Pajama Day!

It was Pajama Day at preschool and would you believe that I didn't get a single shot of her in her pjs! Bad Mommy, Bad. I did however get a picture of her at the Astronaut cutout. Doesn't she have the cutest smile. :-)

Astronaut Abby!

She was so excited to be able to wear her pajamas to school! I, however, was a bit nervous. See the previous week my perfect angel bit another kid. Yep, she saw another kid bite and decided that would become her method of toy protection. I was flabbergasted. Abby's never bit another child so I figured that by 3 years old we'd dogged that particular bullet. Obviously, not. Nate and I talked over the weekend and hoped that it would be a one-time thing. Well...then we were at Bible study and I got called out to come talk to Abby for biting. Two bites in five days! What was happening?! So we did a bunch of talking about how we don't bite as biting hurts and I asked lots of people to pray for us. When I dropped her off on Friday I asked her teacher if she thought I should stay to help make sure she didn't bite, but she smiled and said she was sure Abby would be fine and they'd watch out for her. All those prayers must have worked because Abby came out of preschool biter-free! I'm so glad her Pajama Day turned out to be a day of slumber fun!

Ash Wednesday Ashes

Today is Ash Wednesday! Abby and I went to the 9:45am mass (missing swim lessons :-( but this was truly the only mass time that worked without a major schedule change) and she did so, so good with her behavior. Normally, Abby goes into childcare during church so the special/holy days of obligation are really the only times she's at mass with me. We were in the Cry Room the whole time and she did a great job with keeping her voice to an inside level, not completely mooching off of everyone's snacks, sharing the books/toys available to play with, AND telling me every time she had to go potty (four in total) instead of having an accident (as she was in big girl panties). She was also adorable in pointing to my forehead and saying "uh oh...you have ashes!" When we got home and she realized she'd wiped all her ashes off (I think she did this as we were walking back down the aisle from getting them - that dust tickles!) she was so sad. But being a quick thinking Mom I gave her some of mine and she was all smiles again. :-) We also started the Holy Heroes Lenten Adventure today and I thought it was really cute. The free version (because I'm cheap that way) had two quick videos (two minutes and less) about why we observe Lent and Ash Wednesday and neat facts about them and then they had two coloring pages and a crossword puzzle. She definitely liked the coloring pages, I liked the crossword, and we both got something out of the videos. Win!

Our Ashes

A Mardi Gras Feast and Lent Resolutions

Originally I wanted to throw a big Mardi Gras party with friends and family and I'm SO glad I didn't. Abby and Nate lovingly passed on their colds to me and I'm currently in the midst of runny noses and stuffy heads. Instead of a big blow-out we ended up having a quiet dinner with just the three of us. I did try to make it a little bit of a special day, though. For dinner we had red beans and rice (a family favorite), broccoli with cheese sauce, and cornbread. I tried to be a little 'New Orleans' in my food choices and, with some stretching of the imagination, I think I succeeded in that. For dessert I made a King Cake. Or at least what All Recipes considers a King Cake as I've never had or seen one before. :-) If a King Cake tastes like a modified cinnamon roll then I did okay.

Our yummy dinner for your viewing pleasure.

My King Cake! (Actually 1 of 2 since I didn't realize the recipe was having me make two cakes until half-way though the recipe. :-))

As for part two of this post my Lent resolutions this year are pretty simple. I'm giving up Pop (as I'm drinking  way, way too much of it right now and it's become my emotional crutch) and doing dinner every night except for night's that Nate asks to go out. No take-out, dine-in, or fast-food. If I can make tonight's dinner with as yucky as I'm feeling then I really can't cop out of making dinner on a night where I just don't "feel it". This was actually Nate's request when we were talking about Lenten resolutions so I figure it counts as my 'doing' resolution. Nate doesn't do Lent and Abby's too little (beyond Lent age-appropriate crafts/activities) so it's me holding the Lenten resolution torch this year!

And just because I feel like spreading the yumminess,  here's our Red Beans and Rice recipe (originally from Nate's Mom):

Red Beans and Rice

1. Chop one large onion; brown in pan over medium to medium-low heat, stirring often until caramelized, approximately 30 minutes.
2. Slice one medium Italian Sausage Link into small segments; add to onions and cook for 30 minutes.
3. Add: 
• 1 can kidney beans with juice
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1 teaspoon horseradish
4. Cook on a low simmer for one hour
5. Serve with rice

We typically cook up a quadruple batch (a double-batch is pictured) as it freezes really well and we always eat more than one serving at a time. Enjoy!