Shark Baby

You know how when you're a parent, everything your baby does is cute? Well, here you go!

More Cuteness

Just because we can all use a little more cuteness in our lives ...

The Classic "Daddy and Baby Sleeping"

Who can resist "Baby With Cat"?

Imaginary Friend

Joe and I had a lot of fun while Kaity was in drama camp last week. We played Go Fish, I read books to him, I rocked him like a baby and sang to him while he squirmed and giggled and said, "I'm not a baby!", I called him Joe-fish, he squealed, "Don't call me 'Joe-fish'!" ... It was wonderful bonding time. He also made an imaginary friend ...

Joe and John

Here they are playing Go Fish together. I guess I wasn't as good of an opponent.

He had the box of wipes in the middle so that they couldn't see each other's cards. Funny, imaginative boy. :)

Drama Camp

Our city's Downtown Development Authority sponsored a drama camp for kids last week, hosted by our local drama troupe, the Cold Sassy Players. The name comes from the book Cold Sassy Tree that was written by Olive Ann Burns and is based on the town in which we live. Anyway, Kaity had a great time doing it! She missed the first two days, since we were in South Georgia for Papa's funeral, but she jumped right in on Wednesday. Friday night the kids participated in a special performance for all the parents.

The kids broke up into groups and each group performed a little one act skit. Kaity's skit was about a robber who breaks into a slumber party. Kaity was the police officer who catches the crook red-handed.

Officer Kaity (or is that Barney Fife?) catching the robber!

Bringing the crook to justice!

After the show was over, we took the kids to get a slice of pizza at the local pizza joint. All in all, a nice evening. :)

Simple Veggie Orzo

This is a recipe that's less a recipe and more a method. It's very versatile because the orzo pasta that forms the main body of the dish is so adaptable to whatever veggies you want to add; also because the amounts can be easily adjusted to feed as many as you like. For example, 1/4 cup of pasta and 1/2 cup of broth were perfect for a single serving. I used 1 cup of pasta and 2 cups of broth when I made this for the family.

Simple Veggie Orzo

Orzo pasta (dry measure)
Double the amount of chicken broth (liquid measure)
olive oil
chopped garlic
diced green onion
finely chopped vegetables, your choice
Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Saute the pasta, garlic, and green onion in olive oil for 5 minutes. Stir in broth and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for about 8 minutes, then add in your vegetables. Stir briefly, cover and cook for another 2-3 minutes. The broth will absorb into the pasta, and the veggies will have steamed to perfectly crisp-tender. To finish, fold in grated Parmesan cheese.

Note: I add pepper, but no salt. I found that even with reduced-sodium chicken broth, I didn't need to add more salt -- especially with the Parmesan cheese.

Papa

On Sunday morning, July 18, my Papa passed away. He was such a big man, a big presence, that it's hard to believe he's gone. Riley Eugene Floyd, Sr. was born on November 19, 1934. He married the prettiest girl in Georgia, Josephine Gill, in January 1955. They raised 7 children, who blessed them with 19 grandchildren, who in turn have blessed them with 20 great-grandchildren and counting! It's a testimony to how loved this couple is that they have at least 6 namesakes between them, including our little Joseph Riley.

Papa was strong, wise, opinionated, smart, engineering, resourceful, stubborn, always ready with and for a joke, a storyteller, a patriarch, never met a stranger, and never left you in doubt that he loved you.

I think the sign outside their house sums it up best ... "Buddy and Jo Floyd -- The End of the Rainbow".

Strawberry Limeade Punch

I am addicted to Sonic's Strawberry Limeade. It's so good! Plus, I can order the diet version and it makes me feel like I'm doing a good thing. Now, if you know me pretty well you know that I don't really like ice cream (sherbet is another story!), but when I saw that Sonic had sought to improve the Strawberry Limeade by offering it in smoothie version I had to try it! It was so delicious I knew I had to make a punch recipe out of it. Happily, I experimented and succeeded: it was a big hit at the ladies' meeting last night.

Strawberry Limeade Punch

16 ounces fresh strawberries, hulled and halved
12 ounce can frozen limeade concentrate, partially thawed
1-1/2 quarts vanilla ice cream
2-2 liter bottles Sierra Mist (you could use Sprite, but why would you when Sierra Mist tastes so much better?)

Give the strawberries and limeade concentrate a whir in the blender (you may need to do two batches). If you need some liquid, add a touch of milk. Pour this mixture into your punch bowl; stir in the ice cream until it's partially melted. Add in the Sierra Mist slowly, stirring gently as you go -- it will foam up a LOT. And there it is. Deliciousness.

Note: This makes a big batch of punch. If you don't have a really big punch bowl, you might want to start with half the ingredients and add more later.

Selah's First Cereal

Once I remembered to keep the bowl out of the baby's reach, Selah did just fine! She caught on very quickly that the stuff on the spoon was quite tasty.




This was just an experimental bowl of rice cereal, but she ended up eating every bite! She would fuss every time she emptied the spoon and I had to move it away from her to reload.

Enjoy the pictures! I'm going to go cry now.

Joe's Sloppy Joes

Joe's Sloppy Joes
1 pound lean ground beef (or turkey or venison)
1/2 sweet onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon chili powder
salt and pepper to your taste (you may not have to add any)
1 bottle chili sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup beef broth (optional)

In a large skillet, saute meat, onion and garlic over medium heat until the meat is browned. If you use very lean turkey or venison, you may need to add in a tablespoon or so of oil. Stir in seasonings and saute for a couple more minutes; then add in chili sauce, ketchup and salsa. At this point you really just have to heat the mixture through for 5-10 minutes and it's ready to eat. I prefer to add in some beef broth in order for it to all simmer together a while longer. This makes enough for about 8-10 sandwiches.

*This freezes really well!
* An option we all like just as much is to use barbecue sauce in the place of the salsa. They still taste like sloppy joes, but with a smoky flavor.

A Project for Joe

After I made the garland of dresses for Kaity and Selah's room, I got to thinking about what I could do in Joe's room. I knew it would probably feature cars and/or trucks in some way ... and then it hit me! I'd use Jeff's hobby as an inspiration for Joe's banner. Here's the end result ...
And a few close-ups for your viewing pleasure ...
In case you can't tell, these are Volkswagen Beetles and Volkswagen buses (Transporters). Jeff is a major VW enthusiast: he proposed to me in his candy apple red 1966 Beetle. He now owns a 1969 Transporter.
Jeff drew the templates for the bus and the Beetle, then I traced them onto scrapbooking paper. The road behind the cars is wide satin ribbon laced with skinny yellow ribbon.

Joe's Turn

Kaity went to stay with my parents for a few days a couple of weeks ago, and now it's Joe's turn! He's having a lot of fun, and probably not missing his mother one bit. Sigh.