"Stop it, Mommy..."

So, my little two-year-old angel got very upset with me this morning. Wow! That's new. Not! :) Sydney decided that she didn't want to get ready for school this morning. She didn't want to brush her hair or teeth; keep her shoes and socks on; or, most of all, get in the car.

We managed to accomplish all of our morning tasks, at a very slow speed, and as we were backing out of the driveway the following conversation occurred:

Sydney: Mommy, I want a sticker.

Me: Sorry, Syd. No sticker today. You were not a good listener this morning.

Sydney: That is not nice, Mommy.

Me: Sorry about that. Maybe tomorrow you'll be a better listener and then, you can have a sticker.

Sydney: Stop it, Mommy..or I'll put you in the trash!

Me: (trying not to laugh/cry) Sydney, you do not talk to Mommy that way. That is not nice.

Wow! My silly daughter wants to throw me in the trash. Where do they come up with this stuff? :)

Just a Day!

I was thinking about what to post today while taking my shower this morning, which made me move much slower than usual. Well, I think I'm just having a slow day. You know the ones when your brain and body have a disconnect.

I got stuck on the parkway this morning because of an accident. Despite taking a very long shower this morning and leaving a bit later than usual, it really didn't affect me at all. I did sit for quite some time, but I didn't even really mind. I'm typically very impatient when it comes to traffic and practically give myself a heart attack because I do not want to be late. Today, I just didn't care. I was listening to the radio and staring out the window. There was one point when I could see the horizon and the red sun making its way up. There was a group of black birds hanging out on a telephone wire. They were preening and chattering away. I love to wonder what they think about.

I made it to work on time, even though I had the opportunity to dawdle a bit this morning. It was nice to have that time. Now, I have to find the plug between my brain and body and reconnect. :) Looks like I will have lots of technology issues to tend to this morning, which means lots of running up and down halls.

I hope you all have a great day! :)

Good Morning to You!

It is another Monday. Syd woke up in a very good mood this morning. She sang in the car this morning, "Good morning to you! What's the weather today? Is is cloudy? Is it sunny? What's the weather today?" Then, of course, she didn't want it to be Monday today either and insisted that it was Thursday. :)

We had a great weekend and, as always, it passed at top speed. Friday night, we did some chores and packed up for the weekend.

Saturday, we got up early, ate breakfast and headed to Williamsburg to visit Rachael, Brien and Lily (RachD). We arrived around 12:30pm, hung out for a bit with the family and their cutie pie dogs, Wayland and Holly. We had brought our puppy, Madison, with us since we were headed to my MIL's later in the day. After the kids and the puppies met, we headed to the NY Deli for lunch. Miss Sydney decided that her lunch would consist of four mozzarella sticks, a few bites of sandwich and one of Lily's chicken fingers. She ate so much, she didn't eat her dinner that night.

After lunch, we headed to the pumpkin patch with the girls. The two of them really hit it off and weren't terribly interested in the pumpkins. They were used as stools for them. They rolled around in the grass and dirt for most of the visit and Sydney had sooo much fun. When it was time to leave, she didn't want to let Rachael go. She's claimed her. We headed back to Rach and Brien's house to pick up Miss Madison and Syd fell asleep in the car. She was totally wiped out! She slept almost all the way to Grandma Loretta's. BTW-I have pics, of course, but they will have to wait a few days.

We arrived at Loretta's (my MIL) around 6pm. Loretta made homemade mac and cheese, green beans and stuffed chicken for dinner. YUM! She took Sydney from the second we walked in until we left. Sydney was scrubbed from head to toe when we arrived as she was a very dusty girl. She'd had so much fun digging in the dirt. Despite the late nap, Syd went to bed at her usual bedtime, without protest. She also slept until 7:45am!!! WOW!

Marc and I stayed up talking with Loretta until just after 1am. I love that! It is so hard for me to stay up that late, but I hadn't been in a room with Loretta since July. Time really flies. Sydney slept in Grandma's room that night and Loretta got up with her the next morning. Marc and I were surprised to roll over and see that we had slept until 9:30am!! If that wasn't nice enough, Loretta made homemade waffles for breakfast.

We all got dressed and headed out to USA Baby, but they were closed. We decided to have lunch at this little Mexican restaurant instead. YUM! We returned to watch the first half of the skins game and hopped on the road just after half time. Sydney talked all the way home and we listened to the game. We had almost made it home when the game ended. It was a sad loss. They were doing so well in the first. We thought they were going to pull it out. :( Next week, the Cardinals.

I hope everyone had a great weekend! :) I'll close with a tag from Tib.

ABOUT MY HUBBY! :) You know I love him! :)

What is his name? Marc Justin
How long have you been married? 5 yrs on Friday
How long did you date? About six years
How old is he? 35
Who eats more? Me. Hands Down!
Who said I love you first? I did
Who is taller? He is.
Who sings better? Probably me and I remember the words!
Who is smarter? We’re both smart. It would depend on the topic.
Whose temper is worse? Mine
Who does the laundry? We both do.
Who does the dishes? We both do.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do
Who pays the bills? Me
Who mows the lawn? He does. No thank you! Sneezeville sucks!
Who cooks dinner? That is a tough one. I think I do primarily, but he is always helping.
Who drives when you are together? He does.
Who is more stubborn? We are both equally stubborn. Actually, I think he might be a bit more stubborn.
Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Me.
Whose parents do you see the most? Mine
Who proposed? He did
Who is more sensitive? I am
Who has more friends? Me
Who has more siblings? He does. He has three.
Who wears the pants in the family? We share the same pair! :) It is more fun that way. It has gotten harder to fit since I got pregnant.

Marc, I love you! :)

My Best Friend's Wedding!

Last weekend, Marc and I slipped up to Queenstown, MD to attend my best friend's wedding. We decided to make a weekend of it and stayed at the adorable Queenstown Inn.

This B&B was so sweet. Our room, pictured below, was huge! The photo does not do it justice. There is actually another day bed to the left that you cannot see. The private bathroom was up a short flight of stairs and had a separate shower/toilet rooms. There was an outdoor patio on either side of the room. We had a very comfortable stay and the included breakfast was so good! I wanted to try everything the cafe had, but didn't have time. (Note: this B&B has had many lives! It used the be the home to the inventor of the hypodermic needle, it was a bank and a post office as well.) If you are in the area, or even if you aren't, you should stay here!




On to the main event! The ceremony location was a five minute walk from the Inn. So, it was very convenient. Rachel couldn't have asked for better weather. It was beautiful!

We were on our way to the wedding when we ran into Rachel and her father waiting to board the boat she would be arriving on. My eyes welled with tears the minute I saw her. She was so lovely. I blew her kisses and headed to the ceremony location where the guests and the groom, Matt, were waiting. He was also quite handsome. The ceremony was short and sweet! :) It was followed by a buffet dinner and, of course, cake. See a few photos below.

Here comes the bride (by land and sea)!
The ceremony.

Rach and Me!

After the reception, Marc and I went to the Jeddy (local outdoor bar) to hang out with the bride, groom, wedding party and the groom's parents. No drinks for me, of course, but the potato skins were yummy! The best part about an outdoor bar, the cigarette smoke was nearly non-existent!

Rachel has been in St. Lucia all week and I miss her terribly. I got an email from her and they are having a wonderful time in paradise! Yay, Rachel and Matt! We love you guys!

Blogging Mania!

I've made several posts today in an attempt to catch up! I think I am finally up to the wedding and this past weekend. That will be later, maybe tomorrow. We'll see.

Thanks for checking in on us and staying patient with me! I get around to everything, eventually! :)

Have a great day!
Jess

September 2007: Family Weekend

Again, I cannot believe that we didn't take more photos. Mom, Tom, Wes and Ash were around this weekend, but you wouldn't know it! :) We had a great weekend and have another event planned at the end of this month to celebrate October b-days (Mom, Tom and Ash).

I had planned to document a step-by-step on chicken frying, but it looks like I missed a few. Oh well, guess I was too busy cooking!

Frying chicken takes a little bit of preparation. I was taught to trim excess fat and soak all pieces in a salt-water mix overnight. I use a good mix of everything (wings, thighs, legs, and breasts).
Next, you dump flour into a container along with salt, pepper and any other seasonings. I like to use a container with a cover so that I can throw the pieces in, put the lid on and shake it up. It gets a nice even coating and makes less mess.




You are almost ready to start frying, but first you have to melt a combination of Crisco solid and oil in a good frying pan. Yes, I said it CRISCO! I use my great grandmother's cast iron skillets, which are pretty large so they require a lot! Two of them almost take up the entire stovetop (see below). It is very important to bring the oil to temperature. You kind of want it to sizzle when you drop flour in, but you don't want it to splatter everywhere. Frying chicken is sooo easy. It is just VERY TIME CONSUMING. Each small batch takes about 25-25 minutes to fry. You want to take your time and make sure you have nice and even color on each side. I also recommend splatter screens. It is a messy process, but they really help cut down on the cleanup.



After you have fried each batch, I like to line a baking pan with lots of paper towels and set the oven to 275. I place the pieces in as a I cook and shove the pan in the oven. It keeps the chicken nice and warm and gives it time to drain a lot of the excess oil.

No chicken dinner is complete without green beans! I cook mine for several hours with cured side meat (salt pork) and onion, if it is around. You just cannot have chicken without green beans.

We also had homemade apple pie and cornbread that day. I didn't bother to take pics of that or a the final table setting. DUH! Oh well! :)

Here are some pics of the family at play and at Claude Moore Park:

Sydney is snuggling Miss Madison!

Grandma is reading to Sydney!

I think I mentioned to you that I started Sydney's Halloween costume that weekend with my mom. Here are a few pictures from that:

Looks easy, right? There I am at 1am (below). I still haven't worked on that costume. I'd better get busy!

The next day, we went to the ballpark for a baseball game! What a perfect weekend with family!

Labor Day 2007

We spent the weekend at the Reedville home over the Labor Day weekend. We love it there! The house is right on the bay. I wish we had taken more photos. We ate very well and visited a few local thrift stores and a church craft fair. I cannot wait to go back!