Kind Of Sad When...

You are so excited about a kitchen appliance that you blog about it.
But, you NEED to know how much I love this thing. It amazes me how easy it is, and how much it really does eliminate freezer burn. I am the kind of person that buys my meat at one time, then portions it out into serving sizes and freezes, so this thing is a dream come true. Like I said, kind of sad!
Brandon gave me the Food Saver for Christmas, and I wondered if I would really use it, and I HAVE! Last night, we just had leftover peppers and onions that were already sliced, but I don't need them this week, so I put them all in a bag and it shrunk the bag to about 1/3 of the original size, and got all of the air out.
If you have seen the Food Saver, and have been wondering if it is worth it, IT IS! And no, the company is not paying me to promote it. I just thought you should know about my new friend in my kitchen.

We Haven't Disappeared

I have started functioning a little better- not always feeling better- but I can accomplish a few things these days. We just moved Blake into Kate's room last week- here is a picture of the not-so-manly space he has. Somehow, all of the baby dolls ended up on his "green bed," as he calls it. Sorry for the mess, like I said, I can only accomplish a FEW things, and their room hasn't been at the top of my list. This is is first "big boy" room experience too, and they have both done great! If I had known how well they would do, I would have done it a while ago. They have even been napping in the same room. We had to remind them a time or two after we shut the door that we can still hear them and that it is rest time, not play time. It took a night or two, and now we just put them in bed, shut the door, and enjoy some peace and quiet. This will make traveling this summer easier, and give this new baby a little space of it's own. IT will be called a he or she next week!

In other news, Brandon and I got away a few weeks ago to Gatlinburg, TN, for our anniversary (which was in December). It was so nice to go relax, watch some movies, read, eat, drink coffee, eat, and relax some more. Thankfully, the kids were passed between family members who made them think that the kids were actually the ones on vacation. We were gone four days, and I wasn't even sick at all for two of those days, big relief! Since then, the sick days have gotten fewer each week.

The only thing that made it hard to be away is missing time with my sweet Nanny. We happened to be visiting her three weeks ago and she started mixing words up and acting very confused and disoriented, so I called 911, and it turns out that she had a pretty bad "insult" to her brain, and they think it was a stroke. She has been in the hospital for 3 weeks now, and it has been up and down the whole time. When I visited her yesterday, she seemed like a slightly disoriented version of herself, and it was sweet to hear her talk and see her smile. I was wearing a scarf and she told me she loved it and that you "are always warmest when you have a scarf." I don't know why it made me laugh to hear her say that. She told us that she wants to go home and that she would cry if we didn't help her, it about broke our hearts. I would love to help her leave, but she is in no health to go back home yet. Please pray for Nanny's recovery and the doctors who care for her since her condition changes daily. It is hard for anyone to make decisions when it seems like a different patient every day!

This is just a shot of what I looked like most of the last few weeks. I had some respiratory infection junk, and was down for a few days, then had no voice, etc. So- we have done a lot of snuggling on the couch! Fine with me! I think the kids enjoyed it for about one day, and then wanted to get OUT of this house! Maybe this week will be more fun for them, and me.

War Eagle (a week later)

We got to take a fantastic trip to Glendale to watch our Tigers play, thanks to Papa G and JoJo! What a Christmas present to remember!
























This was our crew, and we all fit in one Suburban to get to the game. Guess who had to sit up front to not get carsick?













We tailgated in the parking lot and ran into some of our best friends from Auburn.






























Then we went to "Tiger Walk," which was pretty lame compared to normal. This was my view behind two fences, but I guess they had to be careful, who knows what kind of crazy people were there! The band and cheerleaders walked through and the buses brought in the players.
















The jumbo tron alternated images of Auburn and Oregon logos, I just cared about seeing the AU.


















Our seats were just under the ESPN booth, so we got to see them filming, that is Urban Meyer's head on the left.

















Hey Cam! A picture of Gus Malzahn with his quarterbacks.















It was amazing to see the confetti shoot out and the players run out, flags were waving... it was great! The crowd was probably at least 70% Auburn fans, so you can imagine the excitement in there! We were sitting in the Auburn endzone, so this was the scoreboard above us with the final score!




























I am not always the first to pay attention to football games, but this game was easy to watch! I am so glad we got to go out there, and experience it all in person, but it was probably just as fun to watch on tv. We were scheduled to take the red-eye flight back home, and it was cancelled on Monday morning due to bad ice storms in Alabama, and they said they would send us home on Thursday... not going to work! I ran into some friends at the game, and when they told me they were flying home without any problems, I was determined to get home! After the game, we checked our flights, and saw that our original flight was open again, but we hadn't brought our bags. So we left the game, went straight to get our bags, and then raced to the airport. When we got there, they told us the flight was full and that we could just wait on standby. We reminded them that we were originally booked for that flight, so we should be on it, and somehow a manager let us go with "seat requests" to the gate. We had to run through the airport, because we arrived as they announced it was the final call for our flight. We made it, and I was furious, because I could count more than 20 empty seats on that plane! How many people were sitting there waiting to get home?! Anyway, we made it home, but I was feeling ROUGH! (Maybe this is TMI) On our way home from the airport, I was tired, starving, etc., so all I wanted was a biscuit, but nothing was open due to the weather. So I sat in the car with my barf bag in my lap trying not to gag the whole way home. We made it, I shoved slices of bread in my mouth and climbed into my bed. I didn't even call my mom to tell her we had made it home until lunchtime, and she was just glad it wasn't Thursday! Thanks Slagleys for making this trip happen, and thank you to my parents for watching the kids (in an ice storm) for 3 nights!

Remember This?

Me at the hospital with sweet Kate-2007.













Me with sweet baby Blake-2008.












Well... get ready to see a similar picture this July! We are having Baby #3, due July 19th. Sorry I have been MIA, I have not felt great, but have had a TON going on as well. I am a little over 11 weeks, so I am hoping to feel better soon. I am still exhausted and can't do a lot of cleaning or sewing, it seems all I can do well is rest. :)
Just wanted to share the good news! We are praying for a healthy baby and I do not care if it is a girl or boy, but we ARE going to find out, I just can't handle the wait!

New Recipe

I have a new recipe we tried that you have to try. It has dijon mustard in it, but it is not very mustardy once it is cooked, it just adds a little flavor. It is a Paula Deen recipe, and anything from her is delicious to me! Even my kids loved it-Kate loved that it was crispy. Try it!
Oven Fried Chicken
1. Preheat oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with foil, then place a cooling rack on top of the baking sheet and spray with Pam.
2. In one bowl, mix 1/4 cup dijon mustard, 2Tbsp water, 2 Tbsp olive oil, and salt and pepper.
3. In a separate bowl, mix 2 cups panko breadcrumbs, 1 cup shredded or grated parmesan (it tastes better to shred some fresh parmesan and makes it crispy), 2 Tbsp olive oil, and salt and pepper.
4. Pound out 2-2.5 lb chicken breasts to about 1/4 inch thick.
5. Dip in the mustard mixture, then dredge in the breadcrumb mixture and place on top of the cooling rack. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
Enjoy!

Babysitting

I need some help from other moms who use babysitters. I have always used family to babysit, but now that my parents have 5 grandchildren, they aren't always available. I need to know what is the "going rate" for 1 kid, 2 kids, 3 kids per hour. We shared a sitter with a friend this weekend, and she normally pays $10 for 1 kid per hour, but we added my two and I felt like I needed to pay way more. I am out of the babysitting loop! What about overnight babysitting? Can any of you give me tips so I don't run off babysitters.

Missing Him Already

I just lost my precious grandfather, Dink, this week, and I had no idea that it would feel like someone took a part of me with him. I don't even know how to write about how I feel because I am not used to feeling so many emotions at one time! I feel sad that I will not see him, but I feel so thankful that I know he is in Heaven rejoicing and thankful that his body is now whole again. I was so blessed by the number of people who showed up today at his funeral to honor him. He touched more lives than I ever knew, but that shouldn't surprise me. His smile was contagious! He made everyone feel like they were a part of his family. I used to sit at their house when I was in high school and college, and he and Nanny would ask about our friends by name. They took an interest in our lives like we were their own kids. Our friends all new Nanny and Dink!
My sister and I used to talk about how we dreaded the day we would have to say goodbye to Dink, and while it was so hard, it was harder to see him suffer. We went to visit him just a week ago, and he had such a different look on his face than usual, he looked like he was in pain and exhausted, and he wouldn't talk. In all the years of pain from broken hips, broken legs, etc., he always smiled and pushed through. The other day, I just held his hand and he squeezed it a few times. Kate tried to talk to him, and she held his hand and later told me that he squeezed her hand too, and I never knew I would be so thankful for such a sweet memory. We left and Kate asked why he didn't talk to her, and I had to start explaining to her what I didn't even want to deal with myself. We knew that his end was getting closer.
Dink was one of the most amazing people I have ever met. He was a leader, a great example, a generous giver, and he could make anyone smile. He loved kids, and would light up whenever I brought my kids to visit. He was the only person in my life to call me "Lynn," and I loved it when he did. He loved my grandmother with a protective, unselfish love. He was a great father and grandfather, I tell people that he was really more like another father figure to me. We lived next door to him since I was about 14 years old. They would take us on trips to the beach every year, they would keep us for weekends, and they took each grandchild on a special trip for their 13th birthday. He made sure each one of us had everything we needed, and made sure we were happy. He and Nanny took me to England when I turned 13, and sent me to Germany when I graduated high school. I can thank them for my international travel before I was 18!
Dink was such a good example of what to look for in a husband, and Brandon has said several times how much he looked up to him. We would go to their house and Brandon would help Dink plant his garden. Dink would be on his hands and knees, covered in ants and probably in pain, but he would get his garden planted. I loved watching him eat his fresh tomatoes like apples. On our way to the beach, we would pick up a basket of peaches, and he would finish the whole basket while we were at the beach. He loved to eat! He loved working outside, so Brandon loved going out there with him and hearing stories about his life, about war, and about all of the things he had repaired in his little workshop.
I am so thrilled that my kids knew and loved him like they have. We would walk in their door and they would start heading for his room calling, "Dink, Dink." I know it will be hard to take them to see Nanny and watch them look for him again. It has been interesting explaining to Kate how we will not see him again, but that he is in Heaven with Jesus. She understands more than I thought she would, and she has even tried to comfort me and my mom. I picked her up from MDO the other day, and Kate said, "Let's go cheer up GiGi and tell her we love her." I was crying the other day, and Blake just came and held my leg and said, "No tears, mommy." When I picked the kids up from school the other day, Kate asked me what I did while she was at school, I told her I went to see Dink and she couldn't understand why I would go without them.
While I write this, I am sad because I miss Dink, but it makes me so thankful for the family we do have here, and so thankful that I can still share these sweet memories with Nanny. I keep wondering why I am even sad, because I know where he is, and that is the place we should all long to be, but I miss his sweet face! As they took his body out today, it was like they took a piece of me with him, and I am sure I embarrassed myself with the crying and sniffing, I almost couldn't take it. I ache for Nanny, thinking about how it must feel to lose her best friend of 70+ years. I ache for my mom and her sisters saying goodbye to their daddy. I ache that I won't see him the next time I go over there, but I rejoice knowing he is in the arms of our precious Savior, Jesus Christ. What a comfort, KNOWING that he is there!