Summer summer summer time...(Do you remember that Will Smith song???)

It is SUMMER!  My favorite.  All around the best season for me; it means fresh food from the farmer's market, looooong days, good sunshine (I even like the heat, don't judge or wrinkle your nose, I'm allowed to like the heat), LOTS of birthdays...including mine, and a bustling social calender!  The hubs and I have been packing every week/day/month with lots of food, friends and activities, which is why I haven't explained yet why dads are just as great as moms, what our meal plans have been, or shared any marriage anecdotes. 

Summer activity=Chicago Contemporary Art Museum

Good food a good husband makes before a good outdoor date....SUMMER.

Cute summer Hubby...it's blurry, but so what? It's summer.

But the past two weeks of meals have been too good NOT to share :)  Thank you Ferguson Farmer's Market!  We love you...like, truly.

Look at the bounty!!  For only $20!!

July 11th-15th (a true feat of brain power as I recall the last weeks food. Go me.)
All veggies and some fruits from the F.M.

Monday:  Delish grilled turkey burgers on toasted bread with fruit salad and chips.  Made even better by the company of Foleys.

Tuesday:  Scrambled egg hash that included potatoes, kale, and cheese with whole wheat toast

Wednesday:  Birthday dinner surprise for Mrs. Dukes; crispy chicken, with sour cream mashed potatoes, and green and white string beans.  Dirt Cake for dessert :)

Thursday:  OH YUM!  Grilled pork and hot pepper enchiladas that Hubs baked on the grill...We heart our Weber.  


Friday:  Vegan coconut curried kidney beans, mustard greens and carrots over rice.  We so healthy.


July 18th-22nd

Monday:  Margarita Pizza; fresh basil, mozz, and tomato on home made pizza dough; and a blue cheese dressing, bacon, squash and red onion pizza.  It was worth turning the oven on....

Tuesday:  Another egg scrambled/hash thing with potatoes, mustard greens, bacon and red onion with toast.  It's our new favorite meal.  Really.

Wednesday:  Hubs made the most amazing pesto he's ever made, and we ate that on a grilled chicken sandwiches that I can't even talk about because you won't understand how great they were.  Along with grilled squash and chips.

Thursday:  Grilled ham steak, potato pancakes (from last weeks leftover mashed potatoes), green beans

Friday:  FOOD TRUCK FRIDAY in Tower Grove!!!!  The possibilities are endless...

~The Wifey 

 

Someday We'll Have Kids Reason #6

Everybody else is.  Might as well join the club! (Eventually, like, not next week or anything, but eventually)

When 2011 comes to a close I will know nine couples with new additions to their families.  And one of those couples are getting double the fun with twins : ) 

With all this baby making going on, we're bound to catch the fever.  Eventually. 

~Wifey

Court in Session

"Well, I guess you're a grown up now."  Hubs said this to me on the car ride home from downtown where I'd been serving my civic duty as the member of a jury for the past three days.  Clarification, I was selected to serve on a jury Thursday after the day long affair on Wednesday when you're moved all over and told to wait a lot and sit for many hours on end.  It's the sitting that gets me.  My knees start to ache.  I'm not made to sit.

Twelve other upstanding citizens and I were selected to jury a criminal case involving drugs and possession of drugs and police officers.  Honestly, it was really interesting.  I learned more about the judicial system than I thought I would, realized I knew more about the judicial system than I thought I did, and met people I would probably never have met otherwise.  As an inquisitive, people person, all that adds up to a good time for me. 

But, it definitely threw off the schedule of our lives for the week, and it made me reflect on the domestic/life system Hubs and I have in place...and how great it is.

Things I Realized about My Marriage and Life While Serving Jury Duty; a Brief Account:

--Hubs wakes up everyday to drive down town and work in an office.  After day two of getting up and going down town to 'work' in an office type setting (indoors, sitting a ton, bad lighting), I WAS EXHAUSTED.  My hubby works hard for us.  I'm blessed to work part time at a job where I can be active and look out a window whenever I want to.

--being away from the house for the hours between seven a.m. and five p.m. make it difficult to maintain order and lack of clutter throughout the home.  I'm usually home enough during the week to keep things pretty tidy and clean, the way I like it.  I like to tidy and clean when Hubs is at work, so that I can spend time with him when he gets home.  I know that many wives don't have this luxury.  I am so blessed to be able to maintain our home on my schedule with plenty of time leftover for being with Hubs.

--Hubs doesn't use drugs of any kind and doesn't lie to me.  This is great.  Once again, I am blessed.

--My life was interrupted for three days, but the man who was convicted of the crimes he committed will spend a long time with his life interrupted.  Perspective in place, check.

--I can talk to anyone.  Like, it's okay to talk to anyone. 

--Everyone has a story.  Each story is unique and beautiful in its own way, just like the person each story is attached to. 

--I also had all kinds of thoughts about my relationship with God in comparison to what I was a part of in the judicial process...but that went way deep and would be way long to write about here. 

--I don't get tired of being with husband.  I can do anything and go anywhere with him.  He's good company, that guy.  Even at seven in the morning when he doesn't like to talk much.

~the wifey

Moms Are Good

Me, Mom, Bryan, and Ben some time in the 90s when Mom almost had a mullet.

Moms are good.  I'm pretty partial to the one I have.  Probably because she gave birth to me and changed my diapers for a while and fed me and all.  I have three brothers (BJay is not pictured above, because he wasn't born yet when that picture was taken), she also gave birth to them, changed their diapers, and fed them for a while too.

My mom is really cute:

Especially in a sombrero.

She has also taught me things.  Directly and indirectly.  This morning I was reflecting on some of the mom wisdom I've gained over these past twenty-five years, and I thought I would pass some of it on...

1. A lady doesn't spit.  Brushing your teeth is different.  It's okay to spit then.  But generally speaking, a lady doesn't spit.  
2. A lady also doesn't say the 'F' word.  I'm not talking fart here, I'm talking the big 'F' word.  (I admittedly, completely failed at this for about three years from 18-21ish, but I'm back on the train now)
3. Wear nude color underthings with white blouses and bottoms.  White shows through white and you look silly.
4. Live simply, live within your means, balance your checkbook and know what a budget is.
5. She taught me how to make a good meatloaf.  I honestly crave meatloaf sometimes because she made it so well....yum...I might want that for dinner now.
6. It doesn't have to be hard to have four kids.  Raising children is what you make of it.
7. Playing outside is fun.  Don't know what to do out there?  You'll figure it out.
8. Homeschooling can result in perfectly normal and likable people i.e. my brothers and I.
9. You don't have to wear makeup everyday; you're pretty enough without it.
10. Open windows in the house whenever you can, let the fresh air in
11. Be nice to your husband, he works hard for the family
12. Take care of your neighbors, especially the elderly
13. Mixing vinegar with milk makes buttermilk
14. Separate your laundry by color and weight of the cloth (really, she does this, and really, I do too)
15. Planting things in dirt doesn't have to be complicated or intimidating, just do it.  If it fails the first time, try again with something different.  Do a little homework, but don't tell yourself you can't do it.
16. Take a jacket.  You might need it later.
17. Always pack extra underwear, because you never know...
18. Try hard to use correct grammar in writing and speaking.
19. Look at art.  Appreciate it.  Think about it.  Talk about what you saw, felt, experienced.  But ultimately, just enjoy it for what it is.
20. Slow down, read the instructions.  Something I heard often in my early days of school, and it comes in handy to this day.  
21. How to make a "K" turn.  No, it wasn't the one I was supposed to know for my driving test (oops), but I still use that skill from time to time and think of her whenever I do!
22. It's okay to laugh at yourself.  You're not perfect and you never will be, and that's okay.
23. Love Jesus.  Read your Bible.  Pray. 

I could sit here all day adding to this list, but I'd like to hear about what your mom taught you!  Do share : )  Then we'll all be learning and growing together.  That's a grand idea.

Thanks for all the years of wisdom and love, Mom!  Happy Mother's Day!

~Wifey

Side by Side

Hubs

Wifey

Amusing myself while the hubby is making dinner.  YAY!  I like it when he does that for us.  So sweet.  I think I'll keep keeping him; he's super handy.

Bathroom update for those who knew about our BR woes.  It's Fixed!!  We're back in business!  (TMI?  Maybe.)

 Meal Plan 5/2-5/8
Monday:  Tilapia-Oros Style (this just means we saute it then add garlic, capers, and lemon juice...sooo good), kale, and creamy barley

Tuesday:  Picnic fare, spinach artichoke dip, leftover Mexi-style pork, hummus, and "fancy" Triscuits

Wednesday:  Tomato soup and grilled cheese

Thursday:  Happy Cinco!!  Mexican inspired pesto, chicken fajitas, couscous, avocados, sombreros, Jarritos etc. etc. etc.

Friday:  Cherokee Street Tacos with the Foleys : )

Saturday:  Dinner with the Waites : )

Sunday:  Mother's day!  So whatever the moms want, it shall be done!