Our golden egg....................

Here's a few of Kirk's "girls", as we affectionately call them.

We have a variety of hens, including Rhode Island Reds, Black Sexlinks, White Plymouth Rocks & one Silkie. The run(or aviary as some may call it) that Kirk built for them is quite impressive. Although he has just informed me that tomorrow's job is cleaning it and the coop out thoroughly. Yay for me!

This is our Silkie. She was given to us by a friend that could no longer care for her. They'd had two baby chicks at the time and one of them was pulled completely through the fencing by a wild animal. This one survived, but was missing most of her feathers. So, we took her and she's grown into a beautiful, healthy girl. She's a very small breed and will stay about half the size of our regular hens.We call her our "little dinosaur" because of her blue beak, feet and earlobes. She's very interesting. Her skin is blue and her bones are blue as well. Apparently they're quite the delicacy in China. We, of course will not be eating our hens, but we are hoping for miniature blue eggs soon.

Here's our "little dinosaur" on her lower perch. Kirk put this perch in especially for her. She's somewhat of a loner because of her size and can't seem to make it up to the taller perches to be with the other girls. Notice all the feathers that hang down from her feet. She's a beautiful girl!

This is our very first egg! It's quite a big deal here at our house. Kirk has loved and taken care of "his girls" for four months and nothing could have made him happier than seeing this first egg. He was so excited when he found it that we all had to come out and look at it before it was removed. It had a few small, black feathers on it so we're assuming that it came from one of the Black Sexlink hens. It's very light brown in color, almost peach and this picture did not do it justice. I haven't told him yet, but "his girls" have already laid another one. He takes such pride in raising and caring for them..............which only makes me love him that much more.

my therapy sessions........................

There is absolutely nothing better to me than simultaneously playing tennis and purging my soul to my best friend. And today, that is exactly what I did. I didn't get..............no that isn't correct.............I didn't allow myself the opportunity to do anything for myself over the summer. I love taking care of the kids(and Kirk, for that matter), but everyone needs a chance to vent a little. So tennis in the mornings after dropping the kids off at school, is "my time". But, in all honesty...................I don't have much to complain about. I'm actually a boring kind of girl. There isn't a whole lot of drama that happens in my life. I get excited over new recipes..............I love hearing all the latest gossip from my teenager when she comes home from school, I read books ALL the time and miss my husband tremendously when he's on graveyard. And because I don't work, my days tend to blend into the next. But, in-between those boring moments...................life, love, laughter and tears happen. And besides my husband, I look forward to sharing these comical, serious & heart wrenching tales with my friend. She knows me so well that within a few sentences she can tell if something is bothering me. And I feel I know her equally well too. I tend to be quite a talker and sometimes it's in complete circles. But, I honestly talk to very few people. And the down side of that for these people is that once you get me started, it's hard to get me to stop. I cry easily, but usually don't share why. I keep it all bottled up inside myself and sometimes sharing it with Kirk just isn't enough. And don't tell him I said this, but sometimes it's Kirk that's bothering me. Mandy and I call this our "therapy sessions". And that's exactly what it is for me. I feel lighter, less burdened after one of our "therapy sessions" and ironically, not one thing has changed except that I've let a few things go that were bothering me and altered my perception on others. I am lucky to have a friend that doesn't try to change me. Instead, she helps me see another version of situations and myself that I may not see. I guess the best part is that she's always on my side. Don't get me wrong, we disagree on things all the time. And we don't always see things eye to eye, but that doesn't mean she's not on my side or doesn't trust my judgment. Having someone I can honestly tell the whole truth to, without judgment is a rare thing for me. Yea, she might tease me about something stupid or silly that I did, but that's ok. With most people, I tend to leave out embarrassing parts or parts that may make me sound like the bad guy. I don't do that with her because it doesn't matter. To her, I'm just me. The Becky that is boring, outrageous, hysterical, absurd, OCD, hilarious, lonely, sad, embarrassed, furious and happy. The same Becky that makes very many mistakes and it's very comforting knowing that, just being me..........................faults and all....................is still ok.

rainbows in the morning....................

I can only assume that what is strange to me, must be fairly common to others. Or maybe I have that backwards and it's the other way around. Anyway, today is Monday and I've already encountered a traffic jam due to a chicken on Reid Street. Ok, I'll be honest........it was more like a little hold up. We don't have enough cars here in Palatka to have a traffic jam. The chicken just strutted right across the road oblivious to all of the cars. Ryley wanted to catch him and Maggie almost cried thinking that there was a chance that poor chicken would get hit. But we were running behind as it was, so after he/she successfully crossed the road...............on we went. Next came the poop. Yep, you heard me right. Confused? Yea, me too and I'm the one telling the story. Let's see............how can I put this without you thinking terrible, bad thoughts about me? The truth? Well, I guess that will have to do. I was either too preoccupied this morning or maybe I just completely bypassed the "poop sidewalk" all together this morning on my way out. Surely that's the only way I must have missed it. Anyway, let's get something straight, right off the bat..................I love our new Boston terrier, Moo............really, I do. She's full of energy and loves us completely, but I'm pretty sure she's atleast one fry short of a happy meal. Her very favorite thing to do is poop on the sidewalk when we let her out before bed. By this time every night, I'm tired or Kirk's tired and we could care less where she uses the bathroom as long as it's not in the house. So, in all honesty...................we're to blame. That doesn't make me any less upset about this though. I still don't understand how something so small can poop seven turds at one time! Gross enough? Oh yea! Well, that's what I get for buying her Kibbles n' Bits homestyle. I get to see a rainbow each and every day...............................full of brown, red and green turdlets(as Kirk loves to call them). So, if you ever need to get a hold of me in the morning, you can usually find me out front hosing off the "poop sidewalk" for all to see. I'm pretty popular with the neighbors as you can imagine. Right about now, you're probably thinking you'd like to swap places with me..............walk a day in my shoes. I know, I get that alot. It's the rainbow...........................it gets em' every time!

My silver lining

Our freshly painted toes after our pedicures. Bailey's on the left(she got blue daisies on both of her big toes), Maggie's toes are purple with white daisies and I'm on the bottom.

Maggie and Bailey's beautifully manicured fingernails. Mag's on the left and Bailey is on the right.

I don't think that many people know this about me, but I do not allow myself the luxury of getting pedicures, manicures or even haircuts. I cut and color my own hair and give myself my own version of a mani/pedi. This is by no means something I am proud of, but over the years it just sort of happened. I can only imagine the shock and disgust towards me that some people may be feeling right about now. It is not that I feel that I don't deserve these things, but more like................I'm wasting money on myself by doing this. Did that statement just contradict itself? I guess I do tend to talk in circles. Anyway, since I don't allow myself these luxuries, today was quite the treat for me and the girls. Grandma Brenda decided on a whim, that the girls needed a "day at the spa". All four of us got pedicures, Maggie and Bailey got manicures and Grandma and I even got our eyebrows waxed. We left out of there feeling like new women! We were feeling so good about ourselves that we were quite surprised that Kirk, PaPa and Ryley even recognized us as we walked into Chili's. I was walking on air, feeling pretty good about myself as I sat down in the restaurant. We talked for a few minutes to the guys about what we'd had done and teased Ryley that he should have gone with us and had his toenails painted. I mentioned to Kirk that I'd even had my eyebrows and upper lip waxed(yep, I said it). Instead of saying something like, "Oh really, I didn't notice.". He said, "yea, I can tell. It's really red!".  "What???", I yelled and covered my mouth. And then he leaned around Maggie and whispered, "But you look really beautiful.". And right there......................in those five little words..................was my silver lining.

First day of school...................

uugggghhhhh...............Mom! No pictures please! 9th grade here I come!

Bai loves her new zombie brains backpack!

My little 2nd grader and favorite 5th grader!

After working all night, Kirk is barely hanging on. It was so important to him to ride with me to take the kids to school.

What was I so worried about last night? The kids did great this morning. It never fails to amaze me that I.................a person who could literally make a career of worrying..............managed to give birth to such sane, rational, easy going children. Bai may have gotten her shyness from me, but she's as confident as her daddy. Just like her brother and sister............they are sure of themselves............even if, at times.........they don't realize it. Why is letting go so hard? I was so proud of Bailey this morning. More often than not, I am the one who needs a shoulder to cry on. Not the other way around. Leaving Bailey was even harder than I'd expected though. She may be the oldest, but she carries my heart with her wherever she goes. If she was nervous, it didn't show. Under stress, she has the calmest face you'll ever encounter. She has more control than I've ever seen. Which makes it even harder to tell(since mother's are supposed to just "know") when something is wrong. As we neared the drop off point, I began to panic, but she was completely unfazed. She said goodbye and stepped out of the car as my little girl. But as she turned to walk away.......................there stood a tall, beautiful, completely composed young lady, full of life and ready for whatever this new phase of her life was going to throw at her. And that is when I began to cry. What happened to my little girl and who was this mystery young lady wearing her clothes????? Next was Maggie and Ryley's turn. They'd already told me that they didn't need me to walk them to class, but I was prepared anyway......just in case. The whole ride to school they talked and smiled. They couldn't wait! They were going to get to see their grandma every day, make new friends...................it was going to be wonderful! So, we pulled into the loop to drop them off and I asked them one more time, "are you sure you don't want me to walk with you?". "No, we're fine! I've got it all memorized in my head!" Maggie said as she started rambling off directions to where grandma stands in the morning and then on to her classroom. Ryley just rolled his eyes at his sister and smiled. Part of me was bursting with pride over how mature they already are, but the other half.......................well, she was getting a little teary eyed because her babies no longer needed her to hold their hand. I'd just started thinking what perfect, nice, caring children I'd raised, when I watched Ryley help Maggie out of the car. How thoughtful, I thought. He handed her school supplies over to her and then, out of nowhere, Maggie threw his lunch box at his head and pushed him out of the way. "Mag!" yelled Ryley...................and there they were..................my "real" children. And in that moment, I realized that everything was just as it should be. As I waved goodbye to them one last time and started to drive away...............Kirk reached over and held my hand. He always knows exactly when I need him. Even after working all night, he made sure to ride with me to drop them off on their first day. He held my hand the whole way home and listened to me ramble on about the kids and occasionally sniffle when I got a little upset. I'd be lost without him.

Cheesy Chicken Casserole

preheat oven to 350*

5 roasted boneless skinless chicken breasts shredded(it seems that my whole life is divided into fifths, I would recommend a breast per person)

6 T. salted butter(I highly believe that this will make or break the recipe. If you use margarine, it DOES matter)

6 T. all purpose flour

2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground pepper

3 cups milk

1/2 cup mayo

2 tsp. lemon juice

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

6-8 pats of butter

1 lb. cooked pasta(I prefer Barilla campanelle, but that is for looks only)

1/4 cup panko lemon pepper bread crumbs

This is a very simple and versatile recipe that is a HUGE hit at my house. The roux that I use in this recipe is from a recipe that was handed down to me by my step-mom and I just love it! You can either make this exactly as I do or use this recipe as a base and change it up to your liking. If you don't think you'll like the hint of lemon in the bread crumbs, then use regular or italian or none at all. I think it adds a wonderful flavor to the dish. I have one at my house that doesn't like them so I just omit them from a small section of the dish. The same goes for the chicken. I usually make the chicken ahead of time and this works very well for me. You can use leftover chicken, but make sure that it is a dish that had flavor and that everyone liked. I roast the chicken with lots of herbs and spices because that is the flavor that we like. I also shred the chicken back into the roasting pan so I don't lose any of the yummy crispy parts that may be left in the pan. These little things are important. I hate bland food. Sauces should have lots of flavors mixed together to form something completely their own.

In a saucepan, melt the 6 T. butter and then add the 6 T. flour, salt & pepper. Gradually stir in the milk and continue stirring until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat and add mayo, lemon juice and half the cheese. Stir until blended. To the cheese sauce add shredded chicken and cooked pasta and mix until coated. Pour into buttered casserole dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Next, sprinkle bread crumbs and then randomly place pats of butter. Place in 350* oven for about 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden. Be careful not to overcook this recipe. Everything in it is pre-cooked. You are just helping the flavors come together by heating it up one last time. The last thing you want to do is dry it out. I usually serve this with a salad and a side of roasted green beans, but tonight..................it's canned peas. What can I say? I'm lazy!

Playing in the rain.................

Ryley and Maggie playing in the rain..........

Ryley

Maggie

racing down the driveway.........

rain angels....................

Best friends...................

..........forever..........

My sweet babies had such a good time playing in the rain yesterday afternoon. Every time it rains, they beg me to play outside. Somewhere along the line, I guess I lost the excitement that comes from doing something so simple, yet so satisfying. I'm determined to join them next time.

My little girl..............

Some people probably assume that because of some of the things that I write, that I don't embarrass easily. This couldn't be farther from the truth. But for some reason, these things that happen to me, once written, just don't seem as embarrassing as they once did. Maybe I write to be absolved from what has happened. Or maybe for reassurance that I am not the only one that these crazy things happen to. Whatever the answer is, I am more than happy to write about these embarrassing moments, that is my life, just to make you smile. That being said, what was I going to write about today? Oh Yea....................the start of the new school year. My mind seems to be a little scattered these days. I've had all summer to wrap my head around being the mother of a high school student, but for some reason, it's just now hitting me. My little girl...................................my precious, sweet, beautiful, intelligent little girl is going to be a freshman in a few, short days. Where has the time gone? I swear, just last week I brought her home from the hospital. And then, somehow it was all fast forwarded to 14 years old. I wish I could remember every single moment. I have pictures and videos and that's more than I could ever ask for. In many ways, Bailey is the exact same person she's always been. She's quiet, patient(she has her moments) and very loyal. But, when I look at her............................................................this is what I see.

a new way of cleaning.................................

I spent my morning cleaning the coils of my air conditioner in hopes that she will make it just one more year. I bought a foam spray specifically for this purpose and it worked wonders.............well, sort of. You were supposed to spray it on the coils and let it work for a few minutes and then, with a spray bottle, spray it off. Well, I tried this method, but it was taking WAYYYYY too long and apparently my air conditioner was WAYYYYY too dirty for such common methods. So, I did the only rational thing I could think of and dragged the hose from out front all the way through my house. This might sound a little drastic to some, but I was at the end of my rope. I attached an adjustable nozzle to the end of the hose to maintain water flow to a minimum, I lined the wood floor with towels, then trays and on top was a big bucket. I was really, really  nervous about doing this, but I figured I'd already come this far...................and beside I'm a Bergen...................I'm creative. Was I seriously going to spray a hose inside my house? Yep, that's exactly what I did! Even though only a tiny bit of water was allowed out of the nozzle, the pressure was exactly right. It was AMAZING!!!! Who knew that much yucky stuff was trapped inside those beautiful silver coils? I had no idea that their original color wasn't black. Kirk helped me dump bucket after bucket of dirty, filthy water until it eventually ran clear. I wiped everything down and stuck a fan inside the A/C closet until everything was completely dry. Since I was already soaking wet from letting the hose spray me more than the coils, I did the only logical thing and cleaned both bathrooms top to bottom. I'm a comet girl myself and don't know how I'd make it through one cleaning job without comet w/bleach an a scotch brite pad. So, off I went with my comet and green pad. I cleaned everything, including the floors with it. I'm pretty sure that you could literally eat off of my bathroom floors, walls, toilets(why would I even write this?) and sinks.  I highly recommend doing this atleast once a month. It not only leaves your bathrooms spotless, but only takes off the top layer of skin on your hands and leaves them oh, so smooth.   

The beginning of the end.............................

I have literally spent the last thirty minutes searching for something that was right in front of me!!!!  Deep, calming breaths.............the beginning.............let's just start there. My day wasn't terrible. The kids didn't drive me crazy, the house was only a partial mess and things were.............normal. But, I have been noticing little things that should have tipped me off that something was not quite right with me. Not big things................just little, tiny things that have slowly started to turn into big things. So, maybe I'm not the most sane person in the world. I've already admitted to talking to my air conditioner in a previous blog and only withheld a little when I spoke of the blue ice packs. Truth be told, it didn't stop after being caught by the random meter reader in my yard. I took them with me on a drive down to the city dock that very same night. What on earth could we possibly be doing driving down to the dock at 9 o'clock at night? Well, Kirk all of the sudden "needed" to know if the shrimp were running. So as hot as we still were, a nice, cool drive in the A/C sounded like a pretty good idea. But, just to be on the safe side...............I took precautionary measures and snuck the ice packs in my purse. What? No one could see me! Anyway, so that was the first...........and yes, I realize how nuts I must sound. The next, has actually been an ongoing thing for about two weeks. I have apparently convinced myself that Bailey's freshman orientation is on one date, when it is actually on another. That doesn't sound too bad-right? We've all mixed up a date a time or two. Well, mine is not only written on the calendar in the correct spot, but I have actually checked the website about a dozen times just to confirm that tomorrow is the correct day. I know today's date.................I know tomorrow's date, but yet when I read this:   "Freshman Orientation Fri, Aug 19, 2011 Come join us for an awesome day of fun as we get to know each other and our school." all I see is Friday August 12th! I've allowed Bailey to invite friends to this made up event.  What must their parents think of me? For some reason, when I checked it today....................I actually read the correct date. I'm still not convinced that this isn't some big conspiracy just to mess with parents of freshmen. I am seriously starting to wonder if I'm being hazed. The next, and last thing may not seem very big, but it cost me emptying out an entire cabinet full of stuff.............which also meant it all had to be put right back up. After taking a long, hot bath by using only the cold water(gotta love Florida!), I began the daily ritual. This consists of multiple things..................apricot oil for my face, lotion for my body and last, but not least................my favorite Burt's Bees chapstick. But, where could it be? I remember moving it to get to the oil, so it's probably just behind something. Ok, it's clearly not on that shelf, but maybe I should take everything out just to be sure. It's so small, it could hide behind anything. Why would I put it on the second shelf? Maybe I wanted to make sure I wouldn't lose it? No, it's not there either. Better to be safe than sorry..................I should probably clear that shelf out as well. Ok, well the only thing on the top shelf is q-tips. I wouldn't have put it up there..............would I? Since I am short and since this is one of those rare times I am not wearing heels of some sort, it was necessary to step up onto something to get to that top shelf. CRRRRRRUUUUNNNCCCHHHHHHHHHHH! No, no, no.........was all I could think. There, under my foot and within an inch of myself the whole time, was my beautiful, golden tube of chapstick smashed right out of it's container. I won't lie to you........it was hard seeing it like that. And knowing that it would never touch my lips again. But mostly all I could think was.................................Really? You needed to empty out an entire cabinet before looking right next to you????? I'm losing it....................I am actually losing my mind!

Poor man's steak extravaganza!

Poor man's steak extravaganza

This is a variation of a recipe I used to make with very thin steak that I called steak pinwheels. Although it was good, it would sometimes become tough after cooking. But the other day, my mom mentioned an old recipe of hers that was similar to this one, but used cubed steak instead of regular steak. So, I figured it was worth a try. And boy was I right. The cubed steak didn't dry out and wasn't tough at all.

And the best part is that it's considerably cheaper than the steak I had been buying for this recipe.

 

-cubed steak(I bought them in sizes about 4x8, one for each of us)

-La Choy teriyaki(I really like this because of it's thickness)

-swiss cheese slices(you could use provolone or mozzarella, but I like to cook with swiss because of it's

 sharpness.)

-box of frozen chopped spinach(make sure that after you heat this up you squeeze and drain all of the juice out

 of this-I should have used two boxes for all of us)

-toothpicks

 

I was originally going to grill this, but was worried about losing the cheese when the rolls needed to be flipped. So instead, I baked this at 375* for about 25 minutes.

Add teriyaki(I used about half the bottle) to a large plastic bag along with cubed steak. Let marinate for a full 24 hours, turning occasionally. Lay steaks out on a flat surface. You want these to be

shaped like long jelly rolls. So, lay the longest part of the steak closest to you. Divide the spinach up into equal parts(since I have 5 people in my family, I had 5 sections),

then spread across the middle of each steak from end to end. Even though the teriyaki is pretty salty it is important to salt the spinach just a little. I always sprinkle

a little salt, pepper and garlic powder because those are my favorite trio. I don't think I could cook without them. Next, is the cheese. I used 2 slices for every steak

and tore each slice into three strips. Then, right over the spinach, in the middle of the steak, lay the strips of cheese from end to end. Now, it's time to roll them up.

Depending on the size of the steak, it should make atleast one spiral. Secure with toothpicks every inch or so as you roll. I line all of my pans with foil, but you can

skip this step and just spray the bottom of a casserole dish or cookie sheet(make sure it has sides-this is what I used) with cooking spray. Lay the long rolls onto

the pan and stick in the oven. These will take no time to cook. Especially if you like them rare to medium. Once finished cooking, take them out to rest for a few

minutes. Right before serving, slice between toothpicks and drizzle with the thick teriyaki sauce.

The world's strongest woman!!

We woke up this morning and decided to take the kids to Salt Springs. We only needed to make one stop before we left.  So, off to Walmart we went. Kirk dropped me and Maggie off at the door and went and parked. After a few minutes, Maggie and I came out with our goodies and scanned the parking lot. Once I spotted the truck, I noticed that something was not quite right. The boat was no longer directly behind the truck. "What is going on?", I mumbled. As I approached, my suspicions were confirmed. Kirk had unhitched the trailer from the truck to make some repairs. He was worried it was sitting too low and needed to adjust the hitch or ball or something which meant that the trailer itself now sat much lower than the truck(Yay for big trucks with HUGE tires!). "Ok...........well, how are we going to get the trailer all the way up there?", I asked. "Oh, that's no problem. We(yes, he said ''we") should be able to lift it and get it on there. It's not THAT heavy." came his response. "What? You need me to help? How much do you think the boat weighs?", I whined. "It'd probably be easier with an empty trailer, but you've been doing your P90X.........you can do this." he said. Right............me and my 10 pound weights are no match for a boat that must weigh 1500 pounds. Just the motor itself weighs 350 pounds. So here I stand in a bikini and flip-flops in the middle of the Walmart parking lot squatting over a hitch lifting with everything I have and big surprise...............nothing happened! We weren't doing anything!!!!  This is great.........just great, I thought. This is going to be really funny(for everyone except ME) on YouTube. We tried a few more times with no luck and decided to give it one more try. We lifted with everything we had and by some miracle we lifted that boat up 6 inches onto the ball. It's sad to admit this, but I really didn't think we'd be able to lift it. I'm sorry, let me be more clear.......I was POSITIVE we couldn't lift it. But, I tried anyway. And what can I say..............Kirk married one super strong woman!!! Maybe I should enter one of those world's strongest woman competitions! Ok, no laughing. I'm strong...............my muscles just aren't as prominent as other peoples. Our day at the springs was wonderful. We laughed and swam and snorkeled and had the best time. So, if there does happen to be a video of me standing in the middle of a parking lot in my bikini lifting a boat up..............I'll just think of it as publicity for my upcoming world's strongest woman competition! I'm sure I'll win because I've got the invisible muscles to prove it!

This is the boat that I lifted! See how strong I am!

Bailey loves my kisses!

me and my girl

Maggie's not so sure about the snorkel

Ryley

he is so handsome!

I love them so much!

my girls!

there he is........the man who believed I could lift a 21 foot boat up into the air!

they were cleaning out the springs so lots and lots of debris was floating

that poor raft never stood a chance!

headed home!

The cotton candy experiment.......

Last nights adventure was full of laughs and lots and lots of blue sugar!!!

This is how it all began............In the beginning it was just a big mess of blue sugar being flung all over the counter, floor and bar(if I looked close enough today, I'm sure I'd still find some). Once we'd finally decided to put the hand me down cotton candy machine(thanks Mom!) away........it started producing little tufts of cotton candy.

As you can tell, Kirk was really, really excited at this point! And a little upset that one had gotten away from him.

Ryley was the first to try the experimental candy. It was a hit!

Kirk stayed busy twirling and swirling making sure the kids had plenty of the sugary stuff that would surely keep everyone awake until late in the night. 

Even Bailey participated.............

In the end it turned into a free for all of scraping the bottom and the sides with their bright blue fingers. At one point I'm pretty sure I caught them licking the bowl!