Reunited!

I hope you had as much fun this weekend as I did!  It started Thursday night with the delivery of an old friend.  Heather and Andrew were helping with a youth retreat for their church, so Oliver came for the weekend.   It's the first time he's been back since Heather and Andrew got married last February.

Heather and Andrew had barely left the house before Oliver was in his customary spot on Bob's lap.


It was my weekend off, so we got Alaina and Ruby Friday night to spend the night with us.  We had some good laughs on the way home because of funny things Alaina was saying.  Bob pulled out from their street, and had to hit the gas because of traffic.  From the back seat we hear "Hang on everybody!  Grandma, are you hanging on?  What are you hanging on to?"  A few minutes later - "Hurry up Grandpa, drive faster!"  and then "Concentrate Grandpa, you have to hurry!"  When we were getting a little closer to our house, she told us she would tell us when we were almost there because she would see the "hamburger van".  We had no idea what she was talking about and asked her.  She said it was by our house, "the van with the hamburger on it."   We were very curious to see what she was talking about.  When we turned onto our street she said "There it is, the hamburger van!"   The man on the corner has a camper, and it has a sunset logo on it.  We had to admit that it did look kind of like a hamburger.   :)

 Can you see the hamburger?  We'll be looking to see him serve some this summer!

 When we got home the playing started.

 

This Ruby is such a character!  She was such a difficult baby, but now she walks around with a smile on her face  and is just a ham.  This picture isn't sideways - she walked over to me, leaned way over and smiled.

 A little while later I found her crawling into the refrigerator...

 Sharing a snack of cheese and crackers.

 What?  Don't you watch tv this way?

 Trying to read some books before bed.

This is Saturday morning.  Oliver stayed well hidden on Friday, but we got him for a few minutes on Saturday.  Alaina couldn't wait to hold him and Ruby was beyond excited as she's never been here when he was here, since she was an infant.  Oliver didn't think it was a great idea though and was very happy when they left!
The girls went home on Saturday and Oliver was picked up on Sunday.  What fun we had!

Pain scale

Any of you that have been in the hospital or had outpatient surgery have probably had the pain scale question asked of you.  We have to ask it frequently, it is also used on pain scale paperwork that has to be done on each patient every 3 months.
The question is:  "Rate your pain on a scale of 1-10, with 0 being no pain and 10 being the worst pain you can imagine".
We rarely hear 0, frequently hear 6 or 7, but almost just as frequently are told 10.  The problem is, these same people who say 10, may often continue to talk and laugh with no apparent issues and we need to medicate them according to what they say, not how they appear.  I know that I can't judge someone else's pain, but I also know that most people are unable to talk, much less laugh through intense pain.
For that reason, I thought this diagram was hilarious when I saw someone (another nurse) post it on FB.  I bet we would get more realistic numbers if we used this!

Pretty good, right?

Cooking Thursday

The recipe I'm sharing today is one of our favorites.  It's chicken enchiladas, made with a white sauce instead of the usual red sauce.  It can be put together, baked and be on the table in one hour, and it tastes so good!

White Chicken Enchiladas

2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon garlic powder
4 ounce can of diced green chilies, with juice
3/4 cup sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 cups cubed, cooked chicken
2 cups shredded, cheddar cheese, divided
10 large flour tortillas
1/3 cup milk

Melt butter; add onion and garlic and saute. Stir in green chilies, sour cream and soup. Remove 3/4 cup of sauce and set aside. Add chicken and 1/2 cup of cheese. Fill tortillas with chicken mix and roll up. Place in greased 9X13 pan, seam side down.
Add milk and 1/2 cup cheese to remaining sauce. Pour over enchiladas. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup of cheese over top.
Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.
Serve with green onions, sour cream and salsa if desired.

Wordless Wednesday

Tip for Tuesday

I don't know about you, but I love burning candles, especially in the winter.   I got this tip from my sister Cheri, who told me that if you put a strip of foil around the top of the jar your candle is in, it will burn more evenly.
I tried it with this one and it really works!  It burned down leaving hardly any wax on the glass.  You have to start it with the first burn or it doesn't work.  Try it out!

100!

One of the sweet ladies at the nursing home celebrated a milestone birthday last week.  She turned 100 years old!  It's incredible to think of the things she has seen in her lifetime.  She is now confined to a wheelchair, but has maintained her sweet disposition and smile, and is loved by all of us.
To commemorate this day, we had a 'Celebrate S day'!  Our activity director made up signs with her picture, that said "I'm 100!  Wish me Happy Birthday" and she hung them all over the nursing home.

  There were also signs like this.  (I took her name off because of privacy rules)

 There were lots of balloons...

and flowers.

 There was cake to eat, and this cute smartie cake.

There was even a happy birthday headband for her to wear.

Along with all of the other cards she received, was this one which came from The White House.

It was a fun day and she enjoyed a whole day of celebrating!

Laundry woes!

My friend Linda at Me and Mine had this on her blog header last week.  It made me laugh, because even though it's just me and Bob here now, I still can't keep that laundry basket empty.  Our laundry is in the basement, and we have a laundry chute from upstairs.  Far too often, when I'm finishing up folding the clothes and everything is spic and span, I'll hear that chute door open, and Bob will throw laundry down!  Do any of you have the same problem?  You just have to laugh!

Cooking Thursday

Last week I made a turkey breast for supper, and ended up with quite a bit of turkey and mashed potatoes left over. I did an internet search to see what I could do with them and found this recipe that had lots of good comments.  Because I was using leftovers, it was quick and easy to throw together.  We thought it was good, but the next time I make it, I think I'll skip the cheese because it was quite rich.  Just my opinion!  Anyway, this one would work well after Thanksgiving Day.

Turkey Potato Casserole

1 pound cooked, shredded turkey (or chicken)
1 onion, chopped
1 can green beans, drained
1 can cream of mushroom soup
8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
4 cups prepared mashed potatoes

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  
Place turkey on the bottom of a 9x13 pan or a large casserole dish. Top with onion, then green beans.  Spread soup over beans, then sprinkle with cheese.  Place mashed potatoes over top and spread to cover. 
Bake for 45 minutes until heated through.

Wordless Wednesday

Fixer Upper Style

Do any of you watch the show Fixer Upper on HGTV?  It's my favorite home renovation show.  The couple that host it are Chip and Joanna Gaines.  They are talented, fun and on top of the have a great testimony of putting faith and family first in their lives.
I love Joanna's style because of it's homey, comfortable look.  She takes old things, puts them into a new place and gives them new life!
Because I like that look, you know I like wandering around antique stores and flea markets. 
I was excited when I heard that Liz Marie, of Liz Marie Blog was opening a store about 15 minutes from my home. She has a style that is a lot like Joanna Gaines.  Liz has a huge following on her blog and has been featured in Country Living Magazine.  She grew up nearby and has recently moved back after her husband finished his military career.
The Grand Opening of the store was Thursday - Saturday.  Heather and I decided we needed to check it out on Friday.

Isn't this a cute storefront?  I like the name of the store too.

 As you can see the store was full of people.

These are my purchases. The frame has glass in it, so you can write messages with a dry erase marker and then just wipe it off.  The wooded box is just cute to set out, and I always like ironstone dishes.

We had fun and will be back!

Sleepover!

We had Alaina and Ruby overnight on Friday night.  It had been about a month since they spent the night and it was so good to spend time with them again!
I hope you can put up with some pictures!

 Both of the girls like to arrange stuffed animals on the couch and cover them with blankets.

 Playing with Grandpa.  They tired him out!

 I've told you about Ruby climbing before.  She'll use anything to get her up a little higher. This is one of the little boxes that we store blocks in.  After I took the picture, I hid the box from her so she didn't break it.  :)

 Alaina sits with Grandpa, Ruby doesn't believe in sitting.

 "Helping" get a snack.

 Moving the stool again, so she can get up by the counter.

I was bringing things to the car before bringing them home.  Ruby didn't want to be left behind, so she sat in the doorway and watched.
We had a fun time, and I think the girls, and Grandpa and Grandma slept well on Saturday night.

Let it snow...

We have had the most mild winter I remember.  Most of it has been spent with no snow on the ground and warmer than usual temps.  That changed this week.

This is the satellite view of our poor little mitten state - lots of snow and wind.

The storm started Monday afternoon.  The night nurse called in for that night and I ended up going in for part of the night.  This is my road at about 4am - it was a nasty drive home.  (FYI - I wouldn't have stopped in the road if there were other cars around, but I was the only crazy person out at that time!)

It continued to snow on Tuesday. All the schools were closed, and it looked quite pretty outside.

 We got so much snow that it piled up on everything!

 This little bush was transformed.

And look at the snow on my clothesline!

Here's the front yard coated in white.  We got 9 inches from Monday to Tuesday night, then had a brief reprieve on Wednesday, but it started up again on Wednesday afternoon.  We ended up getting another 5 inches.  It was quite a start to our snowy season!

Cooking Thursday

Here's a recipe for a pasta dish that is about as easy to throw together as spaghetti, but is much less messy to eat and I think it tastes better! 
Excuse the picture, it doesn't do it justice.  :)

Two Timin' Pasta Bake

1 box penne pasta

15 ounce jar alfredo sauce

24 ounce jar marinara sauce

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to directions on box and drain.

Stir together 2 jars of sauce.  Add mozzarella and stir to combine, then stir in the pasta and toss to coat.

Pour into 9x13 baking pan and place in 350 degree oven for 25 minutes or until bubbly.   Sprinkle Parmesan over all and return to oven for another 5 minutes.

That's all there is to it - enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday

Ruby's new name

Laura and Aaron say they have given Ruby a new middle name.  They decided it should be danger.  Their last name is Ras, so that makes her Ruby Danger Ras - get it?  Dangerous!  LOL
Laura says she is attracted to danger and seems to have no fear.  This is quite a switch from Alaina who is often quite timid.
Here's a picture Laura sent me last week, showing Ruby in action.

She is standing on the table Bob made for her and Alaina, holding a pine cone she got from the Christmas decorations on the mantle, and is looking pleased as punch.  Laura said she held it out to her like "Here you go Mom.   I climbed up here to get this just for you!"
Laura says that she can hardly leave her without her getting into some type of trouble, which often involves climbing and falling.  She climbed the ladder of the bunk bed, all the way to the top when she was 11 months old.  She is now 14 months old and has used those months to get even better at climbing.
She also loves to tease Alaina.  She sneaks in and takes things Alaina is playing with.  As you can imagine, this does not go over too well, and there is often some fighting that ensues.
Her eyes sparkle with mischief and I must admit I love it.  I just pray she doesn't break anything on her wild adventures!

Last Christmas party...

Last week I had a Christmas party - the last one of the season.  It was my work party, and they decided to have it after the New Year because everyone is so busy in December.
Usually we just have dinner somewhere, but this year they decided to change it up and a vote was taken.  We ended up doing something unusual for a Christmas party.

Yes - we went bowling!

We had a room to use for food, and our own section of lanes.

 We started with pizza, pasta, salad and goodies. 

Here is our Activity Director, Business Office Manager, Social worker and a CNA waiting to bowl.

We even had some little ones at this years party. One lane was set up with bumpers and this ball roller.  They had a blast, and so did we.
I haven't bowled for years.  Can you believe I got three strikes in the first game?  I balanced that out with enough gutter balls that my score was 71.  :)   Oh well - we were all in the same boat, and we all just laughed about it.