CHOA Project

Hi everyone! I wanted to let you all know of a project I have started working on for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. As you know CHOA is near and dear to my heart because of the time we spend there with Charlotte. I know also that many of us have tried to come up with projects to help CHOA only to be told they really just need donations. While donations are a HUGE part of what make CHOA so successful and accessible to our community and are vitally needed, through our time there I have found a small need.

There is a clinic at CHOA Scottish Rite location, the Judson Hawk clinic, that we frequent most. This is where the top specialists from around Atlanta can come a few days a week or sometimes once a month to see CHOA patients. These specialists have their own practices (some of which no longer accepts new patients) but CHOA "recruits" these specialists to come in to the Judson Hawk clinic so that CHOA patients can be offered the BEST care in Atlanta. Parents travel from all over the southeast to see these doctors. This is where Charlotte sees her pediatric plastic surgeon and her geneticist from Emory. Any funds this clinic receives goes to assisting families with financial burdens and maintaining the clinic staff.

During our visits there I noticed there were no books, no magazines, no coloring books or other activities for the children to keep occupied either in the waiting area or any of the exam rooms. Often times these families have traveled a long time in the car just to get to the clinic, not to mention that most children who visit this clinic have a serious condition to need to see these specialists so these appointments can make parents and children very nervous. After speaking with the nurses, office staff and managers Tad and I have decided to "adopt" this clinic supplying them with new books, magazine subscriptions, coloring/activity books and crayons every few months. We made our first delivery at our appointment in August and the nurses and staff were SO overwhelmed!!

With the holidays coming up I know many of us want to help out in different ways. If you would like to help us with this project please let me know. We can use new books, coloring books and crayons of any kind. Tad's aunt works at this amazing book warehouse where they sell books at over 50% of the cover price so our money can go so much further if you would rather donate money. This is a small project and as such small donations can make a huge difference. A $5 - $10 donation can buy up to FIVE new books for this clinic or a magazine subscription. I appreciate each and every one of you and thank you for your support and prayers over Charlotte the past 3 years!

Candied Bacon - The Ultimate Appetizer

I've had more people than I can count ask for this recipe. If you have been to my house for any family or social occasion this "appetizer" was probably served. I made 7 pounds (oh yeah, that's right SEVEN pounds) for Thanksgiving last year and it was gone within 15 minutes - GONE!! Tad and I first ate it at a millionaire's home cocktail party last fall (these people had a butler, a lady of the house who runs everything and a chef). It was so popular at the party I came straight home and googled it. The following recipe is adapted from Emeril's. In the spirit of the pioneer woman, I tried to photograph making it (but I don't have the kick but camera or mad skills she has so you will have to bear with me). So, if you'd like to eat like the rich & famous, if you want your friends and family to flock to your house and tell you your the best woman in the WORLD you should try it out...

Candied Bacon

2 cups packed light brown sugar

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 pound thick sliced bacon

NOTE - Yes, I know that putting organic sugar on bacon probably negates the fact that you are eating organic - but a girl has to try. And in my house Tad would count this as eating organic - not that he cares.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place a metal rack on top of a DISPOSABLE cookie sheet. Trust me you DO NOT want to use your own pan - you want to just throw the pan away once you are done. (The metal racks come clean in the dishwasher.) Combine the brown sugar and chili powder in a shallow dish, stirring to mix well.

Press 1 side of each slice of bacon firmly into the spiced sugar to coat well, moving all the way down the slice to make sure the slice is coated well.

Arrange the slices of bacon on top of the broiler rack in a single layer, sugared-side up. See the gunk on the bottom? That is the result of the bacon fat and the sugar burning on the bottom while the bacon is cooking, YUCK. Again, I can't stress enough D-I-S-P-O-S-A-B-L-E cookie sheets - they are at every grocery store and the dollar store and they are so worth it.

After prepping/coating every few slices of bacon you need to "rake" the sugar with a fork to make it easier for the sugar to stick to the bacon.
Bake for 15 - 25 minutes (until browned and crisp). Drain briefly on a paper towel and then move to a serving dish. CAUTION: I know this may look so tempting when it comes out of the oven but you MUST wait at least 2 minutes before eating. Otherwise, the the sugar tends to adhere the bacon to your teeth like super glue and the grease in the bacon will scald your mouth and lips while you try to pry the piece off your teeth. I'm just saying - take it from someone with experience.
Note: You can make this a few hours ahead of time and keep warm in a 150 degree oven until ready to serve (the bacon will continue to get darker when you do this so you may want to decrease the cooking time if you plan to keep warm). Below is what the end result looks like - see the georgous glaze? See how this isn't a whole piece? Either Tad or my sister snapped a piece off while my back was turned - I am telling you this recipe turns humans into animals.

Gloom & Doom

So, as if still feeling nauseous at 13 weeks isn't punishment enough - I was up all last night with a sore throat. Don't you just love talking to me lately? I'm so uplifting aren't I? I went to the Minute Clinic at CVS (which by the way is the most incredible invention EVER - I was in and out in 15 minutes including a STREP test) just to find out that I don't have STREP, just a cold that I can't really take anything for. UGH!!

Last week was good. My fabulous friends threw me a small b-day party at our weekly Project Runway get together and it was wonderful (the food, the talk, the gifts, the company - oh and the show)!! Then we hosted a surprise graduation party for Elliott on Friday night that was a success. Again, I freaked out 10 minutes before the party that I didn't have enough food - but HA! David had to haul back a trunk full of the leftovers. I did make Pioneer Woman's Marlboro Man sandwiches and everyone liked them. They were really easy and VERY economical, only next time I think I will add cheese. We hung out with family for the rest of the weekend and so that was nice.

Tonight I am missing the fair for the 1st time since Sarah-Grace was born. I rested all day and made chicken noodle soup in hopes I would have the energy to go, but I still feel like crud so I thought it best to stay home. We take the girls every year in honor of my Pappy who would haul my sister and I around the state of PA to see any fair that came within a 2 hour radius. My girls never got to meet him because he died a couple of weeks before Sarah-Grace was born, but he was the only good man in my life growing up. So, Tad took the girls tonight to honor our tradition and my Pappy. Here is a picture he sent me of the girls with Tracee - the only ride I dare to ever go on at the fair...(He had to take it with his phone because he couldn't take the camera and ride the rides with the girls.)

Baby Fever

This is me 12 weeks preggo and Anna 34 weeks preggo. Kristen and I threw Anna her baby shower this weekend at my house. Kristen and I were very pleased with how everything turned out. Kristen made some adorable decorations. Tad was a huge help Sunday morning getting everything done. As usual I panicked 10 minutes before the shower that I didn't make enough food, but we had plenty. I served chicken bites wrapped in candied bacon, chicken salad sandwiches, ham & cheddar sandwiches on brioche that I made, sun dried tomato pasta salad, fruit, veggies, caprese salad skewers, sugar cookies and of course petitte fours. We had a great turn out (about 30 people). Anna got a TON of gifts and most important we had a lot of fun!!

The girls are doing well. I forgot to mention that Sarah-Grace lost another tooth (she still hasn't lost any on top) at school. She came home with it in a baggie last week (nice) I'm sure her teacher was thrilled that she pulled it out during class. Sarah-Grace also got to go to the Principal's office last week on a WOW (wonderful outstanding works) visit. She got a pencil from the principal for being such a well behaved student. Charlotte is also doing well. Her teacher sent home a note saying what a calm, kind, nurturing, mature student she is. Tad asked if they sent it home with the wrong kid because of the calm comment!!

Cute comment of the week, Charlotte refereed to her fettuccine alfredo this summer as JeJe alfredo. We were watching the food network the other day and the chef on TV mentioned the dish chicken cacciatore, and Charlotte yelled "They said Tori - Chicken Catch-a-TORI!!". She is just too funny.

Re-Discovering the Old

Things I've (re)discovered by being rendered to my couch (otherwise I'm walking in public and dry heaving in the aisles - nothing says Tuesday morning like the old feeble man who bags your groceries at Kroger checking to make sure you don't need a bag to hurl in)...

1. Fried Green Tomatoes the movie - OK, so I watched this movie when I was a teenager and I liked it. I understood the themes and plot of the movie. But I recently watched it again (because it's been playing on HBO a lot and what else do I have to do) and I think it might be one of the best movies EVER. Seriously, there is just something about this movie that I understand so much better now that I'm grown and married with kids (mostly the parts with Kathy Bates going off the deep end). If you happen to be stuck at home on a rainy day with HBO, I highly recommend it.
2. The Cosby Show - I tell you this show transcends time, ethnicity, fashion, trends. If I catch it on I can't not watch it. Tad made fun of me for the longest time and a few weeks ago he was sitting in the den working while I was watching it. It was the episode where Vanessa is suppose to be watching Rudy (but of course she's on the phone) and so Rudy and Peter decide to make a snack using Cliff's juicer. Tad couldn't help but start laughing and soon we were laughing so hard I was crying. Sarah-Grace and Charlotte didn't get it.
3. I don't know if I'm channelling the pioneer woman (or if I think I am because of my new found obsession) or if I'm just protecting my pride in public, but I really do not want to leave the house after about noon each day. And since I'm so sick of restaurant food and I feel like crud each time I eat it - I've been cooking almost every week night. Of course the minute I sit down to eat I think "OK I can stand this smell for about another 20 minutes and then I'm going to die" which means Tad or Debbie must clean the kitchen, dispose of ANY leftover food and take out the trash immediately after dinner, but they say it's a fair trade.

Tonight we had a one dish meal of cod with potatoes, fennel and onions. It's the first time my kids and my sister have eaten fennel (and they liked it), of course I didn't tell them until after they were done that there was fennel in it! It's also the first time my kids have eaten fish at home without me frying it or using a deceptively delicious recipe. My sister kept insisting that the dish had to have butter because it was so sweet and rich, but alas the only fat it had was olive oil. Many of you have been asking for recipes so tonight's recipe is pasted below courtesy of Rachel Ray and the Food Network site.

1 large build fennel, trimmed of tough tops ]
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium to large yellow skinned onion, thinly sliced Salt and pepper
1 large or 2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and very thinly sliced
2 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 to 1 3/4 pounds cod, cut into 4 portions, 6 to 8 ounces each
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley, a couple of handfuls
Crusty bread, to pass at table
Heat a large, deep skillet over medium high heat and preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Cut tops off the fennel bulb. Quarter the bulb, then cut into each quarter on an angle to remove the core. Thinly slice the fennel.
Add extra-virgin olive oil, fennel and onion to the pan and saute them, stirring frequently, 5 minutes. Season with salt. Add 1 cup chicken stock and reduce by half. Add potatoes to the pan in thin layers, completely covering the fennel and onions, working all the way to the edges of the pan. Pour the remaining stock evenly over the pan. Season fish with salt and pepper. Arrange the fish on the potatoes. Bring the liquids to a bubble. Cover the pan and transfer to oven. Bake fish 15 minutes, until opaque, then uncover and bake for 2 or 3 minutes more. Transfer fish and vegetables to shallow bowls or dinner plates and garnish with parsley. Spoon juices down over the food. Serve with crusty bread for dipping.

Blog Stalking

So since I've pretty much been in bed (or on the couch) the past 2 days and I'm sick of TV (oh, and feeling sick and being stuck in on the couch or in my bed) I have a new found addiction for blog stalking. My absolute favorite right now is http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/ - I have been obessed reading her Black Heels to Tractor Wheels story and I'm not so happy she left me hanging on her last entry. If I could be anyone else right now I would be her. I have read every entry she's posted since March. I found out a couple weeks ago my friend "C" reads it too and feels the same way - a friend whom I find I have more and more in common with. One of the things I love about "C" is that she's the only other person I know (besides me) who gets excited about making her own mayo, really enjoyed farm work for the time she did it and would be happy living the "pioneer woman" life.

The other blog I've been reading is http://www.mattlogelin.com/ - a blog about a man who's baby girl was born in March and whose wife passed away the very next day. Anna, "confessed" to me about a month ago how addicted she was to reading it - and now I'm hooked too! I've read every post he's written since March. Anna's right, it's amazing how he will have you crying your eyes out one minute and laughing hysterically the next.

If you are bored, check these blogs out for yourself.

The Big Birthday "O"

No need for birthday gifts this year - I just saw that Oprah's season premiere is on my birthday! I know that she is mega loathed by many these days, but frankly if you are watching Oprah for religious or political views - you need to grow a brain. Her show is pure entertainment with many guests I don't agree with and some that I do (can I say I idolize Maria Shriver I want to be her when I grow up - oh and have her hair). Anyway, hate on it all you want, I'm excited!

Back to School Week 3

This week we've been homebodies. It rained a lot at the beginning of the week. I love the rain - it makes it seem more like fall to me. I've cooked every night this week. Monday I made corn chowder, Tuesday I made Rachel Ray's chicken noodle soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, Wednesday I made rosemary & balsamic chicken with broccoli and bow tie pasta in a lemon garlic sauce and tonight we had chicken Caesar sandwiches (my absolute favorite Barefoot Contessa recipe) with Rachel Ray's potato leek soup (the first time my children and Tad have ever eaten leeks). It's been hard since I've been so sick but it's been worth it because since I already have to eat every hour I just keep eating soup which is much more healthy than p&b crackers and subsequently I've lost 3 pounds.

We had Sarah-Grace's curriculum night this week. It was kind of weird. Her school is so big, especially coming from a private school last year. It was nice to show up to the PTA meeting and then leave without any stress of the behind the scenes crud (which at a school that big and all the politics of public school I can imagine would be heavy). I did sign up to be a room mom and so I had to give a small presentation to our class. Parents kept thanking me over and over again for taking on (what they thought) was a huge responsibility. It was very sweet of them but so comical to Tad and I considering of all I've had on my plate the past 2 years I can do room mom detail in my sleep! Sarah-Grace is really adjusting well to her new school and her teacher and I get along wonderfully. I'm excited to get engaged in school volunteering again. I signed up for 3 committees and I'm excited that at this point I can choose what and how much I want to take on.

I've also enjoyed Charlotte's school, by contrast it is MUCH smaller than the school we came from (it's basically one class). They are taking their time adjusting to the school year and so even though they need my help we are taking it slow. I'm actually working on a project for Children's Health Care of Atlanta right now. The clinic we see most of our specialists from at CHOA I noticed over the summer has no books, magazines or coloring supplies. When I asked the nurse she said they just couldn't spend the funds for those items. I've spent the past 2 months stocking up on these things. I'm proud of the collection I have to give them next week (at our next appointment) but I think if I asked my friends and family we could make a bigger impact. There's another "project" I'm thinking about starting for the BWS foundation but I'm going to speak with Charlotte's geneticist next week first.

Other than that we are all adjusting well into this new school year and looking forward to football season starting!

Hey What's that Coming Down the Track...

For anyone who has known me over the past 3 football seasons knows that if the prediction on the following link holds true - it would be the best football game I have ever witnessed. I have been waiting for this match up ever since each fall the ESPN channel becomes the USC fan fare every Saturday night. For more on my loathing of USC, you can read my post from last October, "Ain't Nothing Going to Break My Stride" (http://kimberlys-dailygrace.blogspot.com/2007/10/aint-nothing-gonna-break-my-stride.html).

http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=842040

Tori's Wedding Pictures

Below are some pictures from Tori's wedding. (If you like the pictures I would recommend Anna Brown she's pretty awesome and she has a pretty kick butt second shooter that can also sell you a Mac! Check out http://annacookbrown.com/) Tori's wedding was beautiful and happy and a little sad, but most of all it was special...

Our family picture

Charlotte getting her snack in

Tori let me and Aunt Vicky do her flowers!! I did the bouquets and Vicky did the boutonnieres. This is a close up of the bouquets I made.

Me and girls getting ready

All the little children

How sweet!

I think this is my favorite picture!!

One of my favorite people signing the marriage license and one of my other favorite people behind the camera taking the picture!

All the guys

All the girls

Tori is so beautiful and I'm so happy she loved her bouquet!

Tori walking to the chapel - could she be more beautiful?? The moment Kevin saw her - we all were holding back tears!Tad's family - they have to make a special lens to fit us all in!

The first dance

Father daughter moment

This is the sweetest father daughter picture ever.

Tad and Tori trying to to cry

Dancing with the girls

Sarah-Grace and Holt danced all night together

Tad giving the toast trying not to cry, again!

The Cake

The happy couple! Congratulations Tori & Kevin- we wish you a lifetime of happiness!

First Day of School 2008

Monday was a great day. Sarah-Grace and Charlotte both had a wonderful first day at school. Sarah-Grace couldn't wait for Monday to come and then couldn't WAIT to get on the bus. Below are a few pictures.

Look Mom, No Hands!

This is what a 3 year old will scheme when she's left by herself for 2 minutes with no supervision. Very resourceful this one...

Step 1 - Apply visor upside down around midsection...

Step 2 - Insert reading material

Swim Team Season One - Check!

Woo Hoo! Our first season on swim team is over! Sarah-Grace did am amazing job! She enetered the county meet in 37 place with a time of 28.18 seconds in the 25 yard backstroke. She won her heat on Saturday with a time of 25.13 seconds (dropping 3 seconds off her best time) and is now ranked 9th in the county! We are so proud of her. She almost cried on Saturday when I told her she didn't have morning practices anymore.

Monday was her team awards party. She won most improved for her age group and she won most notable swim for entering the county meet in 37th place and finishing in the top 10. After the awards ceremony she broke down crying because she said she was going to miss her coach and because swim team was over. She was also upset because her trophy was bigger than her friends (she didn't understand why they all didn't get the same size since they all tried their best). Below is a you tube link to Sarah-Grace's county meet swim and some pictures from this season. Sarah-Grace is wearing the white UGA swim cap (this was in protest to the meet being held at Georgia Tech). Be sure to listen out for Charlotte screaming "Go Sarah-Drace" in the video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6e5a5nl01-k