Chicken Tortilla Yum, Yum

Here's our dinner tonight...I know most of you probably don't care about recipes but I need a place to put things I've created so they don't get lost and maybe someone out there might actually use something I made. It's nothing fancy, just dump it in and let it cook but I tend to forget simple things like this. Enjoy!

Chicken Taco Soup
2 T Olive Oil
1 Med. Onion
1/2 cup pepper (we only had red but green would probably be better)
2 cloves garlic crushed
2 medium chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
1 can whole kernel corn
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth
1 package taco seasoning
lime juice
cilantro
sharp cheddar cheese
Tortilla chips
Sour Cream

In a stockpot/dutchoven, simmer onion, pepper and garlic in olive oil until translucent, be careful not to burn the garlic. Add taco seasoning, tomatoes, beans, corn and stock. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add diced chicken, simmer 20 minutes. Add lime juice, stir. Dish out tortilla chips into bowls, top with soup. Top soup with what you like: shredded cheese, sour cream, more chips, cilantro, etc...

YUMMMMMMMMMM......

Homebody Loves Me

I'm looking forward to being more of a homebody this week. It's "reading week", i.e. catch up week for the seminarians so ^J^ doesn't have classes but he's trying to get a lot of work done ahead of time. Things are still open at the seminary, it's just a lot less. We don't have choir or community worship or lunch, but we do have PMO. So he and I will both be around home a little more and I have lofty goals. (H)'s room and the "study" are at the top of the list to get organized. Organizing clothes and donating things we don't need is also a must. The list goes on, but I won't bore you with those details. We made communion bread today and actually made more than they needed, so we were able to have a slice for lunch, yum.
I need to get back to folding laundry but I want to comment on this wedding I went to this weekend. Our friends blended their beliefs (Jewish and Quaker) beautifully. And, although I am all for non-traditional wedding stuff (we even incorporated some of that into ours) this was the most unique wedding I'd ever been to. They held it at a state park in a group camp complete with communal meals in the dining hall and games of kickball on the field. From the Mardi Gras-esque parade with streamers and noise-makers, to the 'Jewqua' ceremony (a little glass breaking here, a little quiet reflection there), to the Moon Bounce, it was fun and relaxation for all ages. The cabins on site were "rustic" with 4 beds on a concrete floor but they were so CUTE, they looked like little hobbit houses and our kids thought they were the greatest. *A* especially loved that she could sleep in her sleeping bag and insisted on opening up all the windows by herself. We could hear the wind blowing in the trees all night and I actually slept really well despite the scorpion encounter on my last trek to the bathroom.
The food was incredible! It was from this place in Atlanta called Sun in my Belly and the cake was cupcakes from somewhere in VaHighlands. Then we had brunch the next morning: French toast from Challah bread, mimosas, fruit salad, bagels and lox with capers, purple onion and tomato. Oh my gosh, we pigged out.

Unfortunately I have no pictures to share...I think my camera has finally bit the dust. There were so many things I wanted to capture but sadly I'll just have to rely on my memory. If anyone has a digital camera lying around you never use, I'll take it! :) Or if you've seen a good deal on one, let me know.
Wishing you, and me, a good and productive week!

Under the Weather

What a strange phrase, under the weather, I'd like to know the word origin of that one. I'm sure I could google it but I am in fact under the weather so I can't do to much without my head feeling like it's going to pound right out of my head. ^J^ and *A* have had this strange virus this week: fever, headache (or as *A* told me when it started, "Mommy, I have a bad feeling in my head"), and achy but nothing else. No runny nose, no sore throat, etc. *A*'s was gone in a day and a half and ^J^'s lingered a day or so longer so at least I know it won't be here long. It really is the strangest cold. When I move my head my brain feels like it is moving around in there and it hurts so bad I have to hold my head and stand still to get it to stop. So I'm camped out on the couch. I grabbed a box of graham crackers and peanut butter in case the kids and I get hungry and we're watching Sesame Street. Such a good show. Why can't all kids shows be this respectful of children? I could really go off on my soapbox here, but since I'm wiped out I'll spare you my issues with Dora and Caillou among others. We have a full weekend but I'm not sure how much we'll be doing, it all depends on how quickly this cold decides to leave. Today there is a "meeting" with the Dean that is mandatory for juniors and their families. It's a little cryptic and strange because we haven't been given much info but luckily I know the reason for that. ^J^ does not however, so I'll have to leave it at that until we've gone and more has been revealed. Intriguing no?

Safety First!

In honor of fire safety week, the kids' PMO had the campus firetruck and firefighters come for a visit.
You can imagine the excitement when that big red truck pulled up and the kids were lined up with their very own firehats. The firefighters are undergrads who have agreed to be volunteer firefighters and have EMT training as well. They work in shifts just like regular firefighters and cover the 13,000 acres owned by the university. They were great with the kids and told them all about their uniforms and the truck.
One of them suited up in full gear to show the kids what it would look like, and explained that if they ever saw this in their home to run toward them and not be scared. I have to say that the full suit and mask are a little intimidating. I'm glad they tell kids this though and have these outreach visits so kids can get used to seeing them all suited up. (H) was very scared by the "guy" as he says, and he ducked behind my legs until he de-suited. He wouldn't sit in the truck but wasn't scared by the siren or horn.
*A* loved it all of course and did everything except honk the horn, that was a little too loud for her. She was fascinated by the truck driving away and wouldn't come inside until they were gone and she had waved goodbye.

There was an Old Woman who lived in a shoe...

I don't really live in a shoe but I do have so many children I don't know what to do. Last night a friend who has a 3 month old called to see if I was free to watch her daughter for a few hours this morning. I have extra hands this week since a friend from our old school is visiting, so I said "Sure, bring her on!". I have her in the PMO nursery and she's a really sweet, easy baby. Then no more than 15 minutes later, another friend called and she needed time this morning to finish her paper so she asked if her 3 yo daughter could come play for a few hours. I figured, why not? Her daughter and *A* get along well so they can pretty much entertain themselves. So we are a house of 6 this morning and I'm learing what it would be like to have 5 kids aged 14, 3.5, 3.5, 20 months, and 3 months. The amazing thing is that some people actually have this situation (if they had twins). It's manageable, but I only have them one day for 4 hours. I'm not sure if I'd be so sane if they were really my kids. All this to say, that it is pretty amazing to live in a community where you can call up someone you've only known for a couple of months and ask them to watch your child and know that they will do it happily, well, and with open-arms.

Yay October!

If I had to choose, I'd say October is my favorite month. I LOVE the weather and Halloween is my favorite holiday. I have always loved dressing up and the idea of trick-or-treating is so old-fashioned and fun to me. As a kid, it was the only time we were allowed outside after dark to roam around the neighborhood by ourselves. I loved coming home and counting and sorting (and eating) my candy while watching It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. Last year we went to this really amazing Halloween party. The entire house was insanely decorated and they had a haunted trail in their backyard. I do not enjoy being scared, although I did work in a few haunted houses in high school (I guess I can dish it out but can't take it), but I like all of what Halloween is about. I hope to one day have an annual Halloween party as grand as the one we went to last year, but I think I need a few more years to accumulate stuff, more money, and older children.
I'm excited about what Halloween will be like up here. There is a neighborhood where most of the seminarians live called the Woodlands with lots of houses and duplexes and apparently everyone goes there to trick-or-treat. *A* can't make up her mind about what she wants to be. We had this same problem last year. She loves to look at the costumes in various catalogs and I think that's choice overload for her so she gives up. I'm trying to convince her we need to be something as a family. She has a Cinderella costume so we could all be characters from that story, but my favorite idea is for all of us to be Wizard of Oz people. She could be a blond Dorothy, I could be a witch, daddy could be the scarecrow and (H) could be a munchkin! Can't you just see him as one of the lollipop guild with his hair parted and his suspenders?! HA! *A*'s not convinced yet, and I've only got a few more weeks to work on her.
We got our few Halloween decorations down from the attic and decorated the house yesterday and the kids immediately started "playing" Trick-or-Treat. I was instructed to stand at the door and hand out rocks as candy while they rang the doorbell and shouted "tick-or-teat". Once they got tired of this game (or rather Mommy did), they had a marathon sliding event...



Too fun! What do you like about October?

Election Fever!

I've been hit with election fever lately. We had a debate party last week, I just ordered candidate paraphernalia, I've researched absentee voting, and with the election now just over one month away, I'm starting to see a light at the end of a very dark tunnel. It's hard to believe this historical election will soon be here and we will have someone new running our country. I am just so excited about the possibilities of this election. No matter what happens, it will be exciting and historic, and I am so glad to be able to be a part of it all.

If you are not already registered to vote, please go out and do it now, for no other reason than just to be a part of history. Also, I urge you to listen with an open-mind and open-heart to the candidates, watch the debates, and vote with our country's best interest at heart and remember all the kinds of people who live in this country who will be affected by this election. I've never understood this notion of sticking with one party or another just because that's what your father and his father, yadda, yadda have always done. Vote for who YOU like and who YOU think will do the best job. I think the past administration has shown us that being a democrat or a republican means very little considering their roles seem to have switched, and that the republicans are ready for a change from their own party (can someone explain to me what that's all about?! Nevermind, I think I know).

I'm stepping off my soapbox now, but I feel the need to share my hope and excitement about this election. I've been very good and P.C. here, but I could easily swayed to voice my opinion more, any comments are welcome and appreciated.