To loved ones, friends and family, near and far.
Merry Christmas!!!
Hey! You should have seen the other ones! 
Author Archives: Sherry L
She’s 16!
Monkey is 16! Well I guess since she’s 16 I could stop calling her Monkey, right? (or at least in public and online) :) Well ok….. *clearing throat* I’d like to introduce you to Terry, our oldest daughter, who just turned 16!!! Unbelievable right!
It’s a very exciting time for her. And we’re also excited for her and about her future.
But I do have to admit that we do feel a little like our buddy Cleveland here……
Raising teenage daughters is scary!
I’m just sayin’
Anyways, Happy Birthday Terry! We love you!
Baby J is 1!!!
Baby J is 1!!! I know people say this all the time, but…. OMG! Time flies. I can’t belive she’s already 1! She woke up bouncing in the crib as if she knew it was her special day. She has become quite a character, and we are so lucky that she’s ours.
Look how sweet she looks, as she patiently waits for me to take her picture before digging into her cupcake.
She was off to a slow start…..
but it didn’t take long.
Happy Anniversary
Yes, que the Tony Toni Tone, because “It’s our Anniversary”!
Thank you, Antonio for yet another wonderful year together. Hope this makes you smile.
(I made this Stop Motion film to tell our story) Enjoy.
143 ADL
Summer’s gone
I’ve been postponing writing this post. But…. yes, summer is gone! (At least for us here). The kids went back to school a couple of weeks ago, for some reason (thankfully) it’s been a lot cooler than usual and now Labor Day is right around the corner. So there’s no denying that our beloved summer has come to an end. It always seems to fly by but that’s a good thing right?
Anyways, here’s a few pics of our summer.
Hope you’ve had a great summer.
First day of school
Monkey and Turtle D started school two weeks ago. Surprisingly, they haven’t gotten tired of school yet! You know how it usually goes, in the summertime you hear, “I’m so bored! I’m ready for school to start!” Then school starts and all you hear is”class is sooooooo boring!”
On the big day they woke up pretty excited. I mean they had been planning their hair, accessories and outfit all week. (Awwww, yes. The life of parents of 4 girls). Somehow in the midst of the excitement their little sister woke up at around 5:30 with them. Yes 5:30 AM.
And she hung with them as they got ready for their big day.
Yes, when it was time for pics…. she was front and center for every one. I mean, look how happy she looks here.
I knew it wasn’t going to end well. She should have caught on when she still had on her beloved Dora Pjs and no shoes. But there was no stopping her from trying to walk out the door to the bus stop.
She even ran and got her Dora bookbag 
It was cute and pitiful all at the same time.
Your time will come Little One, your time will come. In the meantime, here’s to a great school year for her big sisters.
11Months Old!
The countdown has now began. Baby J just turned 11 months yesterday. Which means that we are very rapidly approaching her first birthday! Whoa! It’s almost too much to bear…….. Ok, that’s a bit dramatic, but I think you know what I mean.
You know the routine, here’s what she’s up to now:
- has four front teeth, with a fifth coming in
- says several words (Momma, Dadda, yeah, bye)
- follows simple directions
- feeds herself using hands
- throws everything (and she has great aim!)
- drinks from a sippy cup
- stacks blocks
- climbs up onto and down from couch (bed)
- plays independently, as well as with her big sisters
- starting to run (she frequently attempts a grab & go, but she’s still too slow not to get caught)
She’s quite a character and isn’t afraid to let you know what she wants, or when she wants it, or how she…….. (well you get it) But she really is “sugar and spice and every thing nice”.
10 months old!!!
Ok, nevermind the fact that Baby J will be 11 months in 5 days!
Better late than never, right? I’ll blame it all on lazy summer days. But since I’m sooooo late I’ll keep this short and sweet. Baby J learned to walk right before she turned 10 months! So she’s excitedly spent the month perfecting her newly found skill.
And because she’s so cute walking around, here’s a little clip for you to check it out. (I promise she’ll make you smile )
Happy 13th birthday!!!
Happy birthday! Turtle D is 13!
Turtle D
When she was younger she used to eat soooooo slow. So we started calling her Turtle D. Now her rate of speed at the dinner table has sped up. Considerably. But lately we have new areas in which she holds true to her name. Like getting dressed and ready for the day. However I do understand. Being this cute doesn’t happen during a commercial break.
Happy birthday Turtle D! Here’s to you growing up into a beautiful young lady. We love you!!!
Stewed okra and tomatoes
It’s back! The Pinterest Challenge, summer edition , hosted by a few of my favorite blogs YoungHouseLove and Bower Power. And this time they brought along Ten June and Centsational Girl. Stop by and give them a visit and check out the cool things others have done!
We’ve been busy around here doing…………………..well just regular family summer … stuff. But if you’re new here have a look around. Stay awhile. Here’s what I’ve been up to.
Okra is one of those foods that you either love it or hate it. Growing up my Mom used to eat it and I thought that it looked sooooo disgusting. I mean come on, it was slimy! But since then I’ve learned to love it. I love fried okra, and I’ll even drive across town to a Fresh Market to buy dried okra (it’s delish).
I needed a new side dish that would please everyone (well, almost everyone, Turtle D hates okra. But with a family of six, 5 out of 6 isn’t bad, right?So I set out to try to make stewed okra and tomatoes. And I won’t lie. The first time I ate it was at a buffet restaurant. And it’s basically the only reason I’d go to that restaurant now. It seemed pretty straight forward so I gave it a shot. Initially I planned on using fresh okra and tomatoes but decided against it when I saw that we had both frozen okra and canned tomatoes already! I used fire roasted diced tomatoes, which worked out great. The seasoning was perfect, but if you choose fresh tomatoes, or regular canned tomatoes you can season them with salt and pepper as well as any other seasoning that you prefer.
Stewed Okra and Tomatoes
- okra, frozen cut or fresh 1 1/2 pounds
- tomatoes, canned or fresh 24 ounces
- onion
- oil
- salt and pepper (optional)
- Dice onion and saute in oil until soft and translucent.
- If using fresh okra cut into small pieces.
- Add onions, okra and tomatoes to a medium sized sauce pan.
- Allow to come to a soft boil. Stir occasionally.
- Cover and reduce heat, simmer. Cook approximately 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Done when mixture has thickened slightly and okra is tender.
I loved it and can’t believe it was so easy. Serve it over rice or alone as a side dish. Hope you enjoy.
