Baby steps at church

For 6 straight Sundays, sweet Ethan has been struggling in primary, having a hard time being reverent and not disruptive. Its been rough. This past week has been a blessing of learning new steps in ‘time out’ processes, and it has greatly helped at home. Yesterday, Ethan did amazing in primary. No loud yelling and being super grumpy. Not perfect, but much better than the usual norm. Ethan loves to speak in the microphone, and is always willing to say the scripture or something.  He was asked to fill in for someone not there, and gladly recited the theme for primary. So darling to hear his happy voice in the microphone. He didn’t throw a fit when he was done, and quietly went back to his chair in class. I practically passed out behind the piano in shock. (I play piano in primary, and Shaun teaches another class in the junior primary.) I made sure to give him a big hug, and tell him he was asked to help out because he was sitting reverently in class. So, huge blessings and finally some baby step progression. Love that little man.

I recently changed OB doctors, after getting fed up with the consistent 4 hour waits for each doctor appointment. I gathered information from friends on FB, did some homework, prayed and prayed, and was blessed to switch to a kind and very punctual Dr. Sheldon Paul. The difference between his office and my old one is like night and day. My old office I took a creaky elevator up to a somewhat cramped, dimly lit room. The chairs had padding, but got uncomfortable after the first hour. The receptionist were ok in being friendly.

Dr Paul’s office was a dream. First off, leather couches!!!! I sank into one, and wanted to immediately take a nap. Big, tinted windows that let in a lot of natural light. I’m big on light. The staff was much nicer. The main girl recognized me from church. I got in and out in 45 minutes. I was blown away and just so very grateful. Dr Paul is awesome, and he knew about my old doctor and her constant tardiness. They work in the same OB circle, and he mentioned that she’s always late for their doctor meetings. Good grief. He said he feels bad if he’s 30 minutes late, and it drives him crazy. I think that there grants him a ticket to heaven.

So, a huge, wonderful sigh of relief on that one.

I’ve stumbled across some super recipes, and had to share!

First off, a very simple pizza dough recipe. You can make it quickly, roll it out, throw toppings on it, and throw it in the oven. No wait time for rising. I’ve used it twice, and it’s been very helpful. Go HERE for the recipe to Mel’s kitchen café. It’s the second recipe in the post, the ‘fast’ one.

Here’s my favorite new dessert: Nutella cake in a jar. It turned out so fun. You basically make a yellow cake mix, put a cup of it in a canning jar, microwave it for 2-3 minutes. Take a scoop of cake out, drizzle some nutella, put the scoop back, and drizzle more on top. I melted the nutella for easier drizzling, and added some cool whip in the jar. Heaven. Go HERE for the recipe.

My latest pasta craving, my simpler version of the Pioneer Woman’s creamy red pepper pasta recipe.

I basically satuee onions for a bit, throw in some minced garlic, then add the onion mixture and a bottle of roasted red peppers into the food processor. Blend it up, throw it back in the skillet, and add some cream (1/2 a cup, or more?) to the mixture. Cream, you devil, you, but you make stuff taste so good. Let it cook and thicken for a bit, and its good to go over some pasta. Gotta have your Italian parsley and real Parmesan cheese, the big wedge of the good stuff you see above

What the sauce looks like after its been blended up, and now waiting to thicken.

The goods!

And, for one last good find:

I saw this idea at a friend’s house. I got a scrap booking sheet, put it inside a cheap walmart frame, and used a dry erase marker to mark the week’s meals. I’m such a nut. I will do my best to meal plan for two weeks, but constantly switch up the meals, going back and forth, etc. I thought this would be helpful.

Fun stuff!