Cravings

Cravings

You'd think after eight pregnancies, cravings would be old hat. The strange thing is, I really never had cravings per se during my other pregnancies. I've always been so sick that I struggled just to think of something that sounded good. I'm sure there was a time or two when something sounded good, but definitely not like now. I've already sent Greg on two craving runs and Chey on one.

Last night, at 9:00 pm, I had a strong craving for crunchy tacos. First of all, I DON'T eat at 9:00 at night, period. I tried to fight the urge, but finally gave in and asked Greg to make me a couple of tacos...we had leftover taco fixings from a previous dinner. But, when he went to fry the shells, to my dismay, we were out of corn tortillas. Oh man! I was all geared up for these tacos. But never fear, my sweet Greg got in the car and headed to Taco Cabana. Craving satisfied.

So my next craving was completely shameless. Why, you ask? Well, we were in the middle of worship today when I just HAD to have a Quiznos sandwich. I was beginning to feel a bit more queasy and knew I needed to eat something. Upon telling Cheyenne (my 17 year old driver) of my plight, she offered to go and get me a sandwich. How shameless is that??? Sending your daughter in the middle of service to get a sandwich. That's the low of all lows. It sure was good though! But next Sunday, I'll be more prepared by bringing a snack from home to tide me over. I promise Pastor Dirk! ;-)

Well, this afternoon, it hit again! At about 3:30, I was suddenly struck with a desperate need for fried chicken. I usually only eat fried chicken about once a year.....but I had to have it. So off my sweet husband went.....and boy was it good. The kids were happy too! ;-)

I don't know whether to be glad or irritated about these cravings. On one hand, I'm so thankful to actually crave something for a change, as opposed to being so sick that nothing sounds good. On the other hand, we certainly can't afford to be satisfying my every whim...this will surely get expensive. Not to mention, I certainly don't need all those extra calories.

My only solution is to exercise a bit of self control. No fun, I know....but I can do it. I can do it. I can do it! Ohhhhh lemonade.....I wonder if Greg's up to going to the store......

And so it begins...

Where's Genevieve?

So, Friday night we were at a function that was fairly crowded. As we were leaving, we were making sure all the kids were right beside us as to not get lost in the crowd. As I take a quick glance around, I don't see Genevieve. In a panic, I say to Greg and the older girls, "Where's Genevieve?" They looked at me in disbelief and let me know that she was right "there". Right where? I was HOLDING HER HAND!

Sheesh!

Meatball Stroganoff

A Quick and Easy Dinner Recipe

We've just recenlty stumbled upon this recipe and have enjoyed it several times. Our menus consist of a variety of meals ranging in difficulty level. This is by far one of the easiest meals and the whole family loves it. Give it a try!

Meatball Stroganoff

2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup
1 cup Sour Cream
2 cups mushrooms (optional), sliced and sauted in butter
40 Meatballs (we buy a 6 lb bag, fully cooked, from Sams: Casa Di Bertacchi)
Egg Noodles

In pot or large saucepan, mix together soup and sour cream. Stir in mushrooms (we've even just dumped in a can or jar of mushrooms when we didn't have fresh on hand and it tasted fine) and meatballs. Simmer until meatballs are heated through. Serve over hot egg noodles or rice, tossed with butter and parsley if desired. Serves 8-10.

We usually serve this with a salad. Hope you like it....and that it saves you a little time in the kitchen. :-)

California Trip

Snippets of Our Trip to CA

Celeste, Jonathan, and I took a week's long trip to CA. I wish the whole family could have gone, but we had a good time, anyway. It was so special getting to spend time with my grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and my brother and his sweet family. It was especially exciting for Celeste since she was able to experience her first airplane ride. Here she is with Jonathan just before boarding the plane.

Since our camera has been out of commission, Celeste was our vacation photographer. She really captured some terrific shots. Below is Half Dome, my favorite mountain in the world. Perhaps it is because it's so unique, or just plain breathtaking, or maybe climbing it when I was fifteen has something to do with it. Whatever the draw, I just love it and never tire of seeing it!

We drove up to Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park (one of my favorite places on earth). We made it there just in time to watch the sun set. Breathtaking. This photo below is the Diving Board (left) and Yosemite Falls in the distance. You may have seen a couple of famous photos of the Diving Board involving people. In the old days, people would do handstands on this outcropping; DO NOT ATTEMPT SUCH FOOLHARDY STUNTS! YOU WILL DIE! As a matter of fact, people have died, whether on accident or on purpose.....it's a 3000 ft plunge to the Valley Floor from Glacier Point. OUCH!

We're the handful of family who made the trip. My Aunt Julia is taking the photo. The back row begins with my sweet sister, Angel, and my wonderful dad. In the front, we have little ol' me, my beautiful Celeste, and my awesome Uncle Andy. If you look real hard, you can see the top of Jonathan's head at the bottom. ;-)

Okay, so I know this is hardly an adequate number of photos to come out of a family reunion vacation, but I still need to go through all of them and label them, etc., etc., etc. I'll try to get to that soon since I have loads of free time with nothing to do. ;-)