Morning cuddles :)

 Nice Lily, very attractive...

Luke's downward-dog split... better than mine!!!

Well, today makes it 32...  I still feel like a kid, yet here I am smack in the middle of an adult's life!  Go figure :)  It's a pretty great life, too.  As I get older, I find myself becoming more reflective when my birthday rolls around.  I don't get depressed about getting older.  I have so many things I am thankful for that I didn't have at 21.  I've been married to my best friend for almost 12 years now.  We have 4 amazing children...  We've built a house and made it a home, experienced joys and tragedy, growing closer step by step.  Over the years I have uncovered my faith little by little and found that the more mysterious it seems, the closer I feel to God.  I don't have all the answers to life's situations, and perhaps I thought that's what made you an adult, knowing everything.  The older I get, the less I know... and somehow there is peace in that.  I am living more harmoniously than ever before in my life. If this is what growing older means, I'm cool with it. 

  Birthdays aren't exactly what they used to be.  All the excitement over getting presents, etc.    I am learning the more important things in life.  

...like a clean kitchen.

This is what I gave myself for my birthday...

A clean kitchen, coffee pot ready, and fresh flowers on the counter :)

I'll have a miracle for my birthday, please...

I woke up this morning to this comment here on my blog:


Hi, 

My name is ___________ and I live in an old house on Southern Boulevard in Chatham, NJ. My children found some items in a drawer on the third floor that may belong to your family. The name on these items is Arthur Herbert. Please call me at  _________  or email me at _________ to let me know how to get these to you or anyone in your family.

My apologies if I have contacted you in error.
Thank you,
______________ 

I have no idea how this kind woman found me, but I am walking in the clouds today.  It's as if my Dad is handing me a birthday present himself.  Can't wait to find out more today...

UPDATE!!!

It is my Dad's old Army stuff.  It turns out she just recently lost both of her parents.  Her Dad grew up in the same town as my dad and her daughter lives 20 minutes away from me.  To say I have chills is a gross understatement!  We are all connected in this life...

What did YOU do Saturday night???

Isaiah had been saving up allowance and some money he had gotten from Grandma & Papa John and Gigi & Old Bob.  We found an Airsoft gun on the internet that he could afford.  It turns out it's a piece of crap, I am so angry at this company for selling something so misleading...  Anyway, there was a container of 5,000 of these little BB's... yes, FIVE THOUSAND......

...and they spilled e v e r y w h e r e . . .

In a past life, I knew what bored felt like...

The other day, the kids were goofing around outside while I watched from the porch.  Isaiah started using Sissy's car as a skateboard, pushing off and then hopping on for the ride.  

 Then, he started pulling some stunts...  a good mommy would have made sure he had a helmet on...

 watch out!

 crazy driver!!!

 Ladies and gentlemen, this is right before the fall...

He managed to walk away without a scrape, but he was hurting.  It's sometimes hard to find the balance as a mother of boys.  They live for adventure, and I certainly don't want to cause them to be afraid.  If they feel brave enough to tackle something, within reason, I don't want to talk them out of it.  They climb trees all the time and like to jump from the swings, the higher the better :)  With thorough angel protection, they have managed to steer clear of the emergency room for things like broken bones and stitches.  I consider that a pure miracle!

Homemade Chicken Nuggets

My kids love chicken nuggets.  What kid doesn't?  The problem is that most of what you can buy in the store is not purely chicken breast.  I have made chicken tenders before just by breading chicken pieces and baking them.  The recipe on the Bisquick box is pretty good.  I found this recipe that caught my eye. She grinds up the chicken breast  in the food processor and then molds them and fries them.  (Fry, I know.  Gonna try baking them next time)  But they are a lot easier to chew for the little ones.

So here are the ingredients: 

4 chicken breasts, 2 eggs, beaten, 1 cup whole wheat flour, 1 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. onion powder, 1/2 tsp. oregano, 1/2 tsp. parsley and 1/4 tsp. cayenne

 I got 38 nuggets out of 4 chicken breasts.  I haven't calculated the exact cost yet.

They were delicious!  We ate a bunch and I froze the rest.  I'll bake them at 350 for 20 minutes.  I LOVE easy lunches that also make the kids happy, are healthy, AND are easy on the pocketbook.  It's a win-win-win-win!!! :)