And like that, the week was done...

Last week was like a vacation at home! Logan had soccer camp in the mornings, and most every afternoon/evening we had something fun to do. We had a soccer coach from the camp staying with us, and the kids just absolutely adored him. He started the week as "coach," but by the end of the week Patrick and I thought him a friend.

I won't lie. I was terrified at the thought of bringing a stranger into our home. But then I figured that they would have to do some sort of background checks on these coaches before sending them to coach children and stay with host families all summer. Turns out, I had nothing to worry about. All of the coaches involved with coaching the campers were wonderful and such fun to be around.... even though it took me until Friday to get the names and faces matched up correctly. HAHA

Monday was day 1 of camp, and we really didn't do much of anything in the evening. It was just a nice relaxing night after the coaches had spent the days before traveling.

Tuesday was a pool party for the coaches and host families. It was a little intimidating because we really didn't know any of the coaches, and I didn't know the other host families that well.

Wednesday everyone went to Stone Mountain except for us. Our family, Simon (our coach), and a couple friends met up for dinner for Logan's birthday. He turned the big 1-0! His birthday dinner was at Logan's Roadhouse, and Simon got a kick out of hollering "Yee-haw" in the restaurant when birthdays were recognized. Logan wouldn't let us do his. He's shy like that. :-)

Thursday we all met up at Atlanta Motor Speedway for Thursday Night Thunder. That was awesome! We not only got to sit around with people who we were beginning to consider friends when less than a week ago we'd been strangers, but I got to see my Connor race his car!! Connor is in the same grade as Logan, and I taught him when he was a 2nd grader. He came in 4th, which was his best finish at AMS.

Friday was "The Big Game." Every year when the coaches come for the soccer camp Mike has a big Brits vs Mike's Select Team. It's great fun to watch, even though the Brits usually kick our tails. LOL

Saturday we took a road trip into Atlanta for the Silverbacks game. We tailgated for a few hours before the game and then enjoyed an evening of soccer. It was the first soccer match I'd seen that wasn't children playing or Mike's end-of-camp games (not counting ones we watch on television). It was wonderful! They may make a true soccer mom of me yet! I'm even figuring out what off-sides means. Now that's progress!!

We are looking forward to the next British soccer camp (though, not all the coaches are British.. one of our coaches this past week was from Ireland) and hoping that we have the opportunity to host another coach or two. We had no idea what a great week it would turn out to be, and we can't wait to do it again.

The Coaches

Coaches and Campers

Simon and the Kids

The Big Game

Soccer Camp and Birthdays

We made it back home on Friday.. yay!!! We had a blast on vacation, and it was wonderful spending time with family.... but there's just something to be said for sleeping in your own bed.

So, here we are on day 2 of soccer camp. Logan is having a blast. He's learning new skills. He thinks his coach is "really cool."

Speaking of his coach, he's staying with us this week. He arrived on Sunday. We've thoroughly enjoyed having him here. And he's learning some great southern vocabulary. Like "hiney." As in, "Colleen, put your hiney in that chair and eat your dinner." He told me yesterday evening that he had a hard time keeping a straight face, but knew he must since I was getting on to her - but I don't think he used the phrase "getting on to." I can't remember what he said. Anyway, we've enjoyed having him here, and I know the kids are going to be sad when he moves on to the next soccer camp at the end of this week.

We've got Logan's birthday coming up tomorrow. Can't believe my baby boy is going to be 10. When the heck did that happen? (Duh, ten years ago.... right?) I still have trouble believing how fast they are both growing up. Colleen turned six last week, and I think she's going on 16. And then there is "The Big One." Patrick is going to be 40 in a few days. Can't believe everyone around me is getting old. HAHA

I'll try to snap some photos this week and share. Patrick's planning on taking the camera up to soccer camp and getting a few there, and we have outings planned all week with the other coaches and host families - not to mention Logan's party on Friday! There will be plenty of picture-taking opportunities. I just need to remember to take the pictures.

Vacation

Gosh, I love that word.

The kids are having a blast, as are the parents. We're spending some time with hubby's parents down in sunny Florida. We've been to Disney's Hollywood Studios and Legoland. So much fun! I want to go back sometime (not necessarily anytime soon) when I'm feeling better. My knee has been hurting me, and I was just not accustomed to all that walking. I was in severe pain. We walked all over Hollywood Studios on the first day, so the second day (Legoland) I spent most of the time sitting it out and waiting on the rest of the family.

The biggest surprise was how much L & C loved the Star Tours ride. I'd love to have a video of C on it. It was absolutely hysterical - nothing I can really write here because it just wouldn't be funny. But trust me when I say, her response was priceless. L loved it too, and talked about it all day - he wanted to ride it as many times as he could to see if he could get all 50 (or more?) of the missions. We did it twice. I don't think the adults could have handled it more than that in one day.

So, now we are just chilling out with the family.. probably going to do some bike rides and hit the beach a few times. We're basically just going to enjoy the time with hubby's parents until it's time to go home.

See ya in a few months. (We'll be going home before then, just not sure I'll blog again before then. LOL)

Trying New Things

I've been doing a lot more cooking around here lately thanks to Pinterest. (I'm seriously in love with that site. I'm not as addicted as some folks I know, but I'm borderline.) Thanks to my picky eaters (and I'm talking about the kids and the one I married) we stuck to our usual standy-by meals, and some weren't exactly healthy. Now don't get me wrong, some of the things I've made haven't been the healthiest, either. But I'm so darned determined to get the kids to expand on what they'll eat that I'm trying lots of new things.

Some of Logan's favorite meals have been Schwan's Oriental Style Boneless Wings, pizza, fried chicken strips/nuggets, tacos, and PB&J. Colleen's favorites included fried chicken nuggets/strips, macaroni & cheese, PB&J, quesadillas, and grilled cheese sandwiches. Oh, they both like to have breakfast foods - bacon, sausage, pancakes. Actually, everyone in the house likes that. My attempts at getting them to eat things like grilled chicken, grilled pork chops, or steak have not been received well. Many nights Patrick and I have gotten so frustrated with them for not eating. I don't think it's not so much that they don't like it.. but rather why eat it grilled when it can be breaded and fried. Hey, I get it. I'm a southern girl. Fried is yummy! But I'm trying to raise children who aren't picky eaters. I don't want them to find themselves in a situation where they can't eat because they've never learned to like different things.

So, that brings us to the last few weeks. I've tried out some new recipes. Some have had greater success than others. Colleen has been more open to these meals than Logan. She has actually thanked me for making such great food. Logan still picks, but he doesn't complain as much.

I made some honey-glazed chicken that was phenomenal, but a little spicy. Colleen loved it, though she drank a lot of tea with her meal. Logan didn't like the spice. I'm making it again tonight, but this time with less chili powder. I had already omitted the red pepper flakes, and I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead of the chicken thighs it called for. Here's the recipe, in case you want it. http://www.nutmegnanny.com/2011/07/27/honey-spiced-glazed-chicken/

Last night I made chicken tacos. That was a huge success! And it was pretty healthy, too. Logan ate three tacos; Colleen ate one. Logan also ate some Caesar salad, which he has decided he loves. http://mychocolatetherapy.blogspot.com/2012/01/crockpot-chicken-tacos.html

They are still working on getting used to eating a wider variety of foods, and they don't like everything. But I'm keeping at it. I feel like we had a huge success the night I made steak. I served it with corn on the cobb and green beans. Both kids liked the green beans. Wow! Not only are they trying new things, but they're finally accepting a veggie! Woohoo!!!

By the way.. the web address for this blog has changed. Just in case you wondered or need to know. :-)

Holy Cow! It's been a while, huh? Oh, and some strawberry muffins.

I guess I should try and update this thing more than once a year. I started it so family could keep up with what's going on with Patrick, the kids, and me. Yeah, guess that didn't work so well.

I bought some strawberries and blueberries at the grocery store the other day with the intention of making a fruit pizza. I've never rolled out cookie dough to make a pizza, and somehow I managed to get the cookie stuck to my stone. The sugar cookie ended up going in the garbage, and the fruit sat lonely in the fridge.

Until tonight.

Colleen wanted some strawberries, and Logan got all excited. He'd forgotten I had them. Off to the kitchen I went to rinse the fruit for the kids. Logan was very disappointed that strawberries bought in the winter at the grocery store aren't anywhere near as sweet as the ones we picked at the farm last spring.

After the kids went to bed, I got to thinking about the strawberries from last spring that I still had in the freezer and decided to make something with them. I posted on Facebook asking for some ideas, and strawberry muffins were suggested. Off I went to find a recipe. I found one on allrecipes and tweaked it.

So here are the ingredients, plus sugar. I had it sitting on the other counter.

Strawberry Muffins

1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup white sugar
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup chopped strawberries

1. In a small bowl combine milk, oil, egg, and vanilla. Beat lightly with a fork.
2. In a large bowl, mix flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Toss in strawberries to coat with flour mixture.
3. Fill muffin cups. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until the tops bounce back from touch.