Baby Puffs, Carne Asada

Today was Josey's first day of eating baby puffs! Her first step to eating real un-pureed food! I was scared to give these to her, and wanted to wait until she had teeth. There's no sign of teeth yet, but thought I'd let her have them anyways. (they completely dissolve and melt in their mouth) Josey really liked eating her puffs! I could tell she felt like such a big girl. Staring at me the whole time to make sure it was okay to put something she was holding in her mouth. She ate a bunch!!

I'm amazed everyday at how much she is growing. 

Well there's not much else going on today. Other than grocery shopping, cleaning out the garage and making our version of Carne Asada.

If your interested, here's my recipe I have jotted down... 

There's so many different versions and varieties, but this works well for us. Click here for a link to the Cilantro Lime Rice recipe, it's absolutely delicious.

Carne Asada

2 lbs meat (flank steak- sliced paper thin)

1-2 oranges squeezed on top

1/2 onion sliced thinly

handful cilantro cut with scissors

pappy's seasoning to coat

Marinate meat most the afternoon with everything on top. Couple hours at least. Put on hot grill 1-2 minutes each side. It goes fast!

Eat by itself or on hard taco shell with black beans, refried beans, tomato, shredded lettuce, cheese, green onion (or similar)

Sides

Cilantro Lime Rice

Corona and Lime (which I may or may not have just opened after writing this) 

Salad and a Mixture of Topics..

Hello!

Our little fishing trip to Minnesota didn't end up happening. That is okay.

Casey's Grandma hasn't been feeling well, and the whole McCausland family came together to support her. Which is what family is all about! Thankfully, Grandma is on the mend! I think we might go see her tonight and bring her some dinner :)

Speaking of Grandma's dinner.... I want to make Chicken Romaine Salad for her. It's been blazing hot outside and this is my take on a "summer chicken soup". It would be ridiculous to bring soup to someone in this weather.

So here is the recipe!

-Chicken Romaine Salad-

3 medium heads romaine lettuce, cut into strips
2-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and chopped, or grilled on the BBQ
8 ounces tri color twist pasta, cooked, rinsed, and drained

Dressing:
1/2 cup mayo
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced

Make dressing a few hours ahead and refrigerate, to let all the flavors blend together. Then, cook the chicken and pasta. Chop the romaine lettuce, and the chicken. Toss everything together with the dressing, and refrigerate for at least another half hour before serving. (If you can wait that long, most of the time I cant!)

Make it! It's awesome and the leftovers are even better! I wish I had a picture to share, because it's a beautiful salad. Maybe I'll take a picture of it tonight and post it for you, to make you hungry and have no choice but to make it.

          .... after making this a few days ago I would suggest doubling the dressing ....

Something exciting happened this weekend! My sister-in-law, Kelsey, got engaged! So happy and excited for her, and her fiance! Ah! SO EXCITED!

Josey has been teething for the past week. No teeth yet :( Today and yesterday she's been acting more normal. The days before that, WATCH OUT! She had never been such a sad fussy little girl. Poor baby.  Hopefully I will have news of a tooth (or teeth) soon and can show a picture. I told Casey's mom that for  all the work and fussiness Josey is going through now, I sure hope there will be more than one tooth. We'll see!

Ooo! I must share THE BEST teething advice. If your baby has soothie pacifiers, fill them with water and stick them in the freezer, then let your baby gnaw on their frozen pacifier. I always make sure I grab the little bit of ice that falls out. Josey already wants her pacifier all the time with her teething, and this is the best medicine for her lately! (Thank you Rebecca H.!)

And I need to mention, I have said I'm going to show you my house and haven't done it yet. Don't worry, I will! You just don't want to see it today... I promise!

Now, go make some pasta salad, or some kind of food to keep you cool, and have a good rest of the day!

7 months old!

Josey turned 7 months old last week. Wow, what a difference since last month! She is so mobile now! She isn't lifting her belly off the floor yet, but gets everywhere with her "inch worm" crawl. And, yes, still into anything and everything that isn't a kids toy.

One thing Josey loves, is books. She loves to be read to, her all time favorite is, "Mr. Brown Can Moo. Can You?", by Dr. Seuss. I make it really animated and exaggerate all the noises in the book,  she giggles a lot when I read it to her. If Josey is in a fussy mood, most of the time this book can take her out of it.

She is sitting up pretty well now. We've tried putting her in the grocery cart seat and she's still a bit to small. I look forward to her sitting in there! Because they don't make car seats that clip on the cart anymore and she takes up quite a bit of room in the basket, or the car seat won't fit in the basket at all. Thankfully, Josey ALMOST fits in the grocery cart seat!

I put a video clip of Josey saying "Mama" on here awhile ago. It was cool thing to say for a little over a week and then it stopped. For that week everything was "Mama". Screaming it when she went to bed, crawled, ate, sat up, and while she was playing. We were so excited and told everyone about it, then she stopped saying "Mama" for about 3 weeks. Josey's cool new words were "Nigh, Ning, Nigh". Stinker. Last week Josey started saying "Mama" again, and hopefully it's here to stay because I LOVE IT!

We took Josey in the pool with Tante Kelsey a few times, and Josey loves it! At first, she hung on real tight to get used to the water (it was warm). Once that 2 minutes was over, I couldn't hardly hold onto her anymore! She kicks and splashes like crazy! Each time she splashes, even the tiniest splash by her face, you hear her hold her breath real loud. It is so cute! We have a true water baby! I'm really excited about that. While I was growing up, all of us kids were on some kind of swim team, or swimming at the beach or lake. I plan on taking Josey to baby swimming lessons next year, and to keep her involved in it. It is very important to me that my kids can swim well from a young age.

Here's my latest picture of Josey! One of her favorite things to do is snuggle up by her Daddy!

In other news, we are planning on going to Minnesota for a few days. We are leaving Saturday morning, and will be gone most of the week. Casey has gone there many times growing up, I'm excited to see it! We are going with Casey's Grandpa, who will be fishing with Casey most of the time. I plan on parking on the beach by lake, with Josey, and not moving! We're definitely bringing the camera, so I hope to share pictures when we get back!

Hope you get to go on a quick getaway this summer too!

Another Year

Another year has gone by with out you...

My family tragically lost my sister Jessica, in a car accident, 7 years ago tomorrow. She was 16 years old. I don't really know what to say or write about it. I've wanted to off and on. It's so painful at times...

I know that the only thing that I have left to cling on to, when it's all said and done, is the hope that we have in Christ.

Since I've moved from home it's kind of hard not to be around family this time of year. It's like you feel the wave of grief coming.

I've been back and forth and seen family and home a number of times. When I went home a few months ago, I didn't realize how much my family's house would make me miss Jessica. Our old room, bathroom and closets we shared, family pictures, dolls she had, pictures she painted, being at the dining table and in the kitchen. It's weird because when everyone's together I still look for her. I think everyone does.

Most of the time it's not THE day of July 14, but the months, weeks, and random days that lead up to it will be hard. Or after. I love to talk about her and giggle, laugh and reminisce. Some days I can't. The grief is still there, I think you must just get used to it. There is no "getting over it" either.

My sisters and I recently made a memory book to put all of her pictures, drawings and memories in and I wanted to share a few things we put in there....

This is about me Jessica Marie

I do not like school very much

If it was not mandatory 

Than I don't think I would be here

I would be working

Or probably married and on with my life

I love children and I want a lot of them

Six to twelve,

Some people think that's wild

But that is me

I want a house in the mountains,

I want my husband to be a Christian first of all

But also strong and loving

My family is not like many others

Its almost secluded from the world

It's more like a team with coaches (Mom and Papa)

It is love, and joy

Along with everyone's dreams put together

Most importantly our family is God's not our own.

I am out to change the world

How you might ask? One person at a time.

What I mean is that I am pursuing to be a missionary.

I am going to Africa

I am going to hold and care for children

Who don't have families

And I will whisper in their ear a secret

One so powerful it will change their lives and eternities 

I will tell them about their creator, saviour, and their heavenly father. Jesus. 

I believe that is my intent in life

I also believe that God has sent every person on this earth

To fulfill a purpose

It might not be big or small

But it will be meaningful

-Jessica

Same poem here, in her funeral bulletin

Freshman year tennis team picture

At a swim meet, determined to learn to play guitar

Jessica Marie Vander Griend, you are still so dearly missed and loved. Look forward to one day in Heaven, when we meet again.

Maid Rite Sandwiches

Never heard of these places until I moved to Central Illinois. I guess this is a Midwest thing? To be honest the first time I saw one I thought it was a cleaning service or a household appliance store. 

It's hard to find an appetizing picture of this... Just ground beef on a hamburger bun, and I topped it with ketchup and mustard.  And no, it's not sloppy joe-ish either.

My whole life just plain ground beef browned like this was the beginning of taco meat, chili, or a casserole. So I didn't want to try a Maid Rite sandwich for a long time. 

What made me break was the overflowing amount of venison in our deep freeze. By the way if you are local and would like to work something out, I would love to get rid of some deer burger and deer sausage!!

Got a recipe idea from my mother-in-law, this is what I did.

Venison Maid Rite's 

1 lb. ground beef

1 lb. deer burger

2 beef bouillon 

1/4 cup water

1/2 onion, chopped

1 teaspoon garlic powder

Salt & Pepper to taste

Brown everything together in a skillet over med-high heat. Let simmer until water dissipates. Put burger on some nice warm hamburger buns with desired toppings.  

So simple.. kind of a DUH recipe. 

I guess I'm sharing cause I was surprised that I liked the sandwich. It's an AWESOME way to get rid of deer burger, and a super easy dinner to make for the kiddo's. Yum Yum! Gets a few stars in my book :)

Compromise and a Baby Crawler

The award for 'Quickest Man to Stop Smoking' goes to my husband Casey!

Casey has been wanting a dirt bike for a long time.

Casey has been smoking a long time.

This little evening viewing of dirt bikes for sale had gone on for MONTHS! After the millionth online viewing and me saying "NOOOO!", and Casey saying "PLEEEASE!". I told him that it could be a "yes" from me if he quit smoking. Cause the dirt bike is much cheaper!! Casey happily agreed and within a week and a half there is a dirt bike in our garage! Why didn't we think of this sooner?

For you who want to know what kind of dirt bike this is it's a 2010 Gas Gas XC 250. Also known as "The Conquistador", which is Spanish for "beat KTM". (not literally translated that way) Casey is adamant that you call the bike "The Conquistador".

Washing it off after the first ride

Awe! Look how happy he is!!!

In other news we have a crawler! Well... kinda. She does this crazy army crawl thing but she is getting everywhere! And getting into everything! Josey is starting to learn what no means. She has such big feelings. She bawls her eyes out, ducks her head and wont look at you when you get after her. Soo sad!

Here's a clip of Josey's crawl! I think I sound retarded, but nevermind.