Got Beans?

On Sunday, the Twins went to a CYO function. Burgers and dogs provided--bring a side dish. Which means 2 from my house. So I think and think and think and think....what would be inexpensive (cheap), easy to fix and NOT require a trip to the store? Got it...baked beans and pistachio salad. Had everything but mallows for the salad....I rock!

Turns out...several other mothers were on the same page...5 kids showed up with beans. Soooo some beans made their way home from the function.

Everyday I mentioned enthusiastically, "We have beans!"
No takers.
Today was it...use'em or lose'em forever. So I dug into my oldies, but goodies recipes and found something....something that Frack has even been asking for.

Ranchero Supper. It's from Taste of Home's Quick Cooking--Jan/Feb 2003.


Ingredients--hamburger--it calls for 1 1/2 pounds. I have used less and I have used more. 1-20 oz. can of baked beans. 1 can of drained corn. 1/4 cup barbecue sauce. 2 tbsp ketchup. 1 tbsp prepared mustard. 3/4 cup cheddar cheese. Sliced green onions and sour cream. Tortilla chips. (notice no bake cookies in background....oven still broken--but these were awesome no bakes!)

Brown ground beef with some onion. I used fake. Yep, I use dried, minced onion. It's fast and my hands don't smell when I am done.

Brown it pretty good.

Once it's browned, add beans

add drained corn

add barbecue sauce, and ketchup....but I skip the mustard. Although I am a mustard FREAK my people are not. They prefer the mustard be left out. Always aim to please my people.

Mix thoroughly. Heat until bubbly. Serve on chips, with shredded cheese and sour cream. Oh and green onions...if you aren't lazy like me and your people like'em.

This picture above is from the magazine.....isn't it plated gorgeously? Mine is plated below....not too bad.

And I had a lovely model for mine. Isn't she gorgeous? Well, she's cheap. Just sayin'.

Way Back Wednesday on Thursday

I know I know.....this was supposed to happen yesterday. I lost control of my day the moment I stepped out of bed. Which was at 4:30 a.m. I rode in the very back of a suburban south 2 1/2 hours, sat in a conference all day and returned north 2 1/2 hours in the very back of a suburban. I think I only bitched complained out loud once. In my head, maybe twice. OK...a lot more than twice. I am 5'11" and 42 years old. I am entitled to bitch complain out loud one time per day. Minimum.


Anyway, here is the long awaited post.......

Here we are at Frick and Frack's First Communion in....um.

Well I can't remember what year it was. I think it was 2002...pretty sure it was 2002. They were 8 and College Girl was 12.

And yet again, my hair is a source of humor for my little lovelies. I couldn't recreate that look if I tried. And hopefully, neither can College Girl. Yeek...I forgot she had such issues with her teeth....

Aren't you amazed when you look at all the pics I put up that Big Guy always looks the same? Geez. I could hate him if he didn't do dishes every night.



Time flies....we have 10 days before confirmation for Frick and Frack. And I thought that finding dress pants for an 8 year-old-boy, a shirt and a tie was an adventure....not so much. This weekend...dress pants for an almost 15 year-old-boy/man, a shirt and a tie might just top any shopping trip I have ever had to make. Nothing like waiting to the last minute...........Just sayin'.

Again!

It's Broken AGAIN!

After making rolls to go with our dinner of homemade chicken and noodles, I thought I would whip up a batch or 2 of muffins for the freezer as well as my trip south at odarkthirty tomorrow...not so much. Pink oven will not heat up. It baked rolls and is done for the day.

Oh no... what will I do?

Nothing but call the repair man and see what he can do. Dare I hope?

This could be a becarefulwhatyouwishformoment.

Just sayin'.

Surgery Update--Part 3

All is well....she slept all night in a drug induced haze....so it is all good!

We arrived home around 9 last night....but prior to that this is how it went........

Arrived at 1:30....immediate apology from Dr. over "situation" from the morning.

All the pre-surgery prep takes place in an extremely cold room the size of a large chain store that shall-remain-nameless-but-pisses-me-off-on-a-regular-basis bathroom stall. It doesn't smell as bad a large chain store that shall-remain-nameless-but-pisses-me-off-on-a-regular-basis, though. Praise God for small miracles.

Give good drugs. To Frack...not to her mom and dad. Dang it--they should share those little pills.

Wheel her off....that's an icky feeling for a mom and dad. Send us to a warm and inviting waiting room.

Call at 4:10...putting her under.

Call at 4:30....beginning surgery. Expects it to take 60 minutes.

Dr. shows up in waiting room at 5:10. All is good. He is pleased with himself and and oh, her, too. He found no damage to her ACL or MCL. He did release her lateral ligament. He called it 'lateral compression syndrome'--I think. He doesn't usually like to release the lateral ligament in 14 year olds but her was incredibly tight as well as unusually thick. He said that he could barely move her knee cap...he also used the word usually a lot....usually when they are asleep he can move the knee cap out of place to the 75% level, he could barely get 25% movement on hers. He said that there was some old very minor damage to her meniscus..but nothing that had to be fixed. Probably the damage was from when she was 10 and ran into a tree playing football with her friends. And we spent a year rehabbing the knee.

Have I mentioned that she is injured a lot?

Call at 5:30. They have taken her to a room upstairs. The coming out of the anesthesia is the part that was the worst. I hate watching that. And then she was puking sick--so that just added to the misery. She would prefer to never have apple juice or saltines again. Just sayin'. Finally got home around 9--and had to call in a favor from Pharmacist Lane to fill her meds.

She is supposed to go to PT on Wednesday....but they are full, so I guess it will be Thursday.

All is well at the Hays House.....thanks for all the prayersprayersprayersprayers.

And thanks for the phone calls, emails, cupcakes and koolaid.

It's good to have family and friends that are like family.........Just sayin'.

I am off to make homemade chicken and noodles...per the patients request. I think she is feeling better..........

Surgery Update--Part 2

Long day....will give more information on Tuesday.

She's all fixed up....and that is what is important.

Thanks be to God.

Surgery Update--Part 1

Phone rings at 10:00--it's the surgery center. Um....bad feeling start here...

....this is Cayla and would it be possible to reschedule Frack's surgery for a little later?

A little later today?

....well no.

Tomorrow?

...well no. Possibly next Monday. Well, um, no it looks full next Monday. Maybe the next week?

Hmm.

....otherwise it's going to be too late in the day for the Dr. to perform the surgery. There's been an emergency that has taken up his time and it looks like a colleague could do Frack's surgery. Wait let me talk to Dr. about that and see what he says. So would it be OK if some other Dr. did the surgery?

Wait. Let me get this straight. Repeat above conversation to her.

...Yes.

This seems crazy.
(I realize she is the messenger....and shooting her is my only option.)
So I begin shooting NOW.
So what you are saying is that we can have an unknown Dr. we haven't ever seen in our life do the surgery or we can wait up to 2 weeks for our Dr. ? We have made all the arrangements to have the time off now...not to mention the fact that Frack could have gone to school, me to school (do you know how much time it takes to get ready for me to have a sub?) and Big Guy to work today. This prolongs the pain 2 more weeks, puts us almost to the end of school, puts recovery into summer and us in limbo yet again.

...so you want the unknown Dr. to perform the surgery?

And you want me to decide right now? In like this very minute? This is too rushed.

....we can give you 30 minutes.

I will take that 30 minutes.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Long story...short version....

4 phone calls from the surgery center and hospital later.....in literally 30 minutes.....our Dr. could do the surgery at the main hospital around 3:30 or 4:00. He simply didn't have a slot at the surgery center to do the surgery when he could get there. Which is what time the surgery would be with the unknown Dr. at the surgery center anyway. I could even hear our Dr. in the background telling them to tell us to come to the main hospital.....It seems as though his assistant panicked and called us before she really had all the information/options available.

Here is my question for all those out there in doctorland......is there not a doctor who is on call just to perform emergency surgeries? Seems like the emergency is who should take what they can get vs. scheduled surgeries. Of course, it is easy for me to say that since my child was a scheduled surgery. I would probably be on the other side of the fence if my child was the emergency. I'd want our doctor no matter what.

Spoiled you say? Yep.

Oh, and Frack hasn't had anything to eat or drink since midnight...but the nurse was kind enough to call the anaesthesiologist to find out if she could have some water...and she could have 8 ounces by 11:00. Which she did.

Grouchy you say? Yep. Teenager with an empty stomach=GROUCHY PANTS!

Can't say I blame her. 42 year old with an empty stomach=DOUBLE GROUCHY PANTS.

Just sayin.'

Will post after surgery.........

Knee Surgery

We got the call yesterday afternoon that we have to be at the surgery center by 12:30 for a 1:30 surgery. Will post updates after surgery..........

Through the Years

So tonight is the Slagle Studio Annual Baton and Dance Recital.....Frack's first recital was in 1999--she was 4 almost 5. She is now 14 ALMOST 15 (how did I get this old?) and tonight she is a spectator. She has a knee injury that won't let her perform tonight and she is scheduled for surgery on Monday morning.

First twirling group.....she loves to twirl. She loved it from the first day her sister brought a baton home. Her sister...well, she...hated it. No joke. She would have rather had her eyes poked out.


I loved this costume so much.....the little skirt was too cute. No matter what we did to keep it in place the sucker ended up underneath her armpits. Oooohhhhh the perils of being a rectangle shaped girl. Hard for me to help her with it since I am a big ol' pear shaped girl. Just sayin'.

For about 4-5 years, she twirled with a partner as well as in a group. They were too cute--and now, well. They. Are. Terribly. Grown. Up.

This costume was so easy.....no itchy scratchy, no sequins, just soft and flowing. It looked gorgeous on everyone in the group. Notice how Frack looks like an onion IN EVERY PICTURE...I am an expert bun maker. Not a hair out of place--ever--when I put a bun in it is meant to stay in. She could sleep in it for 3 days. Can you say hair product?


One year (actually more than one) we "invented" costumes to save $$$. And they looked great! Everybody was jealous.

Loved this costume...again....easy maintenance....and looked good on everyone! Always a bonus.


This is Frack's second favorite costume.....because she loved the song that went with it. And she can still do the routine that goes with this costume...but she can't wear the costume. She thinks she can but her dad says notsomuch.

5th and 6th grade Drill Team. No comment.


7th and 8th grade Drill Team. Cool gloves.

This is Frack's favorite costume. She loved the twirly skirt and the song--some Britany Spears song--Swing With Me. She can remember every song every costume every recital. Like the time we went to recital with out a baton. Where the heck did she think we were going? Church?

Tonight when we go....it will be sad. I enjoy seeing her twirl because she is doing something she loves to do. And when you have children, seeing them do things they love does your heart good.

That's what it's all about.

Just sayin'.

The World Could Use a Few More of These

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Way Back Wednesday

See this picture of the most wonderful mother-in-law in the world? Really, she's pretty darn good. She makes the best pies and has taught me a trick or 200. It's her birthday next week and she'll be 75. That is amazing to me.....she married in 1958, had six kids--5 of them boys and 1 girl--and now has 5 daughter-in-laws, 14 grandchildren, 1.5 great-grandchildren, and she is still sane.

Unbelievably sane.


Of course, the reason she is sane is because she had a belt in a kitchen drawer and she wasn't afraid to use it on naughty little boys. Not my husband--he was an angel and she liked him best. And not his sister....she wasn't ever naughty. Just ask her. But don't ask her brothers. Hays Boys tell lies.

Oh and she smoked cigarettes and drank coffee to live through the 70's. If I had 6 kids in 9 1/2 years and 5 of them were boys--I would smoking something other than cigarettes and drinking something other than coffee.

Just sayin'.

This picture of the 6 of them was taken about 8 years ago. They all think they still look this good. Really. But remember--the Hays Boys tell lies.

It thrilled her to death to have each and every grandchild. They all were like having the first grandchild 14 times. It pleased her to be able to hold Frick and Frack at the same time. Look at her smile! It was great!



Here is Granny's favorite pastime. Talking on the phone. Yep, we've got a million of this same picture. My kids think it is hilarious to take her picture while she talking on the phone. But seriously, she loves her family and calls us to check in a lot. And we love it...we love to tell her jokes and hear her laugh. I just talked to her tonight and told her a joke just so I could hear her laugh. There is nothing better than hearing Granny laugh.

And someone taught her to text. So now we get text messages--I love it! And she sends texts to her grandchildren....and she figured out that if she would learn to text, then her grandchildren would answer and she could talk to them.

And you can only see the backside of my father-in-law because he is building her a fire. He does whatever she wants. She is at his beck and call. He loves her more than anything. And she loves him more than anything.



This picture was taken at College Girl's Confirmation in the fall of 2005. With my favorite Hays Boy. He loves his mom. She worked hard to make my Hays Boy what he is today.

And for that I say.....Thank You.

I couldn't do it without you, Granny.

Happy 75th Birthday, Granny! And many more....

Dancing Daddy's

On Sunday, our local dance school had their spring recital. Although I have some great video of cute little dancing girls...this video...well, it...well...just watch it. I am warning you though, it's not pretty. Just sayin'.

(I wasn't drunk when I was filming it...and I do get better as the video goes on....)

Prom 2009

None of these pictures are of anyone related to me....thankfully, I spent a relaxing day baking cookies and paying bills--the mom's of these kids spent their day a little differently!

I snapped a few pics of our HS kids on the 'red carpet'--175 to be exact--but I am only sharing a few with you!

I am always moved by how grown up they all seem when they put on formal attire....can't they just be little forever?

Prom 2009