Lest I Forget

I know, you are probably tired of my food posts. But I am excited to share the stories from my kitchen this week. First of all, I didn't plan it, but if I had, it couldn't have worked out better. On the menu for Monday night was spinach and sausage calzones. I bought a package of sweet italian sausage and a 16 oz. package of frozen spinach. I added some onions to that for the filling. Well, I had A LOT left over. As I sat there pondering, I realized I could use that as pizza topping on Thursday. Thursdays have become boring. The kids always want the same pizzas for dinner: BBQ pizza with pineapples and veggie pizza with olives, onions, sun-dried tomato, and whatever leftover veggies I happen to have. So on pizza night, I really changed things up around here. I oven roasted an eggplant and some mushrooms and made one pizza topped with that. The second pizza I kept to the standard BBQ only for the kids sake. The third pizza I used some of the leftover calzone mixture. I could...

Favorite color: green What street you grew up on: Woodlawn Ave. What was your favorite game when you were a kid? Monopoly. What was your favorite card game? Old Maid. Who was your favorite friend? Jennifer Ways How many brothers and sisters do you have? None. What was your Confirmation name? St. Felicity Favorite animal? bunny rabbit Favorite book? The Bible Favorite show? Dancing with the Stars. Here is the link to view all the entries in the Young Writers Club .

Yesterday morning, Anna came downstairs for breakfast and the first thing she said was, "Mom, I am really nervous about my First Penance tonight." We talked, again, about what would happen. I assured her that once it was all done, she would feel so much better. We practiced the Act of Contrition over and over. She thought of the things she wanted to confess.   We headed to the Church after dinner, but as I looked at her sitting in the pew, I could tell that she was still very nervous. Can't you? Those eyes are so telling.  But look at those eyes now! Can't you see the radiance of a clean soul shining through? She came right back to our pew and knelt so tenderly and whispered her prayer that was her penance.  My heart was so full. Full of love for my sweet child that received her second Sacrament. Full of joy that all our preparing led to this moment. Full of thankfulness that we have this wonderful Sacrament available to us. And very soon, s...

Oh boy! I am so nervous about this newest knitting project. I am going to have to seam it together! I am not quite sure what I was thinking when I decided to try and make this bolero . Not to mention picking up hundreds of stitches to make the ribbed edge. Good grief! Then, as I started knitting, the gauge is so confusing. It says the swatch should be knit in the pattern, but it doesn't say whether the measurements are supposed to taken as it is or as blocked. That makes a huge difference. Sometimes it is good to step out of one's little bubble of security and try new things. How else can one learn? This second picture captures the color a bit better, I think. The purchase of this yarn led to one of those embarrassing little moments in life. The owners of the yarn shop are Jewish and as I was paying for the yarn, the kids noticed a little aquarium with a turtle in it. Running over to peek at the turtle, they broke in song, "Turtle, turtle, turtle, I made i...

Before: flat, builder's grade paint scuffs and handprints The access for the heating/cooling system is on her ceiling. Workmen with dirty hands don't really care about cleanliness. This little bookcase I bought years ago does not match the bed.  After: We moved her chandelier into her room from Jack's room. It is neutral, but clean and fresh! The ceiling, doors, and trim got a fresh coat of white paint. Her room is small, but everything fits. This room is also our guest room when family visits. The repainted bookcase It only took me two Saturdays to get this accomplished!

As most of you know, my last two children have dairy and soy protein intolerance. Little did I know that once you have a child with such an intolerance, subsequent children have a very high likelihood of also being intolerant. I really, really want to breastfeed this new baby. So, I have made the decision to go dairy-free before the baby is born. I am 18 weeks right now and my goal is to be completely dairy-free by 20 weeks. I want to be good at not eating dairy long before those sleepless nights arrive and I am in a fog. So I have been tweaking recipes, searching for new recipes and searching for dairy substitutes that are not yucky. This morning, I made Dutch Apple Bread. The recipe is filled with dairy. So I started making changes as I added ingredients to the bowl. It turned out delicious! Everyone agreed. Here is the dairy-free version: Dutch Apple Bread 1/4 cup coconut oil 1/4 cup applesauce 1/2 cup sugar 2 eggs 1 tsp. vanilla Cream together these ingredients, then ...

Recent funny quotes from my Jack... ...during Mass last week, "Mom, next year I think I'll give up Mass for Lent." ...at dinner, when the chicken was brought to the table, " Mom, you know I gave up meat for Lent." "But Jack," I said, " You have been eating hot dogs for lunch all through Lent." With a look of surprise, Jack said, " That's meat?" ...during an especially competitive game of Candyland yesterday, after the card let him move only one space, "Well, now, that wasn't really very helpful".