Welcome Happy Morning

Priceless

As you've probably guessed from the upswing of blog posts, life is in perpetual motion around here.  When isn't it!  I'm trying to make a concerted effort to document our experiences.  As I sat on the playground watching my children play and visiting with a friend while waiting on the conclusion of baseball practice, I snapped this photo.

To make it even more priceless, as I was walking back to the group Walker's friend asked, "Is Betsy going to marry that boy she's holding hands with?"

During this "first adolescence" stage we are going through with Betsy, these are the moments I most remember and cherish.  It isn't all bad and hard!  We just have to stay strong and power through.  At least we get to pass these stage with her before we enter true adolescence with Mary Frances.

Life's Tough

It is hard to be the baby.

It is especially hard to be the baby when you are 3 and want to keep up with your siblings.

T.G.I.F.

Spring Break Recap

Until now we have always spent our spring breaks at home and loved it.  This year was different.  We decided to take a long weekend and travel to New Orleans.  No need to bore you on the details of how we landed there, but it was great.  The initial plan was to head south early Thursday morning and hit some of the kid stuff in the Big Easy before my brother, his family, and my mom joined us on Saturday to go to the zoo.

But then our dear friends invited us to spend the first weekend with them on the Alabama Coast.  It seemed quite silly to return home on Monday to drive south again on Thursday so we spent the interim time in Mobile at my mother's house.  Fortunately, Frank has the luxury of a Mobile office where he could spend his days.  That is the only reason this worked!

Without further ado, here are some pictures with minimal commentary...

 Man, it felt good to be on salt water!

Sweet Stephen loves it here!

Betsy finally made friends with Margaret Moore!

What's not to love!

Nothing really to report from our time in Mobile - wet and cold.  Just like it has been in Birmingham for months on end.  More of the same…

And then we headed to NOLA.  I did some reading and planned a bit, but we had no definitive agenda.  We wanted the children to experience some of the quintessential New Orleans highlights    

Day 1 - Lunch at Felix's, a jaunt around Jackson Square, a gander at the Mighty Mississippi, and on up Canal to the Insectarium where one child threw up.  Nice, I know.  Back to the hotel.  Time in the room.  Time at the pool.  Out to supper at The Pelican Club.  Sorry no pictures.

Day 2 - Breakfast at Mothers, the Aquarium and Imax.  Rain rain go away!  Back to the room and lots of time at the pool.

Day 3 - Breakfast at Camilla Grill, on to the Audobon Zoo, change for supper, early meal, more time at the pool.  Too many pictures.  It is more fun to take pictures with cousins.

Day 4 - Breakfast at Cafe DuMonde, deliver the Mobile crew to the Aquarium, load the car, drive home.

So where was everyone else?

Upon returning home, remind my crew that they have nine weeks of school and we will finish strong.

I. LOVE. SPRING.

And so do my children...

After what seems like a long, cold winter, it appears that spring is finally here.  We returned home from spring break to flowers and warmer weather.  That of course means there is pollen in the air, but we don't care.  We are so thankful to play outside without coats and gloves.

We're ready to pull out the shorts and dig in the dirt.

We are in the final quarter of school and some of us might be suffering from a little spring fever.  I can tell I am going to be preaching the message of "finish strong" for the next nine weeks.      

A New Love

Last spring, I joked that Stephen had his first love.  That was, of course, baseball, and his affinity hasn't waned one bit in the last 12 months.  He has simply added a couple of new interests to the things he adores.

Once school began in August, Stephen was hit with the football bug, and it hasn't let up.  He loves everything about it.  He loves to play it.  He plays at school, in our yard, with friends.  He loves to watch it.  Some love to just watch "their" team.  Not Stephen, he loves to watch it all.  He doesn't really care who is playing or at what level.  It can be high school, college, or the NFL, and he wants to sit and watch.  Actually, this has been a good way to learn about the game.  He has picked up the language and definitely understands the nuances of how it is played.  On occasion, he is even known to sleep with his football.

So for Christmas, Mary Frances received a chess set, and that is Stephen's new love.  We have had a long, dreary, cold, and wet winter, so there has been ample time for inside activity.  Stephen is always looking for someone to play in chess.  Unfortunately, I don't really know how to play.   He has taught me the rules, but quite honestly I don't really want to devote the time to truly understanding them.  Mary Frances knows the gist of how to play but most of the time she can't be bothered with her little brother and Walker has know desire to learn.

A Triple Lutz in Meal Planning

I am forever trying new recipes that none of the younger set in this house like.  That isn't entirely true!  Stephen will eat most anything that is put in front of him, and Mary Frances is willing to try most anything.  However, that doesn't mean they really like it!  I know if I have hit a home run because one or more of them will say, "ding, ding, birthday dinner!"  You know, as I write that I realize Walker has even made some progress in the variety of foods he will eat.  He is more willing to try new things.  That is, unless they are green.

I've told you before that I am a meal planner.  I have to be!  I probably spend way too much time thinking about and preparing the food that we consume.  It is my non-negotiable.  My potties might be dirty, but we will eat well.

Some weeks as I plan my menu, I have tried and true dishes.  When I say "tried and true," it means things that Frank and I like or things that can be created with items that I always have in my house.  I have never been one to plan my meals around my children's tastes and preferences.  If it sounds good to me, then I am willing to fix it.

On other weeks, the menu is full of new ideas.  Most people abhor change, but some people love it.  I fall somewhere in the middle.  I've realized that meal planning is where I am able to incorporate low risk change in our life.  I have an ongoing list of vegetables and whole grains that I want to incorporate into our meal planning and another of foods that I want to try to make from scratch.  We spend a lot of time in the kitchen.

This was one of those weeks where the menu was full of new items.  Mardi Gras was Tuesday, but we honored New Orleans on Monday because we had a birthday to celebrate on Tuesday.  In that vein, I fixed "Quick Chicken Jambalaya."  You know I as able to complicate that "quick" recipe, but it received favorable ratings from everyone in the house.  Mary Frances even said, "Mama, you need to add this to the rotation."  Those are some of my favorite words to hear.

On Tuesday we celebrated Frank's birthday and had one of his favorite meals, Blackberry Pork Tender.  On Wednesday, Frank was going to be out of town and Mary Frances had softball practice until 7:00.  I decided we would have breakfast for supper, however I decided to try something new - breakfast cupcakes!  Again, this was eaten by everyone!  We are on a roll or maybe they are just growing up.  With a name like that, everyone was willing to try it, and I suggested, they add it to their breakfast rotation.  

That brings us to Thursday…As I was planning our weekly menu, I knew I would be gone all day Thursday and Friday.  Each March, I attend a two-day conference to receive my CEUs needed to keep my speech license current.  I also knew that Walker and Stephen had baseball practice at 5:30.  Therefore, I knew I needed something that could cook itself.  While I don't use my slow cooker often, I am attempting to become its friend.  On Thursday, we dined on Asian Glazed Chicken and 3/4 of the kiddos liked it.  Seventy-five percent is excellent in my eyes when it comes to dinner consumption!

And now you also have an idea of why I can't find the time and energy to chronicle our lives on this little blog!