Adam's Kindergarten Graduation

Last month Adam graduated Kindergarten.
Adam, this year you've learned to read, add & subtract, made new friends, and gained independence & responsibility. You are still very much our wild man, and we struggle to keep up with your daily abundance of energy. You've come along way though, and we are so proud of you!

When Adam's class lined up, he insisted that he was the only one facing the correct way, even though all the other students knew to face the audience.

I don't have any pictures of Adam getting his diploma because he excitedly ran down to get his when another student, with the same first name, was called. I wasn't expecting him to do that, so my camera wasn't ready. Stinker!

Here's Adam with his amazing teacher Mrs. Brown. We love her!
We are so lucky, because she's moving to first grade and Adam gets to have her a 2nd year!

12 weeks....and collapse.

I've had a long week. Well, a long 12 weeks. I finished out the year teaching art for a teacher friend. I thought it would be easier, after all, I did teach elementary art for 5 years. I'm glad for the opportunity, but it turned out to be a shorter version of the first time around when I taught. It reaffirmed that for our family, me working full time was not a balancing act I can do well.

Today was the last day to walk across the crosswalk. I was joyful.

I thought I would have a fun night with the kids. I had decided to let them pick out their own dinners at the store where we could do an indoor picnic dinner at home. (Hey, did you know it hit 100 degrees today?) It was just really a way to try to make the trip to the store with two young children and an exhausted mom bearable.

In the beginning of our trip, Adam was leaning dangerously close to the stacks of blueberry cartons. I asked him to move it, and he screamed at me and threatened to kick my basket. I immediately talked with him. As he walked away he gave it a little nudge with his foot. Stinker.

Albertson's moved cereal to the aisle with the toys. New battle, enough said.

The kids decided, well Adam decided, that out of the entire store he wanted a pizza lunchable. Hadley was happy to take one too, since Adam was so into his.

And then it happened. The kid less customer comment. I was busy trying to keep Hadley from opening her lunchable in the store, when I hear it, an accusingly judgmental, "Aren't you watching him?!"

I'm thinking good grief, he is right by me, of course I'm watching him. (I guess she didn't see how I single handedly diverted the blueberry catastrophe in the produce section.)

When I look up, Adam is busy licking the entire rim of the grocery cart. Not just a little bit, he doesn't do that kind of stuff halfway. I tell him to stop, and the lady returns to her phone call, no doubt waiting until I'm out of earshot so she can tell her friend some version of how her future children will never do such things. I only know this because in my younger childless days I had the same thoughts, although less vocal to strangers.

And then God gave me Adam.

I'm less horrified of Adam's behaviors, because little does the lady know, it's probably not the most disgusting thing he has had in his mouth today. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'd prefer he not chew his t-shirt, suck on legos, and lick grocery carts. But there are so many times I can physically say "stop it" to him in one day. And today, I reached my limit.

Poppy Seed Chicken

Image courtesy of allrecipes.com

2-3 large chicken breasts (about 5 cups)
small container of sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 sleeve ritz crackers
4 tbsp - 1/2 cup melted butter (depending on how much you like, I used 4 tbsp)
1 tspn poppy seeds

1. Cook & chop chicken into bite sized pieces.
2. Stir in cream of chicken soup & sour cream together. Add 1 tspn poppy seeds and stir.
3. Add in cooked, chopped chicken and stir to mix together.
4. Put crackers in a ziploc bag and smash away.
5. Pour melted butter into bag and shake to coat all the cracker pieces.
6. Pour cracker/butter mixture on top of chicken mixture. If desired top with more poppy seeds.

Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes until hot and bubbly.

Thanks Shannon for the great recipe!

Hadley turns 2

Hadley turned two on Saturday. We had a simple party at home & she had the best time.

Hadley is talking more and more, and will repeat almost anything she hears. She has started putting simple sentences together and understands so much. We love that she says, "help YOU please!" when she needs help with something. I guess she hears us say do you want us to help you, and hasn't figured out how to say, "help me."

She loves doing anything her big brother does. She follows him anywhere, and looks to him to know what to do. She loves books and coloring. She loves to draw so much that she found a pen and colored our ottoman for us. Thoughtful, I know.

She is scared of the vacuum...not just when it is on, all the time. Sometimes we pull it out just to keep her out of places we don't want her to go. I know, we are horrible, but it's a cheap guard to keep her out of the kitchen when we are doing hair cuts.

She is sweet and a cuddle bug, and even though she has started showing her 2 year old side from time to time, she is a calm personality in our house. We can't imagine our life without you Hadley Kate!

Mexican Pozole with corn & feta

This was delicious! It is the perfect recipe for later in the week after preparing the Golden Potato Chowder with ham as it uses up the rest of your ingredients, but still provides a different tasting meal.

2-4 cups frozen corn (or 1-2 can corn)
1 tsp ground cumin, divided
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 poblano peppers, ribs & seeds removed, chopped (or chopped green bell pepper)
3 cups chicken broth
2 oz sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil) chopped (or reg. tomato chopped)
1 lb. spaghetti squash, skin & seeds removed, cut into bite sized cubes
2 tsp chile powder
3 oz feta cheese (atheno's sun dried tomato)
1 green onion, minced
cilantro, minced

Directions:
One: Heat 1 tsp oil in a large pot on medium for 1 minute. Add onion & green pepper and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in garlic, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Two: Add broth, 1 cup water (if using canned corn, just pour the whole can, undrained and skip the cup of water), corn, tomatoes, squash, chile powder. Add 1 tsp cumin, and increase heat to high. When soup comes to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Three: Spoon soup into bowl. Use a fork to break up the squash into fine strands. Top with feta, green onion, & cilantro.

This recipe was really easy, once I tackled the spaghetti squash. You can chop everything up earlier in the week and just combine all the ingredients for an easy dinner.

Clean Eating Magazine

My mom gave me a subscription to the Clean Eating Magazine.

This month had five healthy dinner recipes for under $10 a piece. I'll be trying them out this week and posting the recipes.

Golden Potato Chowder

This is so good, I wish I would have taken a picture! This is a white creamy soup, with bite sized chunks of vegetables.

Ingredients

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and cut into bite sized slices
8 oz white mushrooms, cut into quarters
3 cups chicken broth
1 lb. spaghetti squash, skin and seeds removed. Cut flesh into small bite sized pieces.
1 1b. redskin potatoes, cut into cubes
2 tsp dried sage (or parsley & basil)
6-8 oz. ham, cut into cubes.**
1/4 skim milk
2 oz. light cream cheese

(The recipe calls for the healthiest options, but I used what I had on hand, which was not low fat milk & cream cheese. Use what you have.)

** Ham - I had a slab, cut at a 11, of Prima Della Honey Ham.

Instructions:
1. Heat oil in a large stockpot on medium heat for 1 minute. Add onion, carrots, and mushrooms. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Stir in broth, squash, potatoes, and sage. Bring soup to a boil on high heat, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in ham and heat through.

3. (During last few minutes of cooking soup) In a small pot on low heat, add milk and cream cheese. Cook, whisking constantly, for 1 minute or until mixture is smooth. Ladle 1 cup soup mixture into milk mixture and whisk. Pour milk mixture back into stockpot and stir to combine. Serve immediately.

Note: Spaghetti Squash - When spaghetti squash is cooked, its fibers naturally separate and look like short strands of golden spaghetti, or shredded cheese.

The Verdict: This was really good! Adam ate a whole bowl. Of course he thought the squash was shredded cheese, so that helped! Good flavor & filling.