I Wanna Be A Cowgirl!

Well, not really - but we did take a few pictures in the cowgirl hat that Aunt Debbie got Jen for her birthday!

Got a few really cute shots

Then, of course some goofy ones from Sara

& one with Grandma Toots!

MAKE THIS TONIGHT

I made this Chicken Tortilla Bake a couple of weeks ago. You have to try this - it was so delicious! I got this recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe. Check out her site - she has some great recipes.

Here is the recipe:

*Notes: Keep the corn tortillas wrapped in plastic or covered with a damp kitchen towel until ready to use – they will dry out quickly. The casserole can be made and refrigerated for up to 2 days. To bake, cover tightly with foil. Bake about 1 hour. Remove foil and bake until cheese has browned, about 10 minutes longer. Cool for 10 minutes.

*Serves 6

2 tablespoons canola oil
1 large onion, chopped fine
2 red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and diced medium
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
¾ teaspoon salt
3 medium garlic cloves, finely minced
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, chopped with 2 teaspoons sauce (decrease the amount of sauce to 1 teaspoon if you want it less spicy)
2 (15.5 ounce) cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, drained
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts trimmed of fat and cut into bite-size pieces
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons lime juice
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
18 (6-inch) round corn tortillas
Vegetable cooking spray
6 ounces cheddar cheese shredded (about 2 cups)
6 ounces Monterey jack cheese shredded (about 2 cups)

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 450 degrees. Heat the oil in a dutch oven or large pot over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion, bell peppers, cumin, chili powder, and salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft and the onions are golden, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute

Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until golden, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth and bring to a simmer, whisking often. Add the chipotles with adobo sauce, beans, and tomatoes; simmer until the flavors have blended about 5 minutes. Add the chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink, about 4 minutes. Stir in ¼ cup cilantro, the lime juice and pepper.

Place a damp paper towel on the bottom and top of the corn tortilla stack. Microwave for 45 seconds to 1 minute until they are soft and pliable.

Toss the cheeses together in a medium bowl. Spread 1/3 of the chicken mixture in a lightly greased 9X13 inch dish. Layer 6 tortillas on top of the filling, overlapping as needed, and sprinkle with 1 ½ cups of the cheese. Repeat the process to form a second layer.

Spread the remaining filling in the baking dish. Cut the remaining 6 tortillas into quarters and arrange over the top and finish off with the remaining cheese. Bake until the cheese is golden brown and the casserole is bubbling, about 15 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons cilantro before serving. Serve with additional accompaniments, such as salsa, diced avocado, sour cream or sliced green onions. The casserole can be made and refrigerated for up to 2 days. To bake, cover tightly with foil. Bake about 1 hour. Remove foil and bake until cheese has browned, about 10 minutes longer. Cool for 10 minutes.

A LONG WAY

This was March 12th, the day of Sara's surgery. We let her stay up the night before as late as she wanted as they had moved her surgery to 1:45 in the afternoon - hoping she would sleep in a little and not beg for food or water all morning - well, that was wishful thinking!

Before heading to the hospital, Sara wanted to play one last game of "PIG" so Dad obliged and even let her win!

She had her surgery at Mott Childrens Hospital in U of M Ann Arbor. We have been in many hospitals with all of Jennifer's surgeries but have never seen them cater to kids like they do here - what a different experience. They really try to make the kids as comfortable as possible. They don't even have a bed in the waiting area - just a chair.

They don't start an IV before surgery - they let her pick out flavored chapstick to rub all over her mask so she would smell the chapstick instead of the gas when going to sleep. Then we wrapped her in a blanket and she had the choice of riding in a wagon or walking off to surgery. Of course, she walked - no way was she going to be caught riding in a wagon - that's for babies.

This is after surgery and after throwing up - poor baby. She played her DS for a little while.

She spent one night in the hospital and they brought around crafts for the kids to do - she painted the top of her box but was too tired to do the rest. We were going home that day but she insisted that Grandma MJ and Jennifer come down to the hospital.

They pretty much got to the hospital in time so Jen could do a craft too and we headed home shortly thereafter.


Did not take long and we were doodling on her casts. She had lots of family and friends stop over to visit and sign her cast.

That's mine right on her toes - so she could see it all the time!

She had to bribe Major with a treat to get him to come on her lap cause usually she is giving him the choke hold which he does not particularly like.

I arranged lots of mini play dates the first couple of weeks - it helped pass the time and keep her mind off of any pain. She really has a great group of friends who have all been so very kind and caring throughout this.

This was her first cast change - they actually use a mini saw and cut them off - she was a little nervous but did just fine.




This is Dr. Craig putting new casts on - could she have picked brighter colors! Her favorite color is of course orange! Dr. Craig joked that she could work on the highway as people would be able to see her from miles away!

She had another cast change at 4 1/2 weeks and got walking casts put on - which i took my camera and took pictures - i just did not have a memory card in the camera - ugh - what a ding dong i am!

This was the appointment to get the walking casts off and braces on. She was doing really good walking on the casts by this point.


Look at those poor stinky feet - she immediately started picking the dry skin off and did not like walking at all once she got the braces on. So, i had to get the wheelchair from the car to get her out of there. It has been a little over a week since she got the casts off and she is improving every day.

She rode her bike for the first time the other day - i think that was actually easier for her than walking, which will come with time! Thanks to everyone for all your thoughts and prayers - she is a little trooper and with all the support from family and friends it has been a much easier road than we expected!

HAPPY 11TH BIRTHDAY J!

It's hard to believe that 11 years ago this little red head was born and brought such joy to our lives. She was so excited to open her presents from us - she was begging for days in advance. Not sure why as we had already given her an ipod touch (handed down from her Dad - his birthday present he decided he did not want) so..... we thought we had her convinced that she might get something little.

The morning of Jen's birthday i was reminding Sara to tell Jen "Happy Birthday" and the two of them were in the bathroom getting ready for school and Sara told Jen "Happy Birthday". Jen asked if she would be able to open her presents and i told her "Sure, after Dad gets home from work, you can". Then Sara says "Oh sweet, does she get to open her phooooooooo" She almost blew it but we recovered by saying Sara had gotten Jen a faux present, a fake one.
She opened the boring boxes first - then she opened a case for her phone, thus the confusion on her face as to what it was.

HAMSTER PLEASE

Art found this on his pillow the other night. I had a pretty good idea what it was about but had not read it yet. Earlier in the day, out of the blue, Sara wanted to know if she could have a hamster. So, we talked a bit about it and i told her that she would need to convince her Dad and that it would not be easy. I gave her a few tips of how she might approach her father about it - like asking him to just listen to what she has to say and don't respond until he thinks about it first. Instead of talking to him about it, she decided it would be better to write a letter. Anyway, here is what she wrote:

Dad,
I want a hamster.
(why ask when you can demand)

I will listen to you and do whatever you tell me to do like clean my room or something I'll do that till you think I can get one.
(ummm.... so what happens after you get the hamster - you stop cleaning and doing chores altogether?)

Take 3 or 4 days to think. Do we have a deal
(She really means, answer me now and say "YES")


Needless to say, there is no hamster in her immediate future!

NATURE GIRL

Our little Nature Girl is having another ear surgery tomorrow so say a little prayer please that all goes well. She is having the bone replaced that she had put in a couple years ago as it has shifted and popped through her ear drum and affected her hearing. So...... hopefully this is it for her and ear surgeries - she has had way too many.

CAMPING

We went camping last weekend in the cold and snow. I know sounds crazy, but we got a new camper and the kids were so excited to go - so, the first night we slept in the driveway and then headed to the Holly campground.

We took the wheelie with us, Sara loves that thing - i think she will actually be sad to get rid of it. She has a walker now too but does not use it a whole lot.

We went for several walks and explored as there were only two other campers in the whole park.
We drove over to the beach, walked down looked at the water, took a couple pictures and by that time we were freezing so we headed back to the car.

Even Major got to come camping with us - he loves to go wherever his family does so long as there are some birds and squirrels to bark at.

There were a couple of parks in the campground and we came across this one with monkey bars - Sara was thrilled that we let her do it - of course, we were very close by.


Jen and Sara both loved this spinny thing. They have one at school but never get to use as it is in the kindergarten play area. So, they loved spinning on it.


The girls decided it would be a good idea to do the spinner together. They would get going so fast that little Miss Flexible would just lift her legs up in the air - all the more fun right. That girl can sure contort into some crazy positions!


I think we will be camping lots this summer, they surely enjoy it!