Scars Are Souvenirs You Never Lose

This is the hat that Steitler was wearing when he and Maddie tripped over each other as they raced across the concrete floor outside IKEA. Notice the ribbing along the brim, now picture it branded on his forehead. Luckily, the hat took some of the impact as his forehead bounced off the concrete. A concussion was confirmed on Monday, most likely caused by lingering effects of a previous head trauma. Today he is feeling much better. Maddie sustained a bruised elbow and is fine. She did suggest that Steitler "should wear his bike helmet everywhere if he can't quit hitting his head." And yes, she did say it with one hand on her hip.

Uno

Tasty Tuesday

Baked Potato Soup

INGREDIENTS
12 slices bacon
2/3 cup margarine
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
7 cups milk
4 large baked potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 green onions, chopped
1 1/4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS
Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium heat until browned. Drain, crumble, and set aside.
In a stock pot or Dutch oven, melt the margarine over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Gradually stir in milk, whisking constantly until thickened. Stir in potatoes and onions. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Mix in bacon, cheese, sour cream, salt, and pepper. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until cheese is melted.
* I make this soup without the bacon and it is delicious!*

Saturday

This is our ferry ride from Seattle to Kingston on the way home.

Saturday

Ikea!

Seattle

Saturday

Snow in the morning Navy Shipyard
Narrow Straits Bridge - old and new - check out the crane on the top Ben says all of these green beams were hauled up off of barges by cranes and put in place.

#4

Happy Birthday Tabetha!!!

Thursday

Maddie and Steitler showing off school projects. If you look very closely, you can see white buildings across the water. That is Victoria, British Columbia. I took these pictures off our deck and zoomed in.

Tuesday

Maddie's class celebrated 100 days of kindergarten!
x-boxing before bed

How Does This Work?!

Okay - I know it sounds a tad confusing - I only linked myself from The Family Thread as an example. It took about 3 minutes to enter the recipe and link it.

Using Blogger posts as example:

1. Post your recipe just like any other post.
2. Open your page back up and click on the title of your post. Highlight the address in the top bar, go to Edit, then Copy.
3. Come back here and enter your name and the name of the recipe on the NAME line.
example: evie - (shredded pork tacos)
4. Enter the link to your post by clicking Edit, then Paste.
5. Then hit enter - if it does not work - just try again.

To read the recipes, just click on the person's link.

Email me if you need further explanation.

Enjoy! From now on - every Tuesday will be Tasty Tuesday!

Tasty Tuesdays

Tasty Tuesdays are here. Well, I realize it is late on Tuesday but it took me a while to learn how to do auto-linking.
Post a delicious recipe on your site and then link from here every Tuesday! Delish!

Overheard

So APPARENTLY I nag Ben about locking the car when we go in to a store.

e: Did you lock the car?

B: (with a roll of the eyes) No I left it unlocked and flipped on the neon PURSE INSIDE sign.

Before and After

This is Toad's bed that we acquired from the Theatre's yard sale.
This is the finished "couch" for the playroom.

Port Townsend

We went to Port Townsend on Sunday and stopped by the shipyard where Ben proceeded to tell me all about this family that he met who spent 8 months of the year fishing in Alaska. Kids and all. I am not sure if this was a "that would be awesome" discussion or not and I am certainly not asking.

Shout Out

What are the odds that I was wearing these socks while reading this today?

La La La

Sing - a - long this morning before school - (note the microphones)

Bremerton

Road Trip

When traffic is stopped on the highway, here are some rules.

1. Take pictures of each other.

2. Take pictures of each other making funny faces at the cars beside us.
3. Sing at the top of your lungs with your Mom - who incidentally, knows every word.
4. Not pictured - dance up and down as much as the seat belt will allow.

Valentine's Dinner

Be Mine

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in my heart)
i am never without it(anywhere i go you go,my dear;
and whatever is done by only me is your doing, my darling)
i fear no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)
i want no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is the deepest secret nobody knows(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;
which grows higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart
i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart) - E.E. Cummings