Tasty Thursday - French Dip Sandwiches

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French Dip Sandwiches

3 pounds boneless chuck roast
1 1/2 cups water
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 dried bay leaf
3 or 4 peppercorns
1 loaf French Bread

1. Trim excess fat from beef. Place beef in slow cooker. Mix remaining ingredients except bread; pour over beef
2. Cover and cook on Low heat setting 7 to 8 hours or until beef is tender
3. Skim fat from surface of juices in slow cooker; discard bay leaf and peppercorns. Remove beef from slow cooker. Cut beef into thin slices or if ultra tender, shred. Cut bread to make sandwiches. Serve with broth for dipping.

Find more yummy recipes over at The Pumpkin Patch

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July 25, 2007 | Filed Under Good Eats, Tasty Thursday | 6 Comments 

Joining the real world again

*Spoiler Alert concerning Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows*

I went and bought a copy of HP and the Deathly Hallows Saturday afternoon and finished it about an hour ago.
I must say it was the most frustrating, gripping and satisfying book yet. A mostly fitting end to a well loved series.

Frustrating? For Harry and his friends. They couldn’t get a break almost the entire time. They had so many excruciatingly close calls. Oooooo, I was ticked at Harry’s stupidity in saying Voldemort’s name.

Gripping? Think of hearing Hermione scream under the Cruciatus curse and Ron banging the dungeon walls knowing she might be dying and there was nothing he could do.
Think of Harry realizing he must die, a man marked, accepting his fate, not even saying good-bye to those he loved. That trudge toward Voldemort was the seemingly longest most emotion invoking passage I’ve read in a long time. Yup, I was bawling.

Satisfying? Some may think of the twist in the story as being a rip off. A cheap way to keep Potter alive. Maybe it is. I didn’t quite understand it enough to make that call.(must re-read some things) :) I would have been sad but fine with his death, I thought it might be necessary. But I’m satisfied nontheless.
There was no question I wanted Ron and Hermione to both pull through and I was thrilled they did.

And as for Snape. I never really doubted where his loyalties would fall. I didn’t know why they were so deeply embedded however and was very glad Rowling answered that. He was perhaps to me the greatest hero of all. Acting the villain, knowing that the truth might never come to light.

I feel the epilogue was unecessary. I would much rather Rowling have left that out, opening up the possibility of spin offs based on certain characters.

All in all though, I am not disappointed with how the series has ended. Thank you J.K. Rowling for 7 fantastic reads!

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July 23, 2007 | Filed Under Random | 18 Comments 

Dog Days of Summer Bloggy Giveaway

COMMENTS ON THIS POST ARE NOW CLOSED!! THANK YOU!!

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Enter to win, The Very Hungry Caterpillar Kids Fun Pack!

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I’ve decided to give away some products based on one of my favorite children’s books, the Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. Included in this giveaway are:

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Game - Made by University Games, 2 to 4 players for ages 3 and up.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Fun Pockets - Ages 3 to 8, includes 31 Colorforms pieces that stick like magic!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle small edition board book

You can win this brand new set, valued at $30 simply by leaving a comment to this post. Don’t forget to type in your email or web page.
Contest ends Friday July 27th at 10:00 p.m. est. Winner will be picked by random drawing.
Shipping is also free, but I will not ship anywhere other than within the Continental Unites States and Hawaii.

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July 22, 2007 | Filed Under Blog Carnivals, Contests and Giveaways | 290 Comments 

Kid Speak #2

A series of conversations that took place in our household this morning

Me: Boys, time to go pick up your bedroom
Boys: Okaaaaay mom

A little while later Count Dooku and Obi-Wan run out to me

Obi-Wan: Bedwoom aw kwean!!
Me: Honey, will you go see if their bedroom is really clean?

Hubby proceeds to follow excitedly chattering boys into back bedroom. He re-emerges a moment later

Hubby: Well, it’s about as clean as you can expect. There are some toys shoved under the crib…*interrupted by Count Dooku
Count Dooku: Yeah, hiding toys under beds and cribs is the bestest and fastest way!!!!!

True true. Very soon he’ll realize he shouldn’t tell his parents about it however.

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July 21, 2007 | Filed Under Humor, Kids | 4 Comments 

My little love

I remember once, before I had children, watching mothers adoring their messy faced little babies and thinking, “Eeeew, I’m never going to kiss my baby’s slobber, or pick boogers out of my babies nose.”

I bet you mother’s are laughing at me.

Because you know I love to get drooled on now, or that I just can’t leave my helpless baby sucking a dangling booger in and out of her nose over and over.
She’s staring at me right now from her bouncy seat, spit bubbles dripping down her chin. She’s been practicing spitting for a week now and I can’t get enough of it.

I love her so very much.

I love the way a smile at momma involves an arched back, kicking legs and flailing arms, all done simultaneously.
I love how her nose crinkles up when she yawns.
I love kissing her super soft, chubby (and even slobbery) cheeks.
I love how when hungry, she ravenously latches onto whatever part of me she can. She actually gave me a hickey on my chin. I only let her suck on it for like a minute. First hickey I ever got too.
I love how she doesn’t quite know what to do when I zurbit her tummy. Her eyes get wide and she grunts loudly. It’s almost a laugh but not quite.
I love watching her try to interact with her daddy and brothers.

I love everything about this precious, god given, little person who I am to take care of.
It is almost overwhelming to know I have been entrusted with 3 precious, heaven sent souls, but at the same time it’s great motivation to do the job right.

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July 20, 2007 | Filed Under Babies, Gratitude, Motherhood | 5 Comments 

The memories I cherish

3104 Jackie Court
I still have the address of my beloved childhood home memorized.
More than an address, it was a place where memories were created that I will always hold dear. And it was a place where I learned some of life’s greatest lessons.

Tiny frogs inhabited a large plant in our front yard. I remember catching them and feeling the warm trickle of frightened froggie pee in my hand.
I remember examining the leaves of this same bush for slimy snail trails. I loved to watch the snails ripple slowly along the leaves. I loved to poke softly at their little eyes and watch them immediately retract and pop out again a minute later.

Here, I learned about life, about how amazing each of God’s creations are.

I remember helping mom plant marigolds in our front yard. I loved the marigolds, they were beautiful, but I loved them even more for the vistors they brought.
Cabbage Butterflies, Monarchs and Tiger Swallowtails we’re regular visitors. My mom showed me how to catch them with a technique I called shadowing.
It took patience and stealth. A sudden shadow falling over the butterfly would scare them away. But a slowly moving shadow, like the shadow of a passing cloud would not disturb.
And so, in the hot, bright, California sun, I slowly moved toward the butterfly, letting my shadow gradually fall over them, crouching carefully down until I was within grasping range. With a quick motion of hand, I held a butterfly, by the very tip of closed wings in my fingers.
Whenever I caught a butterfly, mom would bring out the butterfly book and we would identify it. Then I would release it. I once, with my little 5 year old fingers, caught the smallest butterfly in North America according to that book.
One night, we had a severe dust storm. The morning sun light showed traces of it everywhere. Some branches and leaves strewn across the yard, our marigolds looking haggard. As I checked the damage, I hoped the butterflies would come back. And then I saw it, something on the pavement, gleaming in the sun. I walked over to what I thought was shattered glass. I realized I looked at shards of Swallowtail wing.

Here, I learned about death, how fragile life is, and how quickly life can be taken away from us

We had a neighbor, a woman in her 40’s and single. Her name was Norma and she was my friend. I think now of how kind she was to let a little 5 year old visit her on a regular basis, playing with her doll and doll house collection, and eating the candy out of the glass jar on her coffee table. I loved Norma.

The memories I have from my childhood home could span a novel. Maybe someday I’ll write one. But for now I’ll list other key remembrances.

Some favorite memories from my childhood home:

*Learning to ride a bike
*Hot pavement under bare feet
*Digging a hole in the backyard with my brother, filling it with hose water and then playing in it with our toy dinosaurs
* My mom’s tea cup and mug collection
*My neighbor friends Ashley and Mary Kay
* Playing on the Slip n’ Slide through the sprinklers on the front lawn

Some not so favorite memories from my childhood home:
*Getting splinter after splinter from the backyard fence and dad pulling them out with tweezers
*Getting my first bee sting
*Crashing my bike and getting a rock stuck in my knee

Good or bad, I cherish each memory I have from that wonderful magical place in which I grew up.

To read others stories of their childhood homes, visit Owlhaven

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July 20, 2007 | Filed Under Blog Carnivals | 9 Comments 

Tasty Thursday - Brazilian Limeade

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It’s another Tasty Thursday over at The Pumpkin Patch. This week is the beverage edition. Here’s a sweet treat my husband makes for us every so often.

Brazilian Limeade
* courtesy of my husband who lived in Brazil for two years

3 cups water
1/2 cup ice
2 medium limes, whole
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk

1.Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth
2. Taste and add more sugar if needed.
2. Drink immediately. Do not store in the fridge. If stored, the drink will become very bitter due to the lime peel within.

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July 19, 2007 | Filed Under Good Eats, Tasty Thursday | 6 Comments 

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