Amoxicillan to the Rescue!

So sickness had invaded our household last week. Not the mini, but DH, then me. He had what we think was the flu. He was out of commission for 2.5 days. By Saturday, I was starting to feel something, but we thought it was just a touch of what DH had. So we took the mini to the birthday party she had been invited to (pictures to come). The kids all had fun. That evening, the birthday mom called to tell me that she had the flu - not a surprise since her oldest had actually left the party a bit early because he wasn't feeling well. And even though DH was on the mend, I was starting to feel really crummy. As we all know, this sort of behavior is a definite no-no for a mommy. So on Sunday morning, when my throat was so sore and swollen that I could barely swallow, and after a night of tossing and turning, I finally decided to go to the local "doc-in-a-box" clinic. When the doctor checked my throat, his exact quote was "Yuck." No kidding. Turns out I had Strep throat. I don't think I've had that since I was a kid. I know I never want it again. However, they were able to give me a prescription for amoxicillan and within 24 hours I was feeling tons better. By 36 hours, I felt almost normal again. God bless antibiotics!

Making Pizza!

Today was a glorious day in the our kitchen. The mini made her own pizza! I found a ready-made crust at Kroger that didn't have any dairy or egg products in it, then I found shredded rice cheese at another grocery store in town. A little Boboli pizza sauce and we were set! She had a lot of fun putting it together, and then eating it. I think she'll have pizza dreams tonight!

The mini was beyond thrilled that she got to "cut" some ham. She got two kiddie cutlery sets for Christmas and she loves to try to cut her food with the knife.

Spreading the olive oil - it's like painting on the food!

Then came the sauce - yummy!

Adding the toppings - we had pepperoni, canadian bacon, green peppers, and of course, lots of cheese!

Reaching for the cheese to add it to the pizza...

...or to eat it before they get to the pizza! This happened with the peppers, too. She actually said, "these are yummy, Mommy. I like peppers!"

Proud of her culinary skills!




After baking...

...and fresh from the oven!

What a masterpiece!



Sometimes the best part is the aroma!

Nah! The best part is the taste! A drink to start the meal.

Here, she's planning her attack, which part of the pizza will get the first bite?

And the big finish!

Isn't pizza great? And homemade pizza is the best!

The Past Few Days

DH was on the phone with his mom the other day when he came home from work. Of course, as soon as the mini realized who was on the phone, she absolutely had to have her turn talking to Grandma. She actually tries to have complete conversations on the phone these days, with running commentary on what has been happening in her life. For example, she had to show Grandma her new toys - through the phone. She hasn't quite gotten it yet, that even though you can talk to Grandma, she can't see what you're doing. It was too cute!



On Sunday after church, because the mini has been behaving really well lately, we went to the toystore and bought her two new puzzles. The first one she wanted to work on was the Strawberry Shortcake puzzle. She opened it, dumped it on the floor and proceded to figure it out all by herself! She put that whole puzzle together in less than 15 minutes - MENSA here we come!

Today, one of the mini's friends came over for a playdate. She's about 6 months younger than the mini, so she doesn't have quite the same attention span, even though they are in the same class in pre-school. There was definitely a lot of screaming and a lack of willingness to share, but one thing they did agree on was that painting and watching Pinnochio were fun. They were really cute!

Cloud Shapes

In the car on the way home from school today the mini said "Look Mommy!" and pointed out the window. I turned my head and she said, "There's a rhino!" A few seconds later she saw an elephant, then something else that I can't remember. What followed was a conversation about the different animals she saw, what they were thinking and doing and how cool they were. It was a wonderful 15 minutes. I didn't even know that she paid attention to the clouds in the sky! I think we've only looked at the clouds with her once before. I just assumed (yes, I know what that makes me) that she wasn't old enough to make those kinds of abstract connections. Now we have a new game for when the weather gets warmer and we can lay on our backs out in the yard. She just get more fun every day!

Playdate Fun

Silly mommy! I only took a couple of pictures of the mini's recent playdate with her friend from gymnastics class. Maybe because this was the only moment that I could get anything resembling a non-fuzzy shot? Anyway, both girls seemed to have a lot of fun pretending to be princesses and then playing with play-doh. Notice that her friend seems happy to have her picture taken. The mini, on the other hand, was too engrossed in "Super Why" and popcorn to be bothered with smiling. I hope she understands why her scrapbook doesn't look perfect when she's older! In any case, we hope her friend comes over again soon!

Hitchcockian Moments

These pictures don't really do justice to the overload of feathered invaders, but they were the best I could do.

I don't know what's up with the birds around here recently, but I have new respect for that town in Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds." It seems like thousands of birds have been showing up and littering the ground with their blackness. The sound is nothing short of earsplitting, and kinds of freaks me out a bit. I'm guessing that since the weather has been unusually warm recently, maybe a lot of bugs or worms are coming out of the ground, which means smorgasborg for the birdies. I hope they move on soon. I've never been a big fan of horror stories and I certainly don't want to live in one!

Irish Blessings

I've been told all my life that many of my ancestors hail from Ireland, somewhere around County Monoghan in the north. Although I have never been an overt celebrator of all things Irish, I have been know to swell with pride on occasion when discovering something fabulous about that land or the people in it. So in honor of that heritage and just because for some reason I'm feeling a bit sentimental about the upcoming holiday, I thought I'd go ahead and throw in my two cents. Or at least I'd copy and paste somebody else's two cents and then claim it as my own! To that end, and even though it isn't quite March yet, I thought I'd go ahead and post a couple of Irish blessings that I got from my Circle group at church. I hope you all have a Happy St. Patrick's Day!

An Old Irish Blessing

May love and laughter light your days,
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life's passing seasons
bring the best to you and yours!


From St. Patrick's Breastplate

Christ be with me
Christ before me
Christ behind me
Christ in me
Christ beneath me
Christ on my right
Christ on my left
Christ where I lie
Christ where I sit
Christ where I arise
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me
Christ in every eye that sees me
Christ in every ear that hears me
Salvation is of the Lord.