Our family is growing!

But this one is furry-


We've just adopted Nina, a 4 year old Weimaraner, from the Oakland County Shelter which brings our pet count to 10*. We found her on petfinder and everything just fell into place. It's kismet. She's sweet and so pretty (and so much bigger that I had expected!)- please come meet her soon!

*Asha & Bina (cats that hide under the couch) + Ceilidh (plecostomus vaccuum fish) and 6 guppies (Darth Vadar, Darth Maul, Yoda, Anakin, Ahsoka and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

dill pickle soup

okay, the proper way to do this would be to start by making a roux, and then stirring in garlic and diced onions and browning them.

unfortunately, that whole gluten-allergy* gets in the way and i don't do that, but i used to. keep your eyes (and potatoes) peeled- there's a gf alternative at the bottom: 

1. if you can eat gluten, make a roux first, then go on to step 2. (if you cannot eat gluten, obviously skip this first step).
2. start by sauteeing onions & garlic in some olive oil.
3. add 4 cups of vegetarian broth
4. peel and chop 4-5 medium sized potatoes, bring to a boil
5. cook until potatoes are soft
6. add one jar of kosher dill pickles, chopped (including juice)
7. season as you wish (pepper, salt, fresh dill, etc.)
8. simmer until flavors are blended and pickles are slightly tender.

garnish with sour cream if you want.
*for gluten-free option, you can thicken the soup with instant potatoes.

recipe: 239 bean chili

this chili is ridiculous. it's meatless, gluten-free, and high in fiber. best of all, it's quick and easy to make:

in a crockpot dump in the following:

48 oz jar Randall* deluxe Mixed beans (drained and rinsed)
24 oz jar Randall* deluxe Great Northern beans (drained and rinsed)
14 oz jar Meijer Naturals* pizza sauce
2 T. each of cumin, oregano
1 t. each of garlic powder, cilantro
dash of pepper
28 oz can Meijer Naturals* petite diced tomatoes (do not drain- dump on top)

crockpot: low for as many hours as you want- I do at least 4 so my family thinks I'vc been cooking all day and the smell permeates throughout the house. Top with Daisy sour cream & fancy shredded sharp cheddar cheese

* I'm a Meijer shopper. I came up with this recipe because the beans are directly across the aisle from the pizza sauce. Randall's beans are flavorful and already cooked. You could sub them out for dried beans that you soak, along with fresh diced tomatoes, but that would not be quick nor easy. Enjoy.

holy bees nest, batman

so incredibly thankful that this is not in my yard!

we're all mad here...

 on tuesday evening we had seven 7ish girls over for kylinn's "mad hatter tea" themed birthday party. the girls (plus one brother to entertain kylinn's brother) all had a wonderful time. the decor was awesome and the girls loved dining in their private tent- a major perk to having an event planner for a mother. tegan sported a teenage mutant ninja turtle costume for the occasion.

thank you to those who came and celebrated with us.

happy 7th birthday, kylinn

to my wonderful, sassy, spunky and spirited little girl:
i love how your eyes light up when you smile.
i love your daredevil antics on your bike.
i (almost) love the drama while you clean your room.
i love your fearless skiing.
i love when you try to say things in french.
i love how you scare your principal.
i love when you play with your brother.
i love that you are not afraid to say anything.
i love watching you swim and do amazing jumps in the pool.
i love how you complain about your cat in your room.
i love you.

happy seventh birthday, fred.

i will love you forever.

30 Days of Music (Day 7): A song that reminds me of an event

Roses remind me of the birth of my daughter. This is both terrible, and terribly entertaining. This is a date stamp to tell you that she was born in 2004 just after this song spent some serious time on the Top 10 charts. I spent a lot of time in the car, stuck in traffic, cranking the bass up when one day I noticed my baby was kicking along to the beat. It seemed that the harder the beat, the harder Kylinn would kick, and being a fan of Outkast, we played this song a lot.

On the way home from the hospital (at 2 days old) this song came on and we turned it up a bit, and I *swear to you* she started kicking.

30 Days of Music (Day 5): A song that reminds me of somewhere

This song (the entire album, actually) always takes me back to my honeymoon in Hawaii when we frantically ran to WalMart to buy cd's because we were so done with Hawaiian radio after two days. I bought this CD and Adam bought Eminem (we are very diverse) because we could not handle, "I Miss you, My Hawaii" one more time." Papaya was about to go flying.

30 Days of Music (Day 5): A song that reminds me of someone

RevCo Do Ya Think I'm Sexy. Okay, no more hippie music, though oddly enough this song reminds me of some (unnamed) hippies. Not for the faint of heart, this is the best cover of this song EVER.

Random fact: when I posted this on facebook, most of the positive comments were from my derby team. And my step-sister. How can you not be entertained? I could listen to this all day.

30 Days of Music (Day 4): A song that makes me sad

I don't know what to tell you, folks. I was raised by hippies in the woods. Excuse the hippie music.

30 Days of Music (Day 3): A song that makes me happy

How can you *not* love this song. I'll admit the lyrics are cheesy, but the vocals are phenomenal and this dude has an incredible range. This is my secret shower belting song. Top o' my lungs, baby!

A friend recently posted that for years she thought the lyrics were, "carry a laser." That just proves how awesome this song is. Cherry on top: breathtaking mullets in the video.

30 Days of Music (Day 2): My LEAST Favorite Song

BARFORAMA! I'd actually like to meet someone who actually likes this song. Aside from the fact that *for years* I thought the lyrics were, "Twisted Sister, you're the only one" I still thought the song was awful. And, to add salt to the wounds, the lameness increased significantly when I learned them correctly. 

'Sister Christian' was big the summer before Kindergarten while my parents were building a house. The teenager down the street would blast it all day long- every day. I had a banana seat bike and was riding double and chopped the back of my heel off and have held a grudge against this song ever since. Rightfully so.

30 Days of Music (Day 1): My Favorite Song

Welcome to my 30 Days of Music. I hope you enjoy the videos and maybe learn a thing or two about me- good, bad or otherwise.

For a white girl in suburbia, I have some mad love for Jimi Hendrix. (Fiona Apple has a ripping cover of this song, but that is probably a bit less surprising to post) And here's a slightly relevant (thank you, Google) fact for today: I pulled Lenny Kravitz' dread lock. (Is dreadlock singular? Separated? Hyphenated?) Anyway, though it was purposely, it was not maliciously. And that's all I have to say about that.

facebook, facebook, why have you forsaken me?

I'm killing my blogging (and my parents) with my facebooking habits as I'm totally neglecting my blog. I have a memory card full of photos to post and I promise to get them all up here and get back to blogging. I've been here since 2005. I should keep on truckin'.

Life suddenly really picked up speed this year. Adam is crazy busy (a blessing, I must remember!) Tegan is totally loving preschool, Kylinn is rocking first grade and me- I'm all over two schools and then some. I'm the Vice President of the PTO and volunteer too much, still helping to run the moms group, my awesome business continues to grow, and I'm a derby girl. 

WHAT! Yes, back in November, I randomly decided to join a roller derby team. After (re)learning to skate on quads, passing both my skills & written exams, and making the team, I'm enjoying being *way* out of my element (even if it does get a little bit like junior high sometimes) I'll try to post upcoming bout information. Just don't try to mess with me- I'm tough now.

happy 4th birthday, tegan!

78% weight (39.8 pounds)

91% height (42.5 inches)

100% wild & crazy!

Happy Thanksgiving

My (last) sister-in-law discovered this earlier in the week. It totally rearranged my thinking.

I hope you all have an incredible holiday season and celebrate what is truly important to you.

************

Gratitude is something that fuels love - it should be practiced daily. Not once a year.

A daily prayer of mine as I go about my day goes something like this:

Thank you Lord for these dishes to wash, because it means we had food to put on them.

Thank you Lord for this pile of laundry to do because it means we have more than one pair of clothes.

Thank you Lord for this electric/gas bill because it means that we have hot water and a heated house.

Thank you Lord for messy rooms, because it means they have toys to grow the creativity you put in them.

Thank you Lord for bottoms to wipe because it means that they had food to eat.

Thank you Lord for kids who call us in the middle of the night, because it means they know they have parents who will answer them.

Thank you Lord that I can't decide what to make for dinner, because it means that I have a choice.

Thank you Lord.

Thank you Lord.

Posted by His Hands His Feet Today at 11/23/2010

like a steam locomotive

rollin' down the track
the teeth are gone, gone and
nothin's goona bring them back...

i know, it's been awhile.

my phone is filled with pictures of our recent adventures.

i will share them soon with plenty of backdating for frustrate everyone's feeds.

shit my sister left here:

being that my sister has three children now, she tends to forget a lot of things. she stopped by for a few hours on saturday and left more shit. i did check under the furniture for any missing kids, but this is all that i have come across thus far.

count with me:

1. jacket for 5 year old boy
2. jacket for 2 year old girl
3. sweater for baby girl
4. sweater for 2 year old girl
5. bottle for baby (still full, since washed)
6. nalgene for 5 year old boy

and yes, documenting this does provide me with much entertainment.

why i am not even going to look:

*bang* *bang* *boom*

me: please stop whatever you are doing!
tegan: i'm not breaking my body, mom!