mushroom.huntin'

The end of April/beginning of May is prime mushroom huntin' season! Josh wandered out into the woods and found a few really nice morels this past weekend. He was soooo excited! I'm sure this will be an annual tradition!

fun.with.cousins

We were able to spend a few days with Aunt Jill and Eden last week! We had soooo much fun! The girls all had their first sleepover at the lake, and little did they know that they all brought pink pajamas to the party!

It is so much fun to watch my girls love on Eden. Claire and Meredith just adore her!! And, well, Amelia really likes her, but we all have to be on the lookout when she's around!

Don't you just want to eat her up?! She's so sweet!

My mom took the day off last Friday to spend with all of her favorite girls! She spoils us rotten...all of us. We had chicken salad, donuts, popsicles, drumstick ice cream, and the list goes on and on.... We love you, Mom! Thanks for making sweet memories with us! :)

may.menu.planning

I can't believe that it's May already! What happened to April??! May will be a busy month in our household, but a fun one! May through September are great months for me because I don't have to cook nearly as much. It's lake season, so we get to bring a dish or two somewhere instead of having to make an entire meal. Gotta love that!

May 3-8
5/3: deer steaks/fried morel mushrooms (josh found some!!)
5/4: fiesta chicken burritos (new/crockpot)
5/5: turkey breast (crockpot)
5/6: stir-fry (josh!)
5/7: super burritos (better homes and gardens...missed it last month)
5/8: claire's choice (bonfire cooking): chicken patties, toast, egg salad and crackers, smores for dessert
**i've never made chicken patties over a fire before...should be an interesting experience!

May 10-12
5/10: chicken cordon bleu (crockpot)
5/11: sloppy joes (new recipe)
5/12: charley's slow-cooker meat (new...missed it last month)
5/13-5/15:  no cooking...this will be a fun weekend...did i mention that i love may?

May 17-22
5/17: spaghetti
5/18: jackie chicken
5/19: grilled smoked sausage (josh!)
5/20: deer and noodles
5/21: carribean chicken (new)
5/22: meredith's choice (bonfire cooking): hot dogs, mandarin oranges, chocolate rice krispies

May 23-28
5/23: fish fryin' (josh!)
5/24: roast (crock pot)
5/25: frozen pizza w/ the babysitter (we're going on a date to a baseball game!!)
5/26: chicken manicotti (makes 2, freeze one for next month)
5/27: claire's birthday meal (her choice): deer steaks, creamy corn, stawberry/grape/apple salad, chocolate cake
5/28: homemade pizza (hopefully the kids won't mind eating pizza twice in the same week!)

By the way, the picture at the top of the post is the skillet penne and sausage supper from last month.  All I have to say is yum!  It is so tasty.  It is going in our rotation for sure!!  The kids weren't huge fans (more for us!) and it was a little on the expensive side, but we'll be making it again for sure!  This will be a good late-dinner meal for the two of us.

the.great.outdoors

This girl can't get enough of the great outdoors. She brings me her shoes at least 5 times a day to inform me that she would like to go outside. She doesn't like it when I tell her to put them back. And when we do go outside, she completely falls apart when it's time to come in....for a nap. She leads such a rough life.

dragon.flies

The girls made some "dragon flies" (is that 1 word or 2? the more I look at it, I think it's 1, but I'm not going to change it) the other day out of a cookbook for kids. Super cute.

Dragon Flies or Dragonflies...however you want to write it:)

6 pretzel rods

12 large pretzels (we used 24 mini prezels because we couldn't find the big ones)

6 squares of almond bark

Optional: food coloring and sprinkles

1.  Cover a cookie sheet with foil.  Spray with cooking spray.  Line preztels on cookie sheet.

2.  Put almond bark in a bowl.  Microwave on high for 30 seconds at a time (stirring along the way) until melted.

3.  Add food coloring if you'd like.

4.  Cover pretzel rods with melted almond bark.  Dunk regular or mini-pretzels into the melted almond bark and stick to the top of the pretzel rods.  Add sprinkles.

5.  Put pretzels in the freezer for 15 minutes and enjoy!

dr.seuss

Claire has been reading several Dr. Seuss stories.  I found this really fun "One Fish Two Fish" project over at Deep Space Sparkle Art.  The girls really enjoyed it!  Meredith's fish are on the left; Claire's are on the right.  They LOVE to paint!

amelia.2

My sweet baby girl is 2. Oh my goodness, I can't even believe it! I bought a kitty costume for her at the resale (in the picture), and she is in love with it! Not only does she love to wear it around the house, but she makes the cutest little kitty that I've ever seen.

At age two Amelia loves...
doing anything that her big sisters do.
Daddy.
playing outside.
listening to music.
eating fruit.
eating bread.
eating cookies (who doesn't?).
wrestling with Daddy, Claire, and Meredith.
dogs...as long as they aren't touching her.
babbling on and on and on and on (and no one knows what she's saying).
baths.

At age two Amelia doesn't like....
sitting in her high chair.
coming inside after playing outside.
going to the nursery at church and co-op.
when people don't want to dance with her.
most of the main dishes that I cook.
getting out of the bathtub.

Amelia Kate, you have no idea how much you are loved in this house. Your big sisters adore you (as do your Mommy and Daddy). As much as we wish you would start using words that we understand, we know that your babbling is only temporary and we find it extremely sweet! It is especially cute when you're upset about something and you are crying and babbling on and on and on. We can't help but laugh. We love you so much Little Miss!