....everyone had a turn *teaching* her.....though she did get quite ill when she finally realized she wasn't going to learn to ride in one day.......and even more ill when she realized there would be a bit of pain & bruising involved.....oh, well....she will figure it out soon...

tired......

i am tired.

i mean worn slap out.

i have lots to blog about.....great pics from this weekend & mimi and pops visit, stories to tell about riding bikes, reading books & grant's upcoming surgery....but i can't.

i am too tired.

i am too worn out.

being a working mom is exhausting.....i mean teeth dragging, baggy eyes, unbelievably exhausting......but being a mom, wife & nurse is rewarding, beautiful and amazing ~ most of the time......but tonight in my pity-party state... it. is. just. exhausting......and let me say this......i am not only defining working as work outside the home.....i have several good friends who *stay home* that work just as hard as i do and i am sure are just as tired.....

so this is it for now.

no pictures.

no funny stories.

just me.

being tired.

being pitiful.

promising to update soon.

i am off tomorrow.

hopefully i will be a bit more productive with my posting.

happy day....

Happy Birthday Brett/Daddy!!!

We Love You!

children's show....

we had the honor & privilege yesterday morning to head down to children's hospital for a special children's show & breakfast.....the Tum Tum Tree Foundation hosted the show....the tum tum tree foundation is a non-profit corporation that raises funds through a public wine tasting, silent auction and live auction held annually.....this weekend was their big event.....

one of the organizations that Tum Tum supports is Mitchell's Place and we are so fortunate they do!! sandy naramore, the educational director of mitchell's invited us to attend the event....so fun and so touching.....i loved seeing a few patients of children's able to get out of their rooms for a little bit of enjoyment instead of treatment....





after breakfast the kiddos decided to try out a little face paint.......you may remember from a couple weeks ago that grant wanted nothing to do with getting his face painted....well, he changed his mind ~ to say the least.....

audrey decided on a sweet, small hello kitty......grant ~ yeah, he wanted a tiger!

and a tiger he was!!!! ROAR......

miss sandy with her kids from mitchell's place....

watching the show!! scott land did an amazing job with his marionettes.....so cool!

we love miss sandy.....thanks again for the invitation & thanks again tum tum tree for all you do!

book fair....

miss priss had her first school book fair this week......

yesterday it was time for her class to visit....unfortunately i was working & brett was in a meeting but we sent her with a little envelope of money and she had free range....well, $20 range .....

she made three great choices and get this ~ even came back with change!! wow.....that won't happen for long :)

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Cajun Shrimp Pasta

pic from here

Ingredients

2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 cup chopped green onions
1/2 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 pound scallops
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 pound dry fettuccine pasta

Preparation

- Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente.
- Meanwhile, pour cream into large skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until just about boiling. Reduce heat, and add herbs, salt, peppers, onions, and parsley. Simmer 7 to 8 minutes, or until thickened.
- Stir in seafood, cooking until shrimp is no longer transparent. Stir in cheeses, blending well.
- Drain pasta. Serve sauce over noodles.

** i don't know how cajun this meal is but it is spicy! feel free to leave out the white pepper if you don't have any.....it will be just as good....this is a great meal with a small side salad and yummy garlic bread......also, if you are not a fan of scallops, add more shrimp!

Enjoy!......Bon Appetit!

mommy moments......

here's the post where i tell on myself, where i show you just how human, not perfect i am.....ugh.....

....i had a bad mommy moment yesterday....though i try to rationalize it & talk myself into feeling better....i just can't and i need to vent....and you all, bless you, get to *hear* it....

realizing that my current shopping escapade was going to take longer than expected i decided to change audrey's transportation for the afternoon.....i can handle this, no biggie ~ i've got my new *fancy* phone with internet & email....i'll just handle this while i'm out and email her teacher & brett.....yeah, i got handled alright....ugh....audrey was to walk to her daddy's room instead of carpool with me...

...as i am finishing up my afternoon of spending birthday money & running errands i call brett to let him know i will be there in about 20 mins.....from the tone in his voice i knew something wasn't quite right...."um, audrey's teacher didn't get the email."

gulp.

"she made it down to me, but she was upset." .....translation ~ she had been crying, a lot...she was not a happy camper...saying she was a very sensitive child would be an understatement...

rage.....ugh!!

"what do you mean??? i emailed her teacher early enough!!".....so my sassy, too big for my britches self pulls up my cell phone....looks through my emails.....ready to handle this situation.....and . i . see . it. - error message, -- your email did not reach it's intended receipent.....

gulp.

i call brett back....."let me talk to audrey." here is where it gets even worse.....the sweet, pitiful little voice of my baby girl ~ telling me she was the last child at carpool....that she wanted to know why her mommy wasn't there....that she was wondering what happened......

tears. my. tears.

i begged, pleaded & groveled for forgiveness from my five year old child.....i reassured her over and over and over that it would never happen again.....i felt as tiny as a mouse...small, terrible mommy.....

hugs & kisses.

as soon as i got to the school to pick her up from basketball practice i just held her tight....kissed her up.....didn't want to let.her.go!

lesson learned.

wow, was i humbled today. i learned my lessons quickly. i will not rely on technology for the well being of my children. i will be there for her. i will make mistakes. i am not perfect. but i will learn from my mistakes and move on.

now i am moving on and letting this go......audrey is fine, we talked through it, she forgave me, she knows how much she is loved and then we moved on.....i have stopped beating myself up...but man, this was one of the hardest mommy moments ever...

**disclaimer....she was perfectly safe. surrounded by adults the whole time. and her daddy is only 100 yards down in the other connected building.

raggedy ann.....

there once was a little girl.....

who's mommy liked to dress up, just to give her a thrill....

she was a chunky little girl, with round fat cheeks.....

with her buster browns on her feet,

she would bounce around town at halloween begging trick or treat.....

Guess Who???