I don’t know if it was the fact that I laid on the couch all day, or the fact that we never really prank each other, but yesterday seemed to go by pretty unnoticeably.
There was this, though, which was a pretty good one. Well played, Texas Monthly, well played.
What a wonderful weekend filled with walks, a wedding, old friends, a risen Savior, and Easter fun!
Luckily the Easter bunny pulled off a pretty good drop, despite the fact that I had accidentally packed all the Easter stuff (not that the Easter bunny is dependent on me, of course).
Baby Gray loved the Egg Grab at church. All he could talk about was the Easter egg hunt. Well, that and how the Easter bunny with the big head on top came out of the grave with Jesus. I’m not sure we did a good job of separating the two this year. Oops!
Mr. Gray and Baby Gray continued on to Easter lunch after this; unfortunately, I was under the weather, so they had to drop me off at home. Baby Gray came home with more baskets and goodies. I think he ate candy all day. What’s not to love about that?
T-Paw has a lunch spot. Like, an actual table and chair in a restaurant in our hometown that no one else will sit in even when he’s not there–except for one of us if we know he’s not coming.
T-Paw’s lunch spot is way up high on Baby Gray’s list of favorite places. He walks in like he owns the place, talks to everyone, gets kisses from all the ladies, and then finds his seat right near T-Paw for some lunch. He has pretty much everyone in the joint wrapped around his finger. A while back he went through a “money pig” phase, and he’d come home with donations for his piggy bank after lunch!
Imagine his delight a few weeks ago when a friend’s daughter walked in wearing some bunny ears. He thought it was awesome. What could make it better? Bunny ears of his own: she gave them to him! He was lovin’ it!
But, it got even better. He then proceeded to ask everyone to wear them, and they did!
Special thanks to our Fashion Friday guest stars! I bet T, L, and Miss A are glad they weren’t at lunch that day!
Once upon a time, while shopping too much, we happened upon the best group of friends we could have hoped for in our young, married lives.
We started with only one kiddo in the group, but we’ve grown to tons of kids and we’re all gradually getting a little older, too. Some say it’s inevitable. We’re celebrating thirtieth birthdays a little too often for my liking (it means mine is approaching), and we had another one yesterday. In true Swihart style, it was Dr Pepper-themed, and we all got I’m a Pepper shirts to wear for his arrival.
I left last night with an overwhelming feeling of gratitude. I am so grateful for this group of friends. It doesn’t matter that we don’t see each other once a week for Heart Group anymore. We are still friends. We are still surrounded by a support system that some people will never know. Prayers of thanks just kept coming last night as I reflected. God truly surrounds us with people for reasons, seasons, or a lifetime, and these guys are lifers.
I see fortieth and fiftieth birthdays, wedding anniversaries, and children’s graduations together, even though they’ll all seem to come too soon.
When I meal plan, I try to make at least two things out of similar ingredients. Sometimes our tastes are all over the place and it doesn’t happen, but I try.
This week, our for-sure meal was chicken and dumpling casserole. The byproduct? Chicken salad. Yum! This was the first time I had made chicken and dumpling casserole, but it won’t be the last. It was so good, I didn’t get a picture before it was gone, gone, gone!
You will need:
2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (I used a little olive oil with rubbed sage and cooked through; shred in the mixer–it makes life much easier)
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 stick of butter
2 cups Bisquick
2 cups whole milk
1 can cream of chicken soup
3 teaspoons of chicken bullion
Salt & pepper to taste
I used my left over chicken for chicken salad.
You will need:
Cooked, shredded chicken
Plain yogurt
Dill pickle relish
3-4 saltine crackers
Course black pepper
Most of the time, being the mom is fun. I particularly dig being the boss: that’s one of my all-time favorite roles (I’m mostly kidding). Plus, when you’re the mom, grandparents are deemed more fun, so leaving for a weekend is totally do-able.
There are times, though, when being the mom means making tough decisions. For instance, this weekend, we had to make the tough call to leave the boy an extra day–dirty clothes and all–because we were exposed to what might have been a stomach bug this weekend. We don’t want to share, but we sure miss our boy!
If we’re in the clear a little later today, I’ll be off to get him!
For a kid who isn’t potty trained, he sure spent a lot of time in his underwear this week!
After my swim Friday, I picked Baby Gray up to find him batting–in a hard hat with a bowling pin! I love his creativity!
And, the trusty ear muffs made an appearance as well. Too bad he won’t wear them when they’re actually needed.
I’ve been swimming a few mornings a week trying to get ready for the event I signed up for after I lost my mind my triathlon.
I was able to find a pool with childcare, which makes my life a million times easier! They only have childcare during their classes, though, so my swim time coincides with water aerobics class. The average age for this class is approximately 72 (speculation: not an actual mathematically calculated average).
We usually finish up about the same time, and I get to hear the ladies talk about life a little. What I’ve learned from these gals, even just in passing, is invaluable. I’ll take life lessons over swimming lessons any day. Each of them has a zest for life. They are excited to be taking care of themselves and up and on the move. Every single one of them has a story and an obstacle that they’ve overcome. It is so encouraging to seem them living their lives to the fullest. They’re not sitting around moping about how old they are or feeling sorry for themselves as some people that are older sometimes do. They’re not wallowing in circumstances. I love it. I can only hope I’ll be rockin’ it when I’m 72–and hopefully much sooner!
