March 23, 24, & 25

Picture-A-Day:

Wednesday: I made my own corn/tortilla chips. I bought these corn tortillas because little T is allergic to wheat. But he won't eat them, and neither will anybody else. Turns out, everybody loves them when they're fried in hot oil! This was surprisingly easy to make. Here are directions:

1. cut or break corn tortillas into small chunks. You can be artistic like me and tear them into random shapes, or you can use a knife or pizza cutter to make strips or wedges.

2. heat about 1/2-1" veg. oil in a skillet in medium-ish heat. You might have to play with the temp a little bit - if it's too hot, they'll cook too fast and get overdone, but if it's not hot enough they'll just sit there and get mushy in the oil.

3. put a few pieces of tortilla into the hot oil, let cook about 30 seconds or so, then flip them with a tongs. Take them out when they're a nice golden brown.
*note: if you put too many pieces in the oil at a time you won't be able to flip them fast enough and the first ones that get flipped will burn by the time you get the last ones flipped. I recommed no more than 5 or 6 pieces at a time.

Thursday: I went shopping. Bought myself some new jeans. I was down to one pair that didn't have holes, so I figured it was time to get a new pair so I don't have to wear the same jeans every day. I also got some shorts because the weather IS going to start getting warmer soon. Then I treated myself to lunch at Adam's Bistro at Concord Mall. All I can say is, magically delicious. I love those people. AND, then I bought these plastic filing tubs to continue the fight against paper clutter. I'm using these for long-term storage of school papers. Sage's box is the most full since she's had 2 years of preschool and most of Kindergarten. I didn't have Alyssa until she was in 3rd grade, so hers is mostly report cards, awards, and a few of the more special things she's brought home from school. I feel pretty happy with this system.

Friday: We got a new tent! We actually bought it on Thursday, but Friday we did our trial-run set-up in the yard. Our old tent is a 7-8 person tent, which anybody who camps in tents knows, really means it fits about 5 people comfortably. We were REALLY crowded last year with the addition of a baby bed. (I think we kept the smallest baby in the car seat/carrier). We've been tent-shopping since last Fall, watching sales and clearances, but didn't find anything. We've had our eye on this one and it never went on sale at all, so we decided it was time to buy it, since camping season will be starting in just a few short months. It's a 12-person tent and it is HUGE! Well, huge when it's empty. I'm sure it won't seem so huge when we're all living in it, but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have fit on the site we had in Colorado last summer. Setting the tent up got me really antsy to get out and camp again. SO READY FOR SUMMER!