I think it is so important for the kids to spend quality time with dad. Especially since that give me quality time ALONE!!
Last week, Jeremy took Delaney out to play “ball,” as she refers to it.
I think Delaney enjoyed it more than Daddy did. And now she knows what daddy does all day!!
The big girls have been away for the better part of three weeks. Which makes for a very quiet house. And I’m feeling a bit useless after several weeks of not playing chauffeur to my busy teenagers!
First they spent a week at High School Church camp. Then they left for a week-long vacation with their dad. And then on Monday, I drove them and 4 little girls to Council Grove for J.A.M. (Jesus and Me) Camp. Bri and Allison have been junior counselors for the elementary camp.
I’ll be driving back to Council Grove in the morning to help drive all the munchkins home. And then I’m looking forward to a week with the girls at home. Hopefully we can do some fun stuff during our last full week of summer vacation.
P.S. The bold words make me sad!!
Now we all know how great it is with chocolate. And it makes for an easy sandwich. It’s not too bad with celery. And my mom makes some rockin’ peanut butter cookies! But it’s not just good to eat…
It actually does take gum out of hair!
I’m raising my third girl. And girly number three is really breaking me in! I had to call poison control for the first time last summer when Delaney ate sunscreen. So I shouldn’t have been terribly surprised when I woke Delaney up this morning to find gum on her pillowcase and, of course, matted in her hair. Not what I wanted to deal with before church this morning!
I’d always heard that peanut butter will remove gum, but up until now, it was no more than an old wives’ tale for me. But by golly, it actually worked! And quite well I might add. She sat very nicely on the kitchen counter while I smeared peanut butter in her hair and combed the strands to remove them from the sticky gum.
I am so hoping that this is our last encounter with gum removal. And just maybe a two year old really isn’t old enough to chew gum.
After writing my recent post about Miss Delaney’s enthusiasm with praying, I was reminded of a story about my two oldest girls and prayers.
When Brianna and Allison were probably not a whole lot older than Delaney, maybe preschool age, they were spending the night with Gaga (my mom). Before bed they wanted to pray. And Bri, my soft-spoken, shy little girl led this prayer time. She started out with…
“Once upon a time…”
Then Allison, who always approaches her older sister in a kind and gentle voice responded to her error. And when I say kind and gentle I mean thoroughly annoyed. Her reply…
“Bri, that’s not a prayer. That’s a story!”
Oops…I’m sure even Jesus got a little chuckle out of that one.
Facebook has been more than just a time sucker for me. I’ve actually been able to reconnect with a few friends who I haven’t seen in years. Most recently, my childhood neighbor tracked me down and we’ve had a chance to catch up.
Heather was my first “real” neighborhood friend. We moved into the house on Peterson Street when I was just 4 years old and she was 6. And we were friends almost immediately.
We would have sleepovers. And go to each other’s birthday parties.
Heather is the cute blond in the blue shirt with pig tails. This was my 6th or 7th birthday. A party at McDonald’s!!
Another birthday.
And sometimes we just hung out at home.
Probably my favorite memory with Heather was sitting on the window seat in my parents’ bedroom and talking to her through the open windows while she was in her bedroom. We would sit and talk after dark. Since we had to go in when the street lights came on, it was our way to continue our time together.
This is the window where I would sit. The one with the lamp.
Then Heather moved away to Colorado (and later on to California). And I moved to another town. And eventually we lost touch. But thanks to Facebook, we found each other again.
See, I knew I wasn’t just wasting all my time on Facebook!
I’m talking about the filth I allow my family to live in. Now don’t get me wrong. I typically keep the bathrooms up to code. And the kitchen is always fairly tidy (thanks, Hubby!). And the toys in the living room are picked up [nearly] everyday.
But when I’m having people come over, who don’t normally come over (or who’ve never come over), I want everything to be spic and span. I knock down cobwebs that I’ve walked by for 3 months. I clean the grubby handprints off the dining room chairs. I wipe the dust of the top of the refrigerator. All because a few friends are going to be hanging out for a few hours in my house. Yet my kids hang out in this apparently not so clean house, 24/7. So I guess it’s a good thing that I periodically have friends come over, just so I can get to some of those not so obvious, dirty little corners of my house! I’m sure my family wishes I would entertain more often.
The recent occasion that prompted all my cleanliness was my monthly Bunco gathering. Have you played? It’s a lot of fun! And this month was my turn to host.
However, no one noticed that my dining room chairs lacked dirty handprints. And nobody said they liked how I had wiped out the inside lid of my trash can (boy was that thing gross!!). And I didn’t hear anyone say how much they appreciated my spotless stainless steel sink (check out flylady.net and you too can have a shiny, clean sink!). But that’s ok. Because I know it’s clean. And now I can slack until the next time I host Bunco!
Now, what people were talking about was the food. Because one of the best parts of Bunco is eating. So I thought I’d share a couple of the recipes. But let me warn you, these recipes are not for those of you trying to lose weight (can you say 32 ounces of cream cheese?) And sorry, no pictures.
Easy Taco Dip
2 (8 oz.) packages of cream cheese
2 cans of Mexican corn (do not drain)
2 cups of salsa
1 envelope of taco seasoning
Mix all ingredients in the crock pot until heated through. Serve with tortilla chips. Pure yumminess!
Sopapilla Cheesecake
2 cans of Crescent Rolls (Have you seen the ones that aren’t perforated? A kitchen staple, in my opinion)
2 (8 oz.) packages of cream cheese
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 stick of real butter
Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1 T cinnamon
Spray 9x13 pan. Unroll one can of rolls and press in the bottom of the pan. Mix together sugar and cream cheese. Spread over rolls. Unroll second can of rolls and place over cheese mixture. Melt the butter and drizzle over top. Sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar mixture over top. Back at 350 for 30 minutes.
So there you have it. Some really great recipes to share with friends. After you’ve completely sanitized your house.
We are trying to teach Delaney to get in the habit of saying a prayer before we eat. And with us being teachers, we have done a really good job of teaching her, because she makes sure we all pray. Multiple times.
We pray before we eat a snack. If anyone enters the kitchen during said snack, we pray again. We pray at diaper changes (I’m praying that the diaper changes are coming to an end). We pray before we read a book. And we pray before bed. I’m so proud of my little warrior!
It looks like my poor, sweet husband will be spending the next couple of weeks sitting on the couch. Watching golf. Wishing he could golf. But alas, he injured his wrist (on the golf course) and will be out for a couple of weeks.
What does this mean for me? I have a babysitter for the next 2 weeks! Woo hoo!!!!
Here in Kansas, it has been HOT. And HUMID!With a heat index around 110. Absolutely MISERABLE!!
But lucky for us, our wonderful next-door neighbor has a fabulous pool that she is willing to share.
Delaney has been enjoying her swimming experiences and gets a little bit braver each day.
She really likes to hang out on the steps and climb in and out, chasing balls.
But she also likes to get in the water, especially when mom or daddy are holding her!
Today she even jumped in from the sides (holding my hands) and plugged her nose and let me put her head under water.
Aaahhhh…this is the life!!!
And now it’s time to head home.
For Mom’s favorite time of the day…nap time!!!
My grandma invited all the girls out for lunch and then to her house for cookies and treats.
Unfortunately not all the girls could be there. But those of us who were able to go, had a great time!
Delaney scrunches up her face when she smiles. Not a terribly natural look.
My Aunt Brenda (Lou Lou), Mom and Allison.
My Aunt Kristen and cousin Jennifer
Four generations of the McCoskey line.
Jeremy and I, Nate and Delaney ate a delicious dinner with my parents and Grandma. Ribeye steak, roasted corn on the cob, baked potatoes, french bread, fresh fruit salad. And sugar cookies and brownies for dessert. Is your mouth watering yet?
Bri and Alli joined us later in the evening to watch the city fireworks display. The rain let up just long enough for a nice show.
And now that the 4th has come and gone, I feel like summer is officially half over. Sad thought!
If only I had a sugar cookie to cheer me up!
Let me start with a little background info. We went to the zoo and of course, Delaney crashed on the way home. And when she has those little car naps, it ruins the chance of any further nap for the day. So while she was supposed to be napping, she was actually working on a wardrobe change.
She totally gets her fashion sense from me!
And if the bloomers weren’t enough, she decided she needed the perfect shoes to finish off the ensemble.
Now, before I was able to get this picture, we had a few others. And let me tell you, my little model does not love the camera!
Screaming, crying fit. Over getting her picture taken.
What, Mom? Did you say I could have some candy if I go stand by the oven and let you take my picture? Hmmm…
Ok. No problem!! Shall I say cheese?
