33

33. magic number
10.28.2009
tom was 33
5.14.2013
teresa was 33
2.19.2015
lynda is 33
33
no sister should outgrow her big brother
33

friends

friends :) love this! 

lukers and gavin

did i post?

i can't remember if i shared already but i think this is too funny................
How mom and dad know I'm actually reading the mail and the troop newsletter they write! Ha

games

we continue to have game nights/days/moments often :) recently, while josh was away to the czech republic, the boys and i spent a lot of time playing skip bo with grandma and grandpa boyer :) 

indoor gardning

who doesn't love fresh? :D 

this guy makes me feel like i am increasing the oxygen supply in the house!

tj

time tonight with this little man:





and my sister and john :)

:$

just feeling :$
this weekend the boys are going away
i am worried
it is going to be SUPER cold, how will they stay warm
jack's skin hates super cold, how will his skin stay safe
germs are going around, how will they stay healthy
luke felt warm, does he have a fever, what if he gets sick there
it's supposed to snow, what if it is not safe to drive
with the snow, is it a good idea for josh to bring jack back for soccer AND plan to be back for futball
i didn't know they were going to be back, i volunteered for pee wee hockey
what ifs what ifs what ifs
:$

hr

today begins an adventure for jack--honor's reader.
he is at the top of the accelerated reader food chain.
he now moves onto independent projects that are deep deep deep
some of the things he has to ponder daily....

• What are the settings? Explain the elements of fantasy that you see in the setting
• How does the author enable you, the reader, to enter the fantasy world? Are there realistic elements? Discuss some of these and how they affect (impact) the story.
• How do trips to other times and worlds help the characters cope with the present time?
• Is there a struggle between between forces of light and dark? Who wins? Offer support for the victory.
• What special powers does the hero possess? For what purposes does he or she use these powers?
• What does the hero learn about himself/herself? About life?
• What personality traits do you have in common with the hero? Discuss two of these.
• What values and themes are embedded in the story?
• How do ideas and themes in this book connect to other fantasy books you’ve read?
• How has this book changed your thinking?

here's to be in 4th grade jtb. way to go bud.

oh yeah

oh yeah lukers! way to have excellent bus behavior!!

to try :)

Grilled Cheesy Buffalo Chicken

Nutrition Information

• Serves: 4 servings

• Serving size: 4 oz.

Prep time:  10 mins

Cook time:  15 mins

Total time:  25 mins

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Grilled spicy chicken breast stuffed with mozzarella cheese.

Ingredients

• 1 lbs. boneless chicken breast
• black pepper
• ¼ cup mozzarella cheese, shredded,divided
• 1 tsp. butter (I used Brummel & Brown)
• ¼ cup Franks Hot Sauce
• ¼ tsp. celery salt

Instructions

1. Preheat grill to medium low heat
2. Butter fly your chicken, by cutting it horizontally. Do not cut all the way through. Sprinkle the inside of the chicken with pepper. Evenly top the the chicken with cheese and fold over the chicken to close it. It should look like the chicken breast before you cut it.
3. In a microwave safe bowl (I used a pyrex measuring cup) melt the butter for 8 seconds. Stir in hot sauce and celery salt.
4. Brush one side of the chicken with hot sauce mixture and place the hot sauce size down on the grill. Brush more hot sauce over top of chicken. Cook for about 7 minutes. Flip the chicken and brush on remaining hot sauce and cook until no longer pink; about 5 minutes more.
5. Serve with a side salad, celery, carrots and ranch dressing if desired.

who doesn't love.....

an amazing stylist 

a harry potter shirt 

a happy jack-o 

great hair cuts 

we love our gemma 

love this color!!!

new walls :)
oh in love.

new quote for the kitchen/dining room wall

snow much fun

before strep throat set in---we got to play the afternoon away with o and addie at grandma and grandpa's farm :D grandpa pulled us behind the tractor! oh SNOW much fun at weathervane farm.

warm weather brings....

a car wash :)

great day for lukers

i can honestly say that yesterday (2.7.15) luke played two of his best games of the season (so far at least)--he skated hard, he moved awesome, he had fun and made two goals!!! it was delightful!!! unfotunately josh was/is in the czech republic so he did not get to see but i sent him a bunch of pictures. it was a mom and luke day as we drove to battle creek and back :) 

small small world

it truly is a small world 

when tom passed, i was able to have a few of his items

i mostly treasure his hats. he was a hat man and i love love love to wear hats 

today was a "hat day"--i needed to take myself and jack to urgent care 

so on went a tom hat 

i completely forgot what hat i was wearing 

the triage personnel asked me randomly--oh are you part of the grand traverse band of fire & rescue? 

peeplexed by my foggy sick brain, i replied with a smile and no that i graduated from chs

i then went into a long story of how my brother was part of several fire depts but right before his death the cfd 

then it dawned on me--i was not wearing a cfd hat :) i was wearing a gtb f & r hat. so then i chuckled and explained tom's connection there. 

well my triage guy spent 10 years up north and was a paramedic. he even knows some of the same people! (like josh h.) 

what a bright spot in my day! i wore a great hat. i was helped by a nice man. i got to share some happy memories of tom. 

ode to sunday

with high temps and fatigue, what once was thought to be the flu
led to a three hour wait at urgent care, also referred to as the zoo
the doc gave the good news of strep times two
and meds were obtained for teresa and jack-ooo
dents have been made by our vegging like laying
disrupted only by max the dog throwing up nastiness and some gagging

a test?

feels like a test.

last weekend we were supposed to have thomas for the weekend while lj and john were gone--a bad snow storm was on its way so my parents came early and took him north. thank goodness since while my parents were here, luke threw up. twice.

that felt like a test of my patience. of my ability to control my anxiety. of my willingness to accept help.

at the same time, josh was preparing to leave and his mom got sick.

that too felt like a test of f my patience. of my ability to control my anxiety. of my willingness to accept help.

josh has been gone since wednesday--we made it through wednesday, thursday, and friday. even made it through getting luke to battle creek and back for his hockey games.  however, upon returning..... jack came down with a high fever and i have a small one. no other symptoms. do i take us in for swabs? strep and flu? do we wait until monday?

the feeling of the test continues.

our goal is to lay low today. rest. drink lots of fluids. watch a lot of movies and rest some more.

i know this all feels like a test but perhaps it is not a test--perhaps it is just me moving on in my journey.

i am strong. i am capable. i can ask for help.

recipe to try

The Best Crockpot BBQ Chicken

Ingredients

2 lbs boneless, skinless  chicken breasts

1 cup  BBQ sauce

1/4 cup Zesty Italian dressing
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

salt to taste

Directions

1. Season chicken breast lightly (a small pinch per breast)  with some sea salt and place in your crockpot.

2. In a mixing bowl combine BBQ sauce, Italian dressing, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce. Stir until well combined.

3. Pour over chicken, cover and cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours

4. Once time is up, you can serve the breast whole, or shred with 2 forks. If shredding, recover and let cook in sauce for about 10-15 more minutes to soak up all that delish flavor.

Serve on buns, over rice, in wraps, on a salad or eat a plateful as is!  Our favorite way is on fresh rolls, topped with coleslaw.

to try

http://www.skinnyminniemoves.com/almond-crusted-chicken-tenders/

ALMOND CRUSTED CHICKEN TENDERS

FEBRUARY 4, 2013 BY KATIE · 21 COMMENTS

Everyone loves a chicken tender! It brings out the little kid in us all 

Unfortunately most chicken tenders are heavily battered and deep fried. Yes this may be outrageously delicious, but it’s also outrageously fattening!

I wanted to keep my chicken tenders clean, so I skipped regular breading or panko flakes. I’ve already done Ezekiel bread crumbs on my clean eating onion rings, so I looked around in my cabinet for alternatives.

ALMONDS! When you finely chop almonds they make a beautiful almond meal. Perfect for coating the chicken tenders. Plus it sticks really well!

This takes no time at all to prepare, so it is perfect for making after work!

For this recipe you will need:

-1 cup of raw unsalted almonds
-1 chicken breast
-extra virgin olive oil spray

That’s it skinny minnie’s 

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit

Prepare your almonds into almond meal. All you need to do this is a food processor!

Raw almonds

Give it a whirl… about a minute later you have almond meal!

Now place on a plate or bowl (you won’t use all of it. I like to make extra and store it in the cabinet for future use)

So easy

Slice your chicken into tenders

Reminds me of chicken tenders G-Mama made for us all the time! I miss those days

Now spray each with a little olive oil spray

Dip each one into the almond meal! (sorry my hands were dirty for this part so no picture)

But here is the finished product!

They look good don’t they?

Place in the oven for 25 minutes or until brown on top

Crispy!

Plate them up! I had a side of green beans with them 

The little kid in me! Chicken Tenders!

So delicious, healthy, and CLEAN!

Almond Crusted Chicken Tenders

Make these for your family tonight! Kids will love them too!  They can even help to make them

just too hungry

Anyone else eat a "picnic" on their way home from the grocery store created from random items you just purchased? I may or may not have just had cheeze its, veggie straws, a Cherie Vet Scone and a slice of deli meat for lunch in the van....... 

just was too hungry to wait until i got home :)