[flickr id=”5968346721″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]A cool day here.
A cool day there.
Slowly fall creeps in.
Backpacks are full.
Teachers prepping their rooms.
Schedules in hand.
But still we linger.
The heat holds on tight.
The pools still beckon.
Despite kids’ best hopes
The days get shorter.
And school is set to start.
Pools will be closed.
Shorts and suits put away.
Books & Pencils rule again.
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(L – top to bottom. Cheese cutouts, Peanut Butter w/ banana strips. R – top to bottom. Peanut butter w/ orange marmalade folds, PB & grape jelly rolls, Nutella rolls.
Even my teen will make his own version of this for himself. Riley, the pickiest eater of them all, cleans her plate when I make this kid-friendly sushi. Since it was requested on twitter…I thought I’d post how I make them. And it’s super simple…and to be honest I got the idea from Pinterest and ran with it.
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First, the supplies. Bread (1 slice makes 4 mini-rolls), a rolling pin, whatever fillings/toppings you want.
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Cut off the crust (I keep mine to feed the birds) and roll the bread flat, or cut into strips.
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Get your toppings on your bread. For fun I used a mini cookie cutter to cut the banana for some of the strips, and for others I just cut it in half and length-wise. I used my leftovers for a bowl of cereal 😉
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Roll them. I rolled some in spirals. I’ve read that you should roll these tight, but w/ the jelly I actually roll loose otherwise all of the jelly is squished out. For the orange marmalade I rolled in both sides and then folded to the middle (securing with a small strip of peanut butter between the two edges).
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Last but not least for a little extra fun I used some little cutters I had lying around to cut out shapes in cheese (I nibbled on the scraps).
Usually I make less sushi and include some small strips of carrots for a well rounded meal. My kids totally scarf these down faster than you can blink.
Some other ideas I have yet to try, but plan to…
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Tomorrow we have an appointment for CF Clinic.
I don’t want to go.
I don’t want to hear what she has decided for my kids this time.
After the ‘new’ and ‘definitive’ test.
After the genetics counselor.
After so much hell.
I’m tired.
Of doctors.
Of tests.
Of changing diagnoses.
After the last appointment (w/ genetics) I declared I was done. I never wanted to take any of them to a doctor again.
But I will.
I will find that strength again.
I will listen again.
And make sense of their decision.
And put trust in her because she is their doctor.
But I will still be tired.
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In winter it was the ice storm that froze everything inches deep.
That led into the spring so wet it rained almost every day and flooded out our yard, the park, and everything in between.
To now. Record making and breaking stretches of intense heat so bad you can’t sit outside without breaking a sweat.
A few average days would be nice.
Maybe the kids would stop killing each other.
Everyone would relax.
School starts in a week.
I feel like we’ve had no summer. No vacation.
Pent up in this house for so long.
Cabin fever has been building incessantly.
[flickr id=”5469640207″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”] I’ve been a little distracted lately. I found Pinterest (dangerous)…and made quite a few recipes I’ve found there (again…dangerous). Been baking. Cooking. Cutting back on my pop intake. Cutting back on my food intake. Exercising. Making daily to-do lists.
And READING.
And more READING.
Lots of READING.
I know I go through phases and all of this could go away…but I’m hoping most of it sticks. With school starting in a little over a week I’ll need my to-do lists to get everything done in my few hours/week that I’m free.
And really, the reading…it’s so much fun.
[flickr id=”5968903266″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have really lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love. ~Henry Drummond
Life has been so stressful lately. Riley is struggling. Brandon is prepping for Cross Country, doing scouts, and trying to squeeze in as much as he can to what remains of summer vacation. It has been SO hot we’ve been as trapped as we were during the freezing winter and soaking spring.
So I look to the in-betweens. The little moments.
They get me through.
The way Angel blinks and looks up with her huge brown eyes with the cutest “Don’t you love me?” smile.
When Brandon does something unexpectedly helpful to counteract the usual teen attitude.
When Riley curls up with her sister and helps her learn more words to read.
A kiss.
A snuggle.
A moment of laughter and calm.
Walking with my husband to get our exercise while the kids stay home. Just the two of us. Talking about things we usually miss – or nothing at all.
Reading books like they’re going out of style.
The way my rose of Sharon is blooming like mad.
Painting my nails in fun and crazy colors and ways.
Making cupcakes, treats, goodies for friends and family.
*
Every day there is a moment. Or two or three.
It keeps me sane.
On the days when I don’t know how I can hold on & keep going.
