Freezer Meals

I have lots of pictures to post from this weekend, but need to get cardio and a shower in, so for now, here are the meals we made. We only got 4 done on Friday night/early Saturday morning, so Jon and I did the last 2 on Sunday.

Here I am working on the tater tot casseroles! (Boy, do I need to hit the tanning bed!)

Ready for taters!

Friday night: Brittany was the supervisory chef after she helped me cut up and cook the chicken.

Christina and Danielle filling and wrapping tortillas.

B. keeping a watchful eye on C. and D. (Caitlin was already asleep at this point. And Kayla was watching TV.)

In all, we have 6 casseroles frozen. Whether they are tasty or not is another story! We are delivering them to needy families, with Jon's group, on Wednesday night. And I think some adults are donating gallons of milk and eggs for us to deliver as well.

Poor Braden

I hope this doesn't mean he's growing again!

This is 6:00 on Thursday night....

And this is 6:00 on Friday night

The Stingers

Braden, Nick, and A.J. (.....It's probably best not to ask questions!)

Jon giving A.J. a big squeeze!

Game 4

The team before the game started.... well, some of the team. Looks like 4 were missing.

They all look ready to get the rebound!

I think Braden had just shot the ball. Not too sure! I just snap away with my camera!

Braden and Noah Ryan. Noah's dad was looking for Bray at church on Sunday. Apparently, Braden fell on Noah during the game. Oops! He was nice and let Noah score several times though.

Shooting a free throw. Despite the wrist action in this picture, his form as been receiving lots of praise from his dad lately.

The final score. After being down 15 or more, they came rallied and only lost by 8 pts.

Braden on the bench. Nice and sweaty!

Game 3 of 4 (in reverse order)

Can you tell Jon is not speaking words of praise? I can.

Braden ready to get the rebound..... maybe.

He was just a little taller than the kid guarding him. **And on a side note, the shorts he's wearing are in their 3rd season of basketball. However, when we bought them, they were mid-calf. Now they are knee length. This is likely his last year wearing them, but 3 seasons is pretty good!**

Not sure what this was. After a timeout perhaps. (L to R: A.J., Braden, Noah, Matt, Nick)

Tip-off. Look closely and you'll see that Braden's feet barely come off the ground. This drives Jon crazy! He wants Braden to start jumping now and not wait until everyone else catches up to him in height.

Jon..... asst coach

Braden had a 4th grade basketball tournament this Friday and Saturday. The team did pretty well. They won their first 3 games and then lost in the first round of the tournament. It was a long day, but a "half the team" lunch at Wendy's in between games was a nice treat for them.

Now if only Braden would start jumping now before everyone else catches up to him!

Here are some pictures I took of Jon throughout the day on Saturday. Enjoy! I'll post Braden's pics when I have more time.

Spray Candy

I have a more "profound" post that has been rattling around in my head this past week-ish. But with dinner in the oven/on the stove, I don't know that I have enough time for expressing these thoughts.

So............. here is my warning about spray candy. Braden loves the stuff! He's been getting it occasionally for years. Specifically, the Warheads Sour Spray. You can get it in the check-out lanes at most superstores.

Anyway, the mother of the little girl that I watch a few days a week called me Monday morning. Her daughter would not be coming because she had the day off in order to take her 6 yr. old to an eye specialist in Lima.
They were shopping at Wal-Mart on Sunday and her older daughter asked for the spray while they were checking out. It was labeled "ages 4+" so her mother said ok. Before they left the store, the little girl had it opened and was trying to spray it into her mouth.

They're not sure what happened, but the child screamed and mom turned to see the spray everywhere. Her hair. Her face. All over the floor. She said it looked like it just exploded. Mom ran the girl to the bathroom to rinse her eye/face. That didn't work because they have the faucets that only come on when your hand is underneath it. She then rushes her to Customer Service. They had an eye flush in the first aid kit. They rinsed her eye. She was still in pain. Her mom ended up bringing her to the ER.

The candy had stuck to her eyeball and scratched it! They had to pull/pick it off!

They referred her to a specialist who saw her on Monday afternoon. They prescribed some drops and think it will heal without causing any damage. Her mom said her eye was swollen shut on Monday.

SHOULD YOU EVER BUY THIS FOR YOUR CHILD(REN), YOU MAY WANT TO MAKE SURE IT PUMPS OK BEFORE LETTING THEM HAVE IT!
(Braden had actually received one at church on Sunday as a prize for bringing a friend!)

Music Program

The 1st-4th graders had their spring music program this past Tuesday night. It was entitled "Let's Sing America" hence the red, white, and blue jean attire.

Braden is pretty easy to pick out. He's the tall one in the back row that never smiled.

He had a speaking part this year. It was only two sentences, but he got up there and said them!

Singing.

Though it looks like they are saluting Hitler, I promise you, they aren't!

VW Basketball Tourney

Braden played in his first post-season basketball tournament today. All day. They were the only 4th grade team. And they were the only team to play four games (9:45, 12:45, 3:00, and 3:45). It was a long day. They only lost by 3 in the first game. And the last game was pretty close too. The two in the middle, against Crestview and Van Wert's fifth grade teams, were not pretty. I took a few pictures. They are extremely grainy because of the poor lighting in the gym and how much I had to zoom. But you get the idea right?

This is Braden in the last game of the day. He fouled quite a few times and thus, sat out a lot.

Danielle and Brittany came for the last game.

Braden and Jon on the bench -- and Dirk. (I auto fixed the color)

Braden and A.J. -- not upset about how the games have been going for their team :)

Braden and Drew in game 3. Drew is a giant of a fifth grader. He was the only one taller than Braden all day.

Game 1.

If Only I Could Keep Them

Friday afternoon, I had Layce's youngest two while she went to her 39 week check-up in Lima. She ended up calling me to tell me they were going to admit her at 5:00 and break her water. (This baby was not coming if left to decide for herself!) Around 9:30 last night, I received a pix via cell phone of baby Eden Grace Watson! She is a perfect, healthy 7 lbs. 7 oz. and I can't wait to meet her! Here are a few pictures of the other two.

Braden and Trinity working on a duet of some sort. I think he was impressing her by "playing" one of the things his dad taught him. She thought he was very cool!

I would keep her in a heartbeat! She cried when I took her to their grandparents' last night. It broke my heart! But I told her dad I would bring them over so he could head to the hospital.

And Xander. He may look sweet and innocent, but he was actually pouting. Taking turns was not on his list of things to do yesterday!

I love these kids! Do you think their parents would notice if I just kept them next time? They have 2 others at home.