Basketball, The Tooth Fairy, My Name is Two

Basketball
Seth and Aleah recently finished their basketball season. They had a lot of fun playing this year, especially since they both had good friends on their teams. Seth got to play with Wynton again this year and Aleah had her friends Ava and Samantha on her team.

I scanned in the pictures we bought from the league because these were the best pictures they had from this season. I was not very good about taking the camera, but on the final day of their games I finally remembered to bring it and snap some pictures. Unfortunately, the pictures are lousy, partly because I am not a very good photographer and partly because Dalen was not able to make it that day because of some meetings he had to attend at the church. So I was on my own with all the kids. Seth and Aleah did great, but it was a rough day. Josh tripped down the stairs and hit his head, then later he got himself stuck behind the loud speakers and was screaming like a madman. Anna got her finger shut in the door and then got smacked in the back of the head with a basketball and she missed her nap to boot. It was not the day to try to take pictures. But I am posting them anyway, such as they are, because these are the days of our lives! (By the way, the refs really don't call fouls much at this age.)





The Tooth Fairy
This week, Josh got to go visit the dentist to get a tooth pulled out. He has two teeth (the same tooth on each side of his mouth) that did not develop correctly and they have very soft enamel. We have had him in several times to have them fixed because they keep getting cracks in them and breaking off. One of these teeth broke off for the third time, so they finally decided to just pull it. Josh did great! He seemed to feel no pain at all. He thinks going to the dentist is fun because they let him wear groovy sunglasses while he's there and he gets to pick out prizes in the end.

Here is Josh holding his tooth. You can see the little gap in his teeth on the upper right side of his jaw.
The best part about having your teeth yanked out is the visit from the Tooth Fairy. Actually, Josh keeps telling me that his tooth brought him that dollar and I can't convince him otherwise. The only part he can't figure out is why his tooth didn't want to hang out under his pillow anymore.
My Name is Two
Anna loves chasing her dad. And she seems to understand that swinging one's arms is an important part of chasing. She also gets a little confused about how she is supposed to answer certain questions. Name, age, cuteness .... it's all the same, right?

Anyone Can Cook

I have now seen the Ratatouille movie a few gazillion times, so I know that anyone CAN cook. I just don't know WHY anyone WANTS to?! Honestly, it is such a pain in the neck ..... deciding what to make and grocery shopping and chopping and dicing and measuring and wisking and simmering and sautéing and baking etc., etc. The fruits of your labors disappear in less than half an hour. Then you get to clean up the mess. Ugh!

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE eating. But I love it best when I don't have to do the cooking part before I get to do the eating part. That's why I believe that there are few things better than eating OUT. But with 4 kiddos in tow, that doesn't happen around here all that often.

A few months ago, Josh said to me, "Ego (in the Ratatoille movie) doesn't think anyone can cook. But he's WRONG! You can cook! I let you cook all the time." And therein lies my problem. I cook ALL THE TIME. Every day, there are kids waiting to be fed. And every day I have to figure out what to feed them. So, I try to navigate the quickest, easiest, least messy route to feed this hungry horde on a daily basis. I am truly a lazy cook. I go for recipes with few ingredients and that say something similar to "combine all ingredients". If I see a long list of ingredients or instructions on a recipe, it will get nixed for sure.

In light of the above, I am sharing two of my favorite recipes. They are super easy and ALL of my kids are willing to eat them. If I get really ambitious, I might even add more recipes in later posts. Anyone reading this is welcome to send me any yummy, EASY dinner recipes you have. I'm always happy to try something new.

Gusteau (in Ratatouille) said "What I say is true, anyone can cook. But only the fearless can be great." Well, I'm happy to leave greatness to someone else. In the mean time, I'll keep plodding along, one meal at a time.

Ranch Chicken


1 1/2 c. crushed cornflakes
3/4 c. Parmesan cheese
1 package ranch salad dressing mix
5-6 chicken breasts
1/2 c. butter or margarine, melted

Combine cornflakes, Parmesan cheese and dry ranch dressing mix. Dip chicken breasts in melted butter then roll in cornflake mixture until heavily coated. Place in 9x13 baking dish. (I usually pour remaining cornflake mixture over chicken breasts.) Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

This is also really good diced up on a salad.

Tortilla Soup


1 c. long grain rice
2 tbsp chicken bouillon granules
2 tsp lemonade powder (with sugar)
1 tsp lemon pepper
1 tsp dried cilantro
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c. dried, chopped onion
1 can Rotel (diced tomatoes and green chilies - I use mild)
10 cups water
Diced chicken (optional - add last 5 minutes)

Combine all ingredients. Bring to boil. Lower heat, cover, and simmer 20 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips, shredded cheese, sour cream and diced avocado. (I often use canned chicken breast or leftover rotisserie chicken.)