sooo... where did spring go?

It never fails.. we get a day or 2 of reeeeeeelly nice weather.. just enough to get you started on some outdoor home maintenance, get bit by a bug or 8, break out your sandals when the temp. drops to 40 degrees and your stuck digging out your warm socks again.

Here in Laurie land we are wrapping up our first homeschool year with a play that we are going to put on for my in-laws, "Who's in Rabbit's House?". The kids really love this story and I'm rather partial to it myself. It should be a fun way to end the year.

I am always really amused by the reactions I get from people when I tell them we homeschool I think most people are in the mindset of "homeschooler= religious nutjob" and that is SO not the case with us. Yes, we have our faith but honestly I have a hard time fitting it into one religion and am not really into condeming people to hell, so Church is a hard thing for us. We homeschool because my son was not functioning well in public school.. he was frustrated and angry and he kept getting hurt by children with behavior disorders that were never punished. My dh and I decided we would try it and it's worked out extremely well. Also, I am WEIRD.. I LIKE being with my kids. Sure, I need the night out like anyone sahm, but I would have a nervous breakdown leaving them to go to work.On the other side, I know several good Moms who tell me they are better Moms working. I think everyone is different and doing what is best for your family is the main priority, not fitting into a stereotype. So I guess I'll put up with the comments and weird looks. Bla.

As some of you know, this is an extremely exciting summer for my family.. we are taking our first trip to DisneyWorld in June!! I have to say, materialistic or not, this has been a dream of mine since before I ever had kids, and it will be the highlight of the summer.. if not the year. If anyone out there (assuming anyone actually reads this) has any tips as far as rides, etc. for kids 4-6 I sure would appreciate 'em! My older son REEEEALLY wants to ride "Dinosaur" but frankly it looks a tad scary for me.. not that I'm a wuss or anything.. well maybe). Any thoughts?

well, I'm having all my in-laws over for supper tonight so I should tend to my pasta sauce. Here is to warmer weather!

The reason I still live in IL....

.. is weather like today! Ahhhhh... I love waking up to the sun in my window and actually NOT freezing my toes off as I get out of bed in the morning. It is supposed to get up to 70 today.. rock on!

So I wanted to talk about something that has been making me nut lately.. I am suffering from a bad case of baby fever. My internal clock has been ticking at me lately.. so loudly that it drowns out other parts of my thinking such as logical though and reality. I want to have another baby lately, buuuuuuuut there is a small problem. I had a tubal 4 1/2 years ago.

I did it (the tubal that is) for stupid, hormonal reasons.. I had a difficult pregnancy that no one could explain to me with my youngest and I was on bed rest for MONTHS. I was tired, cranky and super hormonal and I made a BAD choice that was a suggestion from my OB that I regretted almost immediately. No one mentioned the depression, mood swings, and grief that follow a tubal before I had it, and now thanks to the world wide web I now know the vast amount of woman that suffer because of it.

My OB was great with my first pregnancy but his practice was EXTREMELY busy during my second. He often told me how "tired" he was and "overworked". I honestly think he just wanted to get rid of one more OB patient and figured this was one way to get rid of me.

So anywho, having another baby is not impossible, but it would be slightly harder than before to say the least.

Also, there is the little thing about my hubby on being entirely on board.:)

He and I both go back and forth and back and forth about it... I worry that if we did have another, I'd just get this feeling again when that child turned 5 or so. Sigh. I really don't want to beat the Duggart's so just continuing to have babies isn't really an option.

Anyone else have this problem?

Back to reality, here is a great spring time recipe that uses the good 'ol crock pot (I don't care how many time Oprah calls it a slow cooker.. it's a freakin' crock pot) It goes perfect with this nice weather! Hope everyone enjoys their Friday!


Caribbean Chicken
3 lbs. chicken pieces (mixture of dark and white meat)1 tbsp. oil4 potatoes, cubed3 tomatoes, chopped1 onion, chopped1 green pepper, chopped1 clove garlic, minced1 tbsp. brown sugar1 tsp. ground ginger1 tsp. pepper1/4 tsp. cayenne1/4 tsp. dried thyme1/4 tsp. salt1/2 cup chicken broth1 1/2 cups coconut milkTo reduce the fat, remove the skin from the dark meat. In a skillet, brown the chicken in oil over medium-high heat.Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken to the slow cooker, and add the potatoes and tomatoes to the slow cooker.Add the onion, green pepper, garlic, brown sugar, ginger, pepper, cayenne, thyme and salt to the skillet and cook over medium-high heat for 3 minutes.Stir the broth into the skillet, then transfer the mixture to the slow cooker. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or on high for 3 to 4 hours. Stir in the coconut milk and cook for an additional 30 minutes on low. Serves 4Tip: This is a relatively mild version of Caribbean Chicken, so if you'd like to spice it up, double or triple the cayenne.

HELLLLLLLOOOO Internet!

Okay.. I'm back and have done some spring cleaning. I felt like I was trying too hard to be like all the other blogs out there and it just wasn't working for me, so hopefully you like the changes! So who isn't diggin' the nicer weather? I can't wait for summer... cookouts, sangria, no coats, ahhhh. :) I have been trying to clean our house in spirit of the nicer weather and I can't help but wonder where all the "stuff" comes from.. we have so much crap that we never use or even worse that is broken. I blame the dollar stores. I love the dollar store (really.. where else can you buy underwear and oil for your car for $2.00?) but my sons see all the junk and at the time I think "It's only $1" and before I know it we have 200 broken plastic boats. We are having neighbors over for dinner tonight and I am making Pizzas. We have pizza at least once a week around here and as far as I'm concerned, making it yourself is the way to go. Let's see.. $20.00 or $4.00.. hmmmm.... Laurie's Pizza crust: 1 cup of warm water 1/4 cup olive oil 1 TBSP salt 3 1/2 cups of flour 2 TBSP of yeast Dump it in your bread machine on the dough setting and you are ready to rock. I cook my pizzas at 500 Degrees for 8 min, but any pizza recipe with work just fine. That's it for now.. stay tuned for more exciting adventures with Laurie :)