Taco Corn Fritters

Yummy!!  These were so easy to make and since I doubled the recipe we have plenty in the freezer for another lunch and probably a few to snack on.  Some of us ate them with a little salsa and some had them plain.  I served fruit with them and it was a very filling lunch.  We'll definitely make these again!  I got the   recipe from Laura over at Heavenly Homemakers.  I love her site!

And tonight was Family Game Night.  We played Disney's Scene It.  (I won!  Yea!!)  And I fixed a "snack-y" kind of dinner.  Finger foods.  We had French Bread pizza, homemade tortilla chips with salsa and brownie bites.  I had planned a couple of other things, but ran out of time and really...we didn't need anything else.   Check out our brownie bites.  They were easy, fun and the kids enjoyed them!

Mmmmm!!!  You know the best thing about  brownie bites??  Every single one is like a corner piece!

Planning, Planning and Schedules

Ah!!  It's so nice to be pain free!  Well, at least back to my usual.  :-)  My arm is SO much better!  It still feels kinda funny every once in a while, but it never really hurts anymore.  I don't know how much I'll be posting now that I'm back at the computer more, but I'll try to be at least regular and frequent with my posts.

My planning for Easter was not the best.  Of course the kids don't have to have new clothes, but there sure are a lot of good sales around Easter!   However, I should have made those purchases sometime other than the Friday and Saturday before Easter.

So with that fresh on my brain, I was thinking through what's on the calendar for the next few months and realized that I need to start planning now what my family will eat while Katie and I are gone with Voice Of Praise this summer.  Saturday to Saturday!!  That's a lot of meals to have ready ahead of time!  I need to have snacks ready, too.  So, I made myself a note to start planning those meals and I can start cooking some of those things and putting them in my freezer.

And I am so ready to start thinking about next school year's schedule!  We'll be starting in July this year, so I'll be doing a lot of prep in June.  We've stuck with the same basic schedule for about 6 years now and it's definitely time for a change.  I'm really looking forward to seeing how it all works out.

Life is so much easier when I plan and schedule.  One of the biggest pluses of planning and scheduling???  I can stay caught up on laundry!!

Snack Rut

We are in a snack rut!!  The kids like toast with peanut butter, graham crackers, Annie's cheddar bunnies,  pretzels, hummus and crackers.  But I just feel like it's not really doing it job of getting them from lunch to dinner.  We have lunch at noon and often dinner isn't until 6:30.  That's  a long time for ME to go, let alone growing/active kids!  I've been trying to have more fruit around and that's been helpful.  But I'd still like some other ideas.

So.  What's your favorite, go-to, fill 'em-up snack??

Salsa Chicken

With my arm needing lots of rest right now, dinners have been a little different.  We've eat out a couple of times (one time was date night, so the kids fixed mini pizzas) and last night was a very simple salad.  Well, tonight I needed to fix something other than what was on the menu.  So we had Salsa Chicken!  And it was  a hit!

I knew I had some chicken in the fridge that needed to be used and I knew there were some black beans that were meant for Monday's dinner, but didn't get used since went we out.  So I quickly looked at what all I had on hand.

I simply put a little salsa and cheese on top of the chicken and baked it.  While that was baking I fixed some black beans and corn.  I wanted it to have a little more flavor so I diced up half of red bell pepper and a couple of cloves of garlic.  I would definitely use the whole pepper next time and a ton more garlic.  We love garlic!  A little salt and pepper to taste.  Stephen thought it was especially nice on top of the salad.  The salad was left over from last night.

Super simple dinner.  Easy on my arm, especially with a couple of helpers!

My Mom

It was such a little thing.  I meant to take a picture, but forgot.  Back many years ago, Mary Kay sold a line of nail color and other manicure items.  My mom had a little pink nail brush.  Being the only girl, after she died, I got all of those things.  Well, that little brush broke this past week.  Made me kinda sad.  No tears, just "Oh!  That was Mom's."  


Later in the day, Katie was talking to Sarabeth and, for just a moment, I heard my mom's voice.  It was really amazing how in that one brief moment she sounded like Mom.  

I thank God for all of the wonderful memories I have of Mom.  She was wonderful

Sometimes You Just Have To Go Out To Eat

For years I've had massive knots in my neck and shoulders and it finally got bad enough for me to do something about it.  I've been going to the chiropractor and also I'm having a deep tissue massage once a week.  Things are going really well and I can turn my head further than I've been able to in a while.  We've also discovered that I have a lot of issues with my right rotator cuff.

Enter the super windy day.

Everything was going really well on Sunday and then we started to leave church.  I pushed on the door with my right arm and paused for just a moment to think "Maybe you should use your Left arm. Naaaa.....it'll be okay."  Well, it wasn't.  With the wind pushing on the door and my not-so-good arm, it was just too much.  I strained the deltoid muscle and a tendon.  By the time I got home it was hurting pretty bad.  I iced it and took a bath with epsom salts.  It only got worse.  By the time I went to bed, I couldn't move my arm from my side.

Seriously.  And it seems so silly.  I pulled a muscle opening a door!  Good grief!  But truly, I was in a world of pain!

My chiropractor worked a lot on my arm today and it's definitely better.  I still can't reach across in front.  But it's better.

Monday night is Katie's night to cook.  Sometimes she fixes something by herself and sometimes I help her learn a new skill.  We had planned on learning something new tonight.  However, she was up all night with an upset stomach.

So between her being exhausted and my bum arm, we went out for dinner tonight.  It was just one of those nights.  We rarely go out during the week.  But I'm so thankful we did tonight!  And the restaurant had extra cheesecake that they needed to get rid of and asked us if we would like to have some.  YUM!!

Now I'm back home icing my arm again.  And watching the Rangers!

Next Week

It's been a crazy couple of days!!  Most of which is a too private to share on a blog.  (How's that for piquing your interest??)  Let's just say that God is Good.  ALL the time!!  Even when we think all is lost, when we turn to God.....Wow!  He's Always there!  He will Always carry us through our trials when we ask Him!

Even in all of the craziness, I've been thinking about several different blog posts.  So this week be looking for one about my mom, one about scheduling, one about curriculum choices and (everyone's favorite!) housework.  I know you are just sitting on the edge of your seat in anticipation!!

I know.

I can't wait either!