Sweetheart Swirl

Last Saturday was the Sweetheart Swirl for the high school.  This is quite the big affair.  It ranks up there with Prom.  Or to me it seems like it.  The formality of it anyway.  Which amazes me.  What happen to prom being THE ONE EVENT that you went all out for.  Now there is homecoming, swirl & prom.  Except I get that prom is only for the seniors.  Anyway, I'm "old fashioned".  You know, just wanting the girls to wear their best skirt & blouse to the dances.  That's how it was when I was growing up.  You know, way back in the last century.  Anyway....back to THIS day in age : )

I wouldn't personally drop a load of money on the formality of this event.  I know God knows this and finds ways to bless us abundantly in this area.  The dress Angel is wearing was bought for her by her small group leader for a mere $10.  Yeah, ten smack-a-roos!!!!  The gold dress you see her friend Danielle wearing is also Angel's.  Bought for her by her aunt, with the tags still attached for $15.  Wow!! 

Anyway, it appears my mind is very ramblish right now.  If it hadn't been a week since my last post and the need to blog about many things I'd save this & finish later.  So I'll hush and just talk about the pictures.

I helped Angel get ready for the dance.  She really did most of it herself.  I was just available to help with a few little things when she asked.  I liked being available for her.  There, but yet not in a hoovering let me smoother kind of way.  Taking what I can get when I can, because I know that not all my friends got to share in this same experience.  ((((hugs Steph))))

 Doesn't she look like a Barbie or something?

 Yeah, she's cool like that!  *giggle*

 Here she is with her friends.  Dani is wearing the gold dress on the left.  Angel had wore it for her 8th grade graduation.  She wanted to help her friend who might not otherwise be able to afford a nice dress.  I'd rather see it get more use out of it than it sit in her closet.  Kind of goes with the whole concept that I stress to my children that because we are so blessed by others we need to bless others in return.   I know that sounds like common sense, but I don't see it shown or encouraged by society very much.  That's not what today's world is all about.  Ok....rambling....hush....

 The girls didn't want to spend a bunch of money eating out or fighting the crowds so they opted to have me fix them supper.  My friend, who is also Angel's small group leader, Rikki helped me in this area.  Including taste testing a recipe she found online.  It was yummy!!!!  Yeah, the things we do for our children ; )

 I tried to make the dining room special looking for them.  Pulled out my fine china (don't even remember the last time I used them) and borrowed some fancy glasses from the church.  The girls had a great time, I'm guessing by the amount of laughter & fun they were having.  Such precious memories.



Happy 10th Birthday John!

My first baby boy is now double digits.  That puts over 1/2 of my kids in that range.  *siiiiigh*

John specifically wanted an OVERNIGHTER for his birthday.  He made that very clear.  It was NOT a slumber party or sleepover.  That was clearly what girls do.  Not this man boy.  So I gathered a couple of his friends and had his party.  I'm on the fence as to whether have boys spend the night vs. girls is better or worse or what.  On one hand we never once had any drama or crying or shrieking at the top of their lungs.  But have you ever heard 6 boys racing through a 3 story house playing war.  OH!  MY!  I finally went to bed at 11 and even though a few had fallen asleep there was a good group still up & just starting Jurassic Park 3.  Usually a late night can ensure some sleeping in the next morning.  uh.....nope.  They started stirring about 6 a.m.  I finally got out of bed at 6:30 to tell them to quiet down.  Which only lasted so long and soon we had yet another full fledged war being fought through out the house.

They were a good group of kids and it made the whole party a great experience.

Pizza, pop & chips is all these boys needed to keep them happy.  Of course it was accompanied by a lot of burping, other boys noises and "hey watch this" moments.

Remember all that cooking I did during our recent epic winter storm?  Yep, came in very handy as I didn't have to labor over hot fresh french toast that next morning.  It was all cooked up and ready for them to eat!

John never had an official birthday cake. (bad mommy moment, I know).  I just plopped some candles into his french toast and wah-la we created a special birthday moment for him.

 Boys & their guns....enough said  : )



Try Melon Tri

We have been participating in this triathlon for 14 years now.  We've missed a few years here &there.  Giving birth, having a kid in the hospital, a ruptured achilles tendon, all various reasons that we have missed.  It's really just a fun little challenge to throw into our schedule to spicen up the winter blahs that set in.  The kids have been wanting to become more involved the last few years, but are not quite able to complete this on their own.  Last year Jim & John were a team and Mandy formed a team with her friends.  I competed on my own.  We decided to form our own family teams this year to be able to include everyone who wanted to participate.  Without intending it this way we became 2 teams:  The Peterson Men & the Peterson Women.  More than anything Jim & I kept the focus on keeping the kids involved and making this more about them, than us or the competition.  For those wondering (Uncle Jim, I know you are wondering!!) yes, the Peterson women beat the Peterson men : )

We really did have fun  AND the kids did an amazing job.  We are very proud of them.

The Peterson women:  Mom, Brianna & Mandy.  Finished in a time of 1:04:28.

Mandy on the bike:

Nina stretching & getting ready to run.

Nina running:

The Peterson Men: Dad & John: finished in 1:07:12

Jim did the swim & the bike:

John running:

All of us with our race shirts on : )



Biscuits & Pancakes

Thanks to a dear friend and SISTER in Christ, I have found a great recipe for homemade buttermilk biscuits.  I am constantly on a quest to eat healthier.  Not only for myself, but for my family.  I easily get into the habit of buying pre-made and heavily processed food.  This has become normal for the great American way of life.  Which, if that works well for your family, then keep with it.  This post is not meant to shame or guilt anyone into what or how they eat.  This is about me & my family.  Anyway, all it took was for me to start reading labels on food and WOW!  What is some of this junk that we are putting into our bodies?!?!  Trust me, I have nothing against food....I LOVE FOOD!  (too much sometimes, as my not so flat waist will attest to).  For me, the solution was to cook more from scratch.

I admit, it's not always easier or faster to make things from scratch.  Sometimes once I got into the habit then it became just that, a habit and I couldn't think of making it any other way.  Examples of this are mashed potatoes and pancakes.  I can not and refuse to make these things from a box.  Homemade from scratch all the way.  The extra nice thing about pancakes is that you can make more than you need at the time and then freeze the extra.  Then when the kids want pancakes you pluck them out of the freezer, warm them in the microwave and wah-la you still have the wholesome goodness, but without all the work.

Another solution we had to implement is to simply not buy the food that is deemed necessary.  No more super sugary breakfast cereals, no more fruit snacks (that was one of the hardest), no more Little Debbie lunch treats.  My list can go on.  But even though it's all deemed normal American food....we deem it as junk food.  Our bodies really don't need it.  Doesn't mean we don't like it.  I myself was guilty of inhaling those fruit snacks.  Have I mentioned how I LOVE food.  Yeah, the fatty-er, the sugary-er, the badder (is that a word?) would just make me LOVE it even more.

Anyway, you get my point.  (The main one being that I love food).  I've never shared a recipe on my blog, but today I am going to share two.  Isn't this your lucky day?  First I will share my buttermilk biscuit recipe.  This was handed down to me from Suzie.  My special friend whom I've never met in person, yet we have such a strong bond, it's amazing.  And amazing was the word my kids were exclaiming when I took these biscuits from out of the oven.  Hubby liked them too.  He's another food lover, even more than I am.  It doesn't take much to get him to like anything I fix him, from scratch or not.  I knew he was specifically fond of these biscuits when he came into the kitchen repeatedly to "test" a few more.

And, of course, with anything I had to take pictures of our little biscuit making adventure.  Hopefully I never ever pick up and buy those pop open can of biscuits.  Homemade, all the way.  Which, you can make up the dough, cut them out & freeze them.  Then when you want biscuits, but not all the work you just pull some out of the freezer, thaw them & bake them up.  Yum-o : )

 In this picture, the girls thought it was funny how dirty I was getting.  I had also taken a batch, added a few seasonings (basil, parsley, etc) & cheese then brushed the tops with garlic butter.  I had a close imitation of Cheddar Bay biscuits that Red Lobster makes.  (Mmmmmm, Red Lobster)

Buttermilk Biscuits

4 C. flour
4 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1 1/2 t. coarse salt
1 t. sugar
1 C. unsalted butter (room temp and cut into pieces)
2 C. buttermilk

Mix all dry ingredients and then cut in butter. Add buttermilk (batter will be sticky). Transfer to floured surface, roll and cut into biscuits.
375 for 18-20 minutes.

Pancakes (seriously, these are heavenly delicious)

1 1/2 C. flour
2 t. baking powder
1 C. brown sugar
1 egg
1 C. milk
3 tb. melted butter

Mix your dry ingredients, then wet, add the butter last.  Mix well & cook on griddle.
If I want enough to feed my family AND put a 2 - 3 dozen in the freezer I quadruple this recipe.

Make these up, let me know if you like them or not.  And if you have any homemade/from scratch recipes you like to make feel free to pass them onto me.  I'm looking for more!!!!

Winter Run

A few weeks ago we had a one day leadership retreat out at Camp Summit.  This is one of my favorite places to go.  It's way out in the country and it is always so serene & peaceful.  When we had some free/personal time I chose to suit up & head outside for a run.  Except I didn't really run too much.  I would take a few steps and then stop, taken in by some view or sound or sight of an animal.  I probably never went more than 200 yards without stopping.  From a running aspect I didn't really accomplish anything.  However from a personal aspect it completely refreshed my soul to be out there and enjoy what God had created.  It helped me to reflect on the fact that I want to take off down the road of life, but that I need to stop and listen or see what God has for me.  Sometimes whatever it is can be easily seen or heard.  Other times I really need to stop and be completely & utterly still and wait...wait...wait....for what God has for me.

I absolutely LOVE this road.  I have no idea why, I just love to gaze down it and they view that it offers.

Some other views along my run:

Every time, I mean, EVERY time I run out at Camp Summit I always come across some deer.  I don't mean to sound like some quacky deer whisperer, but I swear I connect/communicate with the deer.  When I came across these deer I was actually trying to find & get a picture of a woodpecker that I could hear, but not see.  I had stepped off the main road & down a small path.  When I couldn't find the woodpecker I looked around to see there was a deer not too far off.  I stood completely still & just watched the deer.  I tried to take a few steps closer, but it moved and that is when I realized there were several deer in the woods, all looking at me.  Probably 6 or 7, I don't know for sure.   I stood for the longest time just watching and trying to get some pictures of them.  My zoom is only so good on my camera, but I was able to get a few shots. 

New purse

I wanted to show off my new purse that I had custom made.  The business I use offers many fabrics to choose from.  However, they don't have anything with elephants.  I came across the red elephant fabric one day while surfing the internet and I was estatic the second I saw it.  Red & black are my favorite colors so I knew my new purse would look fabulous.

I have been using Christie Goss of MomofTwoBoys Designs for a couple of years now.  She is WONDERFUL!  She does a great job of listening to exactly what you want in a purse/bag and will do her best to meet those needs & specifications.  With this new purse I actually mixed & matched a few of her different purse/bag styles.  So if you name it & she can do it you can really come out having the purse of your dreams.

I'm not a very stylish or fashionable person, especially when it comes to purses.  For me, though, this purse is THE BOMB!  I paid a little more than I ever would on a purse I would buy in a store.  It's worth the money though.  MomofTwoBoys purses really hold up and I don't mind paying for that personal touch and exact specifications that I want. 

If you are interested you can find her business website at: http://www.momoftwoboys.com/



Brianna's 11th Birthday

I have a few catch up things to blog about.   So I'll give you a break from my Epic posts and get them done.  This one is particularly important because if I don't hurry then I will need to catch up on TWO birthdays.  So without further ado, here is Brianna's birthday post.

Brianna has always been my princess girly girl.  So it made sense when she wanted her birthday party to include mani/pedicures, facials & such.  None better than with some girlfriends in tow.  This was a little sigh of relief because she didn't want anything extremely expensive or high maintance.  Just some girl time.

 This face mask was made up of avocado, honey & salt.  The girls had fun putting this on their face & beautifying their skin.  They did oooohhhh & aaaahhhh over how smooth & great their skin felt.  One girl, however, had some kind of allergic reaction and turned all red & swollen.  Oops!  After some benedryl the symptoms went away and she was good as new. 

 I can't believe that my baby girl is 11.  I still call her my baby girl because for 7 years she was just that.  Old habits & nicknames die hard.  This is one that I don't want to let go of.  She is wonderful & great in every way possible.  My Brianna.