Holiday Traditions!

Wow!  In a few days it will be November!  Therefore Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner!  I love both of these holidays and am so excited to have my husband's parents coming for Thanksgiving and my whole family (including my sister's new boyfriend who we LOVE!) for Christmas! 

Living away from family is hard in some ways, but one of the positives has been that my husband and I have been able to set up our own Thanksgiving and Christmas family traditions.  For me, I adore cooking Thanksgiving dinner!  I have a core set of recipes that I use every year and then try a couple of new things.  We always begin Thanksgiving day with a race.  Last year my sister and I ran a 10K - this year my husband and I are going to do a 5K.  The rest of the day is spent with friends/family (the more the merrier!) playing games, watching football, and of course...EATING! 

Christmas is also a blast!  The day before Christmas we usually go to an afternoon movie as a family, then come home and decorate Christmas cookies.  I do our big Christmas dinner on Christmas eve.  After opening presents on Christmas morning, we have a big family brunch and the munch on leftover ham, rolls, etc from the previous evening while enjoying our new presents. :)

I have my to-do list ready.  We will be hosting my husband's departmental party in December so I need to get in touch with his secretary to start planning.  Our Christmas cards have been ordered and are on the way.  Christmas shopping is underway - I already have things in mind for the kids and have contacted family as to their "wish list".  Love the holidays!  Just typing this blog entry makes me excited for the upcoming season!  

Quotable Quotes and Odds & Ends

"Mommy, we need to have 2 pets so if Casey dies can we get a fish?" (my 4 yr old son last week when having a serious discussion about death)

"Ouch, my humerus hurts".  "We don't say B-U-T-T, we call it a rectum!" (again the 4yr old who has memorized all bones and organs in the body and is now refering to everything by it's proper medical name.  He could probably pass a high school A&P class!).

"Mommy, we don't say the word stupid because stupid is a bad mean word.  I never say stupid or call anyone stupid!"  (this from my 3-yr old daughter who relished using the forbidden word over and over in a sentence while preaching against it's use).

On another note, every day I am so thankful that my husband is an engineer.  Not only that, but I love his creativity.  We have had a little trouble with our other dog the last few nights when we put him up for bed.  He whines and barks since it is the first time he has been alone since he was a puppy.  He's fine during the day, but nights have been hard.  He calms down if we talk to him, but that is incredibly inconvenient when he is on the first floor and you are on the second trying to go to sleep.  So, my husband pulled the baby monitor out of my younger son's room (we never use it for him anyway) and rigged it so that if Gromit barked we could soothe him from the comforts of our own bed.  It worked like a charm!  That's my quick thinkin' engineer!

Lastly, I have a couple of recipes to share.  The first is for slow cooker roast turkey.  We tried it for the first time yesterday and the whole family loved it!  It turned out WAY better than any beef roast I have ever made.  I got a 3-4 pound turkey breast and removed the mesh.  In a large crockpot I cut up a bunch of different fresh veggies (potatoes, carrots, celery, parsnips, etc - anything works!) and arranged them in the bottom of the crockpot.  I placed the turkey breast on top and sprinkled onion soup mix on top (you can make your own seasoning mix if you'd like, you just have to be very liberal with the seasonings).  I poured about 1 cup of chicken broth over the turkey & veggies and cooked all day on low.  It was DELICIOUS!  The turkey was tender and seasoned all the way through as if it had been brined.  The veggies had great flavor and needed no additional seasoning!  Best of all, the meal made leftovers and enough for sandwiches for a week.  Not bad for a 20 minute prep & go meal!

My other new love is steamed broccoli.  I have been buying broccoli heads by the pound.  It is so easy just to cut into florets, and steam for 10 minutes.  I season it lightly with butter (1 TBS) salt & pepper.  My kids love how brightly green the florets are after steaming and I am thrilled to be getting such an easy veggie in them.  I have been so proud of how well my older two have been eating lately - they are branching out and enjoying all kinds of foods.  It has made cooking a lot of fun!

Rest in Peace

After another week of health problems, we put Casey down on Friday.  I remember picking him up from the breeder in January 2001 when he was 6 weeks old and barely 3 pounds .  Casey was our first "baby" - we got him a few months after buying our first home, a teeny tiny little townhouse in Durham, NC. The memories we have from that home as newlyweds in grad school are so precious to us and most all of them contain Casey.

I remember potty training him in the freezing NC rain that winter and learning what it meant to own a dog (he was the first for both my husband and I).  We read book after book on dog training, took him to off leash dog parks, socialized him with other dogs, walked him for miles and miles every day, became addicted to all the animal planet dog shows, and hailed Cesar Milan as our personal hero.  All of a sudden we realized how many people owned dogs and enjoyed meeting them and their pets along the paths and trails of our Woodcroft neighborhood.  Casey was my companion when pulling all-nighters studying for tests and happily snuggled up with me for naps on the couch after I returned from taking them. 

Friday morning I held him as he took his last breath.  Below are some pictures I found of him over the years.  My husband commented on how vibrant and alive Casey looked in most of the below pictures (except for the one where he's almost asleep) - a far cry from how he has been the last couple of years.  If there are 2 dogs in a picture, he's the bigger one.  Rest in peace Casey.  You were an awesome dog and we'll always remember you. 

Weekend

Despite the somber nature of my previous post, we actually had a really nice weekend.  Casey has done well on his antibiotics so we have high hopes of avoiding surgery/blindness.  In addition, my husband and I spent some time discussing a "living will" of sorts for Casey so that we are all on the same page no matter which one of us takes him to the vet.  Lastly, we had some preparation discussions with the kids.
On the lighter note, my husband took me out for my birthday on Friday.  He took me to a restaurant located up on the mountain peak overlooking the city.  We had not dined at the restaurant since we first moved to the area so it was a treat!

Lastly, I ran my half marathon this morning!  The weather was beatutiful and the race was awesome!  As usual, I went out too fast the first half of the race and paid for it the last couple of miles.  In the future when I train I probably will train over the race mileage by 25% or so in order to account for the fact that I always go out too fast.  While I don't have my official time yet, I believe I came in somewhere right around 2hrs and beat my previous time of 2:07 from the half marathon I did back in 2001.  I can't wait to find out my official time to know for sure.  The best part of the race was having my husband and kids there to cheer.  There was nothing sweeter than hearing the voices of my two older kids hollering, "Go mommy!" when running and hearing "Mommy, you did GREAT!" after crossing the finish line. I'd love it if someday we did races as a family...wouldn't that be wonderful!?!  Here we are after the race.  I look pretty rough!  My daughter delicately stated to me after we got home, "Mommy, you look dirty and messy so please go take a bath".   I was happy to obey. ;)

Hard Choices

The title of my post sounds like the title of a cheesy teenage romance novel...maybe something you would have seen in the old Sweet Valley High series from my youth.  In reality, the hard decision to which I am referring came this morning when my husband took our oldest dog Casey to the vet when he woke up with a raging eye infection.  Casey was sick with anxiety last week while we were out of town and our house sitter had a rough weekend filled with trips to the vet and to the pet ER where Casey needed IV fluids and other palliative care.  Less than a week (and a little over $1K later) Casey was back at the vet this AM with a corneal ulcer and infected foot (IV site from last weekend's ER visit).  It was at this point when my husband and I were at our wits end with his behavioral and health issues that the vet delicately broached the subject of whether it was time to put him down.  Out vet informed us that we will not likely be able to find Casey a new home since he has so many health problems and that shelters are really worse for a pet's quality of life.  My husband and I were not prepared and the shock was awful.

When you adopt a pet, you do so with the knowledge that you will likely outlive him or her.  However, that fact is the last thing on your mind when you're playing with an innocent, adorable, energetic, little puppy.  This morning we decided that the decision whether to put him down deserved more prayer and discussion, so we decided to treat his current infection with a follow-up appointment scheduled for Monday.  This weekend will be a very tough one for our family.  We are praying for peace and discernment concerning the future of our beloved pet.

A Gorgeous Wedding & Soccer

Happy fall everyone!  We recently returned from an awesome trip to western NY and Canada for my cousin's wedding.  It was a blast!  My cousin and her family planned a very special weekend for everyone.  It didn't surprise me b/c my sweet cousin is one of the most talented people I know. Below are some pictures from the weekend.  The weather was gorgeous - crisp fall days and cool nights.  As one who misses the leaves of fall, it was such a treat!  I did my last 9 mile run before the 1/2 marathon on a bike trail surrounded by fall color - so nice!  My cousin was a beautiful bride and her husband proud and gracious.  Much fun was had by all - and my family knows how to have fun!  If you have ever seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding - my family is similar to the Greek one, while my husband's family is the quieter one.  We are boisterous and lively when we get together and can eat, dance, and be merry for days before tiring.  My husband was a little overwhelmed by it at first, but 12 years of marriage has weaned him in well and he even outlasted me one night.  It was wonderful to see my cousins and my extended family.  Love them and miss them SO much!

The other thing that has kept us busy lately has been soccer. We are so proud of the Green Lizards - especially #2. They have a 3 & 1 game record so far. Below are some pictures of our soccer player. Hope everyone is having a great week!

Chicken & Rice Recipe

I have been looking for a good chicken & rice recipe for a while and tried this one last night that turned out wonderfully!  In the past, most chicken & rice dishes I have made were either too dry or didn't have enough flavor, etc.  This one was easy and delicious.  Since I only cook 3 times/week I need my efforts to cover at least 2 dinners and this main dish will easily feed my family twice.   

2 cups cooked chicken
1 cup rice
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 head of broccoli (chopped) or 1 pkg frozen
2 cans milk
2 TBS lemon juice
1 onion chopped

Mix together and pour into casserole dish.  Cover tightly with foil and bake at 350 for 1 hr.  Uncover after 40 mins and sprinkle with cheese (optional) and bake for remaining 20 mins.  *Altitude: increase baking time to 1hr 20 mins, and uncover at 1hr. 

Fall Fashion - Cute for Kids & Moms!

In preparation for our trip up north this weekend, I had (note, "had" - as if it was a chore!) to go shopping for some fall/winter clothes for the kids.  It's still in the 70's and 80's here so we're not thinking too much about winter coats and sweaters right now.  My shopping quest led me to be very excited about the fall/winter clothes this season! 

I ventured in to Ann Taylor Loft to pick up a birthday gift for my mother.  This was a dangerous choice b/c  I rarely leave ATL without a little something for myself from the sale rack.  While I stayed strong and only bought for my mother, I loved the shirt/sweater combos for this season!  Now, as someone who refuses to pay full price for anything (I broke that rule with the below item from Baby Gap...sigh...) I will have to wait a couple of months before they start marking these items down.  In the meantime, I've scoped out a few items that I look forward to being on sale.  I mean, how cute is this little sweater/shirt ensemble?!?  :)

Now for kids clothes.  As I mentioned a while ago, my favorite kids stores are Gymboree, TJ Maxx, and Baby Gap/Old Navy for play/casual clothes.  I did get my daughter an outfit from Children's Place this year and I do like their boys pants, but have found that the clothes don't wear as well as others.  I really like the fall clothes for kids with the exception of the Children's Place boys selection for casual/play clothes.  Seemed like all options for shirts were graphic t's of various types.  While I like some graphic t's, I certainly don't want an entire 4T wardrobe of them! 

Overall my shopping trip was successful.  I did have one splurge on the below item for my youngest.  He so rarely gets anything new (toys or clothes) because he has so many wonderful hand-me-downs, but he did need a winter coat.  And when I saw this at Baby Gap, I decided it was worth the money. :) 

Happy October!

Happy October!  This is one of my favorite months for a number of reasons.  1.  It's my birthday month.  2.  It's also my mother, grandmother, and neice's birthday month.  3.  The middle of the month signifies that half of the fall semester is over (I have to turn in midterm grades by the end of next week - Yikes!).  4.  It's the month that kicks off the holiday season (in my mind anyway) b/c Thanksgiving follows a month later and then Christmas/New Year.  

This October will be pretty busy.  We have a wedding in Canada this weekend.  The following weekend is my half marathon about which I am super excited!  I am in taper mode right now, which is nice.  I did 12 miles last week, 8.5 yesterday (before church - and still made it on time!), and will do 8-9 this weekend (although I don't know exactly when b/c I'll have to fit it in around wedding stuff).  Training has been wonderful and I have enjoyed it so much.  I love being by myself for 1-2 hrs every few days with my Garmin and mp3 player - it's so relaxing and wonderful! 

Below is a picture of my son's grocery list.  He decided to write one while I was writing our family's grocery list.  It was so cute.  He made sure to take it with him when he accompanied his Dad to the store.  I should have given him the final list b/c Dad forgot several items on the family list (I have to go back to the store later today), but my son remembered everything on his. :)