Saturday, April 27, 2013

Waiting on the Flowers. . .

It seems like eons since I have blogged.  I really have no excuse, but to say that I have been busy and a bit preoccupied.  So, what does one do when one wakes up at two thirty in the morning and can't go back to sleep?  Well, I guess one blogs!
We are still waiting (not so patiently) for spring to arrive around here.  This past week we woke up to snow, not on the ground, but it certainly covered our grill and patio set.  I had to rub my eyes to make sure I wasn't seeing things.  This is very late in the season to have anything close to snow in this area.  To prove how fickle our weather can be, last week our little radio station reported that the record high for the day (in history) was 90 degrees, and the record low was 29 degrees.  Quite a variation for even weird weather Missouri.  Yesterday we had cool temperatures, rain, drizzle, cloud cover and wind.  It was not a pretty sight!  Tomorrow promises much better conditions with 70 degrees and sunshine.  Finally.
The kids are winding down their school year.  Mason read to me tonight and I about fell out of my chair.  He is a young kindergartener (won't be 6 until July).  His mom bought him a superhero type book with lots of difficult words and he read it to me!  I had to help him with some of the words like gunship, Decepticon (whatever that is) and transformer, but he read.  And I don't mean a little "See Spot Go" type book.  I WAS AMAZED!  One day you are changing their diapers and the next day they are reading you a book.  I am one proud Grandma!
The kids are both playing soccer and Mason is in little league football.  We attended their games last week, which had both been delayed due to the extremely wet spring we are having.  Maddison is doing well, and seems to be getting the idea of soccer.  She is not a very aggressive player, but she enjoys the experience and really had fun being the goalie.  Mason is a quick little guy.  He runs like the wind and loves to snatch the flags off other kids belts (even if they don't have the ball!).
My favorite little camera is not working right now, so my picture taking has slowed down.  I have a much nicer camera, but I have to admit that I favor the small one that I can slide in my pocket.  The better camera is bigger, has lots more buttons to worry with and cannot be stored in my purse.  I guess it is time to dust it off and start to use it again.  I love taking outdoor photos of our farm, especially when the seasons begin to change.  I may have to take the kids with me and go on a photo walk.
I have passed a couple of hours time and really need to see if I can get some sleep.  We have another soccer game to attend tomorrow.  Good night all, or maybe good morning to some!

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Could It Really Be Spring?


My camera has been out of commission recently, so I am digging in the archives for some pictures of the kids.  Spring has finally come to our little neck of the woods. Yesterday was 70 degrees, partly sunny and very windy here.  We spent a lot of time outside with the children (wading in the creek, playing on the trampoline, walking in the woods).  It felt so good to have the warm sun shinning down again!
Amanda is in St. Louis today running a half marathon.  I know she will do great!  Jessica and Scott are also in St. Louis this weekend to celebrate his upcoming birthday.  Mason started little league football last week.  His team consists of 3, 4 and 5 year olds. He is one of the bigger kids and can run like the wind!  Maddie and Mason are both starting soccer next week, so life is going to get a little busier than usual.  We have our camping chairs loaded in the truck for some major sideline viewing.
In other news, Randy and I have started a new adventure in becoming healthier.  We are doing a 5-2 fast (The Fast Diet by Michael Mosley).  For 5 days you eat normal and 2 days a week you reduce your calories by 75%, or about 500 a day for me and 600 a day for him.  So far the experience has been good.  The two fasting days go by quickly (we use Mondays and Thursdays) and the other days we don't worry about food, we just eat normal. 
And while on the subject of food, we tried two new recipes this weekend and both were a success.  We made an old fashioned "Dump Cake" using pineapple and blueberry pie filling for the base.  This was a Paula Deen recipe and it was really a good combination.  I have made it before using cherry pie filling, which neither one of us is crazy about, but the blueberry was a great change.  The kids loved it!
My friend and co-worker, Leona, gave me a recipe for a delicious salad and dressing that we had last night.  You toss a salad (she used kale, I used romaine) with thinly sliced apple, thinly sliced red onion, toasted walnuts (I added some sliced English cucumber) and dress it with a combination of: 1T olive oil, 1T light mayo, juice from 1/2 orange, a squeeze of lemon and salt and pepper.  It was so good!  I think I will use the dressing for other salads.  It was fresh tasting and light.  I have been wanting to start making my own salad dressings, and this was a great start.
I  hope to get my camera up and working again soon, so I will try to be a better blogger. 
Have a wonderful day and a super week!