A new way to bake a potato.

I love baked potatoes.  Ever since I can remember.  I'll eat them with butter and sour cream, but they're even better with a little cheese, some green onion, even some broccoli.

A good baked potato is hard to accomplish, however, without heating up your whole entire kitchen.  In the summertime, anyway.  Microwaved baked potatoes are just not the same, and with temperatures near 90, I just didn't want to use the oven for hours.  I didn't want a baked potato that badly.

I found this recipe on the Crockin' Girls'  website.  I was skeptical.  So was Chris.  In fact, his very words were, "Huh.  I've never known anyone else to cook potatoes in the Crock Pot."  He doesn't like baked potatoes as much as I do.  

I followed the Crockin' Girls' directions exactly, and we came home from the YMCA and piano lessons, the house smelled heavenly.  I was so nervous that the potatoes wouldn't be cooked all the way through since I had bought the big baking potatoes.  I tentatively poked one with a fork and it was perfect.  I made up Violet's potato first... a little butter, some sour cream, cheese, and her favorite, broccoli.  I tasted it and almost fell over, it was so good. My potato was even better since I added some sautéed red onion to mine.  Oh, and salt, of course.   

Everybody loved their potatoes that night.  Even Chris.  There were hardly any leftovers.  

The calories weren't that bad and stuffed baked potatoes are so filling.  We had one extra potato, so I saved it for my lunch the next day.  Instead of heating it in the microwaved, I made a sort of twice-baked potato and heated it up in the oven.  It was as good, if not better, than the original!

I'll never make baked potatoes the "old way" again!

I was so thrilled with my discovery that I posted it on Facebook.  Most people that replied had never heard of such a thing.  I was still talking about our potatoes the next day, too, at my Granny's house.  She told me that she'd been cooking her baked potatoes in the Crock Pot for years.  Ha ha!  I wonder why she never felt led to share this little tidbit with me before?

The Saga

As I've written, my family and I have been seeing a chiropractor.  He seems to be helping lots of our issues.  I like him.  Chris likes him.  The boys like him.  Violet loves him.  We like the staff.  The only thing we don't particularly like is the wait time.  Our chiropractor is a very popular man, it seems.  His office is usually packed and our appointments usually take at least 30 minutes.  

A few weeks ago, we arrived at the office and got out of our car.  We were walking across the parking lot to go inside when a sweet-looking elderly woman parked and got out of her car.  She took one look at our large "party" and ran... and I do mean she ran around us so that she could get to the door first.  

It was weird.  

I guess she thought that our adjustments would take a long time and she didn't want to get stuck behind us.  We walked in behind her and while we were waiting for her to sign in Chris nudged me and whispered, "Oh my gosh.  Did you see that lady?  Did you see what she looked like when she saw that we were going to the same place?"  I just rolled my eyes, which I hoped he would interpret as "Let it go."

Then, the sweet-looking elderly woman in front of us was told to take her seat, which she did after giving us a little, "ha ha" look over her shoulder.  

Well, I was ready to "let it go" until then.  "Really, lady?  Like we wouldn't have offered to let you go in front of us anyway..." were some of the thoughts going through my mind.   The bad part is that we were stuck  beside her for the duration of our wait.  The more I thought about it, the funnier the situation became.  I kept seeing her high-tailing it across that parking lot, making a bee-line around us and to the door.  Ha ha ha!  Chris was a lot more upset about it than I was.  He usually doesn't let things bother him, but this lady really got under his skin.  He kept laughing under his breath, too.  I guess he was reliving the whole blessed event.  He was also giving her subtle looks when she wasn't looking.  And I think he waved at her when it was her turn to go back to the table.  

A few days later, we saw her again.  She was already seated when we arrived for our appointment but Chris spotted her right away.  "Hey.  Hey.  There's that lady again," he stage whispered.  "I'm glad we stayed out of her way this time," I whispered back.  And I gave her a big smile when she walked by us to leave.  A smile that she ignored, by the way.  

Today, we had another appointment.  We signed in and were waiting for a chair when guess who walked in?  Yup.  She saw us and did a double take.  And then she signed in and tried to go sit down... in front us! She tried to cut in front of us.  Augh!  

The receptionist stopped her, though, and directed us to our seats.  She looked like a fish out of water.  She could not sit still. She kept hopping around until her seat was ready, which of course, was right beside us again. And she gave us weird glances the whole time. Ha ha!  Chris said he felt like uploading a picture of her to Facebook with the caption "HOW DOES IT FEEL TO COME IN SECOND?".  I said that might be a little over the top.  I can sense a little friendly competition brewing.  

I don't know what her deal is.  We had never seen her before that time that she ran ahead of us.  We do have five people in our family, but there are lots of families there who have even more kids than we do.  To my knowledge, we've never done anything to offend her.  Maybe she noticed us laughing at her that first day.  We tried to keep it quiet, but you know how I am when I don't need to be laughing.  

I wonder how this whole little relationship will play out?

The Fault in Our Stars

My friend Kelli and I went to see The Fault in Our Stars a few weeks ago.  I just realized I never blogged about it and it was a pretty funny trip.  And P.S... there are spoilers in this post. 

So, I had never heard of TFIOS until a few weeks before I saw the movie.  My friend Jody posted about it on Facebook.  I googled it and thought it sounded interesting and found out that it had been adapted into a movie which was about to be released.  Then I forgot about it until my friend Kelli posted about it on Facebook.  Then,  I decided I'd give it a try and downloaded it.  I started it and, honestly, thought it was a little on the slow side.  This was during Summer Xtreme, so I was busy and tired.  Maybe this was a factor in my opinion.  A few days before the movie was set to premier, Kelli invited me to go.  To say that I was in need of a Mom's Night would be a gross understatement.  I cleared it with The Hubs and we made plans.  

We also invited Jody, who is a member of our YA book/movie club.  She said she had planned to take her daughters to the movie on the same night and would look for us there.  So, it was just Kel and myself at dinner.  I had missed her a lot and was glad to spend the evening catching up with her.  While I was waiting for her to arrive at the restaurant, I browsed Facebook and saw a post from my friend Lori about seeing TFIOS that night.  I commented, saying that I was seeing it that night, too, at 8:00.  Then Kelli showed up at our table and I closed Facebook down.  

Toward the end of the meal, I received a text:  "We are already in the theater.  Dumb teens weren't getting my seats...:)"

I assumed this text was from Jody and had a flashback of the time we went to see New Moon together and had to fight the teenagers off to get good seats.  I did think it was strange that this text only came up as a phone number and not Jody's name.  I knew her number was saved in my phone but I had lost several of my contacts during an iPhone update and thought Jody's must have been one of them.  I sent "Jody" a text back, asking her to save 2 seats for us.  She said she would, and we finished our meal and drove to the theater.  

While waiting in line at the concession stand, Kelli says, "Oh, there's Jody.  And her kids.  She's not sitting in the theater!"  

I followed her gaze and sure enough, there were Jody and her girls waiting in line for tickets.  Kelli and I looked at each other with wide eyes and I said, "Who in the world is in the theater saving our seats?  Who've I been texting?!?"  

I was a little unnerved.  And embarrassed.  I wasn't sure what to do... walk into the theater and look around for someone I knew?  Walk in and sit in the back?  I wound up texting the mystery person back. 

Me:  "Wait, who is this?"

Mystery Person:  "Really?"

Me:  "Yes.  For real."

Silence.  

Silence.

Mystery Person:  "Your cousin, Lori."

Ha ha!  It was my "Cousin Lori".  Not my blood cousin, but Chris thought she was my cousin for the longest time, which is another story.  I had forgotten about replying to her Facebook post.  She'd replied back to me, but I hadn't had my phone out.  

I was really excited to see the movie with Lori and her daughter, Jackie.  

Now, the movie.  It was good.  I made Kelli go ahead and tell me how the book ended since I was nowhere near finished and I wanted to know what to expect.  I totally was NOT expecting her to tell me that Augustus dies. I actually thought she was just joking, but she wasn't.  This is a sad, sad movie.  I cried.  So did everybody else in the theater.  

At one point, the saddest part, the sniffles were deafening.  Beside me, Lori was shaking in her seat.  Now, Lori is not the most emotional person I know, and I was really surprised that the movie was having this effect on her.  That's when I realized that she was laughing.  I nudged her and asked if she had a heart of stone.  She said, no, but someone behind her was making weird wheezy crying noises and it just made her laugh.  Then she couldn't stop.  So, of course I started laughing, too.  It was very, very inappropriate for us to be laughing when Hazel was delivering Augustus' eulogy during the mock funeral.  It was like laughing during church as a child.  You knew you were going to be in so much trouble, but things are just so funny!  

Thankfully, we pulled it together and behaved for the rest of the show.  

Sad movie, but a fun night.  

And for the record, I did finish the book and I really enjoyed it. 

An Afternoon at Granny's

We also ate zucchini bread, shared Jelly Belly jelly beans, played with Coco, introduced Granny to the music of Bruno Mars, waited on the mail man, and rocked on the front porch.  

Potty Training: Day 3...2 days later.

Well, that's over.  It just wasn't the right time.  And that's okay.  We'll try again in a month or so. 

Potty Training: Day 2

Today was an awful lot like yesterday.  

I kept waiting for that magical lunchtime moment when things clicked like my friend April told me about.  

It didn't happen.  

I went back and read the book again and there, in one of the last sections, the author states that some kids just don't get it until the end of day 3.  

Tomorrow is Day 3.  I'm giving it until then.  If things aren't happening, we'll throw in the towel for a while.  

I'm frustrated.  Vi's frustrated.  Everyone is the house is tired of hearing me say, "Okay, now tell me when you have to pee!" and "Oh good!  You're still dry!"  and "Okay, next time, tell me when you have to go and we'll go to the potty.  Okay?  Okay!".  

Once again, here's for a better day tomorrow. 

Potty Training: Day 1

Today we began potty training with Violet.  First of all, how in the world are we here already?  As I was in Wal-Mart yesterday, picking out big girl panties and a big girl potty, it occurred to me that at this time two years ago I was buying things to put the finishing touches on her nursery.  I wanted to cry a little bit about this, but I held it in.  It has gone by so fast this time!

Violet won't be two until the end of August, but she's been showing some signs that she's ready to give up diapers.  And our bank account is showing signs that we're ready to stop buying them.  Ha!  My friend April told me about 3 Day Potty Training by Lora Jensen.    She (April) just used the method on her daughter (who also happens to be a Violet) and she says that it works.  The thought of potty training any child in 3 days had me skeptical, and after today I'm even more skeptical.  This is hard!  But, the book says Vi is ready, even though she's not even 2 years old yet.  The boys were way older than this before we even attempted it.  But, as we all know, no baby is the same.  

I don't think it is a coincidence that my Bible reading this morning was the story of David and Goliath.  This was a hard day.  Lots of accidents.  A few "we almost made its".  One small victory,  because I caught her midstream and planted her on the potty.  By lunchtime, I was ready to throw in the towel.  I looked at Chris and said, "If David beat Goliath, I can teach Violet to use the potty.  Right?"  Of course, he said I was right. I messaged April and asked her how her Violet's first day had gone and she told me that they didn't have any success until halfway through the second day.  I was so relieved!  

At the beginning of the day, Vi would just pee.  No warning.  I've started to pick up on her cues now, so most of the time I can at least get her to the bathroom in time.  We went up to my parents' house to have Father's Day cake and she stayed dry there.  When we got home, however, we missed it.  Again.  

I guess Jordan had it right when he said that learning to use the potty was the hardest trick.  Ha ha!  He said this yesterday, when I told him that Violet was going to be giving up her diapers.  

Here's to more successes tomorrow. 

Just Us Girls

The boys are at Summer Xtreme this week, so I'm spending lots of time with Violet.  We're having a great time together!  She did get very upset yesterday and today when we dropped her brothers off at church, but after that, it's smooth sailing.  

Yesterday, we spent an hour at the YMCA, went to the chiropractor, had lunch with my mom, visited a friend who has a new baby, shopped, had dinner with Chris and the boys, and then came home and crashed.  That was a busy day!

Today was a little more low-key.  We started out at the YMCA again.  Then, we had plans to meet up with some friends at the spray ground.  

The spray ground was closed for repairs. Violet took the news rather hard.

We did play with our friends on the playground, though.  It was a nice day.  Not too hot!

This is Violet and her "best friend" Natalee.  Natalee's grandma and I have decided that they're going to be friends, no matter what. Ha!  They were born just a few months apart and have spent lots and lots of time together at church.  They get along really well most of the time.

My friend Elia brought her girls, too.  

Here's the best picture I could get of the "big girls", Natalee, Halle, and Violet.  I didn't get a picture of baby Bethany. 

We left the park and had lunch at Subway.  The girls made such a mess and things got a little crazy there at the end of our meal.  I think we were all in desperate need of a nap.  Violet came home and crashed.  She slept for three hours!

During all this time, the boys were having a blast at Summer Xtreme.  They went to Frances Meadows today.  I have absolutely no pictures of Jordan, but my friend Monica took this shot of Shaun on the diving board.

I saw this picture of Chris on Kidpak's Facebook page and had to share it.  

Violet and I picked the boys up and hurried back home because Jordan had football conditioning at 7:00.  This is voluntary.  I tried, extremely hard, to talk him out of just skipping this week but he wouldn't hear of it.  

Of course, Violet had to get in on the action.  Jordan worked really hard tonight.  He's improved so much since last season.

Finally it was home, dinner, baths, and now all of the kids are sleeping.  

Tomorrow's another busy day!

Freaky Friday

It's Sunday night, and I'm still recovering from Friday.  

It was supposed to be such an easy, fun day. 

We picked Chris up from work, grabbed lunch, and took the kids swimming at the YMCA for a little while.  

Last year, Violet loved the water.  This year- not so much.  

Frankly, it all started with her swimsuit.  She picked out her own swimsuit this year.  She insisted on "The Little Mermaid".  I really created a monster when I checked that DVD out from the library for her.  Really, I wanted to see it again, for old time's sake. My plan backfired.  Vi is obsessed with it.  It was cute, not it's kind of annoying.  

Last week, in anticipation of the first swimming trip of the summer, we bought new swimsuits for the kids.  I, now and always, really dislike "character" clothes.  I know, I know.  It's weird, but I just think they're kind of tacky.  I held out several cute swimsuits for Violet to choose from, but she had eyes only for The Little Mermaid suit.  The only suit I really didn't want her to even see!  I guess her love for Ariel surpasses my dislike for character wear.

So, on Friday, we went to the pool.  As I was changing her clothes in the locker room, Violet was oh so excited to get into her Ariel swimsuit.  

She sashayed around, pointing to her stomach and saying, "See?  See A-reee-ul?"  It was cute.  

But then, THEN, she had to put her lifejacket on and, GASP, cover Ariel up.  And no, Violet did not like that.  At all.

She cried and cried.  Finally, she got over herself, but she never really had fun in the water.  Mostly she was content to walk around the pool.  She did go down the huge water slide all by herself.  I watched in horror from the edge of the pool as she climbed up, up, up the stairs, murmuring to my friends, "She's going to get scared.  She won't go all the way up".  But she did, with Shaun right behind her but not coaxing her at all.  

And then she was at the top and I said, "Surely she'll be too scared to go down".  But she wasn't.  I still can't believe the lifeguard let her slide.  But he did.  She came shooting down the slide into her daddy's arms.  So brave.  And, then, SO over the water.  

We stayed a few more minutes and, when it was time to take off the lifejacket so we could change, she started screaming again.  Because, of course,  now she wanted to swim.  

We left, and things were calm for a few hours. The kids and I ran some errands and then stopped at Granny's so Jordan could check his tomato plants.  He's trying his hand at gardening this year, with Granny's help.

These pictures are so precious.  My kids, following Granny out to the garden.

Jord showing off his tomatoes.  

This one is my favorite.  I love the way Violet's looking up and talking to Granny about gardening.  I'm glad we have Granny, because my kids certainly won't learn any gardening skills from me! 

We went home for dinner a little bit later.  As we pulled into the yard, I told the boys to start getting all of their toys, shoes, clothes, etc out of the car.  I got Violet of of her carseat and was so surprised to see my boys disobeying me.  The were messing around on Shaun's bike instead of cleaning out the car the way I'd asked them to.  

To make a long story short, Jordan hurt his ankle.  I tried to downplay it, but he was crying and he couldn't walk.  The ankle was a little swollen and I sent a picture of it to my dad, who thought we should have it x-rayed.  So we did.  

Shaun and Violet went back to Granny's and Jordan and I went to the hospital.  I really was so mad and frustrated about the whole situation.  The boys have been struggling with obedience lately and the fact of the matter is that they were disobeying me when the accident happened.  

Both boys were very remorseful and I think they learned a lesson.  During the drive to the hospital all I head was tearful cries of, "Oh, I won't even be able to go to Summer Xtreme if my foot is broken.  And what about football?  What if I can't play football??"

I tried to bite back snappy replies, but really, didn't succeed very well.  At the hospital, the nurse asked Jordan how bad his pain was, on a scale of 1 to 10.  Jordan's answer?  A 20.  I shot the nurse a look that said I really didn't think he was in THAT much pain.  And I was right.  She ordered an x-ray.  Jordan was pretty nervous while he waited.

An hour later, the x-ray confirmed that we were only dealing with a sprain.  Thank God!
We left with an ace bandage, a popsicle, and questions from Jordan regarding wether or not people could sign his ace bandage.  Ha!

Yesterday, he was all but healed and today he's just fine.  

Just in time for Summer Xtreme!