losing it

Mary Reese got off the bus Wednesday after school.  She was so excited to show me something...



Her first loose tooth!  I had been checking them on and off all school year and felt them getting a little bit looser.  I had no clue it was as loose as it was.

She was DETERMINED that it was coming out that day.  I told her just to keep working at it and maybe it would fall out!  She wiggled and wiggled and wiggled.  I took all 3 kids to get their hair cut...she wiggled it the entire time.

We got home and she decided that she would let Popsy pull it out.  Like I said, she was DETERMINED!  The whole family loaded back up and headed to Popsy's office before he left.  He put her in a chair and rubbed some "magic" cream on it..



He grabbed a tool and then next thing we know the tooth is flying up in the air...



Here is the new Mary Reese...



I still do a double take sometimes when she is talking!

Before we went to bed that night, we put her tooth in a special pillow...



It is the same one my sister and I used when we were little.  My mom made it for us.

She was beyond thrilled to wake up and find $5.00 replacing the tooth in the pocket.

The reason she was so determine...when they loose a tooth, the next day they get to put a special tooth sticker in their journal and write about the experience.

The one next to it is loose as well...it is only a matter of time before we are doing it all again!

front page worthy?

Monday after school, the kids and I were sitting outside in the front yard like we do lots of days.  They boys were playing with the football.  I told Mary Reese to run get her library book so we could knock out her nightly reading.  [We had Open House at both schools that night...so I wanted all their homework done before we had to leave.]

I started reading and everyone gathered around to listen.  [I LOVE to read.  I hope I can pass that love onto my children.  Mary Reese is my reader.  Banks likes it but really loves it when someone is doing the reading to him.]

All of a sudden one of the photographers from the newspaper is in my front yard taking our picture.  I thought I would probably see it in the paper the next day, but never expected to be front page worthy...



I guess it is a good sign for our little city.  The front page could be covered with news about violent crimes.  [Don't get me wrong, we have crime.  A couple of weeks prior there was a double murder at the Krystal.]  I remember years back, my college friends who live in Memphis now were saying their local news had to be extended to an hour to cover all the crime.  We are blessed our city has a low crime rate.

I am thankful for that photographer who captured a special moment with my children.  They are growing up way too fast and I know my days of them listening to me read them a story are numbered...



Several people asked me what we were reading...



The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton

A precious story about a house built out in the country... 



The city encroached around the house, making the house sad and long for the country... 



Finally the house is rescued by a descendent of the original owner.  She moves the house back to the country where it belongs.



I think I might have to buy us a copy!

family favorite: pasta pie

A new family favorite...easy to throw together for a quick week night meal!

Brown a pound of ground beef in a skillet...



[This is 2 pounds because I saved half of the final sauce for calzones later in the week.]

While the meat is browning, boil a pound of rigatoni until slightly underdone [I did mine for 12 minutes]...



Drain the noodles.  Rinse with cold water and drain again.  Toss pasta with 1 T. olive oil and 1 c. finely grated Parmesan cheese.  [The second time I made this, I also tossed in a beaten egg.  It seemed to help hold the final product together better.]

Drain ground beef.  Combine the meat with some tomato sauce...



...and simmer...



[Again, I was doubling my meat sauce for calzones later in the week.  If I was just making the pasta pie, I would have just added the 24 oz jar of sauce.]

While the sauce is simmering, spray a 9-inch springform pan.  Tightly pack pasta into the pan, standing each piece on end.



Spread meat sauce on top of pasta...



Push the meat sauce into the pasta holes filling each one up.

Place in a 400° oven for 15 minutes.

Sprinkle 8 oz mozzarella cheese on top and bake an additional 10-15 minutes until cheese is golden...



Remove from oven and let stand for 15 minutes [if you can stand it that long].  Run a knife around the edge to loosen and then unmold...



Cut into wedges like you would a pie...



delicious & delightful

Pasta Pie
[inspired from Noble Pig]

1 lb. rigatoni
1 T. olive oil
1 c. finely grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 lb. ground beef
1 (24 oz.) jar spaghetti sauce
8 oz. coarsley grated mozzarella

In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta until slightly underdone [12 minutes].  Rinse pasta in cold water and drain again.  Toss pasta with 1 T. olive oil to coat.  Toss with Parmesan cheese and a beaten egg.

Brown ground beef in a large skillet until browned.  Drain.  Add spaghetti sauce and simmer.

Spray a 9-inch springform pan.  Tightly pack pasta into pan, standing each piece on end.  Spread meat sauce on top of pasta.  Push the meat sauce into the pasta holes filling each one up.

Place in a 400° oven for 15 minutes.  Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top and bake another 10-15 minutes until cheese is golden.  Remove from oven and let stand for 15 minues.  Run a knife around the edge to loosen and then unmold.

Cut into wedges and serve.

Thanks Mary Margaret for sharing!  Mary Margaret is one of the kids I use to babysit...now she is all grown up and almost finished with her college career.  That makes me feel OLD!

lake for labor day

We spent part of Labor Day weekend at the lake...



It is amazing how much the water goes down between 4th of July and Labor Day.

The big boys [Banks & Eppes] thought they were big stuff swimming across the lake to the "island"...



It is really just part of Bankhead Forrest...not really an island.

All of them spend tons of time in front of the sea wall making oyster stew...



Aunt Stacey and Uncle Jerald had oysters sometime in the spring.  They pitched all the shells in the water in front of the sea wall.  Now that the water is down...the kids could find them.  It provided for hours of entertainment.

While the oyster stew was cooking, Jody and I were smoking...



A couple of butts, some corn and a good old Vidalia onion.

There were also some mud baths taken...





I also noticed this Saturday morning while drinking my coffee on the deck...



...which means fall is just around the corner.

The remanience of hurricane Lee set in Sunday morning, so we packed it up and headed home.  We spent the rest of the rainy Labor Day weekend inside.