Fun at Home

Well, it seems like I can't seem to stay caught up with this blog. I'll have a major posting day to catch up and before I know it, I'm almost a month behind again. Oh well....you'll just have to bear with me!

Jaden has been having a lot of fun rediscovering all of his toys again. Of course, sometimes, you just have to hang out in the laundry basket! This is a classic. I have to look around my mom's house to find the pics of ME sitting in the laundry basket!


It also has finally cooled off enough to spend more time outside during the day. This particular afternoon Jaden discovered the flower pot (that nothing has grown in for quite some time) as an excellent "sandbox."

Of course, the best part was carrying the "sand" over to the dog's water dish and making "soup"

and seeing if Jack wanted some to eat

What about you mommy?

A Surprise trip

Last Wednesday we decided to make a last minute trip to Nebraska to represent the mission at the Orphan Grain Train Convention in Pastor Heimer's place. So...I called my cousin (Jaden's Godmother) who lives near the town we were to fly into and my parents who live about 6 hours away and arranged some family time! The Convention was great and it was truly a blessing to be there. And of course, seeing family was AWESOME!

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Watering Day

Jaden had lots of fun with water and the outdoor toys. It's cool enough now that we can spend a good amount of time outside each day without roasting! Hopefully we'll have a nice long fall before winter comes!

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Telling Stories

I'm not too sure what got into Jaden this evening. But, he sure had a story to tell me!

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Innovating

Lately I've been a bit inspired by this wonderful woman's blog. She takes fabulous pictures detailing every aspect of the preparation of each dish she makes. Of course, she also makes up most of her own recipies (she just published a cookbook). I'm nowhere near that level. But....it has inspired me to detail my cooking - at least when I'm trying something new. In this case, it was something I made up. I haven't thought of a good name yet.....any ideas?

I don't know if this was a very revolutionary recipie or not. I thought it was genius when I made it up. But, as I ate it (and it WAS delicious) I thought that it was actually quite similar to some sandwiches I had made awhile back. And probably, common enough that someone else has already published this recipe somewhere.

The POINT is....I DIDN'T use a recipe to make it. I just thought of it and did it. For ME, that's big news!

Until someone gives me a better name....I'll call it Chicken Pesto Toasts

Ingredients:
Leftover Rotisserie Chicken
Loaf of French Bread
Pesto (I used store bought, I'm sure homemade would be fabulous)
fresh mozzarella cheese
2 Roma Tomatoes
Italian Seasoning


Slice the bread and top with pesto

Remove bones and skin from chicken

Shred with two forks

Top pesto spread toasts with shredded chicken

Slice tomatoes and add one slice to each toast

Add slice of fresh mozzarella cheese

Hmmm..I'm throwing this picture of my AMAZINGLY ORGANIZED spice cupboard because when I opened the door as I reached for the Italian seasoning I just went Ahhhhhhhhh......

For our 5th Anniversary my husband gave me two rotating spice racks and helped me sort and organize all of these. Not very romantic you might say. But, let me tell you, the last year or so of triple stacked spice jars and the inevitability of a spice jar falling on my head or in my pot (my stovetop is right under this cupboard) every time I reached for one has driven me crazy. My husband was romantic enough to remember this frustration of mine and seek a solution. Mission accomplished. Ahhhh......

Okay - back to the meal....The Italian seasoning is on the bottom rack of the middle spinner....just in case you are looking for it!

Sprinkle on the Italian Seasoning

Turn on the oven Broiler

Broil until nicely browned and toasted. I remember timing it to see how long it would take and now I don't remember. Somewhere around 7 minutes I think.

Mmmmmm....served with leftover eggplant pasta salad. A wonderful way to clean out the fridge!

Labor Day

Labor Day weekend we got visitors from some of Stephen's family. They had been living in TN and are moving back to the region. The three girls and Jaden had a lot of fun playing together.

Coloring

Bethany made Stephen, Jaden, and I paper crowns to wear.

Here I am with mine....while eating yummy strawberries and homemade whipped cream. Jaden wasn't too sure about the white stuff at first. But, then I actually got some in his mouth and he decided that it was okay!

And OF COURSE we had to put on a show

GUESS what song we sang?!!?!?!?!?!!?!?

A New Drum

I think everyone who reads this blog will soon have Resucito memorized.....but - her is another version with a NEW drum!!!!

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