She don't know

that she spoke at Awana's tonight! When we went to pick up the Genius her teacher said she told a new teacher her name! He confirmed that he knew who she was because she said her first name out loud. I was on cloud 5 million and 33. But on the ride home she confirmed that she was doing her name in sign language and did not speak. So we are guessing she said her name and just did not realize it. But since it is the first time in 6 years that she has ever told a stranger her name. I don't really care! I am believing that it has GOT to be a sign that she is getting less anxious and that maybe all this therapy is helping her Selective Mutism! We go to the therapist tomorrow and I can get her take on all this!

Fetch

I will let these photos speak for themselves.

What is up?

I am so disappointed in the producers of "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs". It has a PG rating. It is also the number 1 movie, or was last week. We wanted to take our girls to go see it. It looked so cute and imaginative. But alas, we hit up www.pluggedinonline.com and read the review. They added a curse word to it. Making it totally inappropriate to take our children to. Very disappointing and totally unnecessary. I am noticing a trend though. "Where the Wild Things Are" is being made into a movie and they also have a PG rating for "animated violence and brief language". Have the producers lost track of who their audience is? What is going on around here? The reviewer of the first movie hit the nail on the head when he said something to the effect of, "Does anyone really want their children running around screaming, 'Get me out of this h***hole." I think not. They are both movies that we would have gone to and supported but now we won't. I wish more producers would take their cues from movies like "Up", "Kit Kitridge" and EVEN "Hannah Montana the movie". We don't let our girls watch the Hannah Montana show but the movie kept true to it's G rating. I don't know if anyone in the movie industry would ever be reading my blog, but if they do, please, please make more rated G movies without mean words, language and sexual innuendos. We will support you!

Field Trip Friday

Today we took a trip! We went to a place that makes soap. It was fun and smelled SO good! We got some free samples and I bought some all natural bug spray. So far...I have zero mosquito bites and was outside for an hour or longer! Then I took the girls to a train museum. It was on the small side but we had fun there too. We finished a wonderful day with some pizza and "Lassie".

Laser Surgery

The Genius had her first laser surgery today. I was not quite prepared for how bruised she would be afterwards. She was very loopy afterwards! Tonight she is back to her normal self though. Hard to believe it has been almost 3 months since that awful, awful night. Please pray for the healing on her nose and we are still praying for 100% scar free.

Wordless Wednesday

Pretty noses

I was prepping the Genius today for her upcoming surgery this week. I wanted her to know it was coming but not too far in advance. The doctor had done a real good job of explaining it to her, but we went over it again. I asked how she felt and she said, "I think I am a little bit excited and a little bit scared. I am scared because my nose might turn purple and excited because soon my bump (her word for the scar) will be gone and no one will ever ask me about it again." I reminded her that her nose turning purple meant it was healing and that it will take several surgeries and several follow up appointments. She was taking it in stride when the Hippie blurts out, "Well, I am MAD! Sissy will have a pretty purple nose and mine will be plain blonde." Kids. Ya gotta love 'em!

Souper Yummy!

Below is the recipe. I found it online but then made a few changes. First, I used olive oil in place of corn oil. I used 3 sweet potatoes and only peeled about 2/3 of each potatoe. I used most of the small can of tomatoe paste and did not use any shallot. I added about 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper as well to give it some kick. Now my husband and I hate sweet potatoes but we wanted to try them in a new way because of their health benefits. This is one of the best soups I have ever had!!! We LOVED it! It perfect for fall and I would love to have it on a snowy day. Yum! Let me know if you try it!


* 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
* 1 tablespoon corn oil
* salt and pepper to taste
*
* 1 (12 ounce) package frozen corn kernels, thawed
* 1 cup water
* 1 tablespoon corn oil
* 1 1/2 cups finely diced celery
* 1 cup diced red onion
* 1/4 cup shallot, minced
* 1 tablespoon tomato paste
* 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
* 3 cups vegetable broth
* 1 bay leaf
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 potato, peeled and cubed
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley



1. Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Place the sweet potatoes into a 9x13 inch baking dish, drizzle with 1 tablespoon of corn oil, and season with salt and pepper. Stir to coat the sweet potatoes in oil.
2. Roast in the preheated oven until the sweet potatoes are golden and tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir occasionally as they cook so the sweet potatoes cook evenly.
3. Meanwhile, measure out 1 cup of corn kernels and set aside. Place the remaining corn into a blender, and puree with the water until smooth; set aside.
4. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of corn oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the celery, onion, and shallot. Cook and stir until the onion has softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and dried thyme leaves; cook 1 minute more. Pour in the vegetable broth, corn puree, bay leaf, salt, and cubed potato. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the potato is tender, 25 to 35 minutes.
5. Once the potato is tender, remove and discard the bay leaf. Stir in the whole corn kernels, sweet potato, and chopped parsley. Return to a simmer and season to taste with salt and pepper before serving.

Celebration

The Hippie is now 5 and has had an incredible birthday! She and the Genius got homemade dresses from their grandma. She got a horse watch, a horse shirt, a horse wallet, a new barbie, some miniature horses (anyone sensing a theme???) and a few other gifts! I made her a cake and her requested meal. My parents came down and we all hit a Japanese steak house. Both girls were quite impressed! I forgot to mention that for the Hippie's main gift we filled their little pool with sand! She was very, very happy!

Home Decor

I am so excited!!!! On our summer vacation to Michigan I snapped a photo of the girls. The one you see here. We loved that picture and I wanted it blown up. Well, we did it! We used kodak.com for the print, got a frame on clearance and had the matting done here locally. The picture itself is 20x30! The pictures do not do it justice but I still had to share! It is beautiful!

Something new?

Tell me what you know about this. Rapid Eye Movement Therapy. The girls doctor wants to try it and see if we can kick this dog phobia. Also, for the Hippie....ever since the attack she is terrified of doctors. Loves dogs, hates doctors. I have researched it and I see no issues with the therapy. I am not sure I believe it will work, but I don't see it doing any harm. I don't think that it goes against the Bible. But gathering opinions or information is always great! So please comment!

What's for Dinner?

On their birthday's the girls get to choose what they want me to make. It amuses me the choices they make. I think for the Genius's birthday she chose this pasta dish that we all love. The Hippie makes, um, interesting choices. Our dinner menu for the day of her birthday.
1. Ramen Noodles
2. Watermelon
3. These crescent rolls I make with cheese inside them
and of course her cake! I was laughing when she placed her "order"! I guess we will have one fancy meal this week! =)

Pics of the new place AND a $1 deal

In no particular order....
Pics of the living room, girls room, guest room, and the view up the stairs.
The mirror hanging in the girls room.... I found it at a garage sale for $1!!! I cleaned it up and hung it up. It is actually one of those things that you set on a dresser to hold your brush etc.... Then we picked up the flower coat hangers for .99! Pretty cute!

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

I cannot remember if I blogged about the surprise we had for the girls or not. But we got a great deal on a little cedar cottage at Sam's. Yes, we did skip church today because we are all having coughs and colds and feeling kinda crummy. But my sweet husband spent about 7 hours putting together this cottage today. The girls were just so excited and helped him quite a bit. Getting into the spirit of things I snuck away into the kitchen and made some cupcakes. We then had a ribbon cutting ceremony for the girls. Enjoy the pics!