Veggie Skyline?

Last night we tried out a new recipe. John's fast from meat has limited my dinner options, but other than having to use a little more creativity for meal planning, it hasn't been so bad. I've still been able to eat some here & there, so I haven't really been missing things like bacon or cheeseburgers the same way my hubby has. There is only one thing I've started to miss: Skyline.

For those of you who don't know what that is, I'll make you some after Easter. My family in Cincinnati keeps us stocked with cans of Skyline, and Publix carries the frozen kind. It is one of those things I cook when I have no idea what to make for dinner, because we always have it on hand. Since it is terribly unhealthy, we don't eat it that often, but I am starting to miss it. John & I mused that there might be a Veggie Skyline recipe out there in cyberspace... and there was! It uses bocca crumbles instead of ground beef. I had to run out for babyfood anyway, so I picked up what we needed to follow the recipe. We were excited, but skeptical. Could it be that we could have meatless Skyline?

No. I mean, it wasn't awful. And it was in the same family as Skyline. But in the kind of sweet, spicy Cincinnati Chili family this recipe was Skyline's weird great-uncle. John ate most of his; I could only eat about half. He says he'll eat the leftovers, that even though it's not Skyline, it's pretty good. That wasn't the point... (sigh)

Hannah's program

On Monday night, Hannah had her Spring Program. Each class has a time on the stage. Even the Lambs, the tiny babies, rode in their "bye bye buggy" so their parents could see them in the spotlight. Two of them were sound asleep with their heads bobbing. I wish I had thought to get a picture! But here are some pictures I did take. Be warned, they aren't the best quality because we like to sit in the back so we can stand up to video and make comments make sure Lydia doesn't disturb anyone...


Hannah and her friends, with Ms Callen helping. Hannah was very excited to have Callen with her class!



Hannah was great at doing all of the motions- she took this program very seriously. Tripp, on the other hand... actually, he did a great job too! By the way, that kid with his arms crossed- he's not pouting. He's getting ready to pull up his shirt.



We sat by Zac & Kevin, which was very entertaining but probably disruptive to those around us. Kevin was really helpful, though. He wanted to make sure Lydia didn't miss anything!



This is the last group to go. They wore matching hats that made John crave Steak n Shake the rest of the night. He settled for a 5 guys veggie burger, which really has no burger at all. It was just lettuce and onions and tomato and mayo on a bun. Good thing I had just bought a giant box of bocca burgers at Sams! We also had cookies & punch after the program, so no one was going to starve. Especially not my father-in-law, who buttered up Agnes (in the kitchen) and left with a big bag of oatmeal cookies.

So, to summarize: cute kids (and sleeping babies), precious singing daughter, bellies, friends volunteering to hold our kids, mini steak n shake cooks in a line up of sorts, and free oatmeal cookies. It was a pretty good night. :)

Grandma-time

Yesterday I mentioned that my in-laws were visiting. Really, it was just John's mom for a few days until his dad joined us yesterday. They headed back to Virginia this morning, and we were all sad to see them go- especially Hannah. It was a quick visit but she got to spend some quality time with Grandma.


Hannah also got to bring her grandparents to the Spring program at school (about which I will be sharing in another entry since I have limited time.) John and his dad got to watch Maryland basketball together, and I got great help with the taxes from John's mom. Lydia, of course, got lots of attention because she is so squeezably cute. I hope Grandma & Papaw got as much out of the visit as we all did, and that their travels today are safe.

Song for Sunday

There is a Stephen Curtis Chapman song that haunts me whenever things start to get a little hectic. Mostly I enjoy humming it when it first pops into my head, because the first verse feels a lot like my life on any given day:

Well the day has just begun and I'm already running late
With too many irons in the fire and too much on my plate
I'd be pulling out my hair if I could just get one hand free
And I'd stop this world if I could find the key

What I see is telling me I'm going crazy, but
What is real says God's still on His throne

The rest of the song is insanely cheesy, and singing it becomes embarrassing when I get to the end of the chorus. Even if I'm all alone or in the shower, I feel slightly ridiculous for remembering the words. Therefore, I am not going to "dorkify" (yeah, I made that word up) myself further by sharing the rest of the song. If you're curious, you can find it here. It just goes on to say that God is in control, even when we feel like everything (including our thinking-impaired dogs or sleep deprived children) is completely out of control.

Lydia is recovering from a nasty illness of some sort and is now teething and obsessed with learning to crawl. Hannah is trying to adjust to the time change and has decided she is quite gifted at negotiation- "how about if I eat two more bites and have my dessert?" "What if I skip nap to watch a movie? That's still resting..." My house is covered in muddy puppy prints. I'm still working on taxes, and my in-laws are here... See why this is our song for Sunday?

Extra hands

Today we had lunch at Cracker Barrel after church. For us, this means leaving with several to go boxes and a shopping bag since the back clearance corner at Cracker Barrel is one of my favorite places of all. On the way out, John carried Lydia and I carried all of the loot. I also held Hannah's hand. She was in rare form, pointing out all of the silly things we passed while she sucked on her 15 cent cotton candy stick. When it was time for her to get in the car, I held her candy and her chocolate milk and the bag with the food and fabulous clearance finds. And I tried to buckle her in. It was a slow & mostly futile effort. I looked over at John, who had already strapped Lydia in and was finding time to coo at her while I fumbled with the straps, and held out the milk & candy for him to take while I told him, "You know, this would be easier if I had another hand..."

To which Hannah replied, "Yeah... like a spider, or an octopus."

Poor Little Lydia

Our sweet Lydia has been sick. On Thursday she started running a fever that didn't even seem to go away with Tylenol. At the doctor's on Friday she had a White Blood Count of 20,000- super high! But she has no other symptoms- no ear infection, no cough, nothing. They gave her a broad spectrum antibiotic shot (I HATE antibiotics, but trust our doctors) and a prescription for more. They also made an appointment for us to have more blood drawn on Saturday to be sure it was working. Although still at a loss as to where the infection is hiding, the doctors did seem to think the antibiotics were helping after the second test. (Maybe I hate antibiotics a little less...)

One thing that has come with this illness is a nursing strike. Lydia will eat her babyfood and yogurt and even those tiny little nutritional nothings called Gerber Puffs. But she is avoiding nursing- almost like it is painful. This is especially hard (for both of us) because it has always been a surefire way to comfort her. Now we have to do a lot of walking and bouncing and shushing and more walking- and she is not a tiny baby! My back is aching. But so is my heart. For those of you mommas who nurse, you know how precious that time is with your little one. It breaks my heart to think that this special snuggle stage is over. Not to mention the worries about dehydration!

I'll admit, I've been discouraged. I prayed about it and seemed to have no response. But then last night, at bed time, she fussed and I couldn't walk it out of her. I laid down with her on my bed, and she wanted to nurse! Even if this was the last time, I'm so thankful to have had that moment with my little one.

Update: It took a few days to get back on track, and she refused to nurse a few more times, but I'm happy to report that Lydia is nursing again. I'm so relieved and thankful to have some more of that precious bonding time with my girl.

Song for Sunday

With Lydia sick and needing extra TLC, Hannah has been snuggling in and watching quite a few VHS tapes in our bedroom lately- including Prince of Egypt. It was a tough one to explain to a three-year-old! But I did rediscover a fun song. Here are the lyrics:

A single thread in a tapestry
Through its color brightly shine
Can never see its purpose
In the pattern of the grand design

And the stone that sits on the very top
Of the mountain's mighty face
Does it think it's more important
Than the stones that form the base?

So how can you see what your life is worth
Or where your value lies?
You can never see through the eyes of man
You must look at your life through heaven's eyes

A lake of gold in the desert sand
Is less than a cool fresh spring
And to one lost sheep, a shepherd boy
Is greater than the richest king
If a man lose ev'rything he owns
Has he truly lost his worth?
Or is it the beginning
Of a new and brighter birth?

So how do you measure the worth of a man
In wealth or strength or size?
In how much he gained or how much he gave?
The answer will come
The answer will come to him who tries
To look at his life through heaven's eyes

And that's why we share all we have with you
Though there's little to be found
When all you've got is nothing
There's a lot to go around

No life can escape being blown about
By the winds of change and chance
And though you never know all the steps
You must learn to join the dance

So how do you judge what a man is worth
By what he builds or buys?
You can never see with your eyes on earth
Look through heaven's eyes
Look at your life
Look at your life
Look at your life through heaven's eyes