rachel's continued ramblings

I just took these pics from my backyard. heard some darth vader sounds and went out to investigate. this is what I saw: standing in my trampoline (because that was the best place to get a good shot), I could wave at the passengers and they waved back! then I noticed this one, rising over my neighbor’s house, taking off from the park across the way. perspective: my messy backyard :: balloon!

so… BAD MOM! I realized that I totally forgot to post about my kids’ birthdays! I posted all the pictures on facebook, so it’s likely that everyone has already seen them, but I should probably put them up here… even if only for my own personal record. layla turned 5 on the 11th, shane turned 11 on the 12th. we did relatively low-key birthdays this year. each got to pick a restaurant to go to for a birthday lunch or dinner w/ just mom and dad, then we got together w/ the other non-birthday siblings and grandma and grandpa for gifts and treats. layla chose lunch at red robin. then we all met here at home for birthday cookies. shane chose dinner at olive garden. then we all met at my parents’ house for ice cream sundaes. apparently cake was not ‘in’ this year.

check out THIS gorgeous bouquet that dave brought home for me: thanks baby!

well, it finally happened last night! layla has lost her first tooth! it was a late night and required a lot of wiggling, and help from daddy, but it finally came out! here it is, still hanging in there.   I got some advice on facebook from a college friend about putting a tissue over the tooth and pulling it out that way. so we grabbed a tissue and IT WORKED! out in one yank! she was so excited! here she is on the phone with gramma laurie! and then there’s the required cheesy faced photos showing the ‘hole’. I am happy to report that the tooth fairy did visit our house last night. layla is now the 4 quarters richer!

well, it’s my birthday today. it’s been a bit of an odd day, nothing too exciting, but really, that’s okay. big shindigs and the like make me feel flustered and stressed, so this will do just fine. REALLY! to start with, God gave me an absolutely gorgeous day. it’s warm, sunny, pleasant. perfect. nothing can lift my spirits like a sunny day! I had the pleasure of being awakened this morning, by my wonderful husband, starbucks cup in hand, at 5:40. YES, I did want to get up then! I then got to sit in a pleasantly quiet house while I drank my coffee and read my bible… (I like to think of this time as ‘having coffee with God!’ a date I try to keep every morning.) after that, I had to make some rolls and soup for a mom in the MOMS club who has a new baby. I signed up to make a meal, and my turn fell on today. so I set my bread machine to mixing, and I started the soup. I made a triple batch, so I had kim’s dinner, our dinner for tonight, and a batch in the freezer for another time. ...

i got a request for the recipe for a stir-fry i made a couple weeks ago, so i figured i’d just post it here. i actually got the recipe out of my better homes and gardens cookbook, but like i said, i was throwing this together by the seat of my pants and basically adapted the recipe to work for what i had on hand… and somehow, it worked. i’ll post the real recipe, as it’s published, along with what i did. i haven’t tried the actual recipe, so i have no idea if it’s better, worse, or even remotely comparable to what i made. all i know is that we liked my version. 12 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (i used maybe 6 or 8 thawed chicken tenderloins from costco) 1 cup water (i’m not sure i actually noticed this – can’t remember) 3 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce (mine was regular soy sauce) 1 tbsp rice vinegar or white wine vinegar (i had red wine vinegar) 1tbsp cornstarch 2 tbsp cooking oil (i used EVOO) 10 green onions, bias-sliced into 1-inch pieces (i think i had 3 i...

i’ll forewarn you that most averaged-sized women will probably not appreciate this post very much. i understand. i’ve been (either directly or indirectly) the object of various hatred more than once. i am not an average-sized woman. i’m only 5’1” on a good day, and i’ve never donated blood because most of the time (when not pregnant – and therefore not allowed), i don’t weigh enough to do so. i do not ‘diet’, so to speak, nor do i work out compulsively. i try to eat healthy food, for the most part, and i try not to sit on my butt all day. this is just the way i am. our current culture views me as ‘lucky’ to have this body type. whatever. a couple hundred years ago, people would have considered me ‘unhealthy’. i am what i am. i am small woman. as the Lord has seen fit, i am a small woman who has given birth to 3 children. as i see fit, i am a small woman who wishes to exercise a bit of modesty, even when swimming. unfortunately, the swimwear industry, seems to think that the only ...

first one in the pool this year! second! my 3, plus some friends from down the street. pool = best. thing. ever. they were out there ALL day. and even after dinner. shane actually went in again when he got back from soccer practice… he was ticked that i took this picture, because he was being a smart-alec and decided to shove his skinny legs through the leg holes in micah’s (from 2 years ago) crab floaty. one of these days, he’ll figure out that when he pulls stunts like that, I WILL TAKE A PICTURE, and it will likely wind up on the INTERNET! ahh, mom’s sweet revenge for cool stuff like labor, sleepless nights, attitude problems and eye rolling… HA! anyway, all this fun in the sun/water, sent me running out to target and fred meyer tonight to secure some rash guard-type swimming shirts so my pink-shouldered babies can swim again tomorrow. while i was there, i browsed suits for myself… but that’s a whole rant post of it’s own…