The PIG Is In

Friday evening my Uncle Gerald "delivered" some wonderful pork to us. (Gerald is also an Ob/Gyn., hence the- " " :0).) He has a large hog farm and a couple of months ago we ordered a hog. Next to chicken, pork is one of my favorite meats. Pork chops, bacon, sausage, ham, pork roasts...our freezer is full. It's so nice to have a lot of meat on hand to plan the meals around. Our menu for this evening: grilled pork chops, twice baked potatoes, ....

Is It Spring Yet???

I know, I know, we still have a month to go but here in Missouri we have been enjoying a few
beautiful days. Khara and Kelsey have been able to play outside for the first time in months. Kaden takes a nap in the afternoon so as of yet he hasn't joined them. Due to all of the mud left... we are very thankful he is sleeping.
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Khara and Kelsey love to play with shaving cream. It's cheap, smells good, and cleans up very easy so, I like it too!! Kaden had his first experience with it yesterday. He very timidly touched it at first, then "dove in". His clothes were covered but, it washes easy. :-)

I usually put it on cookie sheets but figured Kaden would "benefit" from a deeper container.
Kelsey loves to write her name in it, draw pics., shapes, ...then wipe it smooth.

The Parties

Hooray- we made it through the parties!!

Kelsey's class party was Wed. morning. Kaden enjoyed being in a preschool classroom very much, (he's very "hands-on" :-)), which made me very nervous about the idea of taking him to Khara's later that afternoon, where I would be helping 1st graders with cookies and needed both hands.

Kelsey, Kaden, and I stopped by my mother's 5th grade classroom on our way down the hall to Khara's party. Their party was already in full swing (almost literally, 20+ 5th graders on a party day!!!) and she volunteered to keep Kaden in her room. WONDERFUL!!! He had a blast and her kids loved it.

The parties went so smooth, thankfully, and they had a great time- which is the most important!!


Kelsey's Party:


Kelsey and Kaden enjoying the Valentine treats.

Kelsey along with her friends Brooke Larson and Sarah King opening a few of their treat bags.



Khara's Party:


Khara, along with her good friend Ashely Knoll, looking at some of their Valentine Cards.

Frosting the cookies.
The finished product!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Happy Valentines Day!!! I just love this "holiday".
One party last night, another Mom's meeting today, Khara and Kelsey's parties tomorrow.
The cards have all been carefully selected, and addressed in 4 & 6 year old handwriting and Kelsey's Valentine box is ready to head off to the classroom.





Cupcakes for Kelsey's class party are on the counter. I just finished baking the last of 70+ Big sugar cookies (on a stick) for Khara's class. I know I'm a little crazy , but I am going to let 20 first graders decorate cookies. Sound fun??? I think it will be a blast!!


Due to church being tomorrow night and a more hectic schedule, Mark brought home flowers tonight. Khara and Kelsey got their first "Valentine Roses" this year from the most important man in their life right now (and for many, many, many, did I mention several?? years to come).
Kaden loved his new cars. I think my flowers are pretty special as well!!

Like Father, Like Son

If you know Mark very well at all you know that his "sports blood" runs very strong, solid Maize & Blue. Now that Kaden is quickly approaching the ripe old age of 21 months, he thought it was high time that he had his own Michigan hat.

The package came in the mail last week. They now sport matching hats that I will have to admit are very cute. (I guess it is okay to say that a little blue fitted hat is "cute"???) As all sales go, if you buy one then you could get a second for a very low cost(uhum, uhum) at half price.

Kaden is also the proud owner of a little black and red Cincinnati Bearcats "lil' one fit" hat. Very, very, cute!!
Thanks Mark, and Kaden for posing so that I could show off your pictures to the W.W.W. :-)

Kaden is finally getting use to taking his breathing treatments. Maybe it's the new hat or the promise of the last piece of cherry pie???

A New Discovery

On Tuesday we joined my good friend Jane and her two children, (Megan- 6months younger than Kelsey, and Ryan-4 months older than Kaden) and took a quick opportunity to get out of the house on the one nice day in 3 months. (The temp. actually got up to 62 yesterday. It's back down to 32 today.:-( ) Anyway, we tried out the Springfield Discovery Center. About 60 miles from El Do but, a neat place for the kids to play and learn. (While Jane and I got to "catch-up" on all kinds of things.) We had a great time!!

Stopped for pizza on the way home, the boys fell asleep, Megan and Kelsey giggled and whispered and we made it home just in time to get Khara off the bus from school.
If it' s a type of machine- Kaden will be on it.

Kelsey examines X-Rays while playing doctor in the Medical Room.
Megan, Ryan, Kaden, and Kelsey give the evening news. ( It actually put their picture on a T.V. in a different room, and the microphones were on--they thought it was just too cool!!)
Megan and Kelsey, complete with dress, have tea in "Japan".

Cashew Chicken

Due to popular demand....follows the recipe:

Cashew Chicken
1/2 C. Milk
2 T. water
2 eggs, well beaten
salt
4 Large chicken breast halves, cut into bite-size pieces
2 T. cornstarch
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 T. oyster sauce
1 t. sugar (I use about 1T.)
Pepper to taste
1 C. flour
Vegetable oil for frying
1 C. cashew nuts
1/2 c. green onions
soy sauce
Hot fried rice


Marinate chicken in milk, water, eggs and salt 20 minutes. In a saucepan, dissolve cornstarch in a small amount of broth; add remaining broth gradually to make a paste. Blend in oyster sauce, sugar, and pepper. Stir over medium-high heat until sauce boils and begins to thicken. Set aside. Dredge chicken in flour. Fry in oil in a heavy skillet until crisp and golden. Drain on paper towels. Arrange chicken on a serving platter; sprinkle with cashews and green onions. Reheat sauce and pour over chicken. Serve immediately with soy sauce and rice. Serves 4.


*oyster sauce is found with the other "Chinese sauces" in just a reg. grocery store.

Hope you enjoy the recipe. It's pretty easy to prepare and a favorite of ours. Let me know if you try it.:-)


**Char, I tried your pancake recipe Sat. morning. Very, very yummy. I'm all about the food, sad to say. :-)

P.J. Day

Khara came home from school on Thursday very excited. Mrs. Mays, her teacher, announced that the next day they would have pajama day. All of this week they had been doing state testing. For a class of first graders, that makes for a long week. This is how they were going to celebrate the end of the tests. I had some mixed feelings about the idea at first but after we found some appropriate attire (and even matching tights and hairbow) she was a very happy little girl.

She left the next morning armed with a couple of bags of chocolate to share, her sleeping bag, pillow, slippers, and a stuffed animal.

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Kelsey and I took a day to welcome in February by baking one of our favorite cookies, SUGAR COOKIES. The yellow and blue were her choice of colors which turned out very cheery for a cold, snowy day.

Happy Groundhogs Day!!

I'm hustling to get this post on- I have 15 min. I just want to say it one more time "Happy Groundhogs Day"!! What a neat little day, and Mr. Hog did not see his shadow!!! Only two more weeks of this. For us in Mo. my faith falters on that a little. We have had a snow/ice covered ground for the past 5 weeks, 5 out of the last 7 services at church have been canceled, we are predicted to get another big snow storm this coming weekend, and one of the biggest on record is predicted for the end of the month. I do enjoy winter but my "hoorays" about the forecast are starting to get just a little weaker.

We celebrated the day by staying close to the uh--central heat. And having one of our family favorites, Cashew Chicken!!