Hummus

Here you go girls..

Black Bean Hummus

1 clove garlic
1- 15 oz. can black beans, drain and reserve liquid
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1 1/2 Tbs. Tahini
3/4 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp paprika

Process everything in food processor with 2 Tbs of bean liquid. If too thick add more liquid until dipping consistency. Serve with Pita Bread toasted. Also good with tortilla chips.

When Krista gave me this recipe...She said sometimes in Central America they would eat this for a meal on a Sunday evening if they wanted something light for supper. I said, no way could I just eat bean dip just for a meal. I stand corrected. WOW! This is an awesome meal and snack. Lots of protein and oh so good.

Tahini is available at Health food stores. I have extra- if your close enough you can come over and get some. :)

getting ready for baby.....

34 weeks down....6 to go. And lookin' good!!!

Disclaimer: there are going to be lots of pictures. Brace yourself. You may need to take this post in 2 separate sittings. I'm posting extra pictures for all the Florida Aunts and cousins (and other out-of-staters) who couldn't be here, due to some lame excuse like, "it was too far to drive..."

And just so you know out-of-state family---we missed you! For the rest of you not related - this is my sister-in-law Arlene (married to Donovan's brother Jon) who we hosted a shower for last night. She is pregnant with their 1st baby. And wow-she is looking great! Just a few more weeks to go. She is a sweet friend.
Donovan's mama, me and The Guest of honor.
Suzy is in for one big shocker come August. I think sometimes she forgets I am her mama, and mistakes Arlene for her mama. Suzy just adores Arlene--and I just love their little friendship.
Krista was in charge of games...and chose this one. "Who can toss the balloon without their water breaking" game. Arlene and I were partners and our "water" broke 1st. Hmmm??? Does this mean she will go early???

Aunt Ellen was photographer for the night....and I'm glad she was. I got kinda busy to remember to snap some pictures. She got this one of serious and smiley. Smiley (Krista) is pregnant also and due at the end of October with #2...a boy. Some shower crashers behind the couch. Pictured on the couch...Aunt Dot, Aunt Ruby, and Grandma.
More guests....Left to right....Sarah (cousin), Loretta (Arlene's sister) with her 2 youngest, & Tonya (friend of Arlene).

MMmmm....my favorite part....getting ready to eat. Everyone helped with bringing in food, which made preparations go much easier.

Here's the menu:

Salsa and chips

Black Bean Hummus and Toasted pita bread (don't knock it until you try it)

Chocolate Fondue with strawberries, Bananas, pound cake, marshmallows, pretzels, rice krispies all for dipping.

and..

French Vanilla cake.

Aunt Ellen with entertainment for the evening. :)

Cousins picture....Arlene, Krista, Sarah, and me. So disappointed I didn't think to take the picture before Rachel left. So Sorry Rachel!!

.

So after all the clean up, Krista and I headed to the front porch for R & R. Sittin' on the porch talkin' with a friend is one of my favorite ways to spend a summer evening. We kept sittin' and kept talking until after midnight. Oops! Nice, but not in the morning when you still need to get up with 4 little ones who got to bed a little earlier.

.

Today was supposed to be a pool day we had planned....however the rain kept us home. But we had a nice surprise....Sarah dropped in with her 2 boys for a visit.

And for those of you who know her oldest well, Easton, you know he has a sock issue.

He likes to wear socks. In the hot summer the boy likes to wear socks. ??? I think for punishment his mama threatens to make him take off his socks. Am I right Sarah? And funny how all 3 boys came up from playing in the basement all with matching white socks. Is he rubbing off on my boys?

Easton and William both 4....born 4 weeks apart are 2 peas in a pod.

I love this picture....PURE JOY!

And this is how Isabella spent most of her afternoon. And for her it was pure joy.

I had to pick my nose to get the rock out.

no she didn't fall, she's throwing a fit. read on.

Today was full of a variety of emotions:

The happiest part: Having a picnic at the pool. Seeing the kids so excited to go swimming.



The sickest part: Cleaning up poop out of Suzy's swimsuit and then cleaning it out of the yard. Thinking she was only going to go #1 I squatted her by the landscaping (because we were at the pool) only to see 2 noticeable piles come out. Great no leaves in sight to scoop them up with, so I picked 2 geranium leaves off a plant to use as "gloves" to pick up the human poop and throw out in the brush.



The funniest part: Where I get fresh farm eggs (My friend Anna's parents) her dad noticed I didn't have my toenails painted and gave me a hard time for it. Monroe (an Amish preacher) said....And I quote, "I thought you were born with red toenails. How embarrassing you don't have them painted." I got a good laugh out of that.



The most rewarding part: Seeing William ride bike for the first time with no training wheels.



The scariest part: When Jack got a rock stuck up his nostril. Why, you ask? He thought it would be fun to put a little rock up there. I couldn't get it out. He was crying because while trying to get it out, he was pushing it further in. I called the Dr. office, who said to bring him in. While getting the kids into the van....Daddy drove in and saved the day. He told Jack to blow hard and on the 2nd try, the rock came flying out along with some snot. I was in a panic and never thought to have him try blowing it out.



The most maddening part: Suzanna throwing herself on the cement driveway in full out temper tantrum because I wanted her to pose for a picture with her doll.



The most delicious part: A new recipe I got for BBQ hamburgers from Anna's mama.

And the quote for the day comes from Jack:

Me: "Jack, how do your fingernails get so dirty?"

Jack: "That's because I had to pick my nose to get the rock out."

camping at the super 8

Warren Dunes State Park

Last year we went camping over Jack's birthday. It seemed like a good tradition to keep on doing. But by the time we borrowed a camper, and truck to pull it, packed the camper....took 14 trips to the bathroom with various people who had to go potty....paying for 2 nights a State camp......we decided this year to "camp" at a hotel. Or "showtell" as William says. Not that we will never go camping again....just not a lot at this stage of our parenting. Anyways...we took off Saturday...the kids were so excited to finially get there and get out of the car seats. The first thing we did is climb the dunes. The kids had never done it, and Donovan and I hadn't climbed the dunes since we were dating 12 years ago.

This may look easy....but not really. Climbing while lugging a little almost 2 year old is hard work. Which is why I gave her to her daddy about 1/2 way up-when it got really steep.
The pay off. A rest at the top and a great view.

Later after lunch this little sweetie, took a little nap. I laid her down thinking there's no way she will stay still long enough to fall asleep. But she did....we must of really worn her out!
Burying William. These 2 were loving the water.

Two little sun bathing beauties.
After going back to our hotel, taking naps, cleaning up, eating supper--we headed back to the beach to watch the sunset. I had just as much fun in the evening at the beach as during the day.

Ring a round the sand pile.
William loves rocks like big sister.

A women walking by offered to take a family picture for us.....we got a couple that seemed to show each of the children's personalities so well.

They didn't stay like this for long...but I got a couple good shots.
Jack LOVES to kiss and hug on Suzy!! So when I asked him to give her a kiss, we was more than happy.
However she gets tired of him kissing and touching her. So wham....Suzy wacked Jack. Don't think I'll frame this one. I can still hear her..."no, no, Jack"

Quote of the day....

From Donovan: "Don't throw angel hair around the room"

(pasta that is)

and...

"How rude would it be if I didn't get a candle in my cupcake?"

I'll let you guess who that quote was from on Sunday.

Jack turns 6

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Wow, and I was really hoping that I would live long enough to be a grandma.....

Yesterday we were invited to visit my friend Crystal at the lake. The day started off really cloudy, so she called to say maybe we better try for another day. I was thinking I better plan something quick-because the kids had been working really fast to get things cleaned up so we could go. Then BAM! Within an hours time, it cleared off & looked very promising. So we loaded the car with all the essentials for taking 4 children to the lake. While I kept running in to get things that I forgot, I heard blood curdling screaming from the garage. Muffled in a way that it was coming from inside the closed van doors. I'm thinking fingers got pinched, possibly blood somewhere. I go running out to see what is the matter. Nothing is the matter. Just good ol' fighting between all the chillins. He's touching my trains. She kicked my seat kind-of thing.

I began to wonder if all this work was really worth it. Will the fighting continue after we arrive at the lake? Will they just keep fighting all the way there? Will there be more whining and fussing once we get there? Or will the diversion be a welcome change and make everyone happy to soak up some sun and play in the sand? What is a mother to do? So I did what some of you may have done in the past. I made threats of which I had absolutely no intention of carrying out. Something along the line of, "If you guys don't knock this off and stop fighting, We will NOT go to the lake. We will go back in and all go back to bed"

Not necessarily the right way to parent. Not that I'm proud of how I handled it. But I was F.E.D. up! Ever been there Mama's?
Thankfully the kids took me for dead serious, attitudes changed, and we continued on with the scheduled programing. Which involved Crystal making lunch, me and all 7 kids eating it, and then going down to the lake to play. Did I forget to mention I slaved over a bag of chips that I donated to the preparations of the meal?

One of the highlights for our 3 oldest were getting jet-ski rides.

Here is the line up....Christian-8, William-4, Jack 5, Isabella-7, Madeline-5, Suzy-1, Harrison-3. Pretty fun that each of them has a playmate.

Today.....we started off with swimming lessons, and then an eye Dr. appointment.

Guess who needs new frames?

choice #1

Sweetness has a little crack in the side of her frames, which are getting a little small for her face after almost 2 years of wearing glasses. The frames she had are discontinued. :( BOO. And she needs new lenses since her eyes have also changed. Her prescription needs to be stronger. choice #2

I need some help. I'm not crazy about either frame choice. Her face is too big for children's glasses, but too small for adult. It's hard to find something in the middle. Does anyone have any advice? Shall I keep looking for more frames at different stores?

And moving on with the day....

Tonight we celebrated Jack's 6th birthday at Grandma and Grandpa's, just a couple days early. Yummy homemade pizza, pop, icecream and cupcakes.
And then there was tonight. 2 flats of strawberries in 2 hours. It was amazing!!! We recruited all the troops and got it all done. 5 batches of jam and the rest we crushed and mixed with sugar.

Be the first 3 to leave me a comment and I will bring you a jar. :)

Quote of the day:

Isabella: "Jack, you have to wait until you are 18 to get married."

Jack: "Well then I can't marry mama, because she won't live that long."