Day #178 and We're a Family Again...

For the first time since we moved, everyone is together again.  It has been an adjustment for all of us, but we are working through it.  Today we are going to clean and organize.  Two words I'm sure my kids do not want to hear.  The main things left are hanging pictures and organizing all my sewing stuff.  Then there is the garage.  It is too hot to even venture out there!  And there is no relief in sight!  I'm just going to have to sweat it out and get it done! 

Still haven't tried pizza on the grill yet.  Maybe this weekend.  Tonight we are having grilled chicken, thinking about terriyaki chicken.  Sorry not feeling inspired to cook.  It is hot and I don't really eat much in the summer.  With the exception of fruit, veggies, yogurt, and ice cream.  Two of the four will be in the recipe I'm taking on tomorrow!  Can you guess what it will be?  Check back tomorrow to find out....

Day #174 and Fort Worth or Bust!

After a broken belt and engine bolt on my van, we are leaving for Fort Worth tomorrow morning.  At 4 in the morning to be exact.  Not really wanting to drive in the heat or traffic, I decided it would be best to leave early.  The kids disagree.  We are going to pick up my oldest from Nana's and drop off my youngest, the dog.  My mom agreed to keep her until we could find a place where we could keep her!  I just can't bear to give her away.  She has been here with us for a few days and has done great.  We have been walking her several times a day since the yard is not fenced.  The kids are thrilled to have her here.  Just a frustrating situation.

Hubby is staying behind this trip to umpire.  And although we will miss him, maybe he can get all his homework done while we are away!  Only two classes until he finishes in Master's in Education!  Then it's on to his doctorate!  By the time he finishes college our oldest will be starting!  Crazy!!

Have a great weekend!

Day #171 and Legos

Since we downsized, the three boys are sharing a room.  It's not so bad now because the oldest has been in Texas for the past month with his Nana.  He missed the entire move (his sister is a little bitter).  The little guys are not the neatest people in the world.  Legos cover the floor of their room and their older brother is not going to allow that to continue.  He is a little bit of a neat freak when it comes to his space.  With t-minus 6 days until he comes home, I am cracking down on the land of legos!  Whatever is on the floor at bedtime is going in the trash. 

On another note, I have started restocking my pantry and am ready to start cooking again.  Only one tiny problem, it is too hot here to cook.  The grill has become my new oven.  Tomorrow I'm going to attempt pizza on the grill.  Who knows, it might be a disaster, but I'm willing to give it a shot!  

Try to stay cool wherever you are, with volleyball camp and a baseball game I'm sure it will be long and hot day for us!

Day #165 and a Beautiful Morning

Sitting out on my front porch enjoying a nice breeze and being thankful for wireless internet.  I love being outside in the summer.  As a kid I couldn't spend much time outside.  The heat and I were not friends.  I remember having heat stroke as we stood in line to see Air Force 1 at the Boeing Company in Wichita.  Not fun.  After having children I had to adapt to the heat and fast.  They loved being outside and I loved them being worn out, making nap time so much easier. 

The only downside to summer heat is I don't dare turn on the oven.  So we have been grilling a lot.  I found this marinade last summer called Mojo.  It is has citrus juice, garlic, and onion.  It is great on chicken and steak, haven't tried it on pork yet but I bet it would be good too!  Tonight we are having pork chops and grilled veggies.  Not a big fan on grilling veggies, but a friend told me to put them in aluminum foil to keep them from falling through the grates.  Hopefully it works! 

Day #164 and Dirt

At our new place, can't really call it home, we have an abundance of flower beds.  I started with one out back a few weeks ago.  I wanted to transplant my hydrangeas and move a few other plants from around the property.  The beds were in poor condition.  Four hours and half a trash barrel later, I was able to plant three hydrangeas, two peonys, two hostas, and four creeping jenny's.  It looked great until two nights of heavy rain and two clogged gutters.  All my good dirt was washed away.  Now that the gutters have been cleaned, I will be adding more dirt and a gutter snake to advert water from round 2 of flooding. 

Yesterday I cleaned out the raised concrete bed for our garden.  I wanted to put raised cedar beds in the back of the property but with the summer heat on I knew my plants wouldn't survive much longer in their pots.  We have four tomato plants , two cucumbers, two bell pepper, two jalapeno pepper, a cabbage, radishes, onions, and raspberry bushes. 

I will add pictures as soon as I find my camera.  The joys of moving, can't find anything!

Day ? and a New Adventure

About a month ago Hubby and I decided to make a big decision and move.  Our children were going to a school district in which we didn't live in and with rising gas prices, we just couldn't afford to drive back and forth any longer.  Sometimes the hardest sacrifices are the ones you make for your children.  I love my house and we put so much into it, so many memories were made there.  It's just heartbreaking. 

What makes it even harder is we couldn't find a place that would allow us to keep our precious dog.  She is part of our family, it makes me cry every time I think about it.  She is still at our old house and as the move is coming to a close, we still haven't found her a home.  I can't  give her to just anyone.  We chose to give her to a family about 2 years ago.  Six months later we received a call from our vet saying the police had found her roaming the streets.  I went to the vet's office to see her in poor condition with worms and cut on her leg that had become severely infected.  After a large vet bill, we decided to keep her.  I felt so guilty.  We had given her to a good home, or so we thought.  Now I don't trust anyone and she just needs a family to love her the way we do.

I pray everyday that this is the right decision and that we will be okay.  So maybe this week I will get back to blogging and cooking.  I miss cooking! We have been eating out so much with baseball and the move!  No more hamburgers, tacos, or pizza PLEASE!