Where oh where has the school year gone???

I was just adding a few more "end of year" things to my google calendar (that is filling up fast) and I was honestly SHOCKED to see that the kids only have 7 days of school left????  Where has the time gone?  I'm not ready for summer, but I guess I'd better hurry and GET ready.  (planning out summer job charts, family fun time, daily routines, etc...)  Yes, I realize that if my past track record holds true, the amazing summer schedules I come up with will only be followed for a short time, because I usually get tired of enforcing them, but who knows, maybe this year will be different.

I've got the two older children signed up for summer swim team.  We have our family pass to the new and fabulous rec center...  We have a family vacation to Montana in the beginning planning stages, and Tim and I will be going on our cruise to Alaska.  Tim will be taking the 11 year old scouts on a camp out or two, Aaron will have some weekend camp-outs plus a week long camp, plus maybe youth conference (not sure if they are going with the 12 - 18 ages  or the 14 - 18yr olds....)  Aaron is also working on his hiking merit badge right now, in which he must do 5, 10 mile hikes, plus a twenty miler.  To date he has completed two of his 10 milers.

It should be a busy fun summer, and I expect in just a few months I will be sitting here, in shock again, wondering where my summer went and how it can possibly be time to go back to school...    

mother's day poem

Katrina wrote this poem for me for Mother's Day.  (types just as she typed it)

MOTHERS by Katrina Mellor for my mom

Mothers are special in all that they do - 
they cook and they clean and they buy us new shoes
Mothers they love us in rain and in shine - 
they're loving and pretty and always kind
Mothers smell like roses and sweets
like lilacs and lilies and candy treats
EVEN THOUGH ALL MOTHERS ARE DEAR -
MY MOMS THE BEST THE ONE WHOSE RIGHT HERE!

Swimming?? or just all wet??

My friend Bambi (and "adopted" grandma to our kids) is staying at a hotel nearby, and she invited us to come swimming tonight for FHE.  The kids were all excited, got their homework done quickly, and by 7 were all dressed and ready to go.  Tim went downstairs on his way to the car and heard dripping sounds.  SURPRISE... we had a broken pipe and a bunch of wet carpet.

We postponed our swimming activity to tomorrow night, and Tim is downstairs replacing the broken section of pipe and outdoor water spigot.  Fun stuff eh?

I suppose I should go down and see if he needs any help....  Oh wait - I think I hear water re-filling the pipes.  I think I'll stay here in my nice warm bed instead.

Yummy AND low Calorie

last night for dinner I tried a new recipe that I got from "deals to meals."  (that is a paid subscription site where each week she sees what's on sale, compares the ads to find you the best prices, and plans meals that incorporate the sale items.)  I don't always love all of her meal suggestions, in fact his past week, I only chose to follow 3 of the 7, and this particular recipe, I wasn't sure I would like, but I am so glad I tried it. When I figured out the general calorie count, I went from "ya, this is pretty good" to "THIS IS AWESOME!"

So I'll share the recipe (plus then I'll be able to find it again should I need it:

credit for picture also goes to dealstomeals.com

 Mediterranean Chicken Pita Pockets (or wraps)

1 pkg. pita bread with pockets or tortilla wraps
2 1/2 t. white vinegar
1 T. lemon juice
1 1/2 T. oregano
1 1/2 t. thyme
1/4 t. black pepper & 1/2 t. salt
1/4 c. olive oil
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tomatoes, diced/sliced to go in pita
1/2 head lettuce, shopped fine
3/4 c. feta cheese
Sauce:
1/2 c. plain yogurt
1 T. cucumber, grated
1 T. lemon juice
Salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste
2 t. dill


Combine 2 ½ t. vinegar, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, salt, pepper.  Slowly whisk in oil. Pour mixture over chicken breasts in a crock pot. Let chicken cook on low-medium heat until chicken is tender and you can break it into large pieces.
Cut the tomatoes into thin slices.
Chop the lettuce.
For the sauce, combine yogurt, grated cucumber, garlic, dill, salt, pepper, and lemon juice together. Place
some of the chicken mixture, tomatoes, feta, lettuce and sauce in each pita. (If you do not want to crock pot your chicken you can just cut the chicken into cubes and sauté until cooked through with lemon
and seasonings).

When I plugged in the ingredients into My Fitness Pal (as close as I could with it's semi-flawed recipe system) it came out to roughly: per serving - 181 (cal) 8 (carbs) 11 (fat) 16 (protein) 2 (fiber) 4 (sugar) 

My kids didn't love the meal.  they ate it, but only because they couldn't have any chips until they had eaten 1/2 of their sandwich. (that earned them 1/2 of their bag (single serving size) to get the rest of the bag, they had to finish the sandwich.)  Tim and I each had 2 sandwiches.  I would guess that this recipe should make 8 servings, at least it did for us and that's what I figured the nutritional values on.  I used a quart size bottle of chicken, and just heated it up in a little oil (to prevent sticking) with the seasonings.  I also cut an extra tomato, since we all like them.  the kid's big hang up was the Feta cheese.  Apparently they all don't care for the flavor of it.

there you go - ENJOY!