Last Day of Summer

Today was the last official day of summer for Dylan. (boo!) But we had a great day. We went to church in the morning.

Then we went to play at Dave & Buster's (at Dylan's request though Chris didn't seem to mind.)

Payton liked riding the motorcycles.
Can you guess what game they are playing?
Guitar Hero!

Right before bed we got to Skype with Papa Nutt and Gigi.
Then it was nite-nite time and bedtime prayers...
Tomorrow I will have a SECOND GRADER! AAAHHHHH!

What I Actually ate...

Instead of showing you my meal plan for the week, here's what I actually ate...

Sunday July 24, 2011

Don't adjust your screen, you are actually seeing TWO of the pictures - I went back for seconds!

Brooklyn Joe's Margarita Pizza

Blue Cheese and Pear Salad

Water

Monday July 25, 2011

Leftover Night: Spaghetti

Blue Cheese and Pear Salad

Water

Monday July 26, 2011

Tacos (but I folded mine like a burrito, we had big tortillas)

Spanish rice

Tortilla chips

Water

Wednesday July 27, 2011

Interesting Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Green & White Salad

Carrots

Water

Thursday July 28, 2011

Teriyaki Chicken = YUM (made by Craig)

Rice Pilaf

Stir-fry vegetables and noodles

Water

Friday July 29, 2011

I hinted about this meal yesterday. It was SO yummy. I need to make it more often!

Wedge Salad

Garlic bread

Parmesan Crusted Vidalia Onion

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Dessert: Brownies with chocolate fudge frosting

Chris dreamt about making this onion and it was excellent. Sweet vidalia onion with a little olive oil, garlic and parmesan sprinkled on top, broiled until golden. Sweet, salty, crunchy, soft heaven!

Here's the brownies that were a perfect ending!

Saturday July 30, 2011

This is one of those days that I would rather NOT post what I ate. Let's just say it started at 4pm with a popcorn craving...after eating my fill of popcorn I ate this for "dinner":

Half a peanut butter and honey sandwich

(Oh and finished off Payton's Top Ramen - yes I know REAL healthy)

Water

Then Chris made this

Banana smoothie

Thank goodness it was half a glass! And it made me think of my dad and his love for banana malts.

Then Craig brought out a package of Devils Food Cake mix and we made this:

Devils Food Cupcakes with peanut butter and mini chocolate chips inside!

Yum!

What did you eat this week? (I need ideas for next week!)

Coffee Milk

Since today was the last full day that Aunt Kelly and Brittan were going to be here, we decided to go to Cracker Barrel for breakfast.

Sasha grew up drinking "coffee milk" (milk with a touch of coffee in it) and she introduced my kids to it. Payton loved it right off the bat.

Dylan on the other hand...
...well it took a couple of tries, and now he loves it.

Plus, drinking out of those little creamer cups is so much fun!

We went and hiked Blankets Creek again. It is so beautiful back in the trees. It feels like you are in another world. Brittan said, "It's like you are in Alice in Wonderland". Afterwards I was doing some exercises at the picnic benches when Payton decided to join me.

In the afternoon, we decided to lay down for both kids to take a nap. I got to start reading (again for the second time) Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. I am 82 pages in and hope to read some more tonight. If you haven't read this book - please do. Such a great novel. With a seriously great message (hint - the basis of it is the book of Hosea in the Old Testament)!

For dinner we decided to make - oh yeah, you will have to wait until Saturday when I post "What I Actually Ate". I will tell you that it was SUPER YUMM! Then for dessert we had homemade brownies with chocolate frosting. Know what the best thing about frosting is?

CHOCOLATE FACES! (Notice it in Payton's hair? Seriously, how do they get it everywhere?)

I think he liked it. What do you think?

Open House

Today was Open House at Dylan's school. We went and met his teacher, Mrs. Curtis, and walked around the campus. He is super excited about riding the bus and eating in the cafeteria.

I cannot believe that he starts 2nd grade on MONDAY! Where did the time go?

And of course Payton wanted to get a picture too!

Tonight as Payton and I were saying good night prayers, she prayed - "Thank you for Jesus living in my heart." Oh how I pray that both Dylan and Payton will have that truth written on their hearts as they grow. That they will have a full realization that we are all sinners, in need of a Savior. That Jesus came to die on the cross for our sins, to take our place so that we may spend eternity with God!

Dinner Fail.

We had some canned chicken that I wanted to use for dinner. I looked on-line and came across this recipe at Brown Eyed Baker. It looked yummy and while I didn't have all the ingredients on hand, I thought I would adapt it.

I mixed the following in a bowl:

1 can chicken

1/2 cup light mayo

1/2 cup light sour cream

salt & pepper

Chopped the following and mixed it in:

2 stalks celery

1/2 apple

1/8 cup walnuts

Sounds good right?

WELL.... I was also making Green and White Salad at the same time... In the same type of bowl (only bigger). And they were sitting on the counter right next to each other. I grabbed my feta for the salad, took off the lid and dumped the WHOLE thing right into...my chicken mixture - NOT the Green and White Salad! TOTAL FAIL. Then I started thinking - "Another chicken salad recipe I have calls for feta, so it might be ok." So I mixed it in and this is what we got.

Doesn't look so pretty, right? Didn't taste so pretty either. Don't get me wrong it wasn't horrible, but it wasn't excellent either. We ate it. It filled us up. But next time I WON'T be adding the feta. Lesson learned: when making 2 things at the same time, put them far from each other!

Park Day

Chris, Aunt Kelly, Brittan, Dylan, Payton and I went to the park today...

Swing time!

She just finished saying "Hello I am Chris Lewis!"

"Grrrr" - Dylan

It took a lot of convincing (from both Chris and I) for them to sit together and smile for the camera. But it was worth it!

Water

I had my first "Smart Water" today. We went to Harry's Farmers Market (yes, the one that Alton Brown shops at - still haven't seen him though!) and they had them on sale for $.79.

I don't get it. I didn't notice anything different about the water. Seems to me the only thing "smart" about it is that they can charge for water! Hee hee hee!

Speaking of water... Did you know that it can rain in one spot and not another? Literally. I got to see the "line" of where it was raining and where it was not today. Bizarre!

What I actually ate...

All over the web people post their menu plans for the week. Menu plans are great I try to menu plan 6 dinners a week (with one day open for left overs or going out to eat). But what I wonder is what did they ACTUALLY eat? Did their dinners go as planned? So instead of posting my plan, I am posting what I actually ate. Make sense? Good. Here we go.

Saturday July 16, 2011

This is not dinner, but my breakfast looked so pretty it needed to be photographed.

Plain yogurt topped with honey, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and mango

Fried egg

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Sunday July 17, 2011

Orange Popcorn Chicken

Stir-fry with Noodles

Fried Okra

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Dessert: I made Lemon Bars... Yummy!

Monday July 18, 2011

Jalapeno Quesadilla

Galla Apple

Cucumber Salad (I went back for seconds of this.)

Immediately after I ate some Salt & Vinegar Kettle chips...just keeping it real.

Water

Tuesday July 19, 2011

Chinese Chicken Salad

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Wednesday July 20, 2011

TOTAL FAIL TODAY: I forgot to take a picture of my dinner.

So enjoy this stock photo of similar nachos.

It was chips, refried beans, cheese, jalapenos & sour cream.

Water

Thursday July 21, 2011

Salad: romaine, red onion, tomatoes with homemade Honey Mustard dressing

Spaghetti with meat sauce

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Friday July 22, 2011

Vidalia Burger with bacon and avocado - Yummy!

Craig's Potato Salad

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Saturday July 23, 2011

Jalapeno Quesadilla (again)

White Bean, Feta & Veggie Salad

Green salad with Honey Mustard dressing

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Hope you enjoyed seeing what I ate!

Golfing

All set to go golfing!

Daddy would be so proud

Those of you who know my husband, know he is a bit of a clean freak. I mean, we jokingly call him Mr. Clean - so with that in mind...

Dylan asked Sasha if he could vacuum upstairs.

Daddy would be so proud. Think I can get him to do this every week???

Maggie & Molly

Today my dad found a home for our sweet pugs Maggie and Molly.

They got to go to a great couple who already have one pug.

We will miss them so much! We love you Maggie and Molly!

Creature of habit

Chris' first day of work was today and he is such a creature of habit. I walked into the kitchen and saw this:

This is his "work lunch". He made this for himself EVERY DAY at his old job. Water, peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwich, peanuts and a piece of fruit. He makes me smile.

He's almost read to go. He has to wear a tie to work...can you believe it?

Isn't he handsome? {sigh}

Love you babe. Thanks for going to work and supporting our family. We love you bunches! XOXO