Stinky Broccoli Cravings

For days last week, my Little Man begged me for broccoli.

You heard me right... broccoli.

And, horrible mother am I, we didn't have any broccoli.

So, I promised him that I'd buy broccoli the very next time I went grocery shopping.
As I headed out the door the other night, planning on making a quick stop at the store on my way to Bible study, he was diligent to remind me, "Mommy, please don't forget the broccoli."

When I arrived home later that evening, he and his brothers had just been tucked into bed. I went to kiss them goodnight. Little Man greeted me with a question, "Did you get broccoli?"

Seriously, this kid was clearly craving some roughage!

As promised, I got the broccoli. And, I served him some the following day at lunchtime.

Little Man was HAPPY with his broccoli!

However, his brother had a slightly different opinion. My "J", 2 years older than Little Man, is my pickiest eater. Broccoli is definitely NOT on his list of favorites. So, walking into the kitchen right after this broccoli had been steamed, "J" was greeted by the unpleasant aroma that only broccoli can produce.

"I smell Daisy's (our dog) poop! And it smells like diarrhea!"

Laughing, I explained to him that the smell was the steamed broccoli.

Unconvinced "J".... "No, I've smelled diarrhea, and that's what it smells like."

Now that he's sufficiently convinced that the smell was in fact the broccoli, he has proclaimed that now he'll NEVER like broccoli.

Funny boys! They keep me laughing!

On a side note.... Daisy, our dog. She's a Morkie or a Yorktese, take your pick. She's 1/2 Yorkie, 1/2 Maltese, either way you split it.

And, she thinks she's a cat.   ssssshhhhhh....don't tell my non-cat-loving husband!!  :-)

Breakfast

Out of all the types of food, breakfast food makes me the happiest! :-)
There's something wonderful about filling your tummy, as well as your family's tummies, with warm, yummy breakfast goodness.
My favorites are biscuits with gravy, waffles, pancakes, and scrambled eggs with cheese. Fried potatoes or hashbrowns are also extremely scrumptious. I prefer all of these made in my own kitchen. However, when my family goes out to eat, breakfast food is still my preference; making Bob Ev*n's and Cr*cker Barrel two of my favorite places to eat.
However, there is one area of breakfast foods that I've never been particularly fond of.... hot cereals.
Neither cream of wheat nor oatmeal have ever been on my list of top choices. I recall eating cream of wheat as a child, with the need of a raisin in each bite, just in order to gag it down. I was never fortunate enough to even gag oatmeal down.
Turns out, my children are the same... none of them liking hot cereals.
Deciding it was time to fix this problem, I experimented a little with a baked oatmeal recipe.
Not only do I love it, but all my children (even the pickiest of my eaters) love it as well!
(nevermind that I add chocolate chips and tell them it's like eating a healthy cookie for breakfast :-) )

**A HUGE bonus to this recipe is that you can prepare it the night before. I prepare it in the baking pan and refrigerate it. Then, come morning, I just have to bake it!
Baked Oatmeal
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 cups old-fashioned oats
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup choc. chips (if making the whole thing with choc. chips... use only 1/4 cup if making 1/2 the pan with choc. chips)

Combine all ingredients except for the choc. chips. Make sure all ingredients are well combined, all oats moistened. *If you're making the entire tray of baked oatmeal with choc. chips, you may combine the choc. chips now. Spoon into and spread in a greased 9x9 baking dish. *If you're only making 1/2 of the tray with choc. chips, sprinkle 1/4 cup of choc. chips over 1/2 of the unbaked mixture.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees, 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Serve warm with milk.

Enjoy!!

Thanks, Stef, for the link-up!

compelled to share...

I couldn't help but share this link. "Love's" words both convicted me and encouraged. Please take a moment and read this, and help if you can. Click on the title to go to the link.

Paper Crafting

Absolutely loving this site, and had to share!

We're using it for hands-on projects that go with our history lessons. However, it would be great for just about any occasion! From school projects, to birthday parties, even holiday celebrations.

If you enjoy any type of paper crafting, you've got to check it out!

ENJOY!

Where were you?

I was sitting in my living room recliner, holding my 2 1/2 year-old and 1 1/2year-old. All of us were watching Barn*y. There was nothing different about the day. We'd started our day early, as usual. We'd had breakfast and some play time. It was now time to cuddle together and watch one of our favorite shows. My home telephone rang.

It was my Mom, calling from work. She hadn't seen the news yet, but she and her co-workers had heard on the radio...  2 planes had struck the World Trade Center towers in NY.

Our regular scheduling of Barn*y had not been interrupted. So, I changed the channel.

The same horrific scenes that played and re-played on your TV screens were playing on mine.

My Mom and I stayed on the line together, as I described the scene I was seeing to her. Soon, the first tower fell, then the second.
Her office closed for the day and she came over my house, where we waited for my Dad and Dave. My Dad worked in a building on Penn. Ave., right in the heart of D.C. We knew that he could be right in the middle of the ensuing chaos and  traffic, trying to exit D.C. There was no way to get a hold of him. As we watched live news on the television, bumper to bumper traffic, people getting out and ducking behind their vehicles... fearful, as the last flights grounded at Reagan National or Dulles.... all we could do was pray for his safety.

He did return to us safely, as did my husband. But there were many families who did not experience that reunion that day. They went to bed that night knowing that their loved one would not be returning home. And they will go to bed again tonight, 10 years later, with that same knowledge.

No matter the lack of prayer being allowed in the ceremonies taking place in NY, I am praying for those families who lost loved ones ten years ago. I'm also praying for our country. Praying that somehow, some way, our leaders would acknowledge God again.

A couple weeks ago my boys and I had the honor to go and watch a parade of some 2000 motorcyclists, riding in remembrance of 9/11. They were getting ready to leave from one of their lunch stops when we found them. We were able to talk to several of the officers riding with the group and thank them for their service. Then, we watched and waved as all of them left. They were an amazing sight. The riders, and the amount of people who showed up in support of them, made me proud to be an American.

Family Fun

Hello blogging world!

Like so many of you who also have children, the past few weeks have been *CRAZY* busy. Fall sports have begun, church activities have started back up, and of course... school.

Why does everything have to begin again in September? Or at least within 2 weeks of each other.

This is actually the first year we've begun our school year in September. In past years we've started earlier in the summer and gotten "ahead" in order to have a more relaxed schedule during the holidays, or "close school" for the almost inevitable sick days winter seems to bring. However, this year's summer was busy as well. And, I found myself torn between curriculums late into the summer. This has never happened either. Normally, all curriculum is chosen and purchased by May for the following year. But, I found myself pondering and praying over it, not having a peace about the decision until August. I finally decided to go with something new, Tapestry of Grace , and so far... I'm extremely happy with my choice! The curriculum is rich in content, with a strong emphasis on seeing God's hand in history. We're only a few days into it, and I'm already seeing evidence of my boys recognizing God in ways they hadn't thought about before. I'm excited about the rest of the year.

Other than being busy with schoolwork and preparation for it, we just got back from NC, where we got to visit with my Dad's side of the family. It was wonderful to see all of our relatives! The kids had a great time playing together ... and, well... so did the adults :-).

There are some things that you only enjoy with family.... "sledding" down a grassy hill on a large piece of cardboard may fall in that category. What a hoot!