Archive for » September, 2006 «

Not the Carrots

24 Sep 2006 by

As if celebrating the 6th anniversary of my 25th birthday this year wasn’t bad enough, I learned this week that my eye sight is getting better!  That’s right.  Despite my protests that it’s a result of all the carrots we eat, the optomitrist broke the news gently to me.  Apparently as we “get older,” we go from being near sighted to far sighted.  I suppose on the positive side, I’ll be sporting some new glasses soon.  I stepped outside of my comfort zone of the usual conservative metal frames this time around.  Even Adam will be surprised when I get them! :)

 

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Baby Fire

22 Sep 2006 by

If you hear Therese mumble something about a baby fire randomly out of the blue, it’s because we had our first–and hopefully last/only–little baby fire in the kitchen. 

I thought I was being a considerate mom toasting some bread for Therese’s salad–because she likes croutons.  Adam was reading with Therese.  But then Fulton woke up crying and I had to get him.  Then he wanted to nurse…Then I smelled the bread start toasting…but I didn’t want to interupt nursing or daddy-daughter time.  So I waited and waited…then I thought about my toast that I burned this morning and figured I better check on it only to find a few flames in the toaster oven. 

I anxiously called Adam in to take care of it.  And he did in fact confirm that if you try to blow on a 4-6 inch flame it only gets bigger!  So he closed the door and tried to cut off the oxygen supply to the oven.  It eventually went out and I had him drench the tray in cold water. 

What’s the lesson here: it’s not worth it to make homemade croutons!

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Avast!

19 Sep 2006 by

Today ye be callin’ me Pirate Butch the Off-White. Guess ye can’t take offense when yoor a pirate. Arrrr!

Category: Fun  3 Comments

Potty Training

16 Sep 2006 by

Potty training is one of those parenting things that I didn’t think I would have the grace or patience to start, continue, or survive.  It took a podcast from Dr. Ray that Adam made me listen to, to actually get the courage and motivation to start.  Not to mention, it made me be compulsively consistent!  And THANKS BE TO GOD! These are some things I learned:

  • Chocolate Chips really do work!
  • So do stickers!!
  • And so does offering up my sacrifices!!!
  • But Elmo underpants don’t.
  • It’s okay to “dangle a carrot” in front of them–i.e. bribery.
  • It’s also okay to keep things from them if it offers extra motivation. (Dr. Ray said it wouldn’t scar them for life or anything.)
  • And it’s also okay if takes a few weeks.  
  • Being a “big girl” means so much to our little girl.
  • Our little Therese is growing up….
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Happy birthday Mary!

08 Sep 2006 by

“Today the barren Anna claps her hands for joy, the earth radiates with light, kings sing their happiness, priests enjoy every blessing, the entire universe rejoices, for she who is queen and the Father’s immaculate bride buds forth from the stem of Jesse” (adapted from Byzantine Daily Worship).

Today is our Blessed Mother’s birthday!  We hosted a birthday party this morning for a bunch of friends and had a wonderful time. Mrs. Cey made a beautiful cake for our Blessed Mother. We played “Pin the crown on Mary,” and had a great lunch.

Mary our Queen, pray for us!

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Simple Acorn Squash

06 Sep 2006 by

Have you ever wondered what to do with all those weird looking squashes at the supermarket?  Well, aparently so has everyone else.  I got this simple recipe for acorn squash from a sticker that was on the squash when I bought it.  I was originally going to prepare the squash for Fulton, but after I read the recipe, I decide I HAD to try it.

Ingredients:

  • Acorn Squash,
  • 2 tbsp Brown Sugar
  • 2 tsp Butter

Directions:

Cut squash in half length-wise.  Scoop out and discard the seeds.  Place the squash skin-side up in a baking pan with about 1 inch of water.  Bake for 40 minutes at 400 degrees.  Turn the squash over and put 1 tbsp of brown sugar and 1 tsp butter in each half.  Bake another 10 mintues. 

Make 4 servings.

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Athenian Chicken with Yogurt Sauce

03 Sep 2006 by

Since whole chickens are really cheap, I like to stock up on them.  We have quite a few in our freezer.  My problem until now was that Adam wasn’t a big fan of how I was roasting the bird.

I found a very yummy recipe on Stonyfield Farms: I made a small change as I don’t have time to search for Greek herbs.  I’m sure you could do with regular Thyme and oregeno.   I just used rosemary.

Athenian Chicken with Yogurt Sauce

Ingredients
1 whole chicken
1 stick butter (unsalted)
3 lemons cut in half
2 tablespoons each thyme and oregano (Greek preferably)
Salt and pepper to taste

For the sauce:

8 oz. Stonyfield Farm plain yogurt
2 oz. minced onion
1 oz. minced garlic
3 oz. fresh lemon juice
lemon pepper to taste 
  
Directions
Season chicken inside and out. Seperate the skin from the flesh of the chicken. Slice butter and stuff under the skin. Place lemon halves and herbs in the cavity of the chicken. Roast at 425 degrees F. for 1 hour.

For the sauce:  Mix all ingredients and refrigerate for as long as possible but at least 4 hours. Serve sauce cold with the warm chicken. 
 
 Yields
4 portions
 

Category: Recipes  2 Comments

Gloves

03 Sep 2006 by

Need a pair of work gloves? Go goatskin. Sharon bought me a pair ($7 at Home Depot) around two years ago and these things are tough. I’ve used them from gardening to painting, from home repair to automotive care and I’ve yet to put a hole or tear in them. The best thing is that I haven’t done a single thing to care for them. Very durable.

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