Jocelyn decided she wanted to be Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz this year after we found her costume a long, long time ago on sale at the Goodwill for $.99. Wesley found his ninja costume at the DAV for $3.98 and Taylor, even though he wasn’t originally going to go trick-or-treating, used last year’s Scream costume. Can’t be too bad! Shame the candy costs soooo much. . .
Ken’s surprise trip to New York City was absolutely FABULOUS! It’s hard to imagine that NYC is actually in the same country as Kansas they seem like they’re on opposite ends of the Earth! Our flight left very early on Saturday morning (5:40am) but we arrived in plenty of time to enjoy the afternoon and part of the evening before heading to our first Broadway show, Young Frankenstein. Our plane had a 110 mph tail wind that got us to NYC a 1/2 hour earlier than scheduled! Too bad our bag didn’t make it and we had to wait until the next plane arrived with it on it! It was drizzling and extremely windy but not unbearable to be out walking around Times Square. Our hotel, the Millennium Broadway, was only 1/2 block from Times Square so we didn’t have to worry too much about transportation except from the airport and back. We ate at Bubba Gumps restaurant after the Forrest Gump movie overlooking Times Square before heading to the Hilton Theatre to see “Young Frankenstein.” The show was the best I have ever seen!
The following day it was beautiful weather with the sun shining so we decided to visit the Statue of Liberty. We took the subway down to the lower part and got on the Staten Island Ferry to view her a little differently before heading for tickets on another ferry that actually took us to the base of the statue. What an amazing sight! The photos don’t do her justice but check out Ken’s blog as his pictures are so much better than mine. After visiting the Statue of Liberty we headed to Ellis Island then back to NYC with some more walking to reach Ground Zero and Wall Street. We didn’t see much of the World Trade Center sight as it was all fenced off and there were big cranes in the way. We could see the amount of space the Centers took up and could imagine the debris in the narrow streets surrounding the zone. It made it so much more real than what you would usually see on television. Wall Street was amazing too with guards standing outside the New York Stock Exchange building and tourists milling around snapping pictures of the buildings and the flag.
The next day was another nice day although the temperatures were indeed dropping. We saw so many different things walking around the city. Our first stop was to B&H photo, Ken’s favorite camera store he’d only seen via catalogs. Then we walked over the 5th Avenue and Avenue of the Americas. There were stores you just couldn’t imagine all over the city unless you saw them — a 4 story Toys R Us with a full-size Ferris wheel inside? A 3 story McDonald’s. Macy’s. A 3 story M&M shop. Souvenir shops galore. All the street vendors selling hot dogs, pretzels, handbags off sheets laid on the sidewalk, scarves, you name it! We visited the Empire State Building (but didn’t go it), NBC Studios, Rockefeller Plaza, the American Girl shop (yes, I resisted buying a doll for Jocelyn!), and saw sooooo many other things and places. It was breathtaking. Oh yes, and can’t forget the people watching.
On our last day it was pouring down rain and although our flight didn’t leave until late afternoon, we were extremely limited with it being so cold and miserable. We bought a huge golf umbrella so we could at least walk around the Square again and buy the rest of our souvenirs to take home. To be honest, I was worried about going with all of the stories about getting mugged and the streets not being safe. I felt totally safe and the people weren’t even that rude. I would most definitely go back again although if we took the children, they would have to be A LOT older. There’s no way they’d be able to walk as much as Ken and I did while we were there.
Those were the words that Ken said when he opened his surprise present of a trip to New York City for his 40th birthday! I made up a couple of scrapbook pages with “surprise” on it and “pack your bags” along with “our itinerary”. He was very surprised! Mission accomplished! We leave on his actual birthday, October 25th! I’m super excited!
Ken had suggested I do something like this earlier but of course, I haven’t had time. (Not that I do now, but since I just finished making this recipe, I figured why not?!) I have been trying a variety of different recipes to make it easier on the family’s dinnertime. Ken works a full day as do I, so I was looking for something that I could make South Beach compliant, that the kids would eat, and would be easy to prepare. I shop for 2 weeks at a time and plan out my menus accordingly. Tonight’s menu is Hearty Chicken & Noodle Casserole, courtesy of Campbell’s that was posted in a magazine a long, long time ago. Hint: earlier in the week when I make chicken breasts, cook an extra one or two to add to meals later in the week. Even if you don’t use it, cut it up and freeze it to add to soups and stews for those yummy winter meals!
Hearty Chicken & Noodle Casserole
Ingredients:
1 can (10 3/4 oz) Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup (Regular, 98% Fat Free, or 25% Less Sodium)
1/2 cup milk (I use 1% or skim)
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
2 cups medium egg noodles, cooked and drained (it also mentions using 2 cups of cooked corkscrew-shaped pasta for noodles so I’m using the whole-wheat version)
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Stir soup, milk, black pepper, Parmesan cheese, vegetables, chick and noodles in a 1 1/2-qt casserole dish. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until hot. Stir. Top with the Cheddar Cheese.
Prep: 10 minutes Bake: 25 minutes Makes: 4 servings
My kids love this recipe and have no clue that there’s mushroom soup in it. (Good thing, too, or otherwise they wouldn’t eat it!) This time I omitted the vegetables and did them on the side as my children only seem to like corn and peas. Booooorrriiiinnnnngggg! Great for leftovers for my lunches, too! Let me know what you think if you try this recipe!
Pictured above: casserole straight from the oven (omitted mixed vegetables and put Colby cheese on top instead of straight Cheddar. I also used the entire box of pasta instead of just the 2 cups and I added more chicken) and the adult serving (we had a frozen vegetable mix of cauliflower, broccoli and carrots. The kids had corn.)
Today is my niece’s 1st birthday. Children’s birthday parties, especially the younger ones, are interesting. So many people are gawking at them, waiting to see what they’ll do, that I’m surprised more of them don’t just have a meltdown! Ali did very well and seemed to enjoy her birthday party! Here are a few pics I took of the afternoon gala.
I knew it was going to happen eventually but I was hoping it wouldn’t be now. It’s the end of the 1st quarter and I have mountains of stuff to do to get grade cards done. But alas, I’m sick. The past couple of years I’ve done really well not getting sick. Constant vitamins are my friend but I’ve been slacking on them recently. Now I’m paying for it! I’ve had allergy problems and not being able to breathe since mid-August. Now 4 out of 5 of the 4th grade team is sick. I lost my voice yesterday and actually had to tell my students to partner read certain pages and answer the questions at the end of the chapter. I NEVER do that. Since my chest felt like it was going to cave in this morning, I opted not to go to work and went to the Doctor instead. I have a bad sinus infection that fortunately hasn’t moved too deeply into my chest yet. So, with antibiotics now on board and an inhaler to help with further congestion, I should be on my way to recovery real soon. Whew!
