Me and the kiddos.

They love self portraits almost as much as i do!

dancing in the rain

Power to kids who dance in the rain!


Pretty, pink and soaking wet, can it get any better?

would it help

if i turned a sad song on? i've been doing a bit of thinking on memorial day. just my own thoughts, no research. i had to explain to my 6 year old that we were remembering our soldiers, all of them from the first war to the last. to those fighting still. then my mom reminded me that we have soldiers here. people like my brother who did not have a voice, but fought as hard as any soldier ever could.

lil man was amazing. he had the smile of a tril of angels. he had the cry of a thousand deaths. he had the voice of god. there has never been a being of such truth, value and worth on this planet. it is hard to live up to, it really is. it is not that i ever felt compared to my brother, just that i was completely in awe of him. his soul spoke through his eyes, there was no doubt of his piety.

it may seem strange to you that i go on like this. to hell with what i think you think of me. lil man was my touch with grace. so today i memorialize you my brother. the heart that made us who we are. I LOVE YOU.

my name is M-U-D

Today has been a busy day. I still am baffled at how much more there is to do now that I am not working. I need to give a huge SHOUT-out to my Madre and CS right now. I am starting to realize how much of the prep and chauffeur duties that they handled. 2-words…A Lot.

I guess I am feeling the SAHM pressure. It’s funny how hard you think it is when you are a working mom and how equally hard you think it is when you are not. The bottom line is that parenting is work. It’s not always hard work but it is constant and you can’t ever stop moving. stick and move; stick and move.

I am finding more laughter in my day. I am slowly learning to just let the kiddos be. They didn’t have me hovering a month ago, I think I should ease back now. Today I felt uber “cool” because I let CB play in the mud. (See muddy feet below.) All that coolness backfired this evening when the kids were having watermelon in the back yard.




I was cleaning up from our delicious dinner of Spaghetti Pie ( a family fave). I realized that I had not heard a peep from either kid in at least 5 minutes. That is in fact all the time it takes to create a new mud puddle and 2 messy kids. I was to busy kicking my coolness in the butt to get a pic of that.

All in all, it was a pleasant but busy day. I am looking forward to an action packed summer, full of arts and crafts, kids, yard sales, and packing up my life once again. Stay tuned as things are moving and grooving in the Novus household. So without further ado I give you;

Spaghetti Pie…

4 oz dried spaghetti
1-2 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 beaten egg
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
8 oz ground turkey
¼ cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
½ cup chopped sweet pepper ( we prefer yellow and orange)
2-3 sprigs Italian parsley
1teaspoon salt
1 8 oz jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1 teaspoon crushed dried oregano
1 teaspoon thyme
Nonstick cooking spray
1 cup low fat cottage cheese
½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Cook spaghetti noodles according to package directions and drain.
2. Return spaghetti to saucepan and stir in butter and parmesan.
3. Meanwhile in a medium skillet sauté onion, garlic, Italian parsley and peppers in olive oil until onions start to turn golden. Add ground turkey, salt and brown. Drain liquid. Stir in sauce, oregano and thyme. Heat through.
4. Coat 9” pie pan with cooking spray. Press spaghetti mixture in bottom and up the sides of the plate. Spread cottage cheese over crust and spread meat mixture over the cottage cheese. Sprinkle with mozzarella.
5. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, let stand 10 minutes, slice and serve with your favorite bread.

This can be easily made with your favorite meat and dairy substitutes.

I first found this recipe in my better homes and gardens cookbook. The recipe above has been slightly modified from the original.

PLGC-out

rapido hola...

hola mis amigos y amigas...

I will be adding links to a few blogs and sites I have stumbled upon and really enjoy. Also trying a vegetarian night in the Caliente household so stay tuned for pics and recipes. Soccer practice at 9:00 a.m. otherwise I'd give you more.

PLGC -out

oh no she didn't

do a bullet point blog...

• am on twitter these days and totally addicted.
• am also on facebook, but i kinda reserve access, ya know.
• have bea's followup appt for her amblyopia tomorrow.
• am sad that there are only 7 days left of kindergarten, i have a mega-mom crush on my daughter's teaching team. Shout out to Mrs. B, Mrs. C and Mrs D. (alphabetical purely)
• am about to make a major life change
• have recently cut my hair uber short like this
• have been laid off since 5/1 (thank you el queso grande for the extra time!!)
• have tried time out, yelling, reasoning and deep breaths all in one go when my son Bre was being obstinate!
• am working on more recipes but with photos for this blog.

well that's all the points i can handle y'all.

PLGC (and if you don't know, you better ask somebody)