Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!  Thirty seven years today!  That is an accomplishment to be proud of.  Congratulations!

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Happy Feet

Recently our two year old daughter Happy Feet went on a one week vacation...without us.  Red Shoes had surgery and lots of recovering to do, so my mom came and picked her up and took her home with her.  She lives about two hours away.  Before her vacation we hadn't ever spent a night a part.  We had always wondered how she would do, and there was always that fear that she would be terribly homesick.  Well, this girl, she proved us all wrong.  What was going to be a couple days turned into a week and she loved every minute of visiting her grandparents farm in Nebraska. 
She got to go swimming   EVERYDAY. .

She got to play with COUSINS...

Is this an exasperated Nana, or does she just have water in her eyes?  Hmm...

She got to spend time with her cousin who is just about a month younger than her.  They shared a SUMMER COLD. 

THANKS Mom, Dad & Jessie for taking good care of Happy Feet!

 She had such a fun time with you! 

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One Pan Noodle Stroganoff

This recipe comes from church cookbook that I have.  It's a really easy, kid-friendly, not many dirty dishes kind of recipe. 

1 lb. ground beef
1/4 c. chopped onion
1 clove minced garlic
1 small can sliced mushrooms
1 can (10 1/2 oz) beef broth
1 T. lemon juice
1/4 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
3 c. uncooked egg noodles
1 c. sour cream
2 T. parsley

Cook beef, onion and garlic.  Drain off fat.  Drain mushrooms and reserve liquid.  Add broth, lemon juice, mushroom liquid, salt and pepper to skillet.  Stir in noodles.  Cover and simmer 12-15 minutes or until noodles are tender and liquid is absorbed. Stir in sour cream and mushrooms.  Heat, but do not let boil.  Top with parsley. Pin It

Pre-School Open House

Red Shoes took us to his pre-school open house last night.  He attends a wonderful school that he looks forward to going to everyday.  He has teachers who work hard and expect a lot.  They are wonderful and we are so thankful for them.  You couldn't ask for better first teachers.  Red Shoes started attending when he turned three.  It's amazing to see what he has learned since then. 

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Monster Cookies...yum!  A perfect combinations of salty and sweet.  I came across this recipe on allrecipes.com.  It won't disappoint.  It does make a ton, so have a big mixing bowl ready.

Image taken from Google Images

Ingredients:
1 cup margarine, softened

2 cups white sugar
2 cups packed brown sugar
3 cups peanut butter
6 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons corn syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 teaspoons baking soda
9 cups rolled oats
1/2 pound candy-coated milk chocolate pieces (M&M's)
1/2 pound semisweet chocolate chips


Directions:


1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.


2.In a large bowl, cream together the margarine, white sugar, brown sugar, and peanut butter until smooth. Beat in the eggs, two at a time, then stir in the corn syrup and vanilla. Mix in baking soda and oats until well blended. Stir in the chocolate candies and chocolate chips. Roll dough into 2 inch balls, and place 3 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten slightly with a fork.


3.Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool on cookie sheets for a few minutes, before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
 
I like to take them out when they are still a little gooey. Pin It

Sunshine Basket

A few ladies from our community and local church brought Red Shoes a "sunshine basket" following his recent surgery.  It was such a thoughtful gift and it really did make him feel better.  The idea behind it is that the child gets to open one gift a day for however many days (9 in this case).  At the end of the nine days hopefully they are feeling all better.  When the backpack was delivered there were nine ribbons hanging out of it. 

Red Shoes got to pick one ribbon and pull that gift out of the backpack.  Red Shoes didn't quite get the concept of only opening one gift at first.  At first I think he thought it was a mean trick.  He caught on quickly though.  The first thing he would do each morning is run to the backpack.  We would tell him as soon as he finished his medicine (which he hated) he could open a gift.  It helped us out tremendously!  This gift was such a blessing to all of us. 

Notice the ribbons hanging out of the backpack

Day 1- Red Shoes loved these...just throw the capsules in water and they become little safari sponges. 

Opening up a gift on day 2

Here's what it was...place in water and it becomes a

regular sized super-hero wash cloth. 

Day 3-  A truck and school bus.

Day 4- A Bumble Ball.  just pull the string and it goes crazy!

Day 5- A Teddy Bear Soldier

Day 6- A Roaring Dinosaur

Day 7- Three Race cars

Day 8- A Sticker book, coloring book and crayons

Day 9- A Doctors Set

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Pharyngeal Flap Surgery- Day 9

Yes! Things are Improving!

For the first time since Red Shoes' surgery I can FINALLY say that things seem to be looking up!  Red Shoes' dad took him to the park this morning.  I don't think they stayed too long because he still wears out pretty quickly. 

It's so good to see him out of his pajamas!

After that we took Red Shoes to see Toy Story 3.  It was a little risky, but we thought he would probably be able to make it through the movie.  He was super excited when we got to the theatre.  He's only been to one other movie.  He was younger and his attention span wasn't too good at that time.

 

Ready to watch the movie...he has his 3-D glasses and sample muffin (he never ate it).

Toward the end of the movie Red Shoes was getting tired.  He went right to sleep on the ride home. 

I thought this afternoon would be like other recent days...a 4-5 hour nap.  But my boy had other ideas.  I was surprised...He wanted to EAT! I put some butter and grape jelly on soft bread and he ate it up!  Progress!

Yes, I know, the pajamas are back!  He insists on wearing them every afternoon whether he naps or not!  What a great day this has been!

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