Scenes from the Weekend & An Updated Recipe

Thank you so much for all of your positive and encouraging comments and emails regarding my last post about some of the behavior challenges we're facing with our children right now. It's so nice to be able to share not only the fun things on this blog, but also the difficult things, and know that there will be people who will encourage us along the way. So, thank you!

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This past weekend was mostly spent around the house, which is rare, and yet so good. 

Friday evening Brian was still in Texas for a work trip, so the boys and I went to our friend's new house for an evening of swimming & pizza. The kids had a ball and I loved seeing her gorgeous new home.

I woke up to Brian climbing into bed around 1 a.m. and it felt so good to reach over and grab his hand, knowing he was home. I don't sleep well when he's out of town, so it's a good thing he rarely travels.

Saturday morning, we split up and Brian took Payton to serve with our church's "Second Saturday" community service project; and Parker and I went downtown to participate in a charity 5K walk for our good friend who has Juvenile Diabetes.

All of us walking under a major roadway in downtown Tampa. It was so weird to be walking on these streets!

Parker and I walking along beautiful Bayshore Blvd.

We all had wonderful experiences and as they say, it really does feel good, when you do good for others. 

After some seriously-needed showers, the whole fam went out to a late lunch at one of our favorite water-side restaurants. This gorgeous bird - lovingly named "Fred" by the restaurant employees - sat next to our table and patiently watched until Parker inevitably dropped a sweet potato fry on the ground. To which Fred quickly gulped down his throat.

The rest of the weekend we took it pretty easy and just enjoyed lounging around the house watching the Masters and taking it easy. Sunday afternoon we got our giant inflatable pool out for the kids. Parker in particular gets so excited about this pool. And I have to admit, it is pretty fun to have!

Last but not least, I wanted to share an updated recipe with you.

I've posted this Italian Chicken Recipe before, but this time, I updated it and made it a Greek version. It was so delicious and SUPER easy.

Baked Greek Chicken

Ingredients:

• 3-4 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 can petite diced tomatoes
• Jar of pitted kalamata olives
• Container of crumbled feta cheese (I used the tomato/basil version)
• Greek salad dressing (I made my own using Ina Garten's recipe, found here)
• Oregano

Directions:

1. Spray casseroled dish with non-stick cooking spray and place raw chicken in dish. Pour Greek dressing over chicken.
2. Dump can of tomatoes over the chicken, then sprinkle with feta cheese, olives and oregano.
3. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Let me tell you... despite the recipe being SO easy... it explodes with flavor! If you like Greek salads, you will love this dish. Sadly, I had to scrape off most of the toppings for my children, but they still said the flavor was delicious. :) I served it with rice, but I bet it would be great with Cous Cous too.

That's all for today. I hope you'll return later this week when I re-visit my new series, "Marriage & Family: Creating Harmony in the Home," when I'll be addressing age-appropriate chores.

Have a great week everyone... go out and be fabulous! ;)