Flower Girl

We took a trip to Iowa over Valentine's Day weekend. Dusty's good friend of twenty-plus years, Ethan, got married on Valentine's Day; Dusty was the best man, and Lily was the flower girl (and Ciera was the bride, but come on, Lily was the star of the show! lol). It was a bummer that Lily wasn't feeling well, but considering the circumstances, she had a great time and made an adorable flower girl.
She did really well during rehearsal, walking straight down the aisle with Tony, the ring bearer. She walked right to Daddy several times and was very comfortable in the auditorium where the wedding was to be held. We all crossed our fingers for luck the next day! On the wedding day, Lily practiced walking down the aisle a couple of times, once again doing a great job - even with the aisle runner and rose petals to distract her. Things were looking good. Fast forward through three hours of hanging out at the wedding location (during her usual naptime), waiting for the big moment... Well, she tried really hard! The entrance to the auditorium was off to the left, so she had to walk in, turn right to make her way to the center aisle, then turn and go down the aisle. She made it all the way to the beginning of the aisle, stopped dead in her tracks, made a big u-turn, and walked right back to Mommy. Twice. Then Mommy carried her down the aisle and handed her off to Daddy. LOL... She had the right idea, but there were just too many people between her and Daddy. Oh well, she got a good laugh from the audience, so it was fun. And she looked soooo pretty!
Dusty and Lily were so sweet together in their fancy outfits. Lily is such a Daddy's girl, all she wanted to do while we were waiting for the wedding to start was follow Daddy around. And then of course during the reception they danced together. We all had a really nice time!

Menu Plan Monday

Monday - Super Easy Tuna Casserole

Tuesday - Skillet Lasagna

Wednesday - Beef Taco Rice Skillet

Thursday - Lemony Fish over Veggies & Rice

Friday - Mexican Steak Stir-Fry

Saturday - Apple Chicken Quesadillas

Sunday - Cheeseburgers & Pasta Side Dish

Sick little girl

I guess it's just that time of year, and toddlers are susceptible to it. Lily is in sore shape right now. One ear infected, the other has fluid, one lung with crackles, a yucky wet cough, and a fever to boot. We got a chest x-ray and we're starting an antibiotic. I think we'll just snuggle on the couch for the rest of the day!

Fence Update

More pictures of the fence project. Cross beams are up, so the fence pickets will be next. Lily helped keep track of the brackets by sending them down the slide.

Movie Watcher

This is how Lily watches her movies (Bambi is the most frequently requested, followed by Tinkerbell). She insists that both of the pillows be on the couch, and she has to have a blanket and a cup of milk. If all of this is in place, she will happily watch her movie for about 20 minutes. And then she's off and running again, but I can really use those 20-minute quiet moments now and then. She doesn't watch movies all the time, but she has really started to enjoy them.

This is during the opening scene of Peter Pan. She was very concerned when the dad tripped over the blocks and fell down. She was saying, oh nooo, uh oh! Hilarious.

Marker mess!

Lily usually does a decent job of keeping her markers on the paper, and she absolutely loves to color with them. I've had a hard time keeping her occupied while I get ready in the mornings, so the other day I thought I'd get her set up at the table with her markers so I could go hop in the shower. Let's just say it was a good thing she was buckled into the chair so she couldn't go around the house and do this....
Somehow the paper and the markers were all gone by the time I returned (not very long afterward!), and all that was left was this terribly cute mess. Thank you, Crayola, for extremely washable markers!

Apple Chicken Quesadillas

I am in love with Apple Chicken Quesadillas. Our Taste Testers group chose the theme, "Kid-Friendly Lunches & Snacks" last month, and this was the recipe I decided to prepare. Little did I know that I myself, not just the kids, would love these things! You have to try them. Yesterday at lunchtime I wanted one of these, but I didn't have any cooked chicken. So I made them without the chicken, and that was good too (not fantastic like the original, but I was satisfied with the result). And, these quesadillas are also good as leftovers. What could be better?