http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/baked-peach-almond-oatmeal/
JVG
Family photo Oct 2010
Friday, September 20, 2013
Fresh Peach baked oatmeal
Ever since we had frequented Grace's cottage more this summer I have been in love with fresh peaches. And the farmers market has had some really really good ones to offer! And since the weather is getting cooler I thought that this would be a great way to have a warm breakfast while using the delicious fruit I've loving!
http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/baked-peach-almond-oatmeal/
JVG
http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/baked-peach-almond-oatmeal/
JVG
Chicken Yakisoba
This recipe was found on Pinterest by a blogger named Budget Bytes. We've tried another recipe by her before and really liked it, and on her blog she breaks down how much each thing costs so you know how much you're saving! :) So all you conscious shoppers out there you might just love this blog! This recipe was tasty and easy... if would be extra fast if you had all the stuff cut up ahead of time (say if you're wanting to make a quick dinner after you get home from work). I think that you could do a lot of variations on this because of all the different vegetables you could add or take out and I could even see using different proteins too! The kids really liked it and I would totally make it again.
http://www.budgetbytes.com/2012/03/chicken-yakisoba/
JVG
http://www.budgetbytes.com/2012/03/chicken-yakisoba/
JVG
Good ending
This week has been rough. There has been a lot weighing on my mind, which takes its toll on my sleep (what little I'm getting) and the hurt that goes on. Gaetan has been out more than usual this week because the guy he's tutoring (anybody seen Scrubs? You know Doug? They call him nervous guy? Yup... that would be this kid... except not funny) had a quiz so he was wanting extra help, which is fine but that meant I was solo with the kids more than I'm used too, and that takes its toll too! And especially this week they had been more naughty than usual... a lot of tears and time spent in their rooms. It's been an interesting ride on the parenting front that's for sure!
I still really like the neighborhood that we live in, but the longer that we live here the more apparent it is that we live in a lower-income community. Yes, we don't make a lot of money so we financially belong here, but their lifestyles and how they treat each other is so different than what we think is acceptable. There are handful of kids that my heart just breaks for because of the way they are treated (or neglected) and as a Momma I just want to hug them, and love on them but these kids are already so damaged I have to look out for my kids first, which is hard. There is a lot of learning going on on what I want to expose my kids to and what I want them to learn and find out on their own. So, it's been a trying week.
Today was the first day that we didn't have anything planned. Nothing. And the prospect of having no obligations was awesome. The kids slept in to a reasonable hour (which is good because I was naughty and stayed up drinking wine and knitting... yeah, I'm wild) and I got to try a bunch of new recipes that we really liked. :) That always makes me happy!
Our big fun ending was we went out to Fro Yo because they were having a buy 1 get one half off and face painting. I knew that the kids were going to be all about the fro yo part but was interested to see what they thought of the face painting. Well, they loved it. Dude got a fox, in honor of "What does the fox say?!" and Goose got a tiger. It was impressive and amazing. They both did a great job with sitting still, which the artist just kept remarking on. We got to go with Kim and Chase, and that was also a big treat for them. :)
The sun was setting and the colors were absolutely breath taking. Thank you God for showing us your beauty in the midst of all ugliness of this world.
JVG
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| This is the school bus that he made for Chase... he said this on this school bus there aren't any mean bullies. What a sweet thoughtful boy |
I still really like the neighborhood that we live in, but the longer that we live here the more apparent it is that we live in a lower-income community. Yes, we don't make a lot of money so we financially belong here, but their lifestyles and how they treat each other is so different than what we think is acceptable. There are handful of kids that my heart just breaks for because of the way they are treated (or neglected) and as a Momma I just want to hug them, and love on them but these kids are already so damaged I have to look out for my kids first, which is hard. There is a lot of learning going on on what I want to expose my kids to and what I want them to learn and find out on their own. So, it's been a trying week.
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| My Mom necklace I got... I Love it. :) |
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| Yup, I drank the whole bottle and didn't even drop a stitch! Whoo! haha |
Our big fun ending was we went out to Fro Yo because they were having a buy 1 get one half off and face painting. I knew that the kids were going to be all about the fro yo part but was interested to see what they thought of the face painting. Well, they loved it. Dude got a fox, in honor of "What does the fox say?!" and Goose got a tiger. It was impressive and amazing. They both did a great job with sitting still, which the artist just kept remarking on. We got to go with Kim and Chase, and that was also a big treat for them. :)
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| The first time she saw herself in the mirror |
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| big thumbs up! She loved it! |
JVG
Yellow!
We got to the batizado just in time! I was amazed. Unfortunately when I got there it was brought to my attention that I was supposed to have brought some different clothes for the performances but nobody told me. Luckily, somebody had extras that I could borrow! The lack of organization for these performances has been somewhat irritating, and no lie, I was going to be quite happy when this whole thing was over!
The African Dance went fairly well. It was MUCH MUCH slower than it was supposed to be, but I think that was probably best in the end for a lot of the other dancers. Macuele... well, I'm not sure. We never actually had a practice that everybody was, and partners always changed so we weren't sure who was suppose to be with whom. Another snafu was that there were an odd amount of people so there was going to be an odd man out when we partnered up... which, incidentally turned out to be me. Oh well. Last, when we rehearsed we always faced the drummers, not the crowd, so when it was performance time people were confused which way to face... awesome. Well, the show was going to go on regardless and we finished! I felt better after the performances were out of the way. :)
I wasn't sure if I was going to move up but it turns out that I was! I can't believe that after 6 years I finally got my yellow :) For some reason I always felt that you weren't really taken seriously as a capoeirista until you were a yellow... and I know that we don't train as often as others, but we have been apart of the capo community for quite some time. And given our situation, three young kids, we switch on and off for class... so now that this whole event is over its going to be Gaetans turn to train! I think that my game went well. I was just really hoping not to get taken care hard! I don't really like watching myself play, as I'm very critical, but I think that it flowed decently and like I said... just happy I didn't get taken down!
A HUGE shout out to Tricia (Dude's wife), Laura, Quebra and Dizzy for helping watch our kids. Seriously, that made all the difference in the world. The whole event was a lot less stressful due to fantastic people willing to help out. So, thank you thank you thank you. And, of course, to my wonderful husband. Without his selfless acts of watching all the kids so I could train and take part in this event it never would've happened. Thank you for being so understanding and letting me have a life :)
Sunday I attended a yoga workshop and honestly, I. Am. So. Sore! It was supposed to be a relaxation one to help with stretching and any stress you might've acquired during the weekend, but it was still tough. It was good though and I did feel much better after it was over. Norah was still sleeping so I got to stay for a little bit longer :) They did a bate papo, which normally I'm not thrilled about. From my experience the higher up's get up there, tell stories and don't really answer people's questions. This one was different... it was awesome. I loved hearing what they had to say and the stories that they told were completely relevant to people's questions. They stayed on point (What?! Didn't know it was possible did ya) and I could really feel their love and passion for the sport. I think my favorite thing they talked about was how to train better. They said that a lot of people want to learn fancy flashy moves but don't have a basic understanding of the game or of fundamental basics which is totally the wrong way to go about it. They said that they won't last and playing them is ugly because they aren't actually interacting with you. And they said that doing capoeira is about family and community... that no matter what sort of beef you have with somebody you respect them and you have their back if they get into trouble. I thought it was awesome. And the guests were hilarious... that is always a plus. :)
I can't believe that the weekend is over and that we made it! It was a great weekend filled with much celebration, friends and love.
JVG
The African Dance went fairly well. It was MUCH MUCH slower than it was supposed to be, but I think that was probably best in the end for a lot of the other dancers. Macuele... well, I'm not sure. We never actually had a practice that everybody was, and partners always changed so we weren't sure who was suppose to be with whom. Another snafu was that there were an odd amount of people so there was going to be an odd man out when we partnered up... which, incidentally turned out to be me. Oh well. Last, when we rehearsed we always faced the drummers, not the crowd, so when it was performance time people were confused which way to face... awesome. Well, the show was going to go on regardless and we finished! I felt better after the performances were out of the way. :)
I wasn't sure if I was going to move up but it turns out that I was! I can't believe that after 6 years I finally got my yellow :) For some reason I always felt that you weren't really taken seriously as a capoeirista until you were a yellow... and I know that we don't train as often as others, but we have been apart of the capo community for quite some time. And given our situation, three young kids, we switch on and off for class... so now that this whole event is over its going to be Gaetans turn to train! I think that my game went well. I was just really hoping not to get taken care hard! I don't really like watching myself play, as I'm very critical, but I think that it flowed decently and like I said... just happy I didn't get taken down!
A HUGE shout out to Tricia (Dude's wife), Laura, Quebra and Dizzy for helping watch our kids. Seriously, that made all the difference in the world. The whole event was a lot less stressful due to fantastic people willing to help out. So, thank you thank you thank you. And, of course, to my wonderful husband. Without his selfless acts of watching all the kids so I could train and take part in this event it never would've happened. Thank you for being so understanding and letting me have a life :)
Sunday I attended a yoga workshop and honestly, I. Am. So. Sore! It was supposed to be a relaxation one to help with stretching and any stress you might've acquired during the weekend, but it was still tough. It was good though and I did feel much better after it was over. Norah was still sleeping so I got to stay for a little bit longer :) They did a bate papo, which normally I'm not thrilled about. From my experience the higher up's get up there, tell stories and don't really answer people's questions. This one was different... it was awesome. I loved hearing what they had to say and the stories that they told were completely relevant to people's questions. They stayed on point (What?! Didn't know it was possible did ya) and I could really feel their love and passion for the sport. I think my favorite thing they talked about was how to train better. They said that a lot of people want to learn fancy flashy moves but don't have a basic understanding of the game or of fundamental basics which is totally the wrong way to go about it. They said that they won't last and playing them is ugly because they aren't actually interacting with you. And they said that doing capoeira is about family and community... that no matter what sort of beef you have with somebody you respect them and you have their back if they get into trouble. I thought it was awesome. And the guests were hilarious... that is always a plus. :)
I can't believe that the weekend is over and that we made it! It was a great weekend filled with much celebration, friends and love.
JVG
Wedding
Saturday morning was Lucy's first swim class. The instructor told us that she didn't have to be in this class because she was so good! I'm so proud that our kids are doing well with it and enjoying the time with Papa. When they got home we had a little bit to get ready for the rest of our busy busy day. Unfortunately during that time Dude thought that it was going to be a good idea to climb up my dresser to get a cough drop. Needless to say the whole thing tipped over on him and he was holding it up over him so it wouldn't crush him :( Scary scary scary! One of the drawers popped out and got him in the bridge of the nose so he was a little scraped up... but all things considered he came out unscathed. My dresser on the other hand is broken. So, now I have all my drawers just sitting out on our floor. Its looks like we just moved in. I was glad that he was OK because it was just another thing that got added to our already overwhelming Saturday.
We got out the door and were on the road to Grand Haven for this wedding I was playing. It was for a girl I played softball with at CC, who is an absolute doll. I was very happy that I was able to do this for her and be apart of her big day. However, that meant that Gaetan was going to have all 3 crazies while I was doing this wedding and Norah has been a bit of a Momma's girl lately... I guess that's putting it mildly. She normally screams if she's with anybody but me, but she did great! They went and got smoothies and played on a playground until it was time to go. :) It was the best that situation could've gone! Score! The wedding went off without a hitch, but we did end up leaving half an hour later than anticipated... It is an 1.5 hour drive from there to Kalamazoo and the batizado started at 6:30... and we didn't leave til 4:30. I wasn't sure I was going to make it. We still had to go home, change, get the kids some food, and drive to the venue all in 2 hours... but, we somehow pulled it off!! Now, we just had to get through the actual batizado.
JVG
We got out the door and were on the road to Grand Haven for this wedding I was playing. It was for a girl I played softball with at CC, who is an absolute doll. I was very happy that I was able to do this for her and be apart of her big day. However, that meant that Gaetan was going to have all 3 crazies while I was doing this wedding and Norah has been a bit of a Momma's girl lately... I guess that's putting it mildly. She normally screams if she's with anybody but me, but she did great! They went and got smoothies and played on a playground until it was time to go. :) It was the best that situation could've gone! Score! The wedding went off without a hitch, but we did end up leaving half an hour later than anticipated... It is an 1.5 hour drive from there to Kalamazoo and the batizado started at 6:30... and we didn't leave til 4:30. I wasn't sure I was going to make it. We still had to go home, change, get the kids some food, and drive to the venue all in 2 hours... but, we somehow pulled it off!! Now, we just had to get through the actual batizado.
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| Beautiful view from where I was playing |
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| They got smoothies while they waited for me to finish up |
JVG
Another Norah Elizabeth
During batizado week we had a demo/table at KCC's welcome week. While there I had Norah at the table with me while Gaetan and the crazies walked around to see what sort of free stuff they could score and of course Norah's cute chub was attracting everybody to the table. They would say, "awe! What a cute baby" and then come over to the table so then we could talk to them about capo. I even had a couple of people come back to the table a few times so that they could oggle her... haha. Well, the strangest thing happened. This girl asked what her name was and I told her it was Norah and she said, "Oh! That's cool! Mine is Anorah." Angel was sitting at the table and for some reason asked her what her middle name was and she said, "elizabeth." Well, I told her to shut up jokingly and told her that was our sweet baby girls name too. :) She was pretty impressed too! Oh the funny things that you run into. :)
JVG
JVG
Epic Water Balloon Fight
As the weather looked like it was turning colder and staying cold there was one last day that was going to be a scorcher... so we decided to use up all the water balloons we didn't use this summer. And let me tell you, it was awesome. We filled up almost 200 balloons... and we waited til Chase got home from school to unleash the awesome! They had a ton of fun!
JVG
JVG
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