Currently Reading Taste of Home Winning Recipes: 645 Recipes from National Cooking Contests see related

Good Morning~

It looks like it's going to be another beautiful, sunny, breezy day here in Michigan......We are going to enjoy it, as it is supposed to get very warm and humid over the next couple days......

Yesterday was a good day.....we are still really enjoying the more relaxed days.....We did get a good amount of cleaning done yesterday.....sweeping, mopping and dusting......Later in the afternoon, Rosie and I did some reading together......Natalie and I made supper......chicken salad sandwiches, 3 bean salad, and fruit salad w/ yogurt.......After supper, Bob worked on the kitchen while I helped Miss Abigail w/ her bath and then the girls and I snuggled in for a Holly Hobbie movie, and then it was time for lights out.......Abby did not want to go to sleep in her bed last night...she was crying and saying how she didn't like her room...I knew that she was just very overtired, so I asked Alli to snuggle w/ her and help her go to sleep.....After about 15 minutes, Nikki checked on them and this is what she found:

Today we have a program at the library........critters are a visitin'.....Every summer our library does a couple special programs for the children.....Our kiddos always love the ones that involve animals.....and that's what today's is supposed to be.....Natalie mentioned they will even have a snake.....yikes!!!!

Our kitchen project has turned out to be a larger project than we had originally planned......but, thankfully, it is coming along nicely......The window is in....It is large.....and I love it......we still have no sink, as Bob has been busy making repairs to the floor, which we will now also be replacing.....We are also changing our kitchen cabinets, as the old ones were in terrible shape......Bob's parents had some old cabinets in storage that they have given to us (a huge blessing).....a coat of paint and a bit of cleaning and they will look really nice in our kitchen.....I am trying to be patient, but I can't wait to see it done and have everything back in its place......

Okay, time to get a move on...Here's a couple more pics.......Have a great day all~ 

Currently Reading The Comfort Table By Katie Lee Joel see related

Catching up.......

Today............ it's a bright, sunny day here .....right now there is a nice breeze coming in the windows....it cooled down to chilly last night.....great for sleeping.....today is supposed to be mid 80's......I don't think I am going to turn the air on today.....maybe tomorrow as it is supposed to be high 80's by then......

 

The kiddos are doing their chores.......I was actually up at 7:30 this morning...made some english muffin sandwiches for everyone and then made them get up a bit earlier than they have been getting up...and I wouldn't be surprised if we all ended up catching power-naps this afternoon.....everyone is dragging.....

 

 

Enough from me.....Have a great day all!!!!!!!

 

~The Birthday Guy~

 

~A Messy Face~

 

 

~Jake's holding the fish, but Natalie is the one who actually caught it~

 

~Miss Rosie~

 

Happy 4th of July.......

Good Morning~

The kiddos are munching on some watermelon for breakfast.......Bob's working this morning......He should be home around noon and then we are headed to my parent's house for the day to celebrate the holiday and Jake's 16th birthday which is tomorrow......Wow, I can't believe how fast these kids grow up.......

Yesterday we headed to the store to pick up a few things we need to take/make for today + a bunch of stuff that was on sale....We are taking Country Baked Beans (one of several baked bean recipes that we really like) and pasta salad....Of course, we couldn't forget the birthday cake and cupcakes....I'll have to share a pic of that later....The weather is supposed to be perfect......high 70*s -low 80*s and plenty of sunshine.....My parents are leaving for 6 weeks in Alaska on Tuesday, so we are looking forward to today to spend some time together before they leave.....

Tonight we will head back to our town in time to enjoy the fireworks celebration~

Have a great day everyone~

Here's a bunch of pics that I've had on my camera.....I really need to get some loaded on Photobucket....I am so far behind and I have too too many to put them all up here....

Currently Reading Barefoot Contessa at Home: Everyday Recipes You'll Make Over and Over Again By Ina Garten see related

Sitting here listening to the rain coming down outside (it's pouring!!), along w/ some thunder and lightning....we just finished watching a couple shows on what is turning out to be one of my new favorite channels.....The Channel: Planet Green..........The shows:  Living with Ed & Wa$ted.........They also have another one starting soon that I am hoping will be good too.....Emeril Green......

Today was a pretty laid back day.....we didn't get much done.......I even got a nap in.....everyone was just kinda blah and didn't want to do much today.......it was warm outside so I did end up turning the air on for the majority of the day....we shut it off and opened the windows once the storms moved in.......

We are getting ready to paint the kitchen.....Nikki has been patching, sanding and washing walls to get them ready......I have a couple little projects that I am hoping we can do in there too.......even though they are small projects, I think they will make a huge difference in the whole look of the kitchen.....We even took a couple of the upper cabinets down to open it up in there....and I love the new look of it....it looks so much more open and brighter...Now I just need to figure out what I am going to do w/ all the dishes from those cabinets....Right now they are sitting on the dining room table.....But, since we would like to eat together as a family sometime again soon, I really need to decide so that we can get the table cleaned up.......

Okay, it's starting to storm pretty good right now, so I am going to get offline and get these computers shut down for the night.......G'night~

Good Afternoon~

Wow, I can't believe it's been so long between posts again...nothing much goin' on....just settling into the routine of summer.....Today is a quiet day here....I just got back from dropping Nat off at work.....Nikki and Aaron left yesterday to spend a few days w/ my mom, while my dad is out of town...Rosie has taken it upon herself to do some cleaning in the kitchen...she did up the breakfast dishes and is now scrubbing down the top of the stove......and the rest of the crew is outside..Jake took them out to play in their pool......I have some laundry that I am trying to get done and hung outside to dry.....I've made some iced tea, regular and raspberry-flavored (very good, w/ lots of ice, yum!!!).....not sure what the rest of the afternoon holds....we have the air on, so I am sure that I will probably just take it easy, catching up on some magazine reading or the stack of books that I have waiting for me to get too......and of course I am still working on those recipe binders.....I have most of the recipes sorted into folders by category....Now I just need to slip them into page protectors and get them in the binders....It's a long, tedious job, but it will be so nice when I finally have them all done.....

I need to figure something out for supper tonight too.......We've been working on stocking up the pantry (basement shelves).....but haven't gotten to filling the freezer yet w/ any meat, so I'm not sure what I will come up with....Yesterday, Rosie threw together a quick salad that turned out really good......leftover spaghetti pasta, a jar of roasted red peppers, a can of Salmon (I buy the small can of Chicken of the Sea-just like their tuna fish) and a partial bottle of leftover Honey Dijon vinaigrette dressing (I couldn't find it listed on the Kraft website, so no link).....but, we've also tried this vinaigrette dressing and it would be a good one for this salad too...it was really  nice to have a cold salad on such a hot day.....although the salad wasn't to everyone's likes, so the rest of the crew cleaned up some leftovers that needed to be eaten......Then, the kiddos all had ice cream for dessert (chocolate chip mint & mocha mudslide) , but lately my favorite dessert has been fresh strawberries, sweetened w/ a bit of sugar and w/ a bit of balsamic vinegar and then topped w/ some vanilla yogurt...yum!!!!  I don't think I could get tired of eating 'em.......so that was dessert for Bob and I......now to figure out what to come up w/ for tonight.....hmmmm??????  The kiddos are also starting to ask for some lunch, so I guess I'd better finish up here and get busy.......Hope everyone has a great weekend.......