To Go or Not To Go...

I think that my baby has an ear infection. She has a cold in her nose and eyes and was up most of the night. (She was pulling on her ears last night and had a low grade fever.) So, I sit here pondering if I should try to wait it out or if I should bring her in. I know that she will get antibiotics if I bring her in, but I am not sure that is the right answer. Of course, this all happens just before a major holiday when her pediatrician left the area about a month ago...
I just put some garlic oil in her ears, and I am crossing my fingers. Any other home remedies out there that have worked for you?

Thankful

These are some of the things that I am thankful for today....

1. The wonderful meal that I got to share with great friends last night.
2. My sleeping infant.
3. The job that my husband still has (even despite recent news).
4. Edible playdough (it kept the kids busy for almost an hour!)
5. Snow falling (well, I might be trying to use reverse psychology on this one)

Another Month

Wow, where did the month go? Tonight is my supper club night again. We are doing a mixed up Thanksgiving meal. I should be starving myself for the meal, but in all reality I will still eat the same amount! So here's what we are doing. First, everyone chose a course. I picked dessert. Then we put the traditional Thanksgiving dinner ingredients (ie. turkey, pumpkin, bread, cranberries, etc) in a hat and drew one. Luckily I picked pumpkin (and not turkey)! My house smells wonderful right now. I just made pumpkin bread, with which I am going to make a pumpkin trifle. I got the idea from this month's bhg magazine. I am also going to try to make my own caramel sauce...wish me luck!

Remember When....

Elbs...remember when you took me for a ride on the freeway in your sweet car (the one that the roof was falling off of!)



Julie...remember all of our adventures in the grocery-getter! The rolling stops at my house...



Becca...remember all of those late nights at your house (rook), that required the rolling stops at my house!



Elizabeth...remember when we had hours in the MUB to discuss...well everything!



Cyndi and Jen...remember when you were regulars at my parents pad. Cyndi, I can still remember the smile on your face after you were arriving to my house after one of your dates with John!



Amy L....remember when you invited Bruce and I to your camp "before" we were dating!



Carol...remember when you lent me a smoke in your car! sputter, sputter....



Thank you for all of these great memories!

Advice

...as in I need some help over here. We are in need of a new camera. Where do I start looking? Should I get a point and shoot, or an SLR? Up until now, I haven't been much of a picture taker, but since I have started this blog I am starting to take more (and I am enjoying it). So talk to me people, and tell me what you like or dislike about your cameras.

Introducing....

My thumb-sucking princess....

My donkey riding prince....

and my funny-faced joker...

A Huntin' He Will Go....

This is for all of you hunting widows out there. I can barely call myself a hunting widow, because my husband up until this point really hasn't spent a lot time hunting. This year, however, he bought a new gun and is determined to get one. I just have a hard time any time that he leaves. He spends a lot of time away because of the demands of his job (which we are thankful that he has), and I deal with it. But hunting??!! I just can't share the same excitement with him, and it would have been cheaper to have went out and bought a COW! Oh well, let's just hope that he gets one and we can move on. So go get um honey...and I will be planning a shopping trip all weekend while you are gone. (Kelly...are you out there? Can you hear me...SHOPPING!)

Yum....

My baby is now five months old. I caught her chewing on this the other day, and I figured that maybe it was time to start feeding her cereal...

I am not sure if she was impressed with the cereal or if she would have preferred the slipper!

She kept opening her mouth, but she would crinkle her nose and shudder every time it got to her tongue. We'll see how ambitious I am at trying to keep giving it to her...

This one has a very sophisticated palette, too!

It's Raining, It's snowing....

I am trying to focus on the beautiful weather that we had this week...as it is starting to snow now!

Food 911

I really enjoyed the main dish that my friend Kathryn made for crockpot night. I thought of another friend, a lurker, whom I will only address as "food 9-1-1", when I received this recipe. Girlfriend, this might be a good one for you to try...

Cherried Pork Roast

Boneless pork roast (sirloin is best)
2 T. cooking oil
1 T. quick cooking tapioca
1 T. snipped fresh thyme or 1 t. dried thyme
1/2 t. pepper
1 medium onion, sliced
1 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup apple juice or apple cider
3 to 4 cups hot cooked rice or noodles

1. Trim fat from meat. (Sirloin will probably not have much, so don't bother.) In a large skillet, brown meat on all sides in hot oil.

2. Transfer meat to slow cooker. Sprinkle tapioca, dried thyme (if using), and pepper over meat. Add onion and dried cherries. Pour apple juice or cider over all.

3. Cover. Cook on low for 7 to 9 hours or on high for 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours.

4. Serve meat and cooking juices with hot cooked rice or noodles.

Someone's been keeping me up at night....

heh...the little stinker is cutting a tooth, so I guess that she has an excuse. Of course she is smiling now after I took her for pictures today, and she wouldn't smile for anything. Although, I am not sure that I would have smiled either if I had someone waving a yucky old feather duster in my face! Poor thing...her mother took her to one of those low budget places!

Dreams...

This is what I am dreaming of right now....naptime

Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon-Mustard Dressing

The dressing smelled REALLY strong (vinegar) when I was making it, but I think that it tasted pretty good in the end.

Here's the recipe

1 (10 oz.) bag spinach leaves
4 hard boiled eggs, sliced
1 cup sliced mushrooms
4 strips crisp bacon, crumbled
10 oz. shredded Swiss ( I used smoked gouda--very good)
1/2 c. toasted sliced almonds (I used toasted pecans)

1 T. olive oil
1 shallot, minced
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/3 c. white wine vinegar
1/3 c. Dijon mustard
1/3 c. honey
2 strips crisp bacon, crumbled
salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat olive oil in small skillet over medium heat. Stir in shallots and garlic, and cook until softened and translucent. Whisk in vinegar, mustard, honey, and 2 strips of crumbled bacon. Season with salt and pepper, then cook until hot.
2. Enjoy!

We're BACK!!!

Holy Cow! Can you believe it?!! We made it through about 3 weeks (maybe more) without an internet connection at home. Well, I barely made it, but that is another story. I am feeling almost a little bit backwards, because it has been so long since I posted. Lots happened, too!

**My husband and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. My dear parents babysat so that Bruce and I could share a lunch out together before he had to go to work. Every year can't be as exciting as last when he *surprised* me with a 4-wheeler trip (just think color seaon on the trails) to a hotel for a night. My husband is the planner in this family. Someday dear...I will have a plan!

**We had another great supper club night. This month we had crockpot night at my house. This was not a one-pot meal, oh noooo, this was an 8-pot meal! Yum...and I made the salad...like I said before--they love me. okay, okay I stuck to the guidelines and kept the dressing warm in the crockpot. I made a spinach salad with warm bacon-mustard dressing. I might just post the recipe later in the week.

This is my sweet little home-girl (thanks to her big bro). The other day he had his hockey elbow pads on her arms...

man, this baby life is rough...

Please, no more photos...I have more important things to do!

And finally, here are my punks all dressed up...

Thank you and good night!