Meal Plan Monday

Missed last week but I'm on the ball this week. I have a few really yummy recipes that are easy to prepare, and I thought some people might be interested in them. I'll post them in case you want to try something new.

This is a pretty boring week since we have a lot going on...baseball games tonight, tomorrow and Wednesday, teacher talent show on Thursday, baseball Friday-Sunday. Whew, when are we going to rest??

M- tacos (you know I love 'em!)
T- chicken soup and a side salad (it is freezing here again)
W- new horizon's chicken*
TH- honey lime crockpot chicken*
F- pasta and sauce (Lent = no meat on Friday)

*I will post these easy to make and totally delicious recipes in just a bit.

I've been away from the blog for a few days helping our bestest friends prepare for their move to Texas. Yes, my sweet Max, loving Bo, my great friend Andrea, and Richie's good friend Aaron are gone. An 8 hour drive away. I was a trouper- no tears until I tucked Andrea and the boys in the car and then walked in my house and closed the door. Richie knew it was coming. I cried. I couldn't help it! I will miss them so much. We've enjoyed their company and friendship so much. We are truly happy for them, and so excited to hear about their new life in Texas.

Thankfully, we were able to spend quality time with them as they've been staying at our house the past few days. Aaron has been in Texas for almost two months, so we just had Andrea and the two little boys. I spent time at night snuggling with Max in my bed, and I cuddled with Bo as I fed him breakfast. Originally Andrea was going to head to Texas for several days, while we played with Max and Bo, but the movers failed. Miserably. We had to change plans, and I liked the new plans even better. I'm so glad I got to spend some time with Andrea as well as the boys.

Max and I even had some quality time as I was showering yesterday. He came in the bathroom, put his face up to the CLEAR glass, and said, "Time to wake up Miss Jill!" Then he proceeded to talk with me, and then just stand there and watch me shower. As I showered as quickly as a could, without flashing this boy too much, I repeatedly encouraged him to go in my bed and watch cartoons. Only after I stepped out of the shower did he take this advice. ::sigh::

As I hugged and kissed the boys, while Andrea snapped them into their car seats, BoBo said Jill for the second time. What a sweet way to close this door and open a new window.

We will miss you!

Baby Stellan

For those of you who have not heard about Stellan, please take a moment to learn about this sweet baby and his loving family.



He is truly a miracle, and now he needs our prayers. I admire his mom's strength to put her faith in God and trust in His plan. They are in my prayers.

Landscaping 101

I think both Richie and I could stand to take a landscaping class. Evidence: at the nursery yesterday, Corey (the wonderful guy who always helps us) says, "You know when you fertilize your plants twice a year...." and keeps talking before noticing the blank stare on our faces. He pauses and says, "How often do you fertilize your plants?" Our response was one of shock. You have to fertilize plants!? Poor Corey. He tries!


So with this new knowledge, we loaded up on plants and even a tree to spruce up our bare yard. We had to wrestle over plant choice because, well, Richie likes only boring plants that are easy to care for and that he has grown before, and I like pretty plants that are easy to care for. We agreed on a bed with two types of azaleas (Richie's comfort pick) and a bed of hydrangeas and a Chinese snowball plant (my pick!). The azaleas went in the bed with Richie's pick from last year, the Japanese Maple. We had to move these two Christmas tree-like plants my mom got but I like them better in their new home by our patio. The hydrangeas joined my Holly Skyrockets from last year. When you come visit, you can judge for yourself which bed you like better :)


I've had a killer headache the past few days, so Richie had to dig the holes himself. I filled the holes in with potting soil and then he planted everything. I think it turned out great!! And I think we should get an A+ for teamwork (even if I did leave mid-planting to get a massage...hey, when she has an appointment available, you have to take it!).


We are going to put a Little Gem Magnolia tree in the backyard. I LOVE this tree. I wanted one last year, but we were maxed out on our landscaping budget. Thankfully we were able to get it this year, and it gets planted tomorrow. Yay! We are also planting gardenias along our back patio tomorrow. I can't wait! Richie also agreed that we should put up some lattice work and grow Jasmine around the patio. When things get growing, it is going to be so pretty in the backyard. Who knew I liked landscaping so much? Unfortunately, I think all these plants and nursery visits are what caused this three-day long massive headache :( It is going to be a long spring...


Here are pictures of all the hard work my wonderful, talented husband did to make our yard look super pretty.

These are Sweet Olives (I think?) that will grow tall and wide for privacy. And they smell heavenly!

The Chinese Snowball. This sucker gets 15 feet tall. Can't wait!

The hydrangeas and holly skyrockets.

The Japanese Maple and azaleas.

Field Trip!

Ah, yes. The wonderful field trip. I always look forward to them and then wonder, "Why did I think this would be fun?" Last Thursday we took the students to Mississippi State University. This happens to be a 2ish hour drive. On a bus. With 6th graders. Overall, the drive wasn't too bad. The bus driver (a police officer, thankfully!) wore ear plugs, but I wasn't as smart to plan ahead. I rode the girl bus and Joanne rode the boy bus. A few chatty chicas but at least I didn't have stinky boys :)

The actual flight center and wildlife center we went to were awesome! I don't think the students appreciated how cool it was, but the teachers did! Here are some pics, and a video of one of my students summing up the day.

Students not following directions at the wildlife center. Go figure...

Brutus, the black bear.

Deer antlers that have been cut off for their safety.

A bobcat. Cute!

This is at the flight center. The blue thing is a giant oven for heating aircraft. So neat!

The Owl. Awesome!

The 'fire truck' for the flight center. I think this Jeep is 50something years old. I guess they don't have many fires.

And...a video narrated by a sweet student. Enjoy!

Photo Tag

Lisa, my BFF from high school, tagged me. Here are the rules:

1. Go to my documents/pictures.
2. Go to my 6th file folder.
3. Go to my 6th picture.
4. Blog about it.
5. Tag 6 people to do the same.

This is a picture from the car show Richie put on last April for his master's degree project. The 3rd weekend in April, Oxford is home to the Double Decker Arts Festival. It is tons of fun! Local artists set up displays, restaurants have samples of food, the Square is shut down for everyone to mingle and enjoy the weather, art work, food and Oxford.

Richie's professors thought this would be the perfect weekend to plan a car show. The Inaugural Double Decker Classic Car Show was a success! I think we had almost 100 participants from all over. While it was a lot of hard work, it was so much fun!

Here are some pictures from Double Decker 2007, my 1st year and the year before the Car Show.

Snow!!

Richie woke me up bright and early today because...it SNOWED!! Yay! An actual accumulation of snow!

The driveway looks clear but it was solid ice. I figured this out as I was trying to hurry down the driveway in my pjs to snap this shot (hence the crooked pic).
The rest of our weekend has been pretty quiet. Aaron is in town so we hung out with the boys on Friday night (and T2 adjusted my back-- see the post below). Max was sickly so he was curled up with a blanket watching a movie. I spent tons of time snuggling with him and woke up yesterday feeling sick. Yuck. I just can't help it- he is so irresistible!

Max isn't sick in this picture but look at that face! I can't resist snuggling and smooching even when he is sick.