Kentucky State Fair

I mentioned earlier that we went to the Ky State Fair a week or so ago. The Kentucky National Guard took photos of families as kids went through this huge climbing thing that you see behind us. Madeline went through it and had a great time!

Fruits of Our Labor, and Madeline is a Video Game Junkie!

This may not appear so amazing to you, but Madeline's closet is heavenly! At least for one day it is completely organized, and I got to put five little piles of clothes for her to wear this week on a shelf across the bottom. Thanks to Steven for all of his hard work cutting and installing the shelves!



Madeline went to Mom & Dad's this week-end, and had a big time catching her first fish (check out the link to Dad's Blog on the right to see pictures of that). She also got to spend some money that she has been saving and bought a plug and play type Littlest Pet Shop video game. She is a total junkie! She has been alternately playing, or begging to play, all day. Thanks to Mom and Dad for giving me a break (I needed that right now)!

Steven's Birthday Dinner

I haven't been very inspired to blog the last few days. Last Sunday we went to the Ky State Fair and had a good time. No pictures of that are available though... Today Mom and Dad have Madeline, and I am hanging out looking at the computer and watching "Grease" a fitting follow up to last week-ends High School Musical 2! We have been putting closet organizers in Madeline's closet to try to organize her million toys! I took all of them out of the closet and now they basically are filling the living room - I am wondering how did they fit in the closet?

Tonight we are going to watch the Bristol Race and hang out at home after we go out to dinner for Steven's Birthday. Should be fun! Tomorrow morning my girl is home...

Follow up:




We just got back from dinner at Kreso's. It was really good! I'm not sure I've blogged about Kreso's before - it is a beautiful restaurant, and the couple who own it are interesting. The husband was a famous soccer player in Bosnia, and he and his wife had a large restaurant there. When the Bosnian war came about they fled their country, and ended up here sponsored by a church. They started out with a small location, and now have renovated an old movie theater. It's really cool! They are an example of starting over after you think your life is ruined. Anyway, Steven and I enjoyed our dinner and are now hanging out in the basement watching the Bristol. This was an evening that I really needed!

Day to Rest

I don't usually use the blog to tell my sad little stories, but the last couple of days have been tough for me. I did some major soul searching about my work life, my car air conditioner broke and was repaired at a hefty price, and I ended the week at the dentist with a cracked infected tooth. It was a quick reminder in why everyone loves going to the dentist! Anyway, I have survived, and we have been relaxing today. Right now I am watching the highbrow show "High School Musical 2" and will freely tell you that I think it's great so far! Madeline and I have been playing with her little toy dogs - here are some pictures :-) I feel much more relaxed hanging out with her, which truly is my major life goal and pleasure.

Here are the pictures:

A little post...

Psst... Steven has a new post on his blog after the long hiatus! :-)

Fresh Tomato Salsa

Today I continued my fresh food/culinary adventures by making homemade salsa. It turned out really well - I think my husband was impressed anyway. I used about 2/3 of the tomatoes which you see in the sink to make the big bowl of salsa. Of course we'd never eat all of that, so I have given some to the Roby's and plan to give some more away. It is quite good though, and well worth the effort.

The remainder of our week-end mostly consisted of swimming. The pool has been a great thing this summer! Madeline can now do front and back flips, as well as handstands. I bought some colored diving rings yesterday, so the last two days we have been swimming at the bottom of the pool searching for them. I also got a pool vacuum, and was quite pleased with the results of that. Madeline has had a good week-end I think. She was tired after her first full week of school, but I am sure gradually we will settle into the routine. She still says she loves school, and so far Steven and I have been quite pleased with it as well.

Another Post with no picture...

Tonight we started Madeline's Level 2 dance class (tap) which she really enjoyed. While she had her class, I went to my first fitness ball class in 3 months! Good Grief, I'm already sore!! It's hard to get back at it, but I know that I have to. It actually was fun, and it always feels good to work out, even if it makes you sore as can be.

Creamy Corn Recipe

Rebecca asked for my creamed corn recipe, so here it is :-) It's really rich, so it needs to be served with some lighter sides....

2 packages (16 ounces each) frozen corn
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, cubed
1/3 cup butter, cubed
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

In a 3 qt slow cooker, combine all ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours or until heated through and cheese is melted. Stir well before serving. Yields 6 servings.

Steven really liked it, so we'll be making it again sometime.

The Pool

No pictures today because we spent almost the entire day in the pool :-) I can't carry the camera in there with me, and since I don't want to be photographed in there, I don't ask anyone to do the photography for me! We had a great time though, and I know if I didn't tell you guys where we were all week-end you'd be wondering what was up with me! It is amazing how Madeline has taken to swimming. Today she was doing back flips (all while holding her nose, which she does about half of the time). The big trick seems to have been the goggles. Once she found that she could open her eyes under the water with those we were off and swimming.

Other than that we haven't done much of anything really. We went to Steven's cousin's wedding, which was really nice, that's about it! I have been downloading NPR podcasts of short stories. It's like watching golf - I listen to a bit of that before bed and I'm off to dreamland!

I did manage to put together a good dinner - steak, creamed corn, grilled veggies and banana pudding. I made the banana pudding the simple old fashioned way, which reminded me of going to my Grandma's. Mom pointed out to me that Grandma's pudding was homemade and full of sugar, while my pudding was fat free instant pudding, but hey, it made me think of being little in the summertime anyway :-)

I have endured much teasing for Madeline's baby picture which I put on my last post. I can't help it, her starting Kindergarten has been a bit hard for me, no more baby! But tonight, since I exhausted her by swimming with her all day, she let me cuddle her for like 45 minutes under a cozy blanky, so my baby is still here - she's just a little bigger than she used to be!

Madeline's First Day

Madeline had a great first day of school today! It started out kind of rough, when we got there she was nervous, but excited. She was hanging onto my hand and/or leg. But gradually more kids came into the room, and some were crying. It was contagious I think, because gradually about three fourths of the kids were crying, including Madeline. Look at the concerned looks on their faces at the table :-) I told her that she is a friend maker, she made them at preschool, at dance class, and at three Bible schools this summer! She was looking very small and worried when I left. Needless to say, I was a ball of nerves all day, worrying about how she was. I wanted to go press my face on the glass (which Rebecca jokingly told me that a Mom actually did at her school :-) I didn't do that, but I will admit to driving by at lunch to see if I could catch a glimpse of her in the playground. No dice there! Anyway, Steven went with me to pick her up, and you guessed it, she was fine! On the way home she told us "I got along just fine at school today" She's the greatest!

I could not be prouder of her guts, her outgoing nature and her happiness today!

I'm shocked and in awe that she is so big! When I close my eyes, this is what I see:

Last Day of Summer

Today was the last day of summer before Madeline starts Kindergarten! I am still in shock about her being this big. We went to the school open house and they were telling us about grading, and I almost had a heart attack! Grades! I know that Madeline will do great, and will learn and grow, but all of you Mommies out there know how I feel I am sure. Today I left work at 3:00, and since it was 95 degrees outside we swam for a long time. It was a good way to relax before school starts tomorrow. Please pray for my girlie, and for me, tomorrow!