Taming of the Shrew

Not really a shrew, more my hair. It's a giant black mass of curls that do what they want when they want to do it. The problem with that is that I'm hot under 80 pounds of hair. Befor eNight of Joy, I asked if a friend's daughter would french braid my hair. I didn't want to walk around all night sewating under all my hair. Instead, I walked around sweating but not under my hair. And let me tell you, it takes a village to tame this mess.


I think S was thinking she needed more hands.

Look at the braid, then look across at the mass of hair waiting to be done. Can you imagine? Honey, I live with it every day.

This is the work in progress. It felt so good, and it didn't sit on the back of neck all night. She did a great job and I am ever so grateful.

The big girl got her hair done, too. We were both glad that we did. Poor thing has THICK hair like her mama, it's just not as dark or curly. We got tons of compliments as well. It made a great night just that much better.

Have a great day.

Night of Joy 2010, In Pics

Our middle schoolers in our youth group went to Night of Joy at Disney World. Hubby and I got to chaperone the group and go with the big girl. She had two friends go with her that had never been before. We had all been to Disney, just not this event. We went to Rock the Universe last year and that's where the high schoolers are going tonight. It was a blast! We got to see the David Crowder Band, Chris Tomlin, Group 1 Crew, Sidewalk Prophets, Thousand Foot Krutch, and Casting Crowns. We got to ride with very little wait. Most of the kids rode all three mountains: Space, Thunder, and Splash. I love live music, so this is an event I really push to go to.

My favorite band of the night was Group 1 Crew. Their performance was high energy, and had a great sound. Their set was well worth it. Their music is fresh and different. I got to see them in the Youth Leader Lounge. Disney had a room for youth leaders(duh) where some of the artist put on acoustic performances and a question & answer session. There were refreshments and information and free CDs. But, more importantly, there was air conditioning. I got my picture taken with them and got to tell them how great their music is. The big girl asked if we could download a song, but I downloaded their EP instead. We have been rocking to it since, so we were really excited to see them live. Love it, love it, love it!

We got really close to the stage when the David Crowder Band performed. That was a great concert as well. He is a lot of fun and has great hair. I like weird hair, what can I say. We got close to the rest as well except Chris Tomlin and Casting Crowns. We only caught the end of their set, but they were amazing. I love their songs and they are fantastic musicians and singers. It was a great night to be in the crowd, raising hands, praising God, and screaming down the roller coasters. This is a picture of two of the DJs from the local Christian station that introduced the David Crowder Band. We were actually closer, but not according to the camera.

This is our little group waiting for the ferry. Hubby, the big girl, and I had been on the monorail, but not the ferry. We did monorail back, though. We were herded like cattle, but so happy each step we took closer to our van and home by the end of the night.

This is the big girl with her two friends, A and K. This was waiting for David Crowder Band. Crazy girls.

Cinderella's castle with the NOJ screens. I would love to spend the night there for NOJ.

It was fun. It was loud. It was humid and hot. It was uplifting. It was joyful. Thanks, Mickey, for hosting such a great event.

Have a great day.

Sesame Ginger Death Balls

Really, it's just brussel sprouts, but that's what my friend N calls them. I tried this one the other night and it was a hit. Hubby is amazed when I make a brussel sprout recipe that makes him say, "May I have seconds?" Amazes me, too. I got this from Food.com, which used to be recipezaar.com.

Sesame Ginger Brussel Sprouts:

2 (10 oz) containers Brussel Sprouts
2 Tbls low sodium soy sauce
1-2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 tsp sesame oil
1 Tbls olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 Tbls water

Trim stems and some outer leaves from sprouts. Cut each sprout lengthwise, then into quarters. In small bowl, combine soy sauce, grated ginger, and sesame oil. In nonstick pan, heat olive oil. Add onion and cook until tender. Increase heat to medium-high, add Brussel sprouts and water. Cover and cook 5 minutes or until sprouts soften and begin to brown. Stir once. Remove lid, and stir an additional 5 minutes or sprouts are tender crisp. Stir frequently. Remove from heat. Stir in soy sauce mixture.

I used fresh sprouts and yes, they were organic. I also used ground ginger. I would use a tad more of that if you don't have fresh ginger. Taste your sauce before adding it to your sprouts. If you don't like the sauce, you really won't like it on them. If you don't use low sodium soy sauce, which I don't, don't add salt.

Something easy, simple and delicious. I like those.

Have a great day.

Sunshine Fishing

For a quick family get away, we decided to go to the Sunshine Skyway Pier to do some fishing. Hubby and I used to go all the time, but we haven't been since the boy was still a bun in the oven. He's 9. Our trip had a rocky start and we weren't even sure we were going to make it. I had a migraine the night before and still wasn't 100% by the time we wanted to go. I made it, and even felt better as the night went on.

We had the best time. We didn't catch any big fish, but we caught lots of pinfish and grunts. The kids loved the grunts. They liked to hear them make noise. That's why them call them grunts.

We all caught fish. These are the kids with their big catches. The boy even learned how to bait the hooks. He was better with the shrimp than with the squid, but he did a great job. He wants to learn how to take the fish off the hook next. Hubby is all for that. The boy just didn't mention it until it was almost time to go. He's becoming quite the outdoorsman. He even thinks he's ready to go hunting with hubby. I'm the one not ready for that.

Yeah, don't let her sweet face fool you. That is one awesome fisher person right there. She skunked us all, the little booger. She wouldn't hold them or touch them, but she caught the heck out of them. I'm still a little peaved at her for being so good.

We saw this while we were on the bridge. Carnival Cruise Lines at it's finest. The big girl and I want to go on a cruise. I told her good luck getting your father on one. She said we could take a mother/daughter cruise. Good thinking, big girl, good thinking. We had such a good time. The kids want to go back again and again. We packed a dinner and snacks and drinks. Hubby and the boy smelled like fish no matter how many times they washed their hands. It was 1:30 in the morning when we got home and we were all tired and ready for bed. It was awesome.

Have a great day.

Hamster Wheel

Well, now I've gone and done it. Again. I was having a conversation with some friends the other day about our extracurricular activities. I have loaded us down. Again. What happened to all that talk about slowing down and not scheduling us to within an inch of our life?

We're dancing again this year. We will always dance, I'm pretty sure. The two big kids have changed their classes this year. The big girl is taking jazz, which was the first thing she took after her half and half class. She's even in the same class. Of course, the kids are different, but it's the same time slot. What I think is funny is that she will be back dancing with girls she started dancing with when she was four. They are younger than she is and they have all taken different dance paths than she has. The boy is taking hip hop this year. So far he has taken jazz and ballet. This will be right up his alley I think. The baby is dancing, but we aren't sure what yet. There have been some scheduling issues, so we'll see. But it will work itself out.

The big girl is taking voice lessons. We have a very good friend that is teaching her. The big girl is also in a new praise band at church that the youth have formed. She has a great voice, she just needs to learn to use it for good and not evil. No, really, she needs to learn to project and how to breathe when she sings, that kind of stuff. She is having a good time so far. You should hear her singing all through the house. So she has voice and praise band. The two younger ones (see how the boy can be older or younger? He's in great spot.) will be in the children's choir at church. They practice once a week and will perform at service a few times.

We still have our school co-op. We may add some new members this year. This year, so far, is Ancient Rome, explorers, wonders of the ancient world, and composers. We'll see if the new ladies join and what they decide to teach. I need to get a move on with mine, now that I think about it. I need to get my maps printed and see how they fold together to make a globe. We are going to use the map to track the discovery paths of the explorers and when we are done, you can cut it out and glue it together. So on co-op day, no history. I think we'll get enough in co-op to compensate.

Veggie co-op is still on our schedule. That is a long day so I schedule extremely light that day. This year, choir practice is the same day. Co-op in the morning, choir in the evening. I told the kids they just need to do their math and that's it. I don't see the point in stressing ourselves out. Well, not anymore than we will already be.

Our list of extracurriculars are as follows: dance, dance, dance, dance, school co-op, veggie co-op, choir, voice lessons, praise band, youth, park day, book club, book club, and I forgot about chess club. That's only a couple times a month, but it's still on the list. Most of these are in the afternoon and we are usually done with our school work, but sometimes it's just another thing to add to our day. Why did I do this again? Oh, yeah, I'm a glutton for punishment. My crockpot will be working overtime again. Good thing I love my crockpot. Better that I love my kids.

Have a great day.