Veggie Frittata

My kids love broccoli. They eat it cooked and raw. Especially with ranch dressing. They’d eat cardboard with ranch dressing. But stick broccoli in a frittata and they think you’re trying to kill them. Regardless, I made my frittata last night with broccoli. And it was amazingly delightful. Gabe actually ate it without complaint. But Eli thought we were trying to poison him. He says he doesn’t like broccoli with eggs or cheese. Go figure. Dan and I couldn’t get enough of it. Usually frittatas include bread or noodles. But this recipe actually didn’t call for either. It said to serve it with bread on the side. Which is fine with me when you have…

Catching Up

“I wish I could write, Dan. I want to write so badly. But I just haven’t got the words.” I’ve uttered these words on a few different occasions. Most recently, last night. Writing is often my outlet. But I haven’t had an outlet this year. This year has been tough. We’ve had other rough years, and we always make it through. But this year has been a special kind of tough. It started last May. I was having a pretty uncomfortable pregnancy, but unlike the first two, I hadn’t been put on bedrest. Not yet. But then I got sick. So sick that my baby and I almost died. But then, thank God for the…

Hurricane Sandy

The latest big news in the Northeast is Hurricane Sandy. They’ve been tracking her for about two weeks and no one really took them seriously even though the models were consistent in their prediction of her hitting us with such voracity that it may realign the coast for good. And she did. Sandy was not to be trifled with. She continued to drop in pressure and expand her territory to 1,000 miles as she hit us dead on. Many were negative and unbelieving. Many of those people stubbornly refused to “give in” to the “hype” but lost everything, including their lives because of it. They are still sending out search and rescue teams along the…

Photo Dump

New Normal

A lot has transpired since last I wrote. I’m so glad I got that one picture of me pregnant. We had wanted to get good pictures with the boys and me and monthly shots of my growing belly, but it never happened. And it wouldn’t have been finished anyway since I barely got into my third trimester before my pregnancy came to a screeching halt. Cohen Robert Simrak was born at 31 weeks gestation, 3lbs 8oz – nine weeks early – due to severe pre-eclampsia. We were both on the verge of death and no one realized how close until after they cut me open and rescued Cohen from a calcified (read “DEAD”) placenta. He…

30 weeks pregnant with Cohen

Our Saturday in Pictures

So what did we do today while Dan was away? We had fun!    We had our bumps along the way. But all in all, it was a profitable, bonding day. One major bummer about it all: I discovered at the end of the day, I have honest-to-goodness cankles. I used to think I had pretty attractive feet. Not so, anymore. Any semblance of vanity I once had is gone with this pregnancy. I think I’ll be keeping my feet up tomorrow. Good thing it’s going to be raining all day tomorrow so I won’t be tempted outside.

Home Alone. Or Am I?

Back when Dan headed up the Senior High Youth Group at our church, he traveled a lot. I didn’t always go with him, so I’d be home alone with the boys. I could be home alone for a month at a time without him. I never liked it, but somehow I got through it. I don’t know how. But I did. But now, he’s gone for a couple of days and I miss him terribly. The boys and I have managed to fill our time with fun things to do. But at night, when all is dark and the house is creaky, I really miss him. I had just finished folding the laundry and crawled in…

Eli’s K5 Graduation Invitation

I can’t believe my little boy is graduating Kindergarten! Where has the time gone?!  

Phase 1… or 5 or 6

The biggest craze around our house is currently what we call Phase 1 in the construction process of modernizing our old house. It was built in 1920 and has left a lot to be desired. In the past three years we’ve owned the house, we’ve replaced the boiler – converting to natural gas – replaced the water main, the front porch, added and/or updated several outlets, painted, took down wallpaper, replaced some flooring, ripped up old nasty carpets and linoleum, knocked down a wall and put in a sliding glass door that opens out to our deck. We’ve also replaced the ceiling in the kitchen complete with a new fan, outlets and access for recess lighting….