Update

So, you may have noticed that I posted "potty" pictures last week of the new potty seat we had - and then promptly took them down. Kevin thought it probably was best NOT to have pics of Natalie breaking in the new seat on the web as there's plenty of sicko's in the world. Ahhh... but the picture of her carrying the little bucket around with her bare bum was SO cute. Oh well....

The whole potty training thing is not really an effort that we're pushing - yet. We're really just introducing the chair and talking about it more. Not sure she really gets the whole purpose of the toilet since I just had to go disinfect her from head to toe because she was splashing around in the upstairs toilet not 10 minutes ago. Hmmm... what part of "dirty" doesn't she get??? =)

In a few weeks I'll be heading out west to Washington State for work...FOR THREE WEEKS. I'm not very thrilled about being away from the family for so long, and Kevin is even LESS thrilled about working full-time and watching Natalie on his own. It will be a challenge for all of us. I'm already ready for it to be over and done with, but I'm just keeping in mind that this job has enabled me to be around a LOT more for my family than my previous job. And for three weeks of travel a year, it's worth it.

I've been on a cooking streak recently - trying new recipes, etc. I found the BEST recipe (from a girl at MOPS) for making my own tomato sauce. It's posted below. I made it and was able to make a couple pans of ziti from it and freeze the ones we didn't eat. Makes it nice for nights I don't want to cook.

Tonight we're having deer tenderloin (we have about 90lbs of deer in our freezer right now... and let me tell you it's been REALLY good) that will taste like filet mignon. The deer has been SO tender. We're also having broccoli cheese cornbread (which I've never made) and salad. I've been working on finding a recipe for yummy yeast rolls, so if you have any ideas, send them my way.

Last night I made pizza from scratch (a greek pizza and two pepperoni pizzas) with this dough. Super good and super easy since I used my bread machine on the "dough" cycle.

Oh, and I've recently fallen in love with THIS recipe. Except I grill the chicken, add grilled mushrooms, add cumin and saute my onions with some garlic. I also only use 1 1/2 chicken breasts. This is SO good.

Well, I could ramble on and on, but I probably ought to go rescue my kid from the certain peril she's getting herself into!

Super GOOD Marinara Sauce
2 28oz Cans whole peeled tomatoes
2 28oz Cans Crushed tomatoes (or you can use whole peeled)
FRESH basil (one big handful)
1/4 c Olive oil (it calls for regular, not EVOO, but EVOO is all I've ever used)
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a pot and let simmer for 45 minutes to an hour.

Did you know you can get an institutional-sized can of whole-peeled tomatoes at Costco for around $2.87? That's a great deal! You'll just need to size the recipe appropriately.