Getting Ready For A Party

 

After four days I finally wrapped the birthday gifts that have been hiding under my bed.  Today we have plans to make the sweetheart cake that my birthday boy requested.  I'll add those pictures later.  I purchased a birthday banner and paper plates and such yesterday.  I'll take pictures of those as well after I decorate.

As promised to the birthday boy, we made his birthday cake together. 

It's taking shape!

Raspberry Jam between the layers.

All done with the spatula!

After assembling the cake I set out a few decorations on the table for him. 

Date Night

 

My manly man and I spent a great afternoon and evening together yesterday, enjoying his day off from work.  We first had lunch at Macaroni Grill.  I enjoyed the fresh baked, hot rosemary bread with olive oil to dip in with my peach flavored ice tea.  While we waited anxiously for our main course to arrive, we munched contentedly on our garden salad and had another chunk of warm bread!  I ordered~

Penne Vodka Rustica

My manly man ordered~

Marsala Chicken Ravioli

Delicious!

We declined dessert and headed over to Barnes and Noble to enjoy a quiet coffee while looking at magazines and sitting close together at a table.  I had a cinnamon latte (hot) he had boring hot black coffee .  He looked at motorcycle and airplane magazines.  I looked at food and home magazines.

When we finished our coffees we then headed over to Burlington Coat Factory.  We found a present for #2 son, a fort/castle thing made of wood that he saw at Christmas.  We purchased that and church clothes for him.  Manly man has a public job in downtown Manhattan, New York and needed some more dress clothes.  He bought a black suit and four dress shirts and comfortable black dress shoes (the shoes he purchased at another store).  I'll have to take a picture of him in the black suit with a stylish purple shirt with purple and black tie.  Very handsome.

Following our spending spree at the clothing store we headed over to the famous "Toys for US" store and got a few more things for the birthday boy:  A roaring dinosaur that shakes his head in anger at you (a request from the birthday boy,) new box of crayons for the inner artist we have seen recently, a couple mini monster trucks (in anticipation of the show we have tickets to January 30th!), a game (forgot the name...oh 'Feed the Kitty' I'll post a review after we play it!) and some little dinosaurs to put on the top of his birthday cake.

That was our date.  It took about 6 hours and we enjoyed it!  Special thanks to our sitter,(thanks big brother!)

I was questioning him during school this morning.  I asked him what kind of birthday cake he wanted.  Without hesitation he said a "Pink Sweetheart Cake, you know Momma in the shape of a sweetheart. And I WILL help you make it 'cause I'm your good helper in the kitchen!" 

"Would you like to go to a restaurant to eat or have Momma cook your favorite food?" I asked 

He replied that he "wants to eat the stuff in the can from the chef boy guy.  ((I interpreted that it meant Chef Boyardee Ravioli from a can, his new favorite lunch food.)) 

 

He changed that request to my Franks Red Hot Fried Chicken with mashed potatoes!  Sounds delicious!

Birthdays are his favorite holiday.  He used to love the birthday song and was the loudest singer anytime he sang that song.  He is excited to have his own birthday.  He learned to write a new number today, the number 6.  It has special significance to him.

We are all feeling better.  I'm still blowing my nose and coughing some.  Manly man has a lingering cough but sometimes he does in the cold weather.  #2 son is doing better his cold sores are MUCH better.  #1 son is doing great.  He is excited about school.  First classes are Thursday with General Psychology and Algebra.

Thanks for reading.  Blessings~ Beth

Recovering

 

 

I feel like I am on the road to recovery.  I finally got a better nights sleep last night as the congestion in my sinuses lessened.  I am achy and sore from coughing so much though.  My manly man sounds like his congestion is going away too.  Not sure about the sons though.  Now I feel like all the house needs aired out, sprayed with lysol and bedding washed. (The house will NOT be aired today as it is about 6 degrees out.  Too cold.)

We had to go out yesterday and run some errands (even though we didn't feel like doing it!.)  We went to the college where Aaron will start full time enrollment next week.  We purchased his books, minus the English textbook, as the teacher had not yet selected which one to use.  We paid cash for the books and spent $414.50!!  Yikes.  Most of those were used books!

Also went grocery shopping as I had not been stock up shopping for quite some time.  Went to my favorite store, Aldi's and got a lot of stuff there.  We also shopped Wal Mart where I get other things like toilet paper, paper plates, cleaning supplies etc...  It is almost #2 sons birthday.  I usually get him some clothes around his birthday.  He got some yesterday; new underwear and socks, two pairs of jeans and 4 long sleeve shirts.  This is the outfit he picked for himself.

My sweet friend Alison came by real quick yesterday and brought us a cake she made for us, Banana with Cream Cheese frosting.  YUM!  She also brought us a thank you gift for watching her sweet little Yorkie dog, Monti while they were in England for Christmas.  Thank you sweet friend for thinking of us.  On the menu for tonight is Mexican Chicken Soup with skillet cornbread. 

We had a GREAT dinner last night also expecting that manly man would be home with us to enjoy it, (French Toast, Country Fried Potatoes, Scrambled Eggs with cheese and Maple Bacon.)  he was on standby recall for the airline accident that happened yesterday in the Hudson River and missed my dinner.  Miraculously, all involved in the crash survived! Many say due to the swift thinking pilot.  He found an emergency landing area and landed!  The Canadian Geese believed to be responsible for the accident are terrible around here.  They were out and about yesterday flying around, even we noticed two flocks in the sky while out running our errands. 

I was listening to the news a little this morning and one show was interviewing a lady  that was testifying she sat next to a woman who helped to calm her and the surrounding passengers by praying with them.  Good for the praying woman!  I can't help but think this was a wake up call for the 155 people on board.  Maybe it will have them all thinking on eternal, spiritual things!  ((See my... Wouldn't You Like To Know... box on the right of your screen!))

We don't have major (any really) plans for the weekend.  That is probably best.

The Flu

The influenza, yep it's hit New Jersey and came to our house without an invitation.  Momma got sick Sunday, stayed home from all Sunday services and nursed her 103 degree temperature.  On the mend though is my manly man who got ready for work this morning without coughing out a lung! (that is a first in 8 days!) 

 #1 son still sounds congested in his nose. 

#2 son, my sweet cuddle Bubba, is still blowing lots of gunk from his nose. 

He woke up yesterday with two new cold sores on his lips, BIG ones, poor guy.  #2 son isn't running a fever though and is still pretty cuddly. 

So we've been eating a lot of soup.  I ran to the store real quick yesterday and bought 16 pounds of oranges for us to graze on.

How do distinguish a cold from the flu?  If you have a fever of more than 100 degrees, you probably have the flu along with a couple other symptoms you don't have if you have a cold such as: body aches, chills, headache and extreme tiredness.  Has the influenza hit your town yet?  You can go to www.weather.com and hit a link for flu activity in your state to see if its there.  Remember the best prevention for flu is wash your hands with soap and water while singing the "Happy Birthday" song! (The time needed to effectively remove germs from hands says my bio-terrorism trained husband!)

Later peoples~ gotta go blow my nose!

Recipes

 

"Home is the anchor of our existence, our little corner of peace, a resting place for the heart." 

Author Unknown

 

Cherry Coffee Cake

1 3/4 C. flour                                                     1/2 C. milk

1 C. sugar                                                           1 egg

1 t. baking powder                                              1 t. vanilla

1/4 t. baking soda                                                1/4 t. lemon extract

1/4 t. salt                                                             1 can (21 oz.) cherry pie filling

1/2 C. + 2 T butter

Grease and flour 9X9 baking pan.  Turn oven to 350 degrees.  Sift together 1 1/4 c. flour, 1/2 c/ sugar. baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Add 1/2 c. butter milk egg and vanilla and beat until well mixed.  Turn into baking pan, spreading batter evenly.  In small bowl, combine remaining 1/2 c. flour, 1/2 c. sugar, and 2 T. butter until mixture is like coarse crumbs.  Sprinkle half on top of batter.  Stir lemon extract into pie filling.  Spread filling over crumbs on batter.  Sprinkle rest of crumb mixture on top of cherry pie filling.  Bake at 350 degrees 40-60 minutes until cake is golden and tests done.

If a task is once begun, never leave it 'til it's done.  

Be the labor great or small, do it well or not at all!

Rice A Roni Salad

1 (6.9 oz.) box chicken flavored Rice A Roni, cooked to pkg. directions and then well chilled

2 (6 oz.) jars marinated artichoke hearts, drained, juice reserved, and chopped

2 green onions, finely chopped

1 (8 oz.) can sliced waterchesnuts, drained

12-16 whole stuffed green olives

1/3 c. mayonnaise

1/4 t. curry powder

Combine first five ingredients in a medium size bowl.  Stir gently to mix.  Set aside.  In another smaller mixing bowl combine reserved artichoke juice, mayonnaise, and curry powder.  Mix with wire whisk until combined.  Pour over salad ingredients stir gently to coat.  **this salad would be pretty served on a bed of lettuce~  I haven't made this yet but I think it would be great with other things added as well like: avacado, snow peas, peppers, grape tomatoes, grilled chicken etc..**

~pppssstt...this is not my photo!

 

A Sepia Day

 

Some cozy things around the house...

#2 son was sick yesterday and today.  He is running a temperature and has been very cuddly and just plain NOT FEELING GOOD.  Also coming down with sickness today is #1 son.  He has taken a bath and retreated to bed and it is not even 1 o'clock!  Daddy has also been plagued and stayed home from church Sunday but has been well enough to work!

 Sick boy.

I made a batch of Hot and Sour soup yesterday and we had that as well as leftovers (spaghetti, salad, cherry coffeecake etc..).  We watched a few movies and then went to bed and watched old Batman cartoons on the laptop and cuddled for a while longer.

Today my phone man was here and 'cleared static out of the line'  whatever that is...???  I just know phone calls don't sound like they originate in a static cave anymore and I have reliable email and internet!

Posting a couple pictures...

Before Sepia, Can you believe this is 12:30 P.M.?  It is a very dark and dreary day.

Outside my window:  It is 28 degrees and sunny today.  Cold  feeling.

 

I am thinking:  I need to get going on my day.  This being Saturday, it is bath day and ironing day and getting ready for church tomorrow!

From the home school rooms: We've taken a break for the last two weeks.  Monday we hit the books again starting with the letter G and the number 5.

 

I am thankful for: A very relaxing two weeks and all the good food we've enjoyed.  It has been a very relaxing unstressful time. 

From the kitchen:  Turkey bacon and pancakes for breakfast.  I think we are going to grill this afternoon and have an early dinner. 

I am reading:  My new "No Greater Joy" magazine and beside my bed is a book I haven't opened yet about three sisters coming to America through Ellis Island and beginning new lives. 

I am hoping: That we will have warmer weather.  It has been very cold. 

I am hearing: My manly man watching a show called, "Stacey David's Gears"  a cool show about fising up project vehicles.  The guy has a cool name too!

Around the house: It is clean and quiet.  The tree is gone and the Christmas decorations are put away for another year. 

 

One of my favorite things:  Can I say the same thing twice?  I love to curl up in my WARM bed with a good book.  It is even sweeter when my "Bubba" (#2 son) comes in and tells me he wants to cuddle and read books with me. (That is special because cuddles with me wins over watching the bigger boys play War games on the computer!)

 

A few plans for the week: Home school, Cooking, Cleaning etc....  

Some thoughts I am sharing:   We are getting ready to plan #2 sons birthday and found out that the Monster Trucks will be in the state a few days before his birthday.  He LOVES monster trucks.  I am excited about that too,   I am a little bit of a redneck girl!