08.30.07

A very BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY goes out to our other nephew named Erik whose birthday is today! And, he also turns 16!!! Wow. Hope your day is great!

Today, I am entering into the Tasty Thursday entries from the Pumpkin Patch. Be sure to check it out for other great recipes. This recipe has been the topic of so much discussion this summer. So, I thought I'd post it here. It originally came from John's aunt Leni in April and now it has been passed around the family. Here it is:

Italian Appetizer Bites
2 pkgs. (8 oz. each) refrigerated crescent rolls

1/2 lb deli salami

1/2 lb sliced provolone cheese

1/2 lb sliced boiled deli ham

7 eggs

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 jars (12 oz. each) roasted red peppers, drained

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Unroll one package of the crescent rolls and use dough to line bottom of prepared baking dish. Pinch seams together with fingers.

Cover rolls with half of the salami, provolone and ham. Lightly beat together 6 of the eggs and the Parmesan cheese; pour half evenly over the top. Top with half of the roasted red peppers. Repeat layering with remaining salami, cheese, ham, egg mixture and peppers. Top with remaining package of crescent rolls.

Lightly beat remaining egg and brush over top. Cover dish with foil; bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 30 more minutes. Cool for 1 hour; cut into 32 squares and serve.

This is great served warm or cold. Also makes for a great dinner when served with a salad. Yummy!!!!

08.29.07

A BIG ol' HAPPY BIRTHDAY goes out to my nephew Eric who is turning 16 today. That little baby boy had a rough entrance into the world, but he is now a strong 6'4" boy who has a driver's permit! Amazing.



Things are going so well for Lily at school this week. She is loving 2nd grade and thriving in her new teacher's class. It is fun to listen to her when she comes home and tells me all about her day.



Shelly and I are spending some great quality time together. I also love listening to her as we play or drive around town on our errands. She is so witty and fun. Tomorrow we will visit her school for the Open House for the 3 year old class. Here is a picture of Shelly washing her hands under the faucet light...cool and unique gadget.

08.27.07

We finished out the last weekend before school starts with great company and good times. John's aunt and uncle were here visiting and we all went to Smith Mountain Lake and rented a boat for the day. It was peaceful and relaxing. A perfect day on the water.

Today is the big day for Lily. She headed off to the bus stop and on to the bus for her first day in 2nd grade. She looked so cute and was very eager to get to school. She said she was a little nervous and it felt like she had butterflies in her tummy. I know Lily will do well and be a great success. I was weepy last night before I went to sleep and got choked up several times this morning thinking about her heading off to school. I was not as easy as Lily when it came to going off to school. I cried for several years about going and really hated the idea of leaving my mother behind. So, I find that I internalize many of those feelings and have a hard time realizing that Lily will be just fine. I am so thankful that she is strong and brave. She is a good girl and a great little student. I know she will be fine.

As I worry about my second grader going to elementary school, I am also thinking of my two sister-in-laws who sent their daughters off to college this week. I can only imagine what that will be like in 10 years!!! Pass the box of tissues, now!

Well, I think I have convinced myself that Lily is going to make it...I just hope I do!!!! And away she goes...

08.23.07

Wow, the other day I received this award from a blogging friend at Kuky Ideas. She was having a down day and I let her know that I could empathisize with her situation. So, she gave me this terrific award. At a time like this, I appreciated it so much. So much to say about life in general, but just thinking some of it may have to wait until later. Suffice it to say we have a lot on our minds. Back to the award, I am now instructed to award the Nice Matters Award to 7 other bloggers...so, here goes: Missi, Patti, Barbara, Erin, Lara, Nancy, and Amy. These are all ladies who have supported me in my blogging and shared such fun bits about themselves through their own blogs. I hope they will enjoy this award and go on to tag 7 more bloggers who know that Nice Matters.

Today is the day that we head to school for the Meet 'n Greet. Lily will meet her new 2nd grade teacher and I will work the PTA membership booth. It's an exciting evening for all of us. We found out yesterday that the school bus will finally come by our house to pick up Lily. We are thrilled about this. Previously, we had to drive about 2 miles to her bus stop. So, this will be a welcome change.

Haeve a super day!

08.20.07

Lily had her 7 year-old checkup today and did very well. She has been blessed with John's perfect eyesight and scored 20/20 on her eye test! Other the other hand, she luckily has her mother's hearing...perfect!!! The visit ended with two new vaccinations. She handled them well. We celebrated the doctor's visit with a trip to Krispy Kreme and then headed to Costco where my bill totalled a mere $22.00!!!

I'm attemping to embed another video. This may be a repeat for some of my frequent visitors. So, here I go:

This made me laugh. Thought I'd share it. Enjoy.

08.18.07

Very fun times at the big party tonight. The pool was great, the weather was out of control hot, the food was good, and the kids had fun. Minutes before the movie started I began getting weepy. I was looking around at the 14 children there and was overwhelmed with the idea of the awesome memories they were making together. I'm a total and complete emotional wimp about these types of things. Oh, and for the record, the moms all agreed that HSM1 was better than HSM2...but the music was still fun. So, here are some photos from our evening:

Pool girlsDinner timeThe pencil brownie cakeThe countdown for HSM2Chilling out watching the movie Silly girls
Half time with John being sillyThe Boys
Hannah and Lilly K.

Getting Sleepy
Well, good times for all involved. Now to look forward to the next big thing!!! HSM3??????

08.16.07

What time is it???? It's Summer vacation!!!!!

We are all about the HSM2 premiere tomorrow night. We'll be attending the 2nd annual back to school pool party and then all watching the movie afterward. Some fun times in store. Today I downloaded the soundtrack from itunes and we have been jamming out to it all day. Very excited about all of this. We are even rewatching HSM 1 to get more in the mood. And, if that isn't enough...we went to see Hairspray today. I think due to these fabu musicals we will have this amazing group of young adults who all want to be Broadway stars one day. These musicals are all so inspiring!!! Have fun and sing your hearts out. I know we all will be in NC.

08.14.07

Yesterday, I decided that I wanted to create this yummy looking pie recipe. I used my computer as my cookbook and arranged the ingredients for preparation.All went perfectly...until...the girls wanted me to play school with them. So, with the timer on I headed upstairs for a little schooling and reminded myself to check on the pie at 6:05. Well, at about 6:15 I finally heard the timer going off downstairs. I flew down and pulled out the pie that no longer had a pretty golden crust, but now was looking pretty dark and there was absolutely no jiggle to the custard in the shell. I prepared it for a treat last night...leaving out the overcooked information for John. At the end of the dessert eating, we both agreed this one needed to hit the trash...oh well, I tried...maybe next time.

So, today I decided that I would do a little sewing. I made Shelly two embroidered shirts (by hand...the embroidering not the shirt!). I think their kind of cute. I still need to wash them and then evaluate the workmanship. I must add that I have only embroidered one other item and that was a shirt for Shelly one week ago!!! So, these little creations are lacking lots of technique and skill, but they suit me just fine.

08.14.07

So, after watching the video for Who Knew by Pink, Lily asked me why someone would name their child Pink. I told her she probably changed her name once she became a rock star. Lily asked me what my rock star name would be and I told her Pinky Pie and she said hers would be Jessie.

So there's our little conversation for the day. Much more interesting than the 120 minutes I spent on the phone with the Dell guy, Clay. Although, he did fix my problem...so, thanks, Clay!!!!

08.11.07

Luckily, my sister-in-law took some photos while the girls were at her house. So, here they are:

Lily, Kaden, and ShellyLily, Kaden, Sofia, and Shelly

This morning I was up around 4 AM and so happy to feel the cool air working upstairs. With the super hot temps, the AC was working double time and couldn't cool down the upstairs. Thankfully, the downstairs AC was working and we all slept in the guest bedroom. Tonight, we will be back in our own beds.

I have been working on organizing around the house today and straightening things up a bit. I bought a waffle maker yesterday and used it this morning. Lily enjoyed them, but Shelly preferred her Eggos.

Seems that the weather is calming down some and we can get back to regular activities with normal temperatures.

08.10.07

Wow, it has been quite some time since I posted. I was in Virginia Beach for several days and kept busy the entire time we were there. Lily had the opportunity to spend the night with her friend, Julia, as well as her cousins. She was in heaven. We swam, we laughed, we ate, and we shopped. But, we missed daddy and by the time we got home we were all ready to be back together again. When I'm in VB I tend to take very few pictures. I guess it's the fact that I am busy spending time with people I don't get to see very often and don't stop to capture the moments as often. But, I'm ok with that. On our last evening there, I remembered to pull out the camera. So here are some photos:

My sister, Linda, nephew, Eric, and the girls at my parent's house

Eric with my mom and dad (his grandparents)

Lily, Eric, Lin, and Shelly

My Dad (caught off guard)

Eric...almost 16!!!

My mom (caught off guard)

Funny, funny Eric...striking some poses!!!

Oh, when he makes it big...this is the official photo he wants to have on his trading cards...just glad the photo credits will go to me!

Heading WEST...back to North Carolina

Shelly hanging out in the car

Lily watching Full House, again!!!

Entering the speed ticket zone...Emporia, VA

Stuff in my car...phone, iPod, diaper, Kandoos

Photo of my hand...I was thinking about how much my hands look like my mom's(with the exception of the crooked pinky, that one comes from dad)...so I took a picture of it while at a stoplight!

Shelly looking at her DiDi

Life is a highway!