Ever just had one of those days???? I am so, I can't even put a name on it. I am seriously in a bad case of the I don't give a rat's .... today. We had this super cool cookout here last night and had some friends over for a hot dog roast, but today, I woke up not feeling well and have decided that my mood (hopefully) is just an extension of that.

I love my family. But they are on my last nerve today. For no reason that I can think of. Maybe it's PMS. I sure hope it's PMS.

Somebody tell me a good joke to drag me up outta these doldrums.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!!!

Sixteen years ago, I stood in a church, in a beautiful (borrowed) wedding gown and a beautiful veil (my mother made for me). I stood next to a wonderful man. Sexy, adventurous, loving, and hard working man.
We stood before our families and made a commitment to a marriage.
We stood and proclaimed our love for each other. And at the time, we truly believed we knew what that really was.
Now, 16 years later, we have been through good times and bad times. Flush and bust. Loving and not so loving times. He survived three pregnancies (and yes ladies, we know it can be a matter of survival for the man when we are so hormonal).
We have changed over these years. We weigh more, our hair is grayer, we aren't quite so adventuresome anymore. Not quite as sexy as we were back then.
That being said, I still love you as much, if not more than I did that day.
Here's to us, baby!!!! I love you!!

Dear Santa,

I know that it is a little early to start this letter writing business, but I wanted to get my list in a little early.

After spending the day using a friends' borrowed carpet cleaner, I would like to have, for myself, a Bissell Pro Heat 2X 9500. (See picture below).

I also would like to have a Hamilton Beach stand mixer. It's not for myself, you see, my family needs me to have these two things. And I have been somewhat good this year. I certainly have tried. Does that count?

P.S. I am aware that there is no way on this green earth that I am going to get these things for my Christmas. But a girl can wish, can't she?

Hope y'all have a good rest of the week.

I have been absent from blogging for a while. Sorry, I know that my fan base was waiting with bated breath hoping for an update. However, I have been swamped. Between middle child's football career and this baby's talent show preparation, it has been a madhouse.
She did great by the way. Sat there at that piano and performed like a little girl. It was wonderful.
The boys football career for this year is winding down. Last game night after tomorrow. And then he wants to play soccer. WHAT? That's right, soccer. Can't wait for that season to begin. I think I should just put a stove and refrigerator in the truck and be done with it.
BUT seriously, thank you Lord for children that are healthy enough to participate. Y'all have a blessed week.

I am so having a Monday........

Good Monday morning everyone. Just got to vent a little, so please just bear with me, cause I really need advice.

Got up to take my little girl to school today. And the back tire on my truck was flat as a pancake. SHOOT!!!!! Had to call and wake up my MIL to come and take us to the school.

This past Friday, my little darling came home scratching her head. And you guessed it. I found pediculosis in her hair. For us common people, pediculosis means lice. EEEEEEEEWWWWWW!!!!! Now this is our first go round with the little buggers and I have to tell you, I'm freaking exhausted. I spent Friday night, Saturday night, Sunday and Sunday night treating our home (with sprays) and washing clothes and bed linens and pillows (in only HOT water). Couches, chairs, car seats, anything I could think of, I sprayed it. Soft toys, in the dryer for 20 minutes on the high heat setting. I been a busy woman.
I am still relatively new to this area and probably have not gotten all the politics just down pat yet. But, as a mother, I thought that I should notify the school nurse that we had treated her. So, SHE could check the other children in the class and notify parents that there had been a child with nits/lice in their childs' classroom. That way, they would have the heads up and would be checking their kids for the next 10 days (since that is the incubation period). The school nurse found a couple of nits that I missed in the 47 times I pikked her hair this weekend. That is totally cool. I don't want her there perpetuating a cycle of nit/lice in that classroom for the rest of the school year.
As a parent, I asked the school nurse if I had the right to ask the school to check the other students in her classroom. I didn't ask for names or to even be notified if they found any. Just asked them to check the other students, so we can stop this before it becomes anything. Well, the school nurse told me that, "NO, I didnt' have the right to request the other children be checked". See the color of these words? Yeah, that's what I was seeing when I left that school. Not only did she tell me I didn't have the right to request the other children be checked. But that she didn't have the time. There were 700 students and only one of her. That if I wanted to get her some help, she'd be happy to check them.
#1...I didn't ask her to check the entire school. Just 18 students. Surely she can manage that. #2...Doesn't she want to stop this before it gets started? #3...What the ham sandwich??
Anyway, I got my girl back home and have begun the tedious treatment of all linens, pillows, blankets, clothing. Retreated the hair, now waiting to re pik it. Vacuuming the house, again. I guess this hit me the wrong way because I'm so exhausted from treating the house this weekend.
I mean, come on. Help me out here. Am I expecting too much from her school? Seriously!!! I don't want to know who has nits/lice. But how hard would it be to send a note home and tell the other parents to be on the look out? That's just common courtesy, right?
Well, thanks for letting me rant. Oh, I did call the school principal's secretary (where the real power lies) and explained to her what I wanted the school to do and why I thought it should be done. Well, now....isn't it interesting that their policy is to check the classroom of the child affected? So, she called me back several hours after I called her. The class has been checked. She didn't offer, nor would I ask if anyone else was affected by this scourge. I'm just happy that they checked them.
So, weigh in on this issue.....how did you treat your kids? What's the best way to make sure you get all the nits the first time? Do you think I was wrong to call the school?
Looking forward to hearing from you.

This is my favorite time of year here on the farm. This is a picture of our front hayfield. It has been cut for the last time this year. I love riding around this place seeing and smelling the freshly cut hay.

The weather has finally broken and we only reached a high of 83 degrees today. I know, it's not cool by most standards, but after the oppressive heat that we had for so many days this summer, what a blessing it is.

The first calf of the season was born day before yesterday. I haven't gotten an opportunity to see it yet, but you can bet that this weekend, I'm gonna be spending some time riding through the ladies (as I call our cows) and trying to get a peek at this little youngster who was so anxious to get here. The ladies aren't supposed to start giving birth until the middle of November.

I love the new babies. Can't help myself.

I hope that each of you has had a good week and is looking forward to a restful weekend.

I mentioned in my last post that my favorite casserole was for a Chicken Cordon Blue type casserole. Well, several of you have asked for the recipe, so I'm gonna give it to you, right now.......
I'm sorry to say that I hand wrote this out and cannot remember where I got the recipe for it, I'm sure it was off the internet. So, whoever created this recipe, you ROCK, just let me say that, okay?
What you will need:

* 2 lbs of chicken breast - cubed
* Bread Crumbs
* 1 egg
* 1/2 cup milk
* 8 oz. swiss cheese - cubed
* 8 oz. ham - cubed
* 1 can (10 3/4 oz) cream of chicken soup
* 1 cup milk

Whisk together the 1 egg and 1/2 cup of milk. Dip chicken chunks in egg mixture and then into the bread crumbs until thoroughly coated. Brown these in a little oil until golden.

Place chunks in a baking dish (9 X 13), add cubes of swiss and ham.
Mix cream of chicken soup with 1 cup of milk; mix well. Pour all over the chicken, swiss, and ham in the baking dish. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees or until tender and bubbly.

Really, this is a fabulous dish. This recipe takes a little time. If you are interested in a short cut way, look for the recipes on line that use stuffing mix.

I hope you all enjoy this yummy casserole. Anyone else got a recipe they want to share? I'd love to hear what your favorite casserole type dish is and to have you share your recipe with me.