Mom of the Year Award

As I get older and busier, it seems to me that many of the details of life seem to escape me.

Today is one of those days that the major details of life went unnoticed.  Much to the determent of my oldest daughter.

I sent her on a 20 mile bike ride unprepared.  No water and no sunscreen.  We were on time and she did have a bright shirt, though!

But, most unfortunately was, her bike was not in proper working order.  It was checked out two weeks ago and passed inspection (they are getting ready to go on a 3-4 day bike trip in our part of the state.)  There were some issues that needed to be addressed and, as her parents, we failed to get them taken care of.

I would love to have a list of excuses of why it happened but I just don't.  We were unprepared.  I don't think hubby and I really had a concept of what the kids would be doing today.  I don't think NG had a concept of what she would be doing today!

Her bike, if it had been in great shape, would have been OK.  But, it isn't a bike, really, for what the kids are doing.  Riding on the road great distances.

Plus, there were hills.  Big hills.  She has been riding around our neighborhood almost everyday like the Pastor R said.  But, we have no hills.

NG said at one point, she wanted to just sit down and cry and ask to get in the truck (while they were working on her bike).  But, she decided she was not a quitter.  The other kids and adult riders were constantly encouraging her.  And she made it back.  She did not quit.  On the way home I asked her if she wanted to continue training and to go on the trip and she gave me a definite yes.  (I think I might have given up!)

I felt bad.  I couldn't do much about what she was to expect because we had no idea.  But, we could have prepared her bike better.  Made sure it was in top performing shape.  Given her proper equipment.

The whole bike riding thing has a huge learning curve for us.  Today the curve was massive.  We have all learned a lot and are thankful that every one was safe and had a good time.  And, next week, we will be way more prepared for her adventure.  I am one proud mama for a daughter who wasn't willing to quit.  Even when she had more than good reason to . . .

First Crop of the Season

Our garden is growing.  I say ours, I should really say hubby's.  Anyway, we have tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, onions and a few other things that I just can't remember at the moment.  But, our first official crop was a lot of lettuce.

We ate salads for a week.  We had our Sunday School group over on a Sunday night and made a huge bowl of salad.  We gave lettuce away.  And then it was gone.  All in a week's time.

I had envisioned us eating it all summer.  There is nothing more delicious then a summer salad.  Funny thing about lettuce, though, it doesn't like the heat.  And, in order to eat lettuce for more than a week, you have to plant it in stages.  Maybe not all at once.  And you can't really freeze lettuce.

Put it in the ground a little earlier and stagger the planting.  Lesson learned for next year . . . 

Poor Thing

EG fell sometimes falls asleep in the middle of my nightly reading.  It is no wonder she can be so grumpy during the day.  I should make her go to bed earlier but she wants to stay up and listen with everyone else. Yes, she is spoiled . . .

PW Catch UP

I am thinking that I have missed some pictures of recipes some where along the line.  Maybe they are still on my camera.  Anyway, this is one of the most recent attempts at PW cooking and it is definitely on the favorites list in our house.  BBQ Chicken Pineapple Quesidillas or some such name.

First of all, quesidillas are one of my most favorite things to eat.  Whenever I am at a restaurant and I don't know what else to order, I order a quesidilla.  So, this recipe was exciting for me to make.  I loved the grilled chicken along with the grilled pineapple (cheese of course) and the BBQ sauce gave it the exact finishing touch it needed. Lightly grilled and this dinner was a hit with everyone!

Some of her recipes we will just never do again.  Not because they were terrible tasting, they were just not something we would put in our weekly rotation of dinners.  But these will definitely will be eaten again.  Hopefully sometime soon  . . .

Easter Part Two

One of the cool things about Easter this year was the fact that we did not have to buy Easter outfits!  I know that sounds crazy but I was soooo excited not to have to worry about what the kids were going to wear.  Because the big girls were in the program, they wore their costumes and Boop wore a pair of khakis and a shirt and EG wore her flower girl dress from the wedding she was in in September.  And everyone looked lovely!

No pictures though.

We had the Lord Supper and a breakfast at church and then the second performance of our Easter Drama.  After church my mom, brother, sister, her boyfriend and all of us had our annual Easter basket and egg hunt. Always so much fun.

Me, my mom, my brother and sister.

Every year for Easter we have the same thing.  Ham, hashbrown casserole, asparagus and rolls.  This year I changed it up by doing the PW Green Bean Casserole.  It is a new family favorite for the holidays I think.  It was really, really good and easy enough to make.

I think we all had a really nice, relaxing day . . . 

7 Media Fast

We started our media fast Monday.  We have been somewhat successful.  Honestly, I just don't feel as motivated by this one because we don't do much in the way of media as it is.  At least that is how I feel.

About a month ago, I took away the privilege of TV on the weekends (as a rule the kids don't watch TV during the week), all of the gaming devices (a Leap Frog and 2 DSs) and the computer.  I got tired of the fussing about doing chores before "play time" etc.  And the only way anyone would work really hard was if it was a day they got to go on the computer.  I felt sure this wasn't the way it was suppose to be.  The kids are suppose to do what they do because they live here and it is the way they contribute to the family and the computer and screen time were just added bonuses because they live in a home that can afford all of that stuff.

I will be honest, we have watched an episode or two or three of HGTV when I felt like it. ;)  And, when the babysitter has been here (that includes hubby) they usually watch some type of TV.  Also, if they do their daily chores on time they get a ticket and it can earn them 30 minutes screen or computer time.  But, that is pretty hard to earn.  So, for the most part that has been it.

They still ask on a fairly regular basis to watch something.  Especially on days when we are home all day.  But, I usually say no and that is it.  They don't tease or whine or complain.  One of them said the other day that they didn't even notice they don't watch TV in the mornings on the weekends.  That made me happy.

And, I guess because we don't have smart phones and hubby doesn't text, we don't have that to contend with.  I am on the computer but because I have been pretty busy lately, that doesn't even seem to be a problem.  I can't tell you the last time I was on Pintrest.

So, I think that is why this doesn't seem like such a big deal.  We are just not all that plugged in enough to make unplugging a huge deal.  But, we have talked about it and the following is our plan for the next 28 days.  There is always room for improvement in the way we choose to do life!  And even though we aren't totally plugged in, we can still have an appreciation for the privileges that we do have.

So, this is it:
-The kids are not to ask for TV at all.  But, I am sure at some point they will get to watch something.  I just want them to get out of the habit of even asking.
-I am going to try to stay off of Facebook.  Although Monday I failed.  I usually don't stay on for long.  I just look up a page or two of statuses a couple of times a day.  But, I feel that needs to go.
-I am going to only check my email twice a day.  I find if I get on just to check my email, I get caught up in something else.
-I get 15 minutes to blog every day but I haven't even had time to do that.  Although it is getting a little better.
-I am going to try to call rather than text.  And I am going to avoid "fun" texting.  Although, I will respond to text messages.
-Paul is limiting his computer time at home to 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening.
-We only turn the TV on at night for about an hour when Paul doesn't work the next day so maybe 3 times a week, depending, so that will stay the same.

That about wraps it up.  I think the biggest thing for me this month is to really focus on being personal and intentional with people.  It is so easy to let the technology get in the way of real relationships.

We shall see how it goes. . . .

PW Update

We have gotten a little behind with PW cooking.  I think we have still managed to make a recipe every week.  I just haven't had time to post about them.

Today's post is the His/Hers Hamburgers.  It was a little bit labor intensive for just our little family.  A lot of different toppings for the burgers.  My hubby makes an awesome one so his was going to be hard to beat!

She used toppings that I would never have thought to put on a hamburger.  Like a pesto and mayo sauce.  Or blue cheese.  I will be honest, I am not much of an adventurer when it comes to food.

The Her burger had mayo and pesto sauce, sauteed red onions and mushrooms topped with blue cheese.  The His burger had cheddar cheese, bacon and jalapenos with an adobo pepper and mayo sauce.  

We tried each others and let the kids pick which one they wanted.  The Her burger won hands down.  Hubby felt the peppers in the His burger overwhelmed the taste of the meat etc.  Whereas the flavors of the Her burger complimented the hamburger.

Everyone is becoming a food critic around here.  I can totally see us using the mayo and pesto sauce again.  Even on sub sandwiches.

The burgers were good for a treat but hubby's basic burgers are still our fav . . . .