The Sweetest Man I've Ever Known

I 'borrowed' this picture off of my grandmother's ancestry.com site. I just saw this picture for the first time yesterday and it got me thinking. It got me thinking a lot about my grandpa. I wanted to jot down a few memories that I have of him.



I remember laughing the hardest I ever have in my life when I was a little girl and he would tell me 'he just wants to count my ribs'.



I remember his smell. I remember he always smelled so clean and fresh. I have no idea whether it was his aftershave or cologne or what, but I know that I will never forget it.



I remember that he always carried a comb in his back pocket and he would let me comb what little hair he had left in the back.



I remember that he always wanted me to give him 'sugar'.

I remember studying his wedding ring and feeling like it was too tight. I asked him if he thought he could get it off. He said, "I've never tried, because I haven't needed to."



Mostly, I remember that he was the sweetest man I've ever known.



Jackson was born a month before my grandpa died. I was very happy to have been able to take Jackson to see him before he passed away. It makes me very sad to think that my girls will not have the chance to have their 'ribs counted'. I love my grandpa very much and still feel him with me sometimes.

Billy Burke Ryan, Sr.
June 20, 1925 - August 25, 2004

Chicken Rollups

Chicken Rollups are a staple at my house. My mom wants me to say that the recipe has been passed down in our family for generations. It hasn't really, though. I think she found this recipe sometime after my sister and I moved out because I don't remember it from our childhood. I remember A LOT of chicken, but not cooked this way. Anyway, I was cooking it tonight for dinner and I thought I would go ahead and share it. Here we go.

First you need about 6 chicken breasts. Then you need this guy.


I take one giant piece of saran wrap and put it on the counter. Then I lay the breasts on the saran wrap. Then I cover the chicken up with another giant piece of saran wrap. I saw this technique on a show once and I love it. This way you don't get gooey chicken germs all over the place.

Now, go ahead and take out all of your frustration on your poor little chicken breasts.



While your beating the breasts there should be a pot of water boiling for your asparagus. You will only need to cook the asparagus for a couple of minutes. Please use fresh asparagus for this recipe. Canned asparagus disappears in the cooking process.

Also, you should saute one chopped onion in one stick of butter until it becomes translucent.



Here's what you're rolling up in the chicken with the asparagus. If you live in the states you should use these exact products. They have been the best I have found. If you buy thin ham then it won't really hold up. Same with the cheese. Also, this ham is cut into just the right shape for the breast.



Back to the beat up breasts. Now, you layer your previously cooked asparagus, cheese and ham just so. See what I mean about the perfect shape of the ham?



Now, you just take the bottom of the chicken and roll it up to the top. Roll them and place them in a 9x13 baking dish.


The sauce that goes over them is just that butter and onion with one sleeve of crushed up ritz crackers. Just mix that up and scoop it out over the breasts.



Yes, Madi is back there sucking her thumb. This started about a week ago. The humanity.

Now that you have your topping all gooped on make sure your oven is preheated to 350 degrees and cook for about 45 min to an hour.

And Voila!


This is what's left for Josh when he gets home.

I hope you all enjoy this as much as we do!

Blogger Shamelessly Plugs Son's Popcorn

I don't know if you can see that very well. But why don't you click it and look it over. If you see anything you would be interested in ordering, feel free to let me know. Unfortunately, this is only available for my US friends, right now. Maybe one day the scouts will go international, until then you will have to rely on TESCO for your popcorn needs. (I'm so proud of that reference right now, I can barely stand myself) If you are someone who doesn't usually comment but is interested in helping my sweet little scout, just comment this one time. It won't hurt, I promise.

Jonathon's goal was to sell $1000 in popcorn. If he sells $1000 he and one member of his family get to go to Universal Studios for a day. Any $500 he gets over that an additional family member gets to go. He has reached $1000. And he has picked his dad to go with him. I would love to be able to go with them...

It's up to you, friends. Send me to Universal.

**I feel like I can't post this without saying one little thing. Who do you think made the cookies for him to take as a gift with purchase? Who has taken him and all of the other kids all around town to sell to everyone we know? We even sold to Christy and Carol at Zeig's. Don't dads have it so easy? They are always the super coolest parent, ever, aren't they?**

It All Started With the Molluscum Contagiosum

About 6 months ago Madi started to get this rash under her arm that had little tiny bumps in it. Josh wanted me to take her to the doctor and have it checked out. I thought that if we just gave it some time it would just go away on it's own.

(Here's where I inject a little pre-marital advice. If you are not married it is a good idea to talk about your views on medication and doctors before you get married because when you have kids you will want to do it your way and it will be hard to compromise on something like this. Second only to money, this has been one of our biggest arguements.)

I refused to take her to the doctor. He was okay with that. He did, however, want to pop the little tiny bumps. Which I let him do. (If you have ever heard of molluscum contagiosum then you know that it is spread when the bump bursts and the fluid leaks onto other parts of the skin.) A few days later the rash was much worse. We finally took her to the doctor and he prescribed some acne medication that would dry the bumps up but other than that there is no cure for molluscum contagiosum. We began putting the acne medication on the bumps and after a month or so, I really felt like it was just burning up her skin so I made another appointment with the doctor to show him how bad it was getting. When he saw her, he immediately told me to stop putting anything on it and just leave it alone. It would go away in time.

Just leave it alone.

Don't do anything.

Yes, it looks red and rashy and really painful, but do NOTHING to it.

Well, then I found the miracle cure for molluscum contagiosum. So what if he said leave it alone. Sure my cure wasn't found on any home remedy website, but they just didn't know yet, because I had just found it. Cortizone 10. Wow, did this stuff work. Man, it was great. It cleared all the rash right up and made her itching stop. Hallelujah.

For two months we put this on her twice a day. Then just last week everything hit the fan. She got Impentigo and a Urinary Tract Infection. I thought, 'why is this just happening to Madi, why does she seem to be the one catching everything?' At the doctor's office after he had told me what she now had, I gave him the good news that I had found the cure for molluscum contagiosum. I told him how I had been putting Cortizone on her for months and it was working like a charm. (I look back now, knowing how naive I sounded. To think that I was going to tell a man with a medical education of some sort, that I,with my GAP/bank teller education,had found a cure for some disease. Whatever. Hindsight and 20/20, okay) Anywho, I could tell by the look on his face that I was about to be put in my place. (I wish you could hear his accent as I tell you this) "ooohh, no, no, this is a steriod and I would only prescribe steriod for her age for at most 5 days. It weakens the immune system and makes them very suseptible to anything that's out there..." To which I say, "I guess that would explain why she's now got these other ailments..." Needless to say, she is now on a couple of other medications and no more Cortizone. He made it clear to leave the bumps alone. Again.

Lesson learned. Fine.

But what's most important about all of this? Who's to blame. Who's fault is it that Madi's case got so bad? As my readers I am really glad to see that you all feel the same way as me. I totally agree with you.

It is totally Josh's fault since he popped those silly bumps in the first place.

Happy Birthday, Bethany!

Last night was a rough night. Everyone in the house was sick and laying on the floor in our room. Everyone is feeling much better now, but we have to miss a very special birthday party in hopes of not spreading this horrible virus to anyone else. We love our cousin Bethany and hope that she has a fabulous time at her party, even though we won't be able to be there.

Name that Tune

Or maybe it's not really like 'Name that Tune' at all. I don't know because I never officially watched that show. Anywho, I saw this fun game on Reluctant's blog and thought it was a lot of fun. I really stunk at guessing her music. Let's see how y'all do at guessing mine. If you stink at mine, then just click up there and maybe you'll know all of hers.

Here's how you play:

1. Pull up your playlist (iTunes, MP3 player, whatev) and put it on random.

2. Take lyrics from the 1st 20 songs.

3. Make your readers guess what the songs are.

4. No googling

(Here is the dealio, though, I did not follow the rules persactly. I didn't load the songs on my ipod so I picked the first few songs that I would have loaded, had I been the one that loaded them. Does that make sense? And I couldn't make it to 20. Turns out this game is a lot of work.)

Good luck and Echo, you better wait till everyone else has guessed since you are the sweet, wonderful person who loaded my ipod. (Thanks for doing that by the way, you're the best PIC a girl could ever hope for)

1.

Hooo oa
Uhhhh
A yeah
I had it all
But I let it slip away
Couldn't see I treated you wrong
Now I wander around
Feeling down and cold
Trying to believe that you're gone



2.

You may look at me and think

that I'm just a young girl

but I'm not just a young girl

baby this is what I'm lookin for.

I want a sexy, independent, I ain't wit

so you already know. I'm not bein too dramatic

that's the way I've gotta have it.



3.

When I talk to my friends so quietly

'who he think he is?' look at what you did to me

tennis shoes, don't even need to buy a new dress,

if you ain't there, ain't nobody else to impress.

the way that you know what I thought I knew

It's the beat that my heart skips when I'm with you

But I still don't understand, how the love your doing no one else can.



4.

Spare a little candle

save some light for me

figures up ahead moving in the trees

white skin in linen

perfume on my wrist

and the full moon that hangs over

these dreams in the mist.



5.

Can you hear me calling

out your name?

you know that I'm falling and

I don't know what to say

I'll speak a little louder,

I'll even shout,

you know that I'm proud and

I can't get the words out.



6.

Maybe I didn't treat you

quite as good as I should have

Maybe I didn't love you

quite as often as I could have

Little things I should have said and done

I just never took the time



7.

So tired of broken hearts and losing at this game

before I start this dance

I take a chance at telling you

I want more than just romance

You are my destiny, I can't let go

Baby can't you see

Cupid, please take your aim at me.



8.

Some days it don't come easy

Some days it don't come hard

Some days it don't come at all, and these are the days that never end

Some nights you're breathing fire

Some nights you're carved in ice

Some nights you're like nothing I've ever seen before or will again
Maybe I'm crazy, but it's crazy and it's true

I know you can save me, no-one else can save me now but you
As long as the planets are turning

As long as the stars are burning

As long dreams are coming true

You'd better believe it, that I would do



9.

Lalalalalala...

Now that I've lost everything to you

You say you wanna start something new

And it's breakin' my heart you're leavin'

Baby, I'm grievin'

But if you wanna leave, take good care

Hope you have a lot of nice things to wear

But then a lot of nice things turn bad out there

10.

Think what that money could bringI'd buy everything

Clean out Vivienne WestwoodIn my Galliano gown

No, wouldn't just have one hoodA Hollywood mansion if I could

Please book me first class to my fancy house in London town

11.

I don't want to go another day

So I'm telling you exactly what is on my mind

Seems like everybody is breaking upThrowing their love away

I know I got a good thing right here

That's why I say (Hey)

12.

The waves keep on crashing on me for some reason

But your love keeps on coming like a thunderbolt

Come here a little closer'

Cause I wanna see you, baby, real close up

(Get over here)

13.

I was once I was strolling one very hot summer's day

When I thought laid myself down to restIn a big field of tall grass

I laid there in the sun and felt it carressing my face

As i fell asleep and dreamed

I dreamed i was in a hollywood movie

And that i was the star of the movieThis really blew my mind

The fact that me an overfed long haired leaping nome

Should be the star of a hollywood movie, hmmm

14.

This bloody road remains a mystery

This sudden darkness fills the air

What are we waiting for? Wont anybody help us?

What are we waiting for? We cant afford to be innocent

Stand up and face the enemy

Its a do or die situation

15.

Suckin on chilli dogs outside the tastee freeze

Diane sittin on jackies lap

Hes got his hands between her knees

Jackie say, hey diane lets run offBehind a shady tree

Dribble off those bobby brooks

Let me do what I please

16.

I dont mind you comin here

And wastin all my time

cause when youre standin oh so near

I kinda lose my mind

Its not the perfume that you wear

Its not the ribbons in your hair

I dont mind you comin here

And wastin all my time

17. (this one isk not technically on my ipod, but had I loaded my ipod it would definately be on there. it is by one of my fav bands of all time.)

In the howlin' wind

Comes a stingin' rain

See it drivin' nails

Into the souls on the tree of pain.

From the firefly

A red orange glow

See the face of fear

Runnin' scared in the valley below.


I think it is possible that my dance moves were put into question in the comments section of my last post. I believe that my good friend (recently downgraded to 'good' from 'best' because of a girl trip she and a couple of other friends went on that I'm obviously extremely jealous of and still having issues with) was being sarcastic when she said,

"They are so precious and I am excited. I am sure that she is going to have all the moves just like her mother."

I think she was challenging my dancing ability. That's fine. That's why I have a camera that has a movie switch. I think I proved my point.

Dance Fever

There's my girl. In her cute little dance outfit. How sweet is she? We started dance today and we were counting the minutes until it was time to go. She has been ultra excited. Another reason she has been really excited has something to do with that sweet little girl in the next picture.

Has everyone met Shelby? I can't remember if I have posted about Madi's best friend that goes to her little school and is now in her same little dance class. That picture would have been so cute if Madi had just looked up. Oh well, I feel like Shelby's cute little face expresses enough joy for the both of them.

Before they could go in, they had a quick stop at the water fountain. I think they must have been prepping those cute little bodies for all the work that a 45 min 3 year old dance class is going to entail. Wish I had more pics of the actual practice but the door was shut the whole time, so this was it.

I will say that this really cute little girl who appeared to be about 9 or 10 told me how cute and thin Madi was. I said, "Yep, she is, but look at you. You're like a little tiny rail." At this point she grabbed what was not even a quarter of an inch of what I'm sure was totally muscle on her little belly and said, "No, I'm not I wish I was that skinny." To which I couldn't say anything. All I could do was fill up with total and complete concern for the world that I'm sending my little girl into... But that's another blog for another day.

Today my girl started DANCE!!!