Go Hornets!

Well today was Geoffrey's first football game of the season. They got crushed. :o( But never the less I was there with my camera! Here's two shots I got. He's number 57. He's to the left of #35.

Better luck next week Hornets!

Family Update - August 2009

I know, I know I haven't updated this page since July. Hey.... I'm a mom of 4 and I have a full house of dogs, cats and other various 'things'! School started on August 3rd. Hallelujah! It was a busy month getting the supplies the kids needed for school, carting Geoffrey back and forth to football practices and shuffling dogs and cats around daily! Phew, it's tuff being a housewife and anyone that says it's a job for the lazy ones just doesn't know what I go through every day!

Geoffrey made the 8th grade football team and he starts games tomorrow! He plays on the Defensive Line. He's come home with various bruises and cuts that I just don't ask what happened anymore!

Connor is in 4th grade and Evan is in 3rd grade. They started at their new school this year and they couldn't be more happier to see flat-screen t.v.'s and multiple computers in their classrooms! My goodness, it makes me feel very old. I had chalkboards in grammar school! I made some cakes for their classes and I brought them in to celebrate the first week of school! What do you think? Cute huh?!

Katie and I are finally enjoying some peace and quiet. As quiet as it can be I suppose.... all those animals keep us busy!

On August 2, Bailey (our Yorkie) had 3 puppies! Unfortunately, one died in utero as she was giving birth. We have 1 girl (Lyla) and 1 boy (Scooby). It's been an interesting journey and I won't want to do this again!!!

The Boy "Scooby"

The Girl "Lyla"

On August 22nd our church held a Western Night & Square Dancing benifit. I volunteered (as usual) to bring something sweet so I made a square dancing cake! It was donated to raise money for the youth groups. The kids were so excited to go to this! Katie was dancing from the minute she walked in ... all the way back to the car! Here's a few pics of that:

Here's a cute video I shot of Katie dancing at the Western Dance.

Happy Birthday Evan!

On July 19th Evan turned 9! We decided to take him to his first Braves game! It was such a fun time! Here's a few snap shot of our day!

Yummiest Chicken Ever!

See -- I warned you I love to cook! Today I'm listing a very juicy yummy chicken recipe. I was searching for a low cost meal this week as our family is trying to surf through the tough economic times and I came across this recipe tucked away in my nightstand drawer.

It uses fresh herbs, lemon and garlic! I mean come on... what's not to love about that! It was so good our family polished off 2 whole chickens. To go along with it I also made the cream sauce to go with it. I hope you give it a try!

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Rosemary Lemon Garlic Chicken (adapted from Real Simple Magazine)

1tbs. olive oil

2 tsp. chopped rosemary and 1 4 inch sprig

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

zest from 1/2 lemon

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1 lemon halved

Combine oil, chopped rosemary, garlic, lemon zest, salt and pepper in bowl. Loosen skin on chicken. Spread mixture evenly under skin. Place 1/2 lemon and spring of rosemary (I used thyme and it was fine) inside chicken. Roast chicken as usual to 160 degrees.

Herbed Cream Sauce

1/4 cup dry white wine (I used white cooking wine)

1/4 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup heavy cream (you can lighten it up by using half&half)

1/2 cup chopped herbs (parsley, chives, basil, thyme)

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

After roasting chicken remove from pan. Place the pan and drippings over med. heat (I had to cut the drippings in half because there was so much). Simmer until liquid reduces by 1/2. Add wine and broth, cook sitiring and scraping until sauce thickens a bit. (2mins.) Add cream. Stir in herbs, salt and pepper. Spoon sauce over chicken.

Cuteness and Cake

Thought I'd share a few cute pics today. Not much else to report.Sometimes I just decide to make random cakes.
This one was a red velvet cake with chocolate frosting!

mmmmmm!

Last night Connor and Jeremy were playing video games and this was the spot Evan choose for best viewing. He fell asleep this way, under the coffee table, legs up in the air.

No-Vacancy!

**ATTENTION all wayward, stray or otherwise lost dogs:

There is NO vacancy at the "Roberts Refuge & Spa"!!

Here we go again..... another week another stray dog! Last weekend we had some bad thunder and lightning storms roll over our area. Jeremy was working in his shop area. (which is in the garage but it's a separate room with a door) The garage door was open because the kids were playing outside.

Katie was with Jeremy "helping Daddy work" and was sitting on his lap when Katie very calmly asks Jeremy,

"uh Daddy..... what's that?" she pointed to the other side of the room.

"uh that's a dog Katie!" The dog ran under Jeremy's feet and crawled under his the desk they were sitting at.

The dog was scared out of his mind! It was a collie. (Katie thought it was a wolf!)Out of no where this poor dog sought refuge from the storms in our garage!

Katie comes running inside and says to me,

"Mommy - come here! There's another doggie in our garage"!

I said to her: "yea right ok that's not funny Katie" Jeremy comes to the door.... "come here honey I want to talk to you."

"Ok honey I'll be there in a minute"

I was shocked to see a strange, mangy, matted soaked dog hiding under my husband's desk! Naturally, being an animal lover I tried petting it, it let me pet him. Finally we got it to come out and allow me to give him a treat. His fur was so badly matted I ended up shaving some of his fur off. He fell asleep while I was grooming him!

So, 4 days later: He's had a flea/tick bath, brushed everyday, got a collar and is happier than a pig in slop!

He's so quiet and laid back I forget he's even here at times! He seems to be a senior dog and sometimes has a hard time getting up and staying up.

I've tried to find his owner but somehow I doubt they want him back considering the condition he was in. So, I've stopped trying to locate them. I was contacted by an Atlanta area lady who fosters collies until a suitable home is found. Hopefully things will pan out with her. I would love to keep him but my hands are full already.... overfull if you want me to be honest!

Not much else is going on around here. There are a few more summer adventures planned like Evan's Birthday and 1 last trip to see the Braves.

23 days left until the first day of school --- but who's counting! Back to school shopping will begin soon and I will have a clean house again! Yay!

Connor and Evan will be going to a brand new school this year. The county will open Rocky Creek Elementary on August 3rd. They are very excited to be part of the first group of students to go to the new school!

Well, I'll save more things to write about later: now I must enjoy my daily dish of ice cream!

Love to all!

Happy Birthday America!

July 1st was our family's 1 year anniversary living here in Georgia! Wow it's gone by so fast! Turns out we do like living here!

On the evening of the 3rd we had our own fireworks show at home. It's new for us because in Massachusetts you were not allowed to have fireworks, nor could you buy them in the state! So, Jeremy naturally had to give it a "go"! It turned out fun! I took a few videos; here's the best one:

We are discovering new things all the time. This weekend was no exception!

Question: What to do this 4th of July?

Answer: Go all out and bring the kids into Atlanta to see some really cool fireworks!

That's right we packed up our coolers and our blanket and headed out on an adventure! It was great! We got to take a tour of the Lenox Square Mall (which by the way is fabulous!)

We met a family that just relocated from San Francisco CA 3 months ago. It was good talking to them about our parallel lives and about making a big move. They had 2 cute kids! We shared glow sticks, puppets, snacks and sparklers.

Things we learned: bring a deck of cards, bring you own hibachi, bring more chairs, bring a canopy/umbrella and don't forget Jeremy's beer. But, each year that goes by we'll get better and better at planning day trips. It's just a little difficult to plan not knowing where you are going and the rules. But everyone had an all around good time!

Happy 4th of July everyone!

Weeknight Lasagna Toss

I love easy, minimal ingredient, creamy, yummy pasta dishes! I got this one off of Kraft's website. I made a few changes to suit my family's taste. It uses oven-ready lasagna noodles that I got (Barilla makes them) and it comes together in like 20 minutes! You can easily add other favorite veggies to yours or use your own sauce! Yummo! It is sooooooo easy to make and it tasted like I was slaving over a stove all day!
Here it is:
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Weeknight Lasagna Toss
[adapted from Kraft Food&Family]

1 lb. lean ground beef (or turkey for better nutrition)
2 green peppers, chopped (I used 1 large and it was fine)
8 oz. mushrooms, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1 2/3 cups water
1/4 cup italian dressing
12 oven-ready lasagna noodles, broken into quarters
1 cup Mozzarella cheese

Brown meat in large saucepan; drain.
Add peppers (and other veggies of your choice), garlic, spaghetti sauce, water and dressing; bring to boil.
Stir in noodles; cover.
Cook on medium-low heat 10-15 minutes or until noodles are tender, stiring occasionally. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with cheese; cover. Let stand 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Serve with a homemade salad!!

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My kids scoffed this up!! I love these kinds of meals!
The holiday weekend is comming up and we've got plans to bring the kids into Atlanta to see some fireworks and have some good old fashioned family fun! I will make sure to post some pictures and/or videos!
I hope you all have a wonderful time celebrating our country's birthday!
XOXOXOXO

"chalk 'n' a hose"

What do you do with kids when it's 90 million degrees out and you don't have a pool to keep them cool?

You break out the side walk chalk and the hose! (our hose is turning out to be a life saver this summer!) I should invest in one of those plastic slip 'n' slides that you attach to the hose.

Evan and Katie drew with side walk chalk the other day in our garage... it was much cooler than in the sun! Hey, gotta get creative! I took a short video of Katie playing (topless mind you) in the hose. As I mentioned in a previous post we have a neighbor dog "Boo-Boo" that likes to join in the fun when we break out the hose! Katie is imitating him in this video!

These pictures are of Evan's masterpiece in the garage. He did "outer-space" theme! Very creative I must say!

Rocket shop and shooting star

Katie's doodles and some of mommy's too

Finished work of art! He's sitting in the middle of the sun. He is wearing the 3D glasses the kit came with. If you put them on and look at your drawing it becomes 3D! So awesome what they come up with these days!

Here are some photos of Katie and "Boo-Boo" that I caught that day:

Sasha - "The Stray"

Anyone who knows Jeremy and I knows that we both have a big heart for animals. We were both raised in homes that always had animals roaming around.... and lots of them! So, for us it's natural to have lots of furry little companions in our home running-a-muck. Since we have moved to Georgia a year ago it seems that "magically" our animal head count has doubled! Down here it's common to see people giving away kittens, dogs and puppies. It is VERY dangerous for us to go to Wal*Mart as a family on the weekends. We always end up coming home with something it seems. I have to put on my blinders and just run in the store! They attack you with "Do you want a free puppy! He's so cute and loveable, you know you want to take him home!" AHHHHHHHH! Nooooooooooo!

Anyways, Jeremy has always wanted a German Shepherd, but some how we've managed to always get something totally different. Short, fat, ankle biting rejects that manage to get weird nicknames.

Max: (the Beagle) A short fat polish dog that couldn't make it over a speed bump when we first got him. His nick names are : Special bus, fatty boombalatti

Bailey: (the mini-Yorkie) Named after my favorite ... Bailey's Irish Cream. We nicknamed her Toshiba-Packard because we traded a Hewlett Packard laptop and a Toshiba TV for her!!

Willie: (the Rat Terrier) Named after Wal*Mart because that's where we got him!

Last week Jeremy was on his way home from work when he spotted a dog on the side of a very busy highway running in and out of traffic. It's a normal thing to see stray dogs running around here (so I'm told) and most of the time we just drive on by. But this time Jeremy had to stop. It was a German Shepherd. It took him 45 minutes to get her into his work van. He was so excited! I guess it didn't matter that it would bring our dog count to 4! Oh my goodness!

She came home and was such a love. She is/was underweight and had 29 ticks all over her skinny body. We got her to our vet and she got all her shots, got her her own runner for our yard etc.... etc... After the first few days we started noticing she was being very dominant over our female Yorkie. Turns out she's not getting along with our dogs, nor our cats. She growls and shows her teeth and just is mean to them. The only thing we can atribute it to is that this is behavior she learned being on the run. Survival kicks in and anything that runs became a meal.

It's very sad. I would love to be able to keep her and help her with her rehabilitation and to help her forget her traumatic start in life. But, kids come first and we just don't have the time. So, as I type we are looking for a new home for her. We have interviewed a few people/families and hopefully we will be able to make a decision soon so that she can get to her forever home. It makes me feel good that we were able to "save" her from imminent demise and to find her a better life!

Someday when we are able to Jeremy will get his German Shepard. Wish us luck on finding her a good loving home!

Here's a photo of Sasha:

Surprise Weekend Visit!

It's been a very busy 10 days since I've posted anything on here so..... here goes......

I received a phone call Saturday evening from a very dear friend who was planning a day trip to visit us and turns out she had a fun filled weekend planned! We hadn't seen her in about 6 months so, seeing her for only a few hours was going to be hard but we'd take any visit we could get but she surprised us with a special idea... her and her fiance stay with us for a few nights and headed to Six Flags for Sunday! It was going to be a boring Sunday for Geoffrey, Katie and I because Jeremy was taking Connor and Evan to the Braves/Red Sox game so, I was quite enthusiastic when she offered up that idea! It was great to see her and her fiance for a few days. I admit it's been a long time since I've had any "girl time" with anyone so, it was a BIG treat for me! Here are some favorite photos of our day at Six Flags!

Katie wearing a super girl hat posing for the picture.

Mom, Katie and Geoffrey on the tram.

Katie, Mom, Geoffrey and Ree

Geoffrey carrying Ree on his back! Silly kids!

Geoffrey, Chrissy, Katie, Ree and Mommy

Katie riding the flying ships all by herself! (Shocked me; she had so much confidence!)


Katie riding the big rig trucks!


Ree and Katie.... the end of a long day.

Fireflies

A few days ago was a hard day for us. The kids were stuck inside because it was hot that day. 98 degrees (feeling like 102) is a bit hot to be playing basketball or even riding your bike! The kids were in doors driving each other (and me) crazy! I managed to get through dinner and clean up then it was time to take the dogs outside. I tried my hardest to get the kids to help me with them and they just weren't having it. My energy was spent and it was just easier to do it myself.


I started taking all the mutts out and hooking them up on their runners. One by one. Go outside, hook up a dog, go back in..... listen to chaos.... go outside, hook up a dog, go back in.... more chaos... go back outside, hook up a dog...... wait ..... it's quiet out here!! I took a few minutes to look around, hear the sounds, see beyond what's in front of me. Birds, crickets, frogs, wind blowing through the trees and fireflies! Being a northern gal from the suburbs, we never saw fireflies never mind in such great numbers as I did that evening! They were just peaceful and beautiful. Every where I turned there were little blinks of light -- almost like being amongst fairies!

I ran inside grabbed a jar of pickles dumped them out in the garbage..... I hate pickles anyways... (plus I think they were already on their way out) I cleaned it out, poked some holes in the top with a screw driving and yelled for the kids.............

"Hey kids let's go catch fireflies!!"

This was followed by frantic running and screams of joy! (you'd think they just won the lotto!)

They were scared at first ... never have had the opportunity to do such a thing! I showed them how and they just caught on. One rested on Katie had for a few times blinking away. She was tickled pink and so excited. Her face was priceless. It was hard for me to take pictures outside as the sun was almost gone and my camera isn't the greatest. But I took some pictures once we brought the jar inside.

(Yes I brought bugs into my house!)

Seeing their smiles and watching them overcoming fear of the unknown was worth 1 bad day!

Wild flowers

As some of you know, we are renting the home we live in and 3 months after we moved in apparently the bank that held the mortgage foreclosed on this house. The owners (a locally owned century old lumber company) had fell behind way before they decided to rent the place and were trying to get someone in here to get some money coming in so they wouldn't loose it..... long story short.... the bank didn't want to work with them anymore and took the house back. *sigh* This horrible economy is hitting a lot of us - some harder than others.

Why am I telling you all of this?

I am a crafty, gardening Mom and I love flowers. I love to decorate the outside of my home with colorful flowers and such things. But....... the outside of my home is plain. Plain because I don't want to put work into this place to just have to leave. (thankfully the bank is being very generous and is working with us!) One day we were turning down our road and there happens to be some wild orange lillies growing on the corner and I mentioned something to Jeremy about them: "oh wild flowers they're so pretty". I proceeded to sigh and and go quiet. He knew I was wishing I could have a permanent situation to garden, decorate, and do girly stuff. Today he came home and surprised me with these:
Just goes to show you that you don't need to spend 20+ bucks on a perfect store-bought bouquet.... these will do thank you.... plus they mean more because my husband brought home a hitchhiker... a tick! He suffered and got a tick for me, his wife.

The cure for a hot afternoon......

You got it a water hose!
The kids were buggin' me so I told them to get their suits on and I'd hose em down! Boy I've never seen kids move so fast! The neighbor's dog "Boo-Boo" (like Halloween "boo") is a free roaming dog - (I've never heard of that before, to me it sounds like neglect but who am I?) and he happens to LOVE water. He chases it, leaps for it and tries to eat it! It's hallarious. So, Connor, Evan, Katie and Boo-Boo were completely engrossed in the hose. We had fun and that's all that counts.

Evan and Boo-Boo drinnking from the hose

Evan running through the hose

Katie getting soaked!

Mom what's for dinner?

This is one question I can count on every day, without fail. Tonight's dinner was super yummy. I recently purchased a crock pot and I've been putting it to good use lately. I was raised with a Mom that loved her crock pot and used it at least 3 nights a week so, I'm not sure why I hadn't gotten one sooner. Anyways, I've discovered that it can save me lots of money and can stretch my deep freezer meats. I spend most of my free time scouring the internet or cookbooks found at my local used bookstore for new recipes that I can experiment with. Therefore, don't be surprised if I post a recipe or two from time to time. I can't help it - it's my duty to make sure the bellies are full and that I've saved money and time! Although I love being in my kitchen I need extra time to spend with the kids (breaking up arguments playing referee)!
I liked this recipe because it had minimal ingredients and I didn't have to fuss over the stove for an hour. It's not spicy at all - very flavorful! Here was tonight's dinner:

Sweet 'n' Sour Pork Chops
1 can (8oz) crushed pineapple, undrained
1 cup honey barbecue sauce
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
2 tbs. chili sauce
4 bone-in pork loin chops (I used boneless because that's what I had in my freezer, they turned out ok)
In a small bowl, combine the pineapple, BBQ sauce, onion and chili sauce. Pour half into a greased crock pot. Top with the pork chops and remaining sauce. Cover and cook on low for 4 1/2 hrs to 5 1/4 hrs or until meat is tender.


I continue to go through alot of family photos and I think I'm missing a lot of pictures from recent events which upsets me because they happen to be Christmas photos. :o( I'm still searching for them. Wish me luck!

Today's photo was taken at a local animal refuge/non-profit sanctuary that we visit often. Noah's Ark is a really neat place! We go there with this kids often to just feel like we've gotten away from the normal day to day grind. It is free to visit and they don't have vendors.... for example: fatening foods, arcade games, loud water games... it's just a peacful park that you are free to wander and watch. This photo is of a deer names Casey. She is such a love! She lets the public pet her and if you sit real quietly she'll aproach you! We spent a good amount of time this day with her. Never have I been so close to a deer! Here's a snap shot of Casey and Katie:

A relaxing Saturday

Today was a relaxing day here in Georgia. The day started out hot as heck but it turned out to be a very nice evening. We went to visit our friends house for a cook out and the kids had the opportunity to go swimming. It was so nice outside and while the kids were swimming I got to catch up on some of my recipe reading. (what else would I be doing!) I was a little upset because I had brought my camera to take some pics but I went to go turn it on and ......... no juice. Does this happen to anyone else? It's so frustrating. It's a common occurance in this house so many kids fooling around with it... it's no wonder. Oh well, next time I'll get 'em!

I was playing with my new program Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 til very early in the morning and finally finished our header for this blog. I think it turned out cute. I'm kind of liking this digital scrap-booking thing. I'm quite the crafty person so, it could very easily become an addicting hobby! To show you what else I've learned here's a collage that I created of the kids when they were all newborns. Talk about how time flies!

Time Flies!

A few days ago Jeremy and I were sorting through all of our photos and came across a video file. It wasn't labeled with any title so, we figured what the heck we'll just press play and see what happens. So, I'd like to share with you what we saw! It just shows us that time flies and children don't stay little forever. We had a GOOD laugh! Hope you to too!

Things you can identify:
1. Connor's impersonation of John Travolta in "saturday night fever"
2. Evan break dancing
3. Katie dancing in circles almost getting trampled by her brothers, clapping away
4. Geoffrey's chubby cheeks

Evan's Award!

This year Evan worked very hard in second grade! He kept his grades up and received and award for his diligence. This is his first A/B average award! Keep up the good work Evan! Good luck in Third grade!