Easter Concert

At the little school, they had their Easter concert.  They had a small skit along with energetic singing.  Andrew really gets into the music.  It is fun to watch.

We enjoyed a time of snacks following the performance.  Andrew loves his teacher and when he puts his mind to it is doing well.  His favorite subject is gym and he loves to play 4 square at recess.  They just finished testing this week so it will be back to homework and the regular grind. 

Resurrection Biscuits

I can take absolutely no credit for this idea.  Thank you Ellen - she posted this idea on facebook I believe.  It should also be noted that she used crescent rolls.  They would probably be less dry.  And I used the idea, Easter Sunday morning to bring our focus back to Jesus and his resurrection.  It is super simple and the boys had so much fun.  So here is how it works.

 One package of grands biscuits.  It should be noted that Andrew thought it was great that ours exploded when we opened it.  I guess I had had those biscuits awhile.  You also need 8 marshmallows, melted butter and cinnamon and sugar ( i used a ratio of 1Tablespoon of sugar to 1 teaspoon of cinnamon).  We then talked about how the the woman had washed Jesus feet with special perfume(the butter).

 And that it was the custom of the time to put spices on a persons body when he died (cinnamon and sugar).

 And that Jesus was buried in the tomb for three days (We pulled the biscuit apart and then had the boys seal the marshmallow in the biscuit).  Then we baked at 400 for about 15 minutes.  During which we read the Easter story from Andrew's children's Bible.

And the result was...

...an empty center.  He is risen.  He is not here.  And it was good eats.  They were so excited they called and invited Abuela over to eat them with them. 

The boys also enjoyed a very low key Easter egg hunt which involved the eggs that they had colored with daddy earlier that week.  I have no photo evidence of this adventure.

Home study

We are in to process of renewing our paperwork for adoption number 3.  One of the requirements is a family picture.  We have a new home study agency due to the retirement of the our caseworker.  So I have been a little more stressed about this renewal than the last one.  However all went well.  We had to do some renewal stuff we hadn't considered because the last time we had a first review we had just moved into our house.  Thus all the permits and stuff had just been cleared by the township.  We are officially waiting 5 months and the average wait is 18 months to 3 years.  We are practicing patience whether we like it or not.

Rice Crispies Houses

I finally downloaded some pictures from my camera and some of them are from Christmas.  So here is one of our Christmas adventures.  I am not a huge fan of gingerbread but I thought decorating a gingerbread house might be fun.  So this is my alternative.



 These are Rice Crispie Treat house.  I put homemade rice crispie treats in 2 - 8 x 8 dishes.  Then I cut out a roof and chimney.  Of course I ate the evidence.  Then I let the boys decorate.

 We used icing as the glue and sprinkles, mixed nut mix, chocolate chips and other cereals to decorate.  We used cookie cutters as templates to trace if they wanted.  They had a blast decorating.  Grandpop and Abuela got in on the act.

Of course we ate the result. But I liked the fact that you actually wanted to eat the result.

The End of Cheese Sauce

Well one large can of cheese sauce can make and be used for all the following...

Tacos
Cheese dip with salsa
Potato soup
Chicken casserole with cheese
A pizza cheese dip

Just a few things that can be done with cheese sauce.

The Joy of Normal

I am going to visit the topic of infertlity but from an odd place.  Most people talk about the proccess and coming to peace with whatever happens.  And I have done these things but what about after that time.  You are not trying to get pregnant anymore; or you have gotten pregnant and you are done; or whatever your situation.  But what do you do when something "normal" for everyone else happens to you.  How do you feel?  What do you think?  I am not sure what others think but here is my experience recently.

It is a little hard to explain but there are things in life that normal for most people but for some people with infertlity there is nothing normal about it.  With all the drugs or testing you often feel like a pin cushion or science experiment or just "weird" or abnormal.  You come to terms with the fact you are never going to be "normal."  So when your body does something normal you are excited.  You go wow and then you start to wonder again.

Do I suddenly expect something to change.  To just say no is not totally true but it is sort of odd.  It crosses my mind but usually not enough to take a test or prusue it.  And then it goes to the back burner.  For me there isn't an extreme high or low anymore.  But normal in itself is exciting.  Maybe because it makes me feel less like a freak and more like everyone else.  "Normal" may only be a moment in time or may become a part regular part of my life.  Either way I am enjoying my normal moment.

To women and/or men dealing with infertlity enjoy the moments of normal.  Enjoy them for not what they could mean but just for being normal.  For me that is the joy of "Normal."

Leftover Cheese Sauce

Sometimes you end up with strange leftovers.  In my case I bought a very large container of cheese sauce.  I thought I was going to do nachos for a super bowl party but things change.  So first I made tacos.  And here is the other idea I came up with to use some more cheese sauce.

Cheese Potato Soup

4 medium potatoes peeled and diced into small pieces
6 slices of bacon
1/2 onion diced
1/2 cup diced carrots
2 cups of milk
1-2 cups of water
1/2 to 3/4 cup of cheese sauce

Cook potatoes in boiling water till soft.  Meanwhile cook bacon and save drippings.  Dice the bacon to be added later.  Saute onions and carrots until soft in drippings.  Add milk and water.  Heat slowly on low heat.  When potatoes are soft drain and add to soup.  Add cheese sauce.  Stir until cheese sauce melts/mixes with the soup.  Heat until warm.  Add bacon and serve.  This fed our family of four.

You probably notice there is no celery.  You are welcome to add - it doesn't fly very well at our house.
I was putting peas in until I couldn't find any in freezer.

So I am down to a half a can of cheese sauce.  I may share a few more ideas until I am done.