My visitor...

Almost 3 years ago, I lost my dear neighbor Roger, to a stroke. He was truly a god-send in our lives. We were a young family just starting out, learning the ropes of juggling a toddler and a kindergartner, trying to figure out how to deal with the hubby traveling all the time, home improvements, and dealing with a new neighborhood. Roger was there for it all. He gave advice, told funny stories, indulged my kids when they rambled on and on about anything, spoiled them at Christmas and birthdays, we held daily "meetings" at the fence or on the front porch. He was a lovely man and I'm so glad that we had 3 years of memories with him. To this day, I still miss him and catch myself talking to him daily.
The summer before he passed, I was trying to figure out why a solar light garden ornament wasn't working. It was left here by the previous owners and it had never worked. Roger hated to see me struggling with anything, so he came over with some tools and proceeded to take it apart. An easy fix it was not. He thought perhaps it really wasn't solar powered, but needed batteries. That wasn't the case. He thought the panels needed a good cleaning, but that wasn't the problem. He took the pieces into his garage and continued to tinker with it for a few days. Nothing made the darn thing work. He felt defeated and came to one of our fence meetings and told me that he just couldn't figure it out. It wasn't a big deal to me, it was still pretty even though it didn't work. He put it all back together and I stuck it back in my garden.
Now fast forward to the week Roger passed away. I was out in the backyard with the dog, right around dusk and all of a sudden something caught my eye. It was the garden ornament, shining brightly for the first time ever. I knew in my heart that it was Roger letting me know he was still around. I sat on the back steps and cried and talked to Roger. As the light dimmed, I said my good-byes again. How lucky was I that he came back to "see" me. I came inside and told the kids and Jason about my visitor. They kind of looked at me like I was crazy, but Roger meant a lot to us all, so they didn't really doubt my story too much. Since that time, he's come back to visit a handful of times. It's never at a certain time, just surprise pop-ins. The kids and Jason have witnessed it and we have all talked to him and gotten excited when we see that light shining. The last visit was around my birthday and when I peeked my head in the door to let them know we had a visitor out back, the kids came to the window and waved, and Jason checked it out on his way to the garage.
I will never be parting with that broken lawn ornament. It's my connection to a great man, who left this Earth much too early.

Cheer for a Cure in pictures...

Our girls took 2nd place competing at a junior high small non-mount level. The only team to beat them was an All Star team and we only lost by 10 points, no deductions were taken off our whole routine! The girls really rocked it for Team Franz! Our squad managed to raise over $2,770 for this cause and at last count, the whole event had raised over $20,000 (that was about 1/2 way through the day).

Jojo and I in our shirts for Laura (they say Laura, we're all in this together)


Some of the cheer Moms in our shirts


The squad with Laura


The parents with Laura


After the competition, showing off the trophy


Fight like a girl Laura, we all love you!


My Munchkin

It will definitely be emotional...

Our cheer competition season is in full swing, although the real traveling starts next weekend. We've been fortunate that the first 3 competitions were in town which gave family a chance to attend. The next competitions will take us to one new location and 2 that we've visited the past 2 years. The vibe this year is sort of blah though. It's our coaches last year and she just doesn't seem like she's that into it. Which is to be expected after 6 years, plus she has a son who's a junior in high school, her daughter is no longer at our elementary school, and her cleaning business is keeping her quite busy. When we all get together we still have a great time, so I'm hoping the traveling will be loads of fun like years past.
This weeks competition is our annual Cheer for a Cure. It holds a special place for us because yesterday a fellow Cheer Mom just had a lumpectomy because she has stage 1 breast cancer. It's been a long emotional journey for her, and for us. In our hearts we know she'll be fine, but it's still scary to be so close to someone going through this. Our coach has designed t-shirts for the girls (and us parents) to wear to the competition and we've raised over $1,000 for breast cancer research. Our friend is going to attend the competition and I've already got a box of tissues at the ready and plan on wearing no mascara. It's always an emotional competition and this year will be no exception.

Tasty recipe for your Valentine's Day enjoyment...

Here is a recipe for Taco Chowder made in the crock pot. My sister in law got me Busy People's Slow Cooker Cookbook by Dawn Hall for my birthday and I'm super excited to try these recipes, they all sound so good. Plus most of them are things you usually have on hand and the ingredient list isn't very long. We had this recipe Sunday night and it was DELICIOUS! I waited to tell everyone after they scarfed down a bowl or 2 that it had absolutely NO meat in it. Everyone requested that I make it again soon.


Taco Chowder

1 lb. ground meatless burger (the only one I could find was Morningstar Farms)
1 1 1/4 oz. packet taco seasoning
1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes, not drained
2 16 oz. cans of fat free refried beans (I only used 1 can, since they are so thick)
1 14 1/2 oz. can of fat free beef broth (you could probably substitute chicken broth or water here)
1 15 oz. can light red kidney beans, not drained
1 15 1/4 oz. can whole kernel golden sweet corn, not drained

Spray crock pot with cooking spray.
Put all ingredients into crock pot and cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 8-10 hours.

I hope you all enjoy this and have a VERY Happy Valentine's Day!!

Good news!!!!

Found a doctor this morning that will see Jakey tomorrow morning!!!! Super excited, now I hope I get some answers and Jakey gets relief and no more bumps.

And it continues...

We have an appointment for Jakey's skin issue on March 16 with a dermatologist. It was getting so much better with the steroid creams and once we had to stop that it came back. This time it's not circles, it's red bumps (which is how it first started back in December). We saw another doctor in the practice and he suggested prescription anti-fungal cream but said "I can't be sure it's ringworm." EXCUSE ME?! After 4 days of that cream and no change - in fact it looked worse - we headed back to Urgent Care. This doctor said she didn't think it was ringworm that it could be bacterial. So another prescription cream and a recommendation to see a dermatologist. Now we wait I'm beyond frustrated and annoyed. I know there are so many kids out there with something so much worse than this, but it still hurts my heart to see his little bald spot spreading and the bumps not disappearing. On the way out of the Urgent Care, he asked me "Are we done going to the doctors Momma? Is this going to work this time?" I wanted to cry. I keep reassuring him that it will go away and that I'm trying everything to make it happen quickly. I knew a dermatologist couldn't see him quickly, but waiting more than a month seems like torture. Fingers crossed March 16 gets here quickly!

It was a HIT!!!!

I've been trying a few new recipes on the days that we don't have much going on. Last night was a busy night, so I needed something quick and easy and something that the kids could help me with if they wanted (which they didn't this time lol). I bought crescent rolls, thinly sliced turkey and ham lunch meat, and provolone cheese. Each crescent got 2-3 pieces of lunch meat, a slice of cheese and then rolled up. I cooked them according to the directions on the tube of crescent rolls and I must say the smell of heavenly. Threw some tater tots in the oven and heated up some corn and served the family, then I waited. I waited for Jakey to say "It's not my favorite, but you are still a good cook Momma!". Or Jojo to wrinkle her nose and forehead. Instead I got silence, which is always a good thing because that means it's so good they can't stop to talk. So if you are looking for something quick and easy and really, really yummy, give it a whirl! You won't be disappointed!