Good Eats!

I think it's safe to say that Summer is here to stay in SWLA.  Warm days (only in the upper 80s, still got a few degrees to go before we can officially call it "hot", don'tcha think?) and afternoon rain showers (Thank You, Lord!) have really helped our little garden grow lately!  In fact, we're growing a LOT of a few veggies: squash, zucchini, and cucumbers.  (Still waiting on the tomatoes and peppers!)  We eat plenty, give away what we can, and then try to figure out what to do with the rest.  We've never had much luck putting up squash and zucchini or making homemade pickles with the cucumbers, and the same ol' fried squash/zucchini and cucumbers in vinegar or Italian dressing gets a little old after awhile, knowwhatImean?  :)  I've found a few recipes that we really like to help us use up our leftovers, and I've had several people ask for them, so I thought I'd share them here.  Hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

Baked Zucchini

Ingredients: 
2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch slices
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon Cavender's Greek Seasoning
1/4 c shredded Parmesan cheese (can use the grated kind if that's all you have, but shredded is better :))
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl, toss the zucchini, butter and oregano. Arrange in a single layer on a greased baking sheet or shallow baking dish; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Season with salt and pepper. Yield: 2-3 servings.

Kansas Cucumber Salad

Ingredients: 
1 cup mayonnaise                                1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar                                      4 medium cucumbers
4 teaspoons white vinegar                    3 green onions, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dill weed

In a large bowl, combine mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, dill and salt.  Mix well.  Peel cucumbers and slice thin.  Chop green onions, stalks and all.  Add to bowl and toss.  Cover and chill for at least an hour.  (It gets better the longer it sits.) 

I've found a few other recipes that I plan on trying out in the next week or so.  If they're worth sharing, I'll let y'all know! 

Happy Father's Day!

I would like to wish a very Happy Father's Day to all of the amazing Dads, Daddies, Papas, PawPaws, Brothers, Uncles, Cousins, and Friends I know!  Here are some pics of some of my FAVORITE Dads:

My girls and I are very blessed to have these awesome men in our lives! 

I can't imagine that it's an easy thing being the Daddy of 2 girls, but I know a guy who could write a how-to book!  He's fun and loving and patient (most of the time).  He teaches them all sorts of important things, like how to fish and hunt and swim and spit and sing Johnny Cash songs. He watches endless cartoons and paints toenails and fixes hair.  He pulls teeth and digs out splinters and kisses imaginary bo-bos.  I knew when I met him that he was going to be a wonderful Daddy, and he has never disappointed me.  Daddies are so important to their girls, and my girls have the BEST!!  

Justin Slaydon, I love you with my whole heart.  I appreciate all that you do for your girls, not just today, but every day.  Happy Father's Day!

The Fruits of Our Labor

Okay, so it wasn't so much "our labor" until today, and they were already fruits before the labor...but y'all know what I mean!  Today was jelly/jam making day at the Slaydon house, and we are officially exhausted!  Today we made mayhaw jelly and dewberry (blackberry) jelly and jam.  It took ALL day, but we have about 24 pints of the sweet stuff (minus a couple that already found another home!) to show for it!  

We finally got to try out our new Jelly/Jam Maker that we got for Christmas!  This thing is awesome, no more standing and stirring!  It does all the hard work for you!  

Here's a little action shot for ya! 

We had WAY more jars than we had labels for.  

Justin somewhat accidentally picked up some 12 oz jelly jars, and I just love how pretty they look!  

I didn't get a picture of the completely finished product, but this was definitely towards the end.  We worked in small batches, only making about 3 pints per batch, but we got a good system going and were rocking along pretty much all day.  (And let me just add that I was able to cook 3 meals during all this, too.  Go me.) It was definitely a productive day, and this is something we both really enjoy doing.  We've got some more dewberries in the freezer and we're looking forward to getting some Ruston peaches for some peach jam in a few weeks.  Plus the garden is starting to come in, so that means salsa and chow chow to make, plus no telling what all else.  But for now we are done, laid up in the recliners both wishing the other one would come over and rub our feet. 

We'll see how that pans out.  :)  

Schooool's Out For Summer!!

For pretty much the entirety of my adult life, summer has not meant much more than hotter temperatures and the occasional long weekend off.  I honestly don't know what to do with myself now that I actually am OFF for the WHOLE summer!  It's almost an uneasy feeling, like maybe I'm supposed to be somewhere and forgot.  But then I remember my totally awesome job and chill out for a few minutes!  We have started off this summer with a BANG!: first Memorial Day, then the Read Reunion, followed by an extra day at the lake, just because!  Can I just say that I love that?!  Never before has it been an option to stay an extra day or have a spontaneous little mini-getaway just because!  I am loving that we have the freedom to do that this year!  We have lots of things planned for this summer: camping, fishing, canning, swimming, jelly-making, family mini-vacation, napping, dog house building, porch staining...just to name a few!  I can actually enjoy just hanging with my girls and painting toenails and fixing hair and watching movies over and over!  This morning I even did something that I haven't done since high school...I painted my fingernails.  (After about 2 minutes, I remembered why.  I am far too rough on my hands to have them try to look pretty.)  Just having the time to do a little something for myself (even though it didn't last long) is just a crazy, foreign concept to me!  Justin and I have already completed a couple of our little summer projects: a ceiling fan for the front porch and a clothesline.  It's so nice to be home when he's off to work on stuff together and drink our morning coffee and enjoy breakfast, to not have to mow the yard on Saturday mornings and take up half the weekend with yardwork, to be able to cook breakfast, lunch, and supper for my little family (when I'm feeling super ambitious, lol).  Teaching is hard work, no doubt.  I spent many hours this year both at school and at home working on lesson plans, planning activities, grading papers, etc. and these last few months especially felt like we were running wide open all the time.  It's nice to just ease into a slowdown and enjoy my days off with my family.   If you're in the neighborhood, drop on by!  You're likely to find us on the porch or in the pool and you're welcome to join us!

Everyday is Mother's Day...Right?!

I've started to write this post about 10 times and I can't write for crying.  Mother's Day will always be bittersweet for me, no two ways about it.  My heart is full to bursting being the momma of my two precious girls.  My heart breaks in two again missing my own Momma.  I suppose that it will be that way until we meet again, and I have to be okay with that.  If she wasn't so amazing, it wouldn't hurt so much.  But I cannot be completely sad, I have too much to be happy about!  My girls have given me the best "job" I could ever have!  When I hold them and kiss them and smell their hair, I get a glimpse of what Heaven must be like.  When I watch them sing and dance together, love on each other, or hold hands while they are sleeping, I can't hold back the tears.  There just aren't words for that. When I'm holding back a handful of red curls and cleaning up after a 3am stomach bug, when they've changed clothes for the umpteenth time in 24 hours and I don't know what's clean and what's not, when somebody has a nightmare but doesn't know what a nightmare is and comes running crying into my room...those moments are sacred too, but in a different way.  And then there are those other moments...when they're fighting over a drink in the backseat and all of a sudden my head is wet, when I can't type a sentence for having to get up and fix a drink or wipe a behind, when I really really wish that someone would come and get them before my head explodes but know that nobody is on their way.  I think we've all been there.  It's all part of being a momma, and I wouldn't trade that job for anything.  

There's a line from one of my favorite movies that comes to mind when I think of my girls.  In Hope Floats, Birdee is talking to her daughter Bernice and tells her, "I"m just an ordinary person.  And that's OK. Because YOU make me special.  Don't you know that?  Don't you know that you are everything in this world to me?"  That's exactly how I feel.  I wish I could explain that in terms that my girls could understand, but I think it's not something that you can fully grasp until you're older.  After 5 1/2 years, I'm still learning how to do this momma thing, and making plenty of mistakes along the way.  I lose my patience too much and don't "let it go" enough. (Now that's stuck in your head.  You're welcome.)  I want my girls to remember me the way that I remember my Momma.  To me, being a momma is one of the highest honors, and I want to respect that.  I've got a long way to go, but I'm thankful that the good Lord and my sweet girls love me and forgive me like they do.  I'm thankful for a husband that loves me and helps me on this journey.  I'm thankful for the great examples I've had to learn from, not just my own Momma, but many others.  

Happy Mother's Day to all of you!  

40

Today, the girls and I ate lunch with my sweet Daddy on what would have been his and Momma's 40th wedding anniversary.  Wow.  I try not to wish my life away, but sometimes I just think...  I know my Momma would not come back from where she is for anything in this world, and deep, deep down, I wouldn't want her to.  I believe that she watches over us, sees our smiles and our joys, and talks to her Father about us.  Most of the time, those thoughts are enough for me.  But sometimes, the hurt creeps back in and I have a very selfish longing for her to be here with me.  To talk to me and hold me when I'm hurting.  To laugh and cry with me, like she always did.  To take care of me when I'm sick.  But most of all, to love these girls of ours.  To play with them and read to them and teach them.  To show, by her actions and love, the truest meanings of grace and beauty.  My heart aches for that sometimes.  I've told Justin many times how certain things would be different if she were here.  Then, a few weeks ago, that thought took on a different perspective.  Driving to school one morning, kind of out of nowhere, this thought came in my head (sort of like a whisper from above, if you will): Daddy and I would not have the relationship that we have now if Momma were still here.  Bam.  Almost drove off the road.  My Daddy and I are closer now than we have ever been.  We talk on the phone almost daily, he makes excuses to come see the girls all the time, he and Justin are forever working on one project or another.  Our relationship is better now than it's been in 30 something years.  I won't go into details, but if you know us, you know.  I cannot tell you exactly what happened or when, only that the Lord is still in the business of healing, still in the business of miracles.  He hears the cries of His children's hearts, when words cannot be spoken.  I prayed and prayed for my Momma to be healed of her cancer, for her health to be restored.  God had a different plan (as Mrs. Patsy sang so beautifully in church this morning) for healing and restoration.  I'm so glad He did.  Today my Daddy was sad, missing Momma as we all are.  But his sadness was tempered with the joy and laughter and kisses from 2 little girls that think that he hung the moon.  I like to think that Momma was there with us, watching Daddy try to eat his tacos with his arms full of Slaydon girls, and smiling.  I think she would've thought that was the best anniversary present of all.

Easter Blessings!

Such a beautiful Easter day! 

Had a great day eating and visiting with family today, hunting eggs, and playing with Copper (our newest 4-legged family member).  The girls were so beautiful in their Easter dresses, and Daddy sure looked handsome in his new Easter duds.  Grateful for all of our many blessings today!

 Sweet baby girl!  

Always posing!

 My heart. I yub them!

 Not everyone was pumped about the family photo, but we'll take what we can get!

 Two of my favorite girls!  Julianne was totally over the picture taking by this point.

 Claire and Jul decided to hunt for eggs in the dune buggy, no way the big girls could keep up with them!

Someone was so excited about her new bathing suit that she had to wear it all day!

We hope you all had a wonderful Easter and were able to celebrate our Risen Savior with family and friends.  We're about to kick back on the deck, light a fire, relax and enjoy this beautiful evening.