Fabulous dinner...

Caution: This post borders on obscenely long, because I think I had a little too much fun with it!  But for all the 'foodies' out there (which I am not one, but seem to be by the looks of this post) you might enjoy it.  A link to the official recipe is at the end of the post, and it does a better job of listing ingredients, etc. but this is just my version. :)

I made a new-to-us recipe last night - Baked Spaghetti.  I added my own little twists and tweaks to it by upping the veggie content, and it turned out (as Dora would say) delicioso!!  I could tell as I was assembling the ingredients that this would possibly be a home-run dinner, so I grabbed the camera just in case.  Both the boys ate it up like ravenous lions, and Ryan and I declared this recipe a "keeper" after only a couple of bites.  I think it would be a wonderful dish to give to someone who just had a baby or is homebound due to other circumstances, since it is somewhat like lasagna with spaghetti noodles.  In fact, I think I'll be making several dishes of it in August and freezing for us to heat up when the new kiddo arrives!

Anyhow, I should let the pictures tell most of the story.  I'll add in a bit of narration here and there to help it along...

Get two pots going at once - one to brown up one pound of beef (Italian sausage would be very yummy, too, and I think ground turkey would be an acceptable substitution as well) and one to start boiling water for the spaghetti.
I shredded zucchini and yellow squash to add to the sauce - I like to do this to our spaghetti sauces, as it adds some extra 'oomph' to the meal.
Don't forget the spaghetti - I used the remainder of the regular spaghetti noodles we had on hand, and added some whole grain noodles to it.  YUM.  I break them up in a ziploc bag, because I can't seem to break the noodles over a pot of boiling water without it either splashing up and burning me, or broken noodles flying around the kitchen.  I'm a clumsy cook!
I've made my own sauce before, and it's super yummy, but I cheated a bit this time and just added a jar of store-bought sauce to the cooked beef.  I also added my squash and zucchini and let it simmer for a few minutes - but not long enough for the veggies to lose all their bite.  They'll do that in the oven.  By the way, start that oven up and get it to 400 degrees.
In a foil-lined (or greased) 9x13 casserole, throw down a few pats of butter and your drained cooked spaghetti.  It won't seem like much...but just wait.
Pour just under half of your sauce over the noodles, and sprinkle a generous helping of parmesan over that.  Mmmm...it smells so good!  (Yes, that is a triangle and a kazoo on the island above the dish.  We've got budding musicians around here, folks.)
Here's my favorite - cheese!  I used part-skim ricotta and slathered that over the sauce.  You could also use cottage cheese, but I like the kick that ricotta has to it.  My mom used to tell me I was part mouse because of how much I like cheese, and it's fairly true - the more cheese something has, the more I'm bound to like it!
Smooth the rest of your sauce over the ricotta and just let your sense of smell take it all in.  You're in Little Italy, in your own kitchen.
More CHEESE!!  Layer as much mozzarella as you can handle on top of the sauce, and finish off by sprinkling more parmesan on top of that.  Cover the dish with foil, and put it in your heated oven for 30 minutes covered, 15 minutes uncovered, and then take out and let it sit for about 10 minutes before devouring it.
Don't forget to give your little sous chefs a squeeze while it's baking!  Especially if they've just woken up from their naps!
Bake this tonight.  Seriously.

Your stomach will thank you, and then you will thank me for telling you about this super easy, super delicious dish. :)

(Note: to see the original recipe, go here.)

A little on Lo-Lo...

This little man is so silly.

He can be quite the charmer, though!

Especially now that he no longer has a mullet for a hairstyle!

Lo got his first haircut last week.  He thought the clippers tickled him - but did surprisingly well!

Lo can be found tickling the ivories several times a day.

He's quite the serious little maestro.

Recent happenings 'round here...

A year ago this week, Ryan's cousin and her husband went from having one to three kiddos in one day. The twins are about to celebrate their first birthday, and a little over a year ago Ryan and I remember having a conversation with Dara and Glenn about how "everything got very small, very fast." Dara commented that after finding out they were expecting twins, her car suddenly seemed too small, the house suddenly didn't have enough space...everyday 'things' appeared like they wouldn't be able to accomodate their growing family.

Fast forward a year after that conversation, and we find ourselves in the same boat! I'm happy to say that I am NOT having twins (that would have been a joyous thing the first or even second go-round, and a heart attack this time!), but our car situation seemed to be getting much too tight, much too fast. We simply were outgrowing our little '02 Jetta - even with just the two boys.
So, just a couple weeks shy of my 30th birthday, I am now a Mini-Van Mom. But, judging by these pictures, is the new vehicle for me, or do the boys think it's for them? (I only mention my birthday because when we purchased our last vehicle, my only request was that it not be a mini-van...I wanted to be "in my 30's" before we even considered that option! Ha!)

Who do you think is the most excited about the new family vehicle?

How about if I zoom in a bit more? Can you tell now?

I think I need to hide the keys. All the time.

In other news, Caleb has finally shown an interest in potty training. Yessir, a new car + a potty-training boy. Should get very interesting....

(yes, his potty seat is in the living room. just for that day. i promise. whatever works, right??)

Meaningful Math...

If you read the subject of this post, you may be making a face right about now. We received the following in an email this evening, and my math-and-numbers-loving husband thought it was so cool. I did too, which is why I'm sharing it with you all:

From a strictly mathematical viewpoint:

What Equals 100%? What does it mean to give MORE than 100%? Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%? We have all been in situations where someone wants you to GIVE OVER 100%. How about ACHIEVING 101%? What equals 100% in life?

Here's a little mathematical formula that might help answer these questions:

If: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Is represented as: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.

If: H-A-R-D-W-O- R- K

8+1+18+4+23+ 15+18+11 = 98%

And: K-N-O-W-L-E- D-G-E

11+14+15+23+ 12+5+4+7+ 5 = 96%

But: A-T-T-I-T-U- D-E

1+20+20+9+20+ 21+4+5 = 100%

THEN, look how far the love of God will take you:

L-O-V-E-O-F- G-O-D

12+15+22+5+15+ 6+7+15+4 = 101%!

Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that:

While Hard Work and Knowledge will get you close,

and Attitude will get you there,

It's the Love of God that will put you over the top!

The critters...

Ahh, Play-doh. You and I have quite the love-hate relationship, but I'm starting to get past my hangups with you, especially now that the bigger critter isn't out to grind you into the furniture.
We've moved up in the world of doughy creativity - making 'snowmen'. I suppose that here in Texas where we only see a light dusting of snow once every five years, this will be as good as our snowmen can get.
They sure are stylin', though, with those shades...

And the littler critter - he's made amazing strides in the realm of eating "big people food"! Granted, we want to take him outside after dinner every evening and wash him down with the garden hose, but at least he's EATING foods that aren't pureed!
This week, he's actually eating more than the bigger critter at dinnertime!
It won't be too long before we really do take him outside and hose him down, though. I give it only about three more weeks. Warm (no, HOT) weather will soon be here...sigh. Spring is much too short in these parts!

Thankful Thursday, 3-12

I absolutely had to smile - very big - when I came across these pictures earlier today. The boys were in the study with me this morning, and within 30 seconds had unloaded a shelf on one of our bookcases. In cleaning up their mess I found a small photo album that contained several engagement photos Ryan and I had made in October, 2001. (Has it been that long already?)

It made me smile because how appropriate is it that I should find them in the week of our seventh wedding anniversary!?! We celebrated seven years this past Monday, March 9th. (Seriously, has it been that long already?)

This Thankful Thursday is in honor of that milestone. Every anniversary is a milestone, I think, and something to be highly celebrated and honored. We were able to spend about 24 hours this past weekend sans kiddos to celebrate this anniversary, and we went to see the movie "Slumdog Millionaire", shop, and eat a nice long dinner at a sit-down restaurant. It was great just to be - to be together, to be relaxed, to be 'just adults' for a bit, and to be by ourselves.

Happy Anniversary, Ryan. Words don't convey how thankful I am for you - how truly blessed I am to journey with you, side-by-side for the rest of our lives.

*Update from last week: I went to my monthly OB appointment this week, and my sweet doctor put me on a Z-pack to hopefully clear up this "whatever-it-is" that has plagued me for the last month. She also gave me some Tylenol 3 (with codeine) to help me sleep without waking multiple times to cough up a lung (I think mine have regenerated several times, evidently:)). So far, it seems to be helping a bit. Thank you for all of your prayers - I had a couple of good days last Friday and Saturday, and I have high hopes that these meds will knock it out for good.

More importantly, though - we heard a very strong little heartbeat, which was so reassuring to me. I had been worried that by being on so much medicine it would have somehow adversely affected the baby. (My mom has nicknamed this one Edamame - a little "bean in the pod" - I like it. You may be seeing that a bit more.) So, huge praises that this little Edamame is growing and developing well!!

Issues...

Y'all, I'm trying to be thankful. It's "thankful Thursday", after all. I do have many things to be thankful for, such as a roof over my family's head, food on the table, Ryan's job, an amazing family who lives so close, a fabulous church where we are abundantly able to serve and be served... but it's been a trying week. Again.

So, I come before you in this post to ask a favor. Will you pray for me? For my family? If you are able to join with me in prayer, here are a few things I'd be very grateful for you to please lift up to Him, who is able to immeasurably more than all we could ask or imagine:

• For complete healing of my body. It's been over a month now that I've dealt with a cough and a sore throat on a level that no human should ever experience. I can hardly swallow my food - even soft foods - even ice cream - and I'm hungry. Relief has been elusive, as cough drops, warm drinks like cider (sorry, I have tried so hard to like hot tea!), and medicines bring no comfort. I haven't had a full night's sleep in ... I don't know how long. As of tonight, I cannot talk. I have been to the doctor and had numerous tests run, and they've all come back "normal" - but this is most definitely not "normal". Since I'm pregnant, there are only a handful of medicines that I can safely take, so I've been advised at this point to wait it out. I'm having just a bit of trouble with that.
• For this little life I'm carrying inside me. I got sick shortly after we found out I was expecting, so for the majority of this pregnancy up to this point I've been taking some sort of medicine (antibiotics or Tylenol, specifically) on a daily basis. My OB and my doctor both say those are safe for baby, but it's still a concern to me, especially during this first trimester.
• For Caleb and Logan. One, that they will remain healthy through this. Thankfully, both of them recovered at lightning speed from their bouts of pink eye, and I would absolutely hate for them to have this, whatever this is, at some point. I'm miserable enough, and it's that sort of misery on steroids to watch your child be ill. Two, we've been having a 'tough love' sort of week with them. Logan is now off of all baby foods - if he doesn't eat what is in front of him, he only gets water to drink (not milk) and that meal is offered to him again the next mealtime. So, last night he didn't eat his dinner and this morning he was offered last night's dinner for breakfast. No fun. However, he has shown a great improvement in eating 'real' foods over the course of this week. (Yea!! By the way, this was the gameplan offered to us by our pediatrician...) For Caleb, he's been in the habit of either Ryan or I loading his fork or spoon with his next bite while he eats. This week, he's now in charge of feeding himself. After all, he's a three year old. My goodness. But, I think he's having a tougher time of transitioning than his little brother!
• For Ryan. Praise God, he has remained healthy throughout all of this! Pray that would continue to be the case for him, and for strength as he lives with and cares for a frustrated, sick, tired, pregnant wife and two little boys whose daily lives are in the midst of change.

Thank you, friends. Thanks for allowing me to be real with you, and for your prayers. I hope to write a post next Thursday sharing great news of victory over these issues!!