Funny

I saw this on another blog I follow and I just HAD to repost it! Every single thing in this is so very true about me! Enjoy!

Recipe - Easy Cheese Ravioli Casserole

I had to go back through my blog and make sure that I didn't already post this recipe. It's become an easy "go-to" for me because it only takes minutes to make, you assemble it in advance, so it makes dinnertime a breeze, and it is full of things my family loves.

Basically, it's store-bought ravioli topped with sun-dried tomatoes, broccoli & cheese then you pour an egg mixture on top which binds it all together during the cooking process. I usually serve it with an additional veggie and some biscuits, so the kids (and Brian) get double veggies and don't even notice! (I'm so sneaky sometimes - ha!).

Here are the steps (ingredient list is at the bottom):
1. Spray casserole dish with Pam and place store-bought (refrigerated - NOT frozen) ravioli on bottom of dish.
2. Chop up sun-dried tomatoes and sprinkle over ravioli.

 3. Top that with fresh (or thawed if frozen) broccoli.

4. Then sprinkle with shredded cheese. 

5. Mix together eggs & milk in separate bowl.
6. Season casserole with salt & pepper.
7. Pour egg mixture over entire dish.
8. Cover and let sit in fridge for 2 to 24 hours.
9. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes until center is set (not gooey). Let stand for 10 minutes.

ENJOY!

Ingredients:

*** I cut this recipe in half for our family, but if you have lots of kiddos or want leftovers, then make the full recipe. ***

• (2) 9 oz. packages of refrigerated ravioli (any flavor will work)
• 1/2 of a 7 oz. jar of oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
• 2 cups broccoli florets (thawed if frozen)
• 2 cups shredded cheese (colby or cheddar)
• 8 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• Salt & pepper to taste

A Special Night

Lately, Payton has been asking if he could sleep in our bed at night. This is very unusual, as he's always loved sleeping in his own bed and was never one to crawl in our bed in the middle of the night. 
But I think he is enjoying the extra freedom that comes with summertime, and knows that if he sleeps in our room, he'll get to stay up late, and get in some extra cuddle time.
So, last night, we decided we'd let him sleep in our bed...with one caveat. Mom would sleep in his bed. I do not do well with extra people in the bed. I need my space, I need the freedom to roll over, readjust, and honestly, not have any little people glomming on to me in the middle of the night.
He was so excited at the thought of sleeping in our room. He got his blanket and all pillows from his bed and then took my pillows and brought them into his room. While we were finalizing all the room/bed switching, he snuck over to his craft table and quietly wrote a little "goodnight note" to me.

This is what I found when I went to bed:

A special little letter placed very carefully on the pillow.

 This is what it says:

 "Dear Mom, you are the best mom in the world!

P.S. U + Me = (heart)

How are you so pretty?

Love, P-dog XOXO (heart)"

I mean come on...does that not just make you want to give him the biggest squeeze ever??? He's so precious.

This is what I found when I peeked in on the boys 30 minutes later:

 And you wonder why I moved into Payton's room? Not a whole lotta space left for me in this king-sized bed! :)

Recently...

We've been:

Crossing off lots of things on our "Summer List."

One fun item was making sock puppets.

We busted out the craft bin, the hot glue gun, some of Brian's old tube socks and got to work!

 As usual, Payton knew exactly what he wanted his to look like. He wanted a dragon with blue & green spikes down it's back.
(Naughty sock puppet snuck in this picture)

 

 Parker napped through most of the "creation" part of it, so when he got up, he was a bit confused by these new creatures on our hands.

 Personally, I think all sock puppets should have pink feathered hair and a pink & green necklace. But that's just me.
(Speaking of sneaking in pictures... Parker managed a peek in this one)

We've also been playing with Payton's trains. 
We may have a new train-lover on our hands!

 

 Should we hide all the trains now so that we can give them to him for Christmases & birthdays? Is that wrong??

 And I've been dragging both boys with me to Target.
 We start at the snack bar where they get to choose a pretzel or popcorn. Then, if they're good while I shop, I let Payton play the display DS while I take Parker to the toy aisles.

Recently, Parker tore away from me in the toy aisle and ran across into the electronics area for a full-fledged sneak-attack hug!

 Absolutely heart-melting!

And with all the rain we've been having, we've been making lots of indoor forts. 
It keeps them happy until the rain stops and they can go outside and stomp in the puddles. 

This is how Brian caught them in the fort yesterday...

Parker was mad that Payton had Brian's phone.

 So to even the score, I gave him mine.

Peace & quiet ensued for about 5 minutes.

What have you been up to recently?

Mitten Strings for God

My sister-in-law sent me a book recently. Out of the blue. For no reason at all. I love that about her. She finds something she really enjoys - like a great-smelling candle, or a good book - and she wants to share it. With no intentions of receiving anything in return. I guess that's what it's like to have a sister. Lucky me. :)

This is the book she sent me. It's titled, "Mitten Strings for God - Reflections for Mothers in a Hurry." The title alone intrigued me enough to read it, because really... what mother isn't in a hurry most of the time?

(Sorry for the bad image copied off Amazon.com)

It's a great book. One that I highly recommend, and one that I intend to share with another one of my mama friends very soon. This is the passage that caught my attention last night:

"There is a famed meditation teacher who writes about mindful parenting. He suggests that we think of our children as Zen masters housed in small bodies, who come into our lives to push at all of our fixed ideas. They are our best teachers, he says, and one way or another they will teach us whatever hard lessons we most need to learn."

This idea really struck me because my boys have already begun to push some of my fixed ideas on things. Payton is the constant negotiator. I can tell him 50 times (and post signs in the house) about the fixed rules associated with earning video game time. And yet every day he will suggest something new that he thinks is a great alternative to rules. Here's an example of a typical conversation:

Payton: Mom, can I play the Wii?

Me: No, you haven't earned any electronic time.

Payton: But I already did my chores.

Me: That doesn't earn you electronic time. Read the chart. You need to read and do a math page.

Payton: But it's summertime!

Me: No.

Payton: How about if I read all of my "Piggie & Elephant" books? Will that earn me electronic time?

Me: No. You still need to do a math page.

Payton: What if I read for 30 minutes and play with Parker for 10 minutes?

Me: That's not what the chart says.

Payton: I know, but wouldn't you rather me play with my brother than do a math page? Come on, it's way more important, don't you think???

Me: Oh, okay.

He gets me to change my mind on things that I am determined will not change. This is a silly example, and I'm sure he will teach me a lot more valuable lessons as he continues to mature, but already he is showing me that one lesson I need to learn is "being more flexible." It's something I struggle with as a person, and especially as a parent. And boy, these kids are really teaching me what flexibility is all about!

I saw an Oprah special recently where she interviewed Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka, a famous Hollywood couple, who also happen to be gay. The men shared their experiences with how they told their father's they were gay. One father accepted it right away and sort of always had it in the back of his head that his son was probably gay. The other father (a military man) took a while to accept the news. He had to work through a lot of fixed ideas that he had about someone being "gay." Can you imagine the lessons his son taught him about accepting people for who they are, loving people even if you don't understand - or agree with - their lifestyle, and learning how to change his own fixed ideas? 

I feel in awe sometimes at the huge responsibility that God has given me to be a mother to my two boys. I could view it as "pressure" to raise them the way God wants me to. But instead, I see it as an incredibly opportunity and gift. God is allowing me the privilege to impact the way two human beings view the world. And yet at the same time, He is allowing my children to greatly impact the way I view the world. Every day they teach me something new. Every. Single. Day. I just have be aware of it. Being involved in the lives of children is an amazing thing.

And now... it's time for me to go get my little Zen Master from his crib. I'm ready to learn. Ready to be flexible. Ready for today's lesson!

Thanks again Amanda for the book. And for being an awesome sista!

It was a Happy 4th of July

Before I get into how we spent our 4th of July yesterday, I just want to take a moment to again say thank you to all of our military - past & present - and their families. If it weren't for you, life would be so different for all of us. We so often take for granted the sacrifices that people have, and are, making in order to give us a comfortable, safe life. So, thank you to all of the people who make this holiday so special. It is because of you that our flag still stands for freedom!

As for how we spent our 4th of July, it was low-key, laid-back, and just what the doctor ordered!

We woke up, had coffee and hit the road bright and early to the beach.

We knew we wanted to be there before the crowds, and fortunately, so did our other friends who met us there. The kids had a ball playing in the wet sand, swimming in the ocean and exploring the beach.

 

After the beach we returned home for some downtime, naptime and some baseball on TV. Then we went over to our friends house (same one's we went to the beach with) for their annual "Father/Son Hot Dog Eating Contest." It was hysterical and disgusting all at the same time!

Then the kids had a massive water balloon fight!

(This entire wagon was filled with water balloons!)

Here's a funny sequence of Parker learning about water balloons for the first time...

Don't let his face fool you... he loved every single minute of it!

Then the kiddos got out the sparklers:

And then the real fireworks started when Parker melted down and we quickly said, "Good night" to our friends and headed home for our own 4th of July BBQ.

The boys had fun getting dirty setting up the charcoal grill:

 "MAN TIME"

And then we watched some fireworks in our neighborhood, along with some that we could see outside from our back porch:

It was the perfect end to our holiday week of celebrations. 

Hope you all had a safe and fun 4th of July too!

An Early 4th of July Vacation

We just got back from a wonderful vacation at our friend's house on the St. John's River. The setting was a-maz-ing!

This was the view from the family room windows:

 Another view from the family room:

 Speaking of the family room... this was the perfect place to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning. Just look at all those windows!

 Did you notice this amazing little sitting area by the dock with wooden gliders? It was so beautiful out here in the mornings!

 Even our suburban boy embraced his woodsy side with a new camo hat.

 During the day we all would head out on the boat for swimming and tubing.

When we stopped for swim breaks, the kids particularly enjoyed being thrown off the back of the boat into the water:

 Payton had the BEST time tubing. He loved every second of it... even when he flipped off! (Sorry, no pictures of that, as I was about to jump in to get him. Fortunately, he was perfectly fine.)

 Even the littlest one got to hang out on the tube (when the boat was anchored of course):

 All of the swimming and fresh air really knocked Parker out!

 And in the evenings, we would go for sunset cruises:

 And search for alligators and turtles laying on log branches:

 It was the perfect getaway with an amazing family. Thank you so much for having us!