Adventures in La La Land

I already wrote about the applesauce muffins I made with squash puree. Well tonight, I decided to try a meal from Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious . The meal of choice was chicken nuggets with broccoli puree. You basically chop chicken into nugget sized pieces, then dreg it through a mixture of broccoli puree and one beaten egg before rolling it around in a breadcrumb mixture.  (The recipe called for whole wheat breadcrumbs with a variety of seasonings. I just used a mixture of Italian seasoned breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese.) The recipe said to fry the coated nuggets in a frying pan with olive oil, but I'm notorious for burning anything I try to fry. So I just threw it in the oven at 400* for 20 minutes.   Before it went in the oven. This was Lucy's reaction: I have no idea what happened with this picture, but you can see how much she enjoyed them. Grrr. I am getting so frustrated with this kid. She didn't even try one. Never even picked it u

*Warning: Don't read this post if you're on a diet or ravenously hungry!* ;-) 1. Lucy had her 15 month doctor appointment this week.  I'm sure most of you have seen the stats on facebook, but I want them here too. She's 21 lbs. (25th percentile) and 31" (75th percentile). I don't know how Justin and I got such a tall kid! Haha. It's probably just a growth spurt. She'll level out. We talked about her egg allergy and the doctor recommended trying them again when she turns 2 because that's a commonly outgrown allergy. And I asked about how her left foot turns in when she walks. The doctor said it was minor, wasn't too concerned, and said we'll just re-evaluate at her 2 year appt. Sounds good to me! Other than that, she's perfectly healthy and wonderful. :-) 2. Lucy's favorite word is definitely "uh-oh." I must hear it 6,000 times a day. This morning, she slept 'til 9:15! Unheard of for her! And I awoke to her chirp

1. Unity was awesome last Saturday. Of course, it did storm, and I had to be my anxious self. Niki and the boys stayed in the open field with their aluminum umbrellas, but I ran back to the car to wait it out. The horrible thing is my anxiety only extends to myself. I wasn't worried about them dying - only me! How wretched am I??? Anyway, the storm itself was pretty short. We did get rained on numerous times throughout the day, but it wasn't too bad.  We saw Chris August, Josh Wilson, Sidewalk Prophets, Francesca Batistelli, Matthew West, and Michael W. Smith.  I was really impressed with everyone except Francesca. But in all fairness, she had some major delays at the airport and arrived at the event 10 minutes before she had to go on stage, so she probably would've been better under different circumstances. And Michael was amazing. The nostalgia washed over me like a wave and I belted out "Place in this World" with all the other 20-30somethings who were only allo

This is going to be a Lucy-heavy update. She turned 15 months old this week, and has just been cuter than usual lately. :-) 1. Lucy is suddenly finding great enjoyment in shoes. The other day, she wandered into my room and came out with a pair of seldom worn high heels. She loved  them, and kept making me put them on her. She also discovered her own shoes this week. There are like 10 pairs of hand me downs in her closet, and she brings me a new pair every day to put on. Such a girl. :-) 2. She has also really started to become obsessed with her baby lately.  She carries her around everywhere, cuddles with her, rocks her, feeds her, wraps her in blankets, and takes great delight in making me put her diaper on then ripping it off. She's started to sleep with the baby, bring her in the car, and bring her to work. I love it. So cute. 3. Justin taught her a fun trick this week: giving "knucks" - you know, like pounding fists? It's hilarious and adorable. 4. I final

When most people have a bad day, they come home and pour themselves a large glass of wine. When I have a bad day, I pour myself a tall glass of Dr. Pepper. Today was a very tall Dr. Pepper kind of day. Last week, I promised Lyla that I would take her to Java Gym for her birthday. It never really worked out until today. The kids were so excited. Lucy woke up early from her nap, so we were set to have plenty of time there, it was a beautiful day, etc. I got all three kids dressed, fed, and groomed. Drinks and snacks packed in my purse. Carseats installed in my van. And then I noticed it: flat tire. Grrrrr. I spent the next hour on the phone with Justin and a Progressive Insurance agent in Arizona. Eventually, an "auto emergency" vehicle showed up to put my spare on for me. No, I do not know how to change a tire. I've never found a reason to learn since we have free roadside assistance. The guy who changed the tire was apparently an aspiring pit crew member. He literally r

1. I've seriously been craving chocolate lately.  On Monday, I had my chocolatey fiber bar as a snack like usual. Then after dinner, I decided I needed to run to Meijer for a box of Magnum ice cream. While I was there, I got a Ferrero Rocher to eat in the car on the way home! Lol. Out of control. [And nooooo, I'm not pregnant! The opposite problem, actually, is contributing to my cravings!] 2. Who wants to go see "The Help" with me? It opens on August 10. I want to be able to say in that snooty way, "Oh, the book was so much better than the movie." 3. Both of my sisters and my mom were all helping out at Bair Lake Bible Camp all week. It was brutal without them! I did text Niki a little bit, but it was weird not seeing them and talking to them all the time like I usually do! I stayed pretty busy during the week, though. Monday night was the Bachelorette finale (alone in my house - that was sad. I usually watch it with Niki.), Tuesday night Justin and I w