Fall Favorites and a Dangerous Recipe

HELLO fall!  There is so much that I love about this season.  The fact that it leads right up to my most-favorite time of year is just an added bonus.

I love a pumpkin.  It's just something about the way they look I guess.  I can't wait to take Avery to chose a few for our front porch.  I went a little crazy with books for Avery to boost her fall vocabulary, but she was a pumpkin kisser last year, so I think she's already feeling the love.

I love to bring pumpkins inside too to do a little decorating.  I'm not much of a knick-knack person and mainly only "decorate" for Christmas.  I do have a few pumpkins to set around the house and always buy some little pumpkins and gourds to bring fall inside.  This year I've also printed and framed a fall bucket list with fun things for us to aspire to do.  Most of them are pretty realistic and I'm looking forward to doing them as a family.

I'm loving my Yankee Candles.  Right now I'm burning Farmer's Market and will bring out Pumpkin Pie soon.  As I sniffed around the Yankee Candle store on Saturday, I also thought Be Thankful smelled pretty good.

I'm loving the anticipation of cooler weather.  I can't wait to put on a turtleneck, although it certainly won't be my regular ones this year.  I'm ready to get Avery into her cooler weather clothes as well.

I'm loving fall cooking.  I can't wait to get to baking with pumpkin, and I have several new soup recipes I want to try out.
Although I'm not loving the start of hunting season, I'm loving finding fun things for Avery and I to do together in our time.  I think it's perfectly acceptable for Chik-Fil-A and Sonic Happy Hour to be on our activity list.

I could go on and on, but the last item on my list is something I renewed my love for this weekend.  For Courtney and Phillip's shower, I made a toffee apple dip.  Several people asked for the recipe so I thought I would post it here.  The making of the dip is not actually dangerous, but the amount you eat before you actually slice an apple can be.

Toffee Brickle Dip

Ingredients:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
10 oz. toffee bits

Beat first 4 ingredients with electric mixer until smooth.  Fold in toffee chips.  Serve with apple slices, other fruit, or a spoon.

A few notes:  I used Heath Toffee Bits (with Bits O' Brickle Bits written underneath).  A bag can be found in the baking section.  These have no chocolate.  I'm not sure that the toffee amount in the recipe is correct.  I made a double batch for the shower and a single tonight and still have not finished one bag.  I prefer less toffee so that it's not gummy, so my advice is to add a little at a time and sample.

I think it's delicious, and if it gets me to eat sliced apples, it must be good.  Put on a turtleneck, light a candle, and whip some up tonight.

Week in Review ~ 9/24

It's been a busy week in our lives and at the house.  On Sunday we went to church, and Avery stayed in her class without Ms. Carolyn or Ms. Emily being there.  The fussiness/acting tired continued, but she did take a good nap.  I fixed ribs and PW macaroni and cheese (which we didn't really care for) for dinner.

The week just seemed to busy and hectic.  Between house decisions and needing to run errands after school, I just felt tired and rushed.  I hate having to go to the store after school, and I needed to several times this week.  Plus, it was not a good week in school.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do with my homeroom class, which I have until until 1 p.m., but they are making labor and subsequent maternity leave look pretty good.  I'm praying that the year will not be as bad as I imagine.

Ned played in a golf tournament for one of his insurance companies on Wednesday, so Avery and I had a girls' night with pizza and new books.  Her fussiness seemed a little better, but it could be that it was just us.  I feel like the twos are appearing with lots of tears, which is not exactly what I expected.  Although she was late to pick up the word "no," she's got it down pat now.  That's the part I was expecting, but we get the tears more.

Thursday was an all-around really bad day at school.  For the sake of keeping my job, I don't go into details, but it was not a good day.  Avery made my night by requesting another hug once I laid her down.  She then proceeded to blow kisses until I was out of the door and then blew several more.

Friday was a bit better even though the rain and yucky weather had returned.  We had plans to go to the Peanut Festival that night because Avery had been getting so excited each time we drove by.  The wet weather was a problem, so we met Brandon and Brittany for dinner at Cracker Barrel.  I had been getting ready to make pancakes for dinner at home, so Avery and I still chose them for our meal.  I usually can't eat just the pancakes but this time managed to also polish off some eggs and bacon.  Yikes.  Ned took Avery home to go to bed and I went to the grocery story to get what I needed for Courtney and Phillips shower.  I made my dip and cut some of my vegetables before crashing on the couch.

I was up at 4 a.m. with a headache Saturday morning.  I finally got up and took something but never went back to sleep well.  The weather is killing me.  Ned got up with Avery but I wasn't sleeping so I got up too.  I just wasn't feeling well but had a bunch to do.  My goal was to get everyone out of the house when Lolli picked Avery up at 9:30.  I think Ned and I made it out about 10:15.  We headed to Raleigh and did some shopping and had lunch.  I found Avery the rain boots that she desperately needed to march and also found Gymboree and Carter's sales.  I went in my very first maternity store but am just in that terrible in between stage for tops.  We arrived at Kathryn and Dave's about 2 p.m. to get ready for the shower.  Kathryn had done a great job of planning things while I did what I could from afar.  It was a fun shower and Courtney and Phillip got lots of goodies for the baby.  It was also good to see them and her mom.  After cleaning up we decided to head towards home before stopping for dinner.  Even though we were stuffed, we stuffed some more at Olive Garden.  We got home and thought we had missed the fireworks for the Peanut Festival, so I got into my comfortable pants.  Ned found out we hadn't and made me change.  We walked down for the show and then I promptly got on the couch and went to sleep.

I'm hoping for a quieter week this week since I am definitely feeling the tiredness today.  There will also be pictures next week as I got some good ones today.  I've got to get back into my picture-taking ways.

Construction ~ Week 14

I'm getting further and further from my Friday posting goals for these because of all our yucky weather.  Cloudy skies and early evenings are not making for the best indoor light, so I'm having to delay my pictures.

I was a busy, busy week.  The plumber started, and here is one example of what he's gotten done.  This is the washer hook-up in the laundry room. 

He has pipes in all the right places, but I'm not sure if he's done for now.  He gave us a book on Monday to pick all of our faucets from.  We were told the quicker the better as not to hold him up (even though faucets obviously aren't going in now).  So I was up until 11 p.m. that night pouring over the book, Googling, and stressing.  Once I got started in a particular collection, I was able to move pretty quickly.  I'm just one that likes to see in person, so I'm still a little nervous as to how it will all turn out.

The electrician worked all week as well.  He's laid out most of our outlet and wall switch boxes.

He's also started pulling wires upstairs and putting in what's needed for overhead lighting.

Our tub in the kids' bathroom was installed.

As was our shower in the guest room.

It looks like all these busy men have had a few meals in my dining room.

I understand constrution mess, though I don't necessarily care for it, but I don't understand food mess.  I'm trying not to be that woman and embarrass Ned, but it may be acceptable to be that pregnant woman.

Heating and air should start this week with security after that.  Ned and I will begin our cabinet selections also.  That's a daunting task but I know it will feel good to have it out of the way so that I know it won't hold us up.

Two More for the Crockpot

My poor Crockpot may be on life support in a few months!  I actually looked for a bigger one this weekend but couldn't find one in town that had a timer you could set.  Not only do I like my Crockpot to cook for me on a weekday, it's also nice to cook a few big things on the weekend and have leftovers during the week.  I must add that I do not proclaim to be a fantastic cook.  I enjoy cooking and baking and can follow recipes so that most endeavors turn out ok.  This isn't a new thing; I have always cooked several meals that provide dinner for us for most of the week.  I just like to share good things now since I love to be on the receiving end of good recipes.

I mentioned Angel Chicken in a recent post and wanted to share the link.  This was another courtesy of the link-up on Kelly's Korner.  I served it over pasta and Ned really liked it.

Sunday was my first attempt at country-style pork ribs in the Crockpot.  My parents make this and I always love it.  I never tried because I thought I needed a bigger Crockpot, but since I couldn't find one this weekend, I used my regular-sized one and it worked fine.  I tried it this weekend because Food Lion had ribs for cheap!

Slow-Cooker Barbeque Ribs

4 lbs bone-in country-style pork ribs
2 tsp salt
1 medium onion, chopped
1 C firmly packed brown sugar (I used dark)
1 C apple butter
1 C ketchup
1/2 C lemon juice
1/2 C orange juice
1 tbsp steak sauce
1 tsp pepper
1 tps minced garlic
1/2 tsp Worchestshire sauce

Cut ribs apart, trim, and sprinkle 1 tsp salt over.  Stir together remaining salt and other ingredients.  Pour half of the mixture into Crockpot.  Place ribs in and pour remaining mixture over.  Cover and cook on high 6-7 hours.

Some of the meat pieces don't actually have bones, and our package was marked that there were no bones.  Also, I had Ned putting the ribs into the pot as he trimmed, so I didn't pour half of the sauce in first.  They still turned out great.  Avery cleaned her plate two nights and requested seconds both times.  Ribs is now part of her vocabulary, so I consider that a mealtime success.

Construction ~ Week 13

We made some  progress on the house last week.  We finally have outside steps.

Once the yard is graded you'll only see brick.

The porch ceiling was also completed.

We broke the baby news to Mr. Clint last Monday, so we're hoping things will roll right along.  Ned asked if we'd be in by March, and he said yes.  Ned doesn't know you set a goal much earlier than that to allow for plenty of wiggle room.  Soon Clint will know my goal of January.  He basically told us to get our cabinets and flooring orders straight so our pricing is right and so we know what we want when the time comes.  It gets a little overwhelming planning several trips to various places while arranging for someone to watch Avery.  It's all got to be done and I know I'll feel better when  few things are checked off the list.

These pictures were all taken tonight because the weather was so yucky over the weekend.  I saw proof of several different people working today with some exciting results.  And, I was rewarded with another book to make decisions and battle the budget from.  I was able to go to the house alone tonight and found myself just standing and checking out how the light comes in, feeling the breeze (because no one believes in closing doors and windows), and listening to the crickets.  All I needed was a rocking chair and a strawberry limeade!

Week in Review ~ 9/17

We've had a busy and exciting week!  It's probably starting to catch up with us a bit.

Avery was up a little after 5 a.m. Sunday morning.  She'd been dealing with a runny nose and fussiness, but 5 a.m. is not acceptable.  I went in and told her it was still time to sleep, and she either slept or stayed quiet until about 6:30.  I was afraid church would be a disaster but it was promotion Sunday.  Avery stays in the nursery class, but they "promote" each year.  Ned walked her up to get her card and pin, and she stayed with Miss Emily.  She then went right back to her to walk to class and did great.  I was shocked.  We started the Alpha course in our class.  I made angel chicken for dinner in the crockpot, which deserves a post of it's own.

Monday was our big doctor's appointment and sharing our news.  My mom picked up Avery from Jennifer's, and she cried and cried.  Avery was supposed to start our Bible Zone program at church that night, but since she seemed off we didn't go.  It lasts until 7:30 and she's been in bed by 7:00 lately.  I'm trying to decide if maybe we should just wait until next year.  Since we didn't have to rush home, Avery and I ate dinner with Lolli and Poppa.

The middle of the week was just normal life for all of us.  We did have a bit of excitement Tuesday night as I tried to cook dinner.  I had a taco bake all ready to go in the oven when I realized that the oven was smoking.  As in, smoking out of any nook and cranny it could find in that old stove.  When I cooked the PW Potato Bundles I didn't put them on a baking sheet and they leaked, apparently more than I realized.  We saved the taco bake for Wednesday night and went to Applebee's until Ned could clean the oven.

Thursday was Lolli's birthday, so we went for dinner.  I left Avery there while I picked up subs and cake, and there were more tears.  She did get better quickly.  Lolli didn't feel the need for cake, but Avery and I did.  Ned and Avery stayed at Lolli and Poppa's and waited out a storm while I went to a gold party.  Between what I took and what my mom gave me, I made almost $500!  I did part with some nice things, but I just wasn't wearing them.

I fixed a quick Pampered Chef veggie pizza for dinner Friday night and then went to my friend Brittany's Thirty-One party.  I love a bag, but I managed to stick with what I planned to buy.  I had to drive right by Sonic on my way home, and when you live 15-20 minutes from Sonic, of course you have to stop.  I treated myself to a kid's grilled cheese since I had eaten my pizza quickly.  I discovered Sonic's grilled cheese while I was pregnant for Avery, and I'm still a fan.  I also had my first strawberry limeade and am now in love.  Sonic and Chik-Fil-A are in the same town, so I'm trying to think of as many reasons to head south as I can.

Saturday was rainy and cool.  I'm so excited for cool weather and jeans.  My excitement had ended Friday night when I had to squeeze into my jeans.  I bit the bullet and busted out the maternity jeans Saturday.  They're a little big, but there's just no getting into my regular ones.  I went to the store and came home and got taco soup going in the crockpot.  Avery seemed to be a disaster and very tired.  We were supposed to go to Emerson's first birthday, and it was from 2-4, right at nap time.  I thought she needed to sleep, and I know she did, but I woke her up as close to 2 as I could.  It took her awhile to warm up, but she had a great time watching the babies, eating cake, and trying out Emerson's excersaucer.

Emerson got a rocking duck for his birthday.  The man that carves them carves decoys that my dad collects.  Ned and I went to the Waterfowl Festival in Easton, MD when I was pregnant with Avery and saw the rocking ducks and geese.  We didn't buy one though, because we were with my parents and I had just found out I was pregnant.  We're all going again this year, including Avery, so it looks like we'll be coming home with a duck or goose.  I tried my hardest to keep Avery off Emerson's, but Kristin assured me it was ok, and Avery rocked many miles on it.  When the tiredness mixed with the blue icing and Avery's feet got to moving fast, we knew it was time to go home.  We were full from the yummy party food but enjoyed some soup.  We're hoping the cool weather sticks around but it looks like it will be warming up again.

It's All in the Details

Thank you all so much for the wonderful comments here and on Facebook.  It is certainly an exciting time for us, and sharing it with people who showed so much love and support was so special.  Keep those prayers and good thoughts coming!

Now that the secret is out, I can spill all the details.  My official due date is March 21, 2012, making me 13 weeks tomorrow.  My 8-week ultrasound showed the due date as March 18, which made me 13 weeks on Sunday.  Because I know how things work, I think the 18th is more accurate, but because there wasn't more than a 7 day difference, we stick with the 21st.  That really doesn't matter to me, but in these early weeks I certainly have been changing weeks on Sunday instead of Wednesday.

I feel like I've known FOREVER.  I was suspicious at the beach but put off buying a test until we came home.  Ned finally said, "Are you ever going to take one?"  I can deal with disappointing myself, but I didn't want to disappoint him.  So the Monday after we get home, Avery and I set off to get one.  I'm trying to be all discreet, only to find out that Walmart locks the tests in plastic boxes now.  Ned's aunt was in the store and I was about to hyperventilate.  I was so flustered when I got home that when I took the test, I used the bathroom on the wrong side of the stick AND didn't have to go to the bathroom enough.  Avery in the bathroom with me didn't help.  I didn't realize what I had done and was kind of disappointed by my faint line.  Once Avery went to bed, I did another one and realized what I had done.  I told Ned after the first one but made sure I texted him after the 2nd to let him know things looked better.

The pee on a stick saga continued though.  I still felt like my line should have been darker, so the next day I went digital.  I of course couldn't go back to Walmart, so Avery and I went to CVS.  They don't lock their tests up, but they're right in front of the pharmacy.  Avery felt the need to greet all the pharmacy workers with waves and yells while I was trying to make my selection.  The digital went to "pregnant" right away, but I still waited two more days and one more test to call the doctor.

Things weren't much calmer for my first two appointments.  I still see a nurse practitioner more local to where I grew up, but they come here once a week.  My first appointment was the day Avery had her two-year portraits.  Avery went home with Lolli, who didn't know, and I had less than 45 minutes to make the 45 minute drive back home and to the doctor.  For my 8-week ultrasound, I scheduled it the day after we were going to see The Help because I knew my parents would have Avery.  Ned went with me and I just knew we'd see someone we knew.  It took so long to get called back and we were late leaving.  We were not at the office close to us this time, and Lolli was on the way with Avery as we were on the way home.  I envisioned passing them on the highway on the way home.

Needless to say, we told the secret to our families that night.  We put Avery in her big sister shirt and visited everyone.  The sister part threw off some at my in-laws as my brother-in-law thought we already knew it was a girl.  I think we caught everyone off guard.  At my parents, I had to get my dad in the room while Ned covered Avery's shirt with Giraffi.  Once Ned sat Avery down my mom saw it and got to yelling, and my dad had no idea what was going on.  It was nice to tell in person, since last time we initially didn't give the best news.  Avery was hiding during our first ultrasound, so we went ahead and told our families that we weren't sure what was going on.  She appeared immediately a week later.  I think that's called foreshadowing.

Our appointments have been good so far this time.  This baby was not camera shy, although we couldn't find a heartbeat yesterday with the doppler.  The same happened with Avery, but I was still nervous until he/she appeared on screen.  Baby Lankford has grown, had a heartbeat of about 155, and appeared to have the hiccups.  We tried to find out the sex, but no luck.  We will be finding out, and that will be in 8 weeks.  I even think we have names ready to go.  For Avery, our boy name was decided the night before the gender ultrasound. 

Although I feel much bigger, I've gained 3 pounds, but I'm certainly ready for maternity pants.  I'm showing much sooner this time and feeling worse than I did with Avery.  With Avery I had dry heaves each morning from weeks 8 to 17.  They rolled in at about the 5 week mark this time, and aren't always limited to the morning.  I have yet to throw up.  I feel better now that I'm back in school, which was similiar to last time.  I just feel sick all the time if I'm at home.  I think a lot has to do with a fast metabolism, and I get hungry quickly which results in nasuea.  I was given a note to snack during the day at school to help with that and also because my urine test somehow showed I needed to eat.  I was starving at the doctor's yesterday.  Most importantly, my blood pressure is good so far.  I've been off my medicine since June and am hoping to stay that way.  This is my biggest concern, although my worrying doesn't help.

I know this is long, but I want to remember all of it.  I doubt I do weekly updates, but I will update some just to have a record of how things go.  I didn't blog while pregnant with Avery and feel like I've forgotten so much.  If we go for 3, I'd like to be able to look back on this.  Again, thanks so much for your support, and prayers for this pregnant worrier will greatly be appreciated!

Continued Expansion

We're expanding in more ways than one.

Estimated completion: Mid-late winter 2012

Estimated completion: March 21, 2012

Construction ~ Week 12 & Week in Review ~ 9/10

I figured I might as well take care of both in one post, since it was a slow construction week.  The siding was supposed to be finished, but the porch has not been trimmed.  Our electrician was supposed to start, but he is behind schedule due to hurricane repairs.  He will hopefully start this week.  Our plumber is also behind schedule.  All the rain kept any work from being done outside, including steps.  Once those are done they will grade the dirt away from the house, but it's just been too wet.  We are hoping for a more productive week this week, but I know this is just par for the course.

While it may not have been busy at the house, it was busy in the life of the Lankfords.  On Sunday morning we got up and honored Ned's request to go to breakfast at Shoney's.  I'm all about a hot fudge cake from there but hadn't done breakfast in awhile.  We spent the rest of the morning and nap time at home.  Once Avery was up we went to Lolli and Poppa's for dinner.

We enjoyed a day at home on Monday.  Avery was still suffering from a runny nose and was not napping the best.  I had some school work to do, and then it was early to bed for everyone.

School got off to a fairly good start.  I have a talkative homeroom and feel like I've had to fuss more than normal in the first week of school.  The weather was crazy, humid, and rainy, and I was pooped by then end of every day.  A little break came on Friday when we had a 2-hour delay for fog.  We got to school at 10 a.m., had lunch at 11:15, then had our big planning time from 12:40-2:05.  Not too bad for a Friday.  Avery had a good week but started getting up pretty early.  She was going to bed earlier because she was so tired, but she was fussing when she woke up, so I knew she needed more rest.  Ned also had a good week but was still very busy from hurricane claims.

I shared much of our day Saturday already.  Ned got home mid-afternoon, and I went to the store.  We had a yummy meal of steaks, Pioneer Woman Potato Bundles, and asparagus.

We have a busy week coming up with several afternoon and nighttime things going on in addition to having a full week of school

We Remember

Today marks the ten-year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack.  Like many, I remember vividly being a freshman at Peace College and being told the news in class.  The news of the tragedy at 18 and the ramifications of it at 28 are very different things.  I think about what my life has become in the last ten years.  I graduated college, got a job, got married, and had a child.  Each of those events and many other moments bring with them millions of other moments and memories that are held in my heart.  The 9/11 coverage has been especially difficult for me this year, because I think of all the victims and the big and small moments they missed over the last 10 years.  I think of their families and friends who have missed out on the same.

Recently I have been following a blog telling the story of a family who was in a horrible accident on July first.  They lost a daughter and have a three-year-old son with spinal cord injures.  In a recent entry, the mother talked about doing everything "right:" cutting hot dogs, childproofing the house, etc.  They did it all right, and things still went terribly wrong.  That hit me particularly hard as a mother who tries to do it all "right," to the point of questioning how our vehicle would do in a similar rear-end collision.  I know to put my trust in God, but the Devil certainly does have many ways to shake that trust.  I wonder how many victims of 9/11 did it all right too.  They made sure everything was unplugged before leaving their house, wore their seat belt in the car, and looked both ways before crossing the street.  No amount of right they could do could protect them on that horrible day.  The world can be a scary place, but our options seem to be stay holed up or walk with faith.

Don't wait for days like to day to remember, to be thankful, and to live.

Heritage Day

Today was Heritage Day in Courtland, which is in the county I grew up in.  Ned had a hunt club workday, so Lolli, Avery, and I ventured over.  When Avery heard there would be tractors, sheep, and hot dogs, she cleared her schedule for the day.

We arrived just as our friend Blair was taking another group on a hayride, and Avery was ready to hop on.  She went right to Blair although it's been awhile since she's seen him.  I think she knew he owned the big, green tractor.  Avery was quiet as we rode through the neighborhood, but I know she was loving it.

Once we finished the hayride, we started walking around.  This area was heaven for Avery.

Avery met Smokey the Bear and seemed to like him better than the Easter Bunny.  I don't think Smokey was giving me an inappropriate finger here.

We continued traveling around and visiting with people we knew.  We made our way to the petting zoo, where Avery saw chickens, chicks, ducks, sheep, goats, and a calf.  The petting zoo area was a bit tight so it was hard to get good shots.

This goat gave Avery the "beep, beep."  When it did the same to Mama, I knew it was time to go.  You can never be too careful with horns.

These animals are a daily sight for Avery when she's at Jen-Jen's, but I had a hard time pulling her away.

The historical museum has lots of buildings that were really used in the past in the county.  They were open for tours, and there were lots of people doing demonstrations with butter making, boat carving, and lots of other neat things.  There were also vendors selling crafts and other items.

The train was next on the list as it was quickly approaching lunchtime and getting hotter by the minute.

We went back to the tractors, and Avery had to sit on the only green one there was.

She enjoyed it just a bit, and to say she loves tractors is a huge understatement.  She says Santa is bringing a "caca" (tractor), and this week she's taken a huge interest in a sprayer we see going to and from school.  I never thought I would be Googling toy tractors and equipment for my child.  Santa is actually bringing a Gator, because that is unisex, while a Barbie Jeep is not.

There was lots of delicious food being served but we settled for hot dogs and pink lemonade for Avery.  There wasn't much shade available, so we took our blanket to where we parked and had a picnic.

We got home in time for a good nap, which makes a fun day even better.  I'm one who enjoys a good Saturday morning at home, but I love seeing Avery experience new events.  Such simple things make her heart so happy.

A Series of Unfortunate Events

**Warning: Not only is this a poop story, it is a poop story that goes terribly wrong.  If you are queasy, just had a big, delicious meal, or otherwise just can't stomach a story about feces right now, just stop here.

It all started innocently enough.  Avery requested to rock, so we were snuggled up in the recliner checking out The Wheels on the Bus on my phone.  I heard what I hoped was a "toot," but the smell that followed was a tad stronger than toot smell.  I yelled for Ned to bring down wipes so we wouldn't have to go upstairs so close to bedtime.  Avery and I continued snuggling.

All was well, until Avery s.l.i.d. out of my lap and down the recliner.  That's when I saw it.  There had been a breach in our up&up, and bad things were happening.  I stood up to check myself, and Ned let out a terrible moan.  Yes, the Lazy Boy had been hit. 

I choose to clean the chair while Ned cleaned Avery upstairs.  He determined that he couldn't carry the wipes and Avery, so I suggested she walk.  Big mistake.  Big.  Huge.  Two steps became contaminated before I could get the wipes and Ned could scoop Avery up.  I was very full from dinner and not handling things too well at this point.  Ned decided to go ahead and bathe Avery, who was very upset by this point.  I headed back to tackle the steps AND chair.  I made it down two before realizing that Sammy had cleaned the steps for me.  I'll leave it at that.

I had to sit down at that point.  On a clean step, of course.  Meanwhile, Ned had put Avery in the tub to hose off before realizing we aren't in our old house and don't have a spray nozzle in the tub.  The bath was not a clean place there for a minute.

An hour later, Avery is clean and in bed.  We've all had a good laugh and the house seems poop-free.  Ned has gone to drill, and I'm baking a cake and preparing to try homemade icing.  All's well that ends well, especially when it ends with cake.

What's Cookin'

I feel like I've been cooking up a storm since the hurricane.  I enjoy cooking and usually cook several meals a week, enough for us to eat on most of the week.  I've had some flops lately, though.  I tried beef stroganoff and Chicken Santa Fe, both from the same website.  The stroganoff needed more sauce, and I thought the chicken was a bit plain.  I have had some success and thought I would share them.

I'm trying to get away from sandwiches for lunch at school while also avoiding cafeteria food, so Monday I made a pasta salad featured in the latest Southern Living.

I made a few changes and thought it turned out really well.  My box of pasta was only 12 ounces, but I think the 16 ounces called for would have been too much.  I just don't think there's enough dressing for that, but I'm one who would always choose more dressing than less.  I omitted the pecans because I only like nuts in certain foods.  I also bought some packaged chicken to add on the side.  I picked up bacon pieces as well, but I've only tried it with the chicken.  I hoping to get lunch out of it again tomorrow before it gets too dry.

Yesterday morning, Ned started sauce for cheese tortellini in the crockpot.  Other than forgetting to set the timer, he did well.  Once I got home, I only had to add the tortellini and some cheese, and it was ready in about 15 minutes.  I made some garlic cheese biscuits and dinner was done.  Avery, who loves pasta but is still iffy on red sauce, ate it up.  Ned told me to add it to the rotation.  (He's also asked for a few things to be removed!)  Coming home to dinner almost prepared and a clean house on the first day of school was a blessing.

I've bookmarked several recipes from where Kelly's Korner did the crockpot link, so if I stumble across any more delicious ones, I'll let you know.  I'm all about easy in the crockpot, especially when Ned can get it started in the morning.  I have a page in my home organization notebook for recipes I want to try, because I'm always seeing something that sounds good and then forgetting where it is.  More on my under-construction organization notebook and my shiny life planner coming soon!

Finally, I've had the ingredients for this since before the hurricane, and Ned is running out of patience.

The September Southern Living is going to cause me to need an apple peeler, and a fitness program.

Weeks in Review ~ 8/27 and 9/1

Wow I'm behind.  It's amazing what a little hurricane and a little work can do to a person.  This will hopefully be brief.

I went back to school on August 22nd.  My first actual day was the 23rd, but I went on Monday to do a little work in my room.  Avery spent the whole day at Jen-Jen's and did great.  She was a little quiet when we went in, but there were no tears when I left and she got a great report.  She's never cried when I left her there before, but we've become even closer this summer and I've had lots of requests for rocking, cuddling, and resting, so I didn't know.

I had inservice days at the high school Tuesday through Thursday.  The big earthquake struck Tuesday afternoon, and I just know it was some kind of sign.  On Friday, I took Avery to Jennifer's since I had a hair appointment.  I went home after that and got busy for the approaching storm.  I picked up Avery after her nap, and we all went to FoSho for dinner.  Traffic was crazy in town as we live on the I95 corridor where it intersects a major highway running east-west.  Lots of people were evacuating the beach and coming through town.

Irene consumed the next few days.

I had to go back to school Wednesday for our county-wide opening convocation.  Luckily, Jennifer got power back Tuesday night and was able to have everybody Wednesday.  Otherwise, Avery would have gone to work with Ned, and he's been a bit busy since the storm.  We had to go to our schools after the morning events, and although they told us we had power, we in fact did not.  We worked all afternoon without power since Open House was still scheduled for Thursday afternoon.  I got hot and thirsty and left shortly after 3.

Things started getting back to normal on Thursday and Friday.  We had a good Open House and many of my students came.  Somehow all the teachers pulled it together and made it at least look like we were ready.  We had more time to work and meet Friday.  Ned continued to be busy and continued to take the heat for the insurance companies he sells for.  It's amazing how people blame him for something in a policy that they sign.  Ned had to meet someone he sold a pair of waders to Friday night so we went to eat at Sharky's.

Ned had to meet someone about a claim Saturday morning, so Avery and I hung out at home.  Our neighbors gave her a princess tent that is HUGE and a huge hit.  Ned came home for a bit and then went out for the first day of dove season.  Avery didn't take the best nap, and I blame that on runny nose and eyes that appeared that morning.  We went to the grocery store, and luckily Ned was home in time for some entertaining and a bath.

We're off to a good start for this week and are hoping for a great first week of school.

Construction ~ Week 11

The hurricane didn't completely stop progress this week as I expected it would.  I know Clint and his men were busy helping people who had damage from the storm, and we completely understand.  They seemed to be working most days and finished the siding yesterday.

We're in need of black shutters and a black door to add some color, but we're pleased with how it's turned out.  They still have some trim to do and of course all along the porch.  I'm not sure when columns will replace those lovely posts.

The hurricane made us stop and consider how well we would be for future storms in this house.  We already knew we would get a tankless water heater (runs on gas) and a gas cook top.  The cook top was Ned's idea, and one that I wasn't too thrilled about until we were graced with Irene's presence.  I've cooked on gas while babysitting and hopefully will catch on quickly.  A little warmth would have helped those canned hurricane foods a lot.  When we initially met with the electrician, we did not discuss generator hook-ups, but Ned took care of that early this week.  We'll have a plug for the generator so that all we'll have to do is flip the breakers for what we want to run in the house.  No cords running through the house, which was a problem this time.  I hoped for a whole house generator which would run everything, including the AC until I learned the price.  We'll add that to the wish list.

The electrician was supposed to start this week but was busy with hurricane repairs and a zillion generator hook-ups.  He said he hoped to start after Labor Day.  When Avery and I stopped today, our neighbor had people working to get the tree up that fell.  Things were still a little wet, and with more storms possible, our steps may be a bit delayed.