Grandma Reedy's Peach Cobbler

Via my mom-in-law, here is her mother's cobbler recipe. Peaches are on my shopping list to give this yummy recipe a try this week! My own mom always made cobblers in the summertime.

Grandma Reedy's Peach Cobbler

3 cups fresh sliced peaches
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

1 and 1/2 cups sifted enriched flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup shortening
1/2 cup milk
1 well beaten egg

Arrange peaches in 8x8 greased baking pan.
Sprinkle with mixture of 1 cup sugar, extract, lemon juice and peel.
Heat in 375 degree oven while preparing batter.

Sift flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
Cut in shortening till mixture is like coarse crumbs.
Add egg and milk all at once and stir until flour is moistened.

Drop dough by spoonfuls over peaches, spread gently.
Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of sugar.

Bake in hot oven 35 minutes or till peaches are bubbly and top is nicely brown.

Morning, Glory!

Late in the summer, flowers start to droop their little faces and their greens begin their tired, dry descent down to the ground as hot weather drains them.

But we have hearty, faithful friends that take over our front
porch during this hot season and they remind us how blessed we are. They come to camp out every summer and don't require a single thing from us... no blankes, no food, no water. The best kind of house guest! They quietly make make themselves comfy and set out the most glorious feast for our eyes with no requirements from their host family.

Our morning glories have been living on H street just as
long as we have. We moved in during early April 3 years ago... we planted then in early May the same year. And they always come back... no matter how busy we are or how much we sit and admire them. They always give us a smile as we take the kids out to play or rush past them to the car. They don't care much what we are doing, for they are doing just fine.

They also camp out with the neighbors now too, although
I'm not so sure they are as welcome at their homes (giggle) as they are in ours. These beauties are nothing if they are not prolific... and their family reunion each summer has grown beyond the small borders of our yard to the neighbors on each side. Whoops! Well, we like to share.

5th grade, here she comes!

Today is my least favorite day of the year.


Don just left, headed for BWI with 2 suitcases, 2 carry-ons and my precious Mary Grace. I hate this day as much as I love the day in May when she arrives once school is out. MG starts school, the 5th grade, next Thursday. How can it be that my 1st baby girl is starting 5th grade? My, how time does fly.

She's headed back south after a nice full summer of fun. She left here with knitting on her lap... I'm so proud of her having the patience to learn and for sticking with it. She will never forget her newest art. And she may never put it down for that matter. This girl has the bug for knitting. I owe that to my dear friend Margie. She's going with a yarn stash that even I'm jealous of, again courtesy of Margie, and a brand new 29" #7 circular needle. She picked it out at AC Moore yesterday, telling me it would give her more flexibity to knit small projects, or larger projects in-the-round. It makes me beam with pride to hear her rattle off knitting jargon and anticipate that she will need that flexibility. She's such cool kid.

She's also headed back with a very fun new binder/satchel that we got yesterday at Target. We went out to lunch with girlfriends and their children. Then they also went along with us to Target for the hunt. We'd hoped to find an obnoxiously sparkly and very girly binder, but Target didn't have anything quite over the top. But MG managed to pick out a tasteful and VERY practical lipstick-pink double binder with a handle and strap option for carrying it. We picked up lots of add-ons too, including a silver sequined pencil compartment that hooks into the binder. I'm totally jealous. I always wanted some thing so cool. Of course we filled the pockets with new gel pins, colored pencils and mini-markers. It was quite the scene actually, me and my two girlfriends TELLING her what she needed. We were totally picking out what WE'D want if WE were still 10 years old. We were so puzzled why MG wouldn't go our way, then we all suddenly realized that we wanted her to have what we wanted. We're all still girls at heart, I suppose. Always will be.

So she's off. Another summer done. Another moment of her childhood X'ed off the little chalkboard I carry around in my heart. Sadness consumes me. I'd like to go to bed and cover my head up for the rest of the day. But these other little busy bees need me. So off I go to mommy the two I'm blessed to be with around the entire calendar. Today, despite my qualms with letting my big one go south once again, is just one more day in the life of my children. And another chance for me to help my children grow and learn and become strong little people.

Thanks to everyone who made this summer so special to my girly... and to those of you who are my crutches. I certainly couldn't do anything without your love and support.

Gimme a break! Gimme a break!

Time to put the breaks on and sit back and re-evaluate again. I'm going to say, "whooooaa nelly" to my local playgroup, because honestly, I'm all played out. All thought out. All debated out. All worn out. While we can't leave his dear friends, I need to rest my weary head for a while.

The fall will soon be here and our schedule is going to be turned upside down anyway. Andrew will be in pre-school 3 mornings a week. I'm considering toddler gym again and my dear friend, L, reeeealllly wants me to join her at MOPS every other Tuesday. Its at a church close by and its for moms, where moms do activities and attend talks together while the children have surprised playtime with each other. Mommies play. Children play. Sounds good. Ahhhh. Time to shift gears.

Ears

Andrew has an ear infection. He's been sticking his head under the tub spout for fun during bathtime and now his eustation tubes are infected. The eardrums are fine. Crazy boy.

He told me this morning that his ear was sunburned, but I didn't think anything of it. Then this afternoon I heard him tell MG that his ears hurt down deep in the holes. Hello! That got mommy's attention. So I called the doc and we were seen right away.So now he's on Zithromax. Argh

Participating in a new drug study

Mom's doctors have signed her up for a new medical study for a cancer chemotherapy drug. Its still in the development stages, so she is participating in a blind study. She received her first part of it last Wednesday and then another one yesterday. She'll have several rounds of this sort of double-teamed series and then they will re-evaluate.

There is a possibility she might be receiving the placebo. If her numbers aren't coming down after a few weeks, the docs can contact the research company and ask for them to switch her to the actual drugs. I guess this is the process that must be followed, since its not an FDA approved pharmaceutical yet. The good news is that after the first two times going, she's had some side effects. So we are praying that it means she's getting the drugs and not the placebo. She had some shortness of breath, elevated BP and nausea... so we hope those icky things mean good things in the long run.

Mommy Wars

Why are women so hard on each other? I am one... and I'm totally guilty of it. But why is it this way?

I travel in several mommy circles, in person and online, and there always seems to be some drama going on. What is it that keeps us stirred up? Just recently I've seen people take their toys and go home over the darndest things. Peanut butter, the raging breast feeding vs. forumla debate, who posts more often and contributes more to the group, junk food at playdates, moms having babies via Csection being treated as second class mommies.

Ugh.

I used to say that I hated working with women because they are so emotional and hormonal. And its just always true. Men were, at the very least, predictable. Even if you can't count on them to do the best job... you know they will shut up and work.

Isn't it hard enough work to be a parent and a wife? You have to be right all of the time too? Sigh.

My little cozy

Yay, my yarn is here for my French Market Bag and I wanted to do a test felt of the yarn. Instead of just doing a swatch, my friend K suggested that I do a little needle cozy. She had done a few from patterns in Cat Bordi's book, Second Treasury of Magical Knitting so I gave it a go. I adore the way it turned out! So much so that I had trouble taking the needles out of the cozy to start my bag! Hahaha!!

Happy Birthday, my baby girl!

Ahhh... Abi is one. Its exciting and sad all wrapped up together. I'm so glad to see her happy and growing so healthy. But watching each day of her infancy tick away was enough to make me teary-eyed. Now she's a toddler and learning new things every day. This girly is just not happy to stay the same and revel in the familiar. She wants to know more and do more and strive for new things.

Mommy is not ready. But I don't think I have much of a choice in the matter!

Persistance

This is NOT funny! This little almost-one-year-old has an iron will. I can't count how many things I've taken her off the stairs today!

She is quite the contrast to her big brother, Cautious Andrew, who didn't attempt the stairs until he knew he could walk up and down them safely at 18 months old.

Argggghhhhh!!!!

Current knits on the needle

I've got two things going right now, and one new knit I'll be starting next week. I'm so excited!

First, I've been working on this dress for Abi. Its 100% cotton, for fall. I just love it! I'm about 60% done now. After this 2nd set of polka dots, I'll knit up to the bodice. I can't wait to see her in it! I hope to be done with it by the middle of September. We shall see. Knitting is quite the challenge, with 3 kiddos on my heels.

I also have just started this fun and chunky yet skinny scarf for Mary Grace. Can you believe its only 4 stitches cast on? My girlfriend, M, gave me the yarn to use for something for MG. Its harder to work with that I anticipated, so I am knitting it together with this aqua cotton (Sugar n Cream) and its going much smoother.

Next week, our knitting circle is going to start this French Market Bag as a knit-a-long. I can't wait! I'm picking out colors as we speak, but I can decide between shades of teal, orange, perwinkle or raspberry. Maybe one of each by the time I'm done? I mean, who can't use more than one market bag?!?! It will give me several new skills to master... knitting in the round on double pointed needles, felting and learning the kitchener stitch for seams.

Abi's walking!

CLICK HERE to see some of Abi's first steps. She started walking today! Hooray! Just a few weeks before her first birthday.

Oh, I can hardly believe my last baby is walking!

Nana News

After several months of rocking along rather nicely, mom had some bad news yesterday.

About a month ago she has a second pleurodesis done after being admitted to the hospital for the procedure. It went very well and she was only in the hospital for 4 days. Her chest xrays since then have been promising, with no changes. Meaning the fluid didn't seem to be building back up.

Last week, after a few weeks of feeling a bit blue, she contacted the oncologists office for some tests and they sent her in for some bloodwork, including a CA125, the marker for ovarian cells within your body. The last test just over a month ago, brought back the results of 68. But last week's test revealed an elevated number of 331.

We are all crushed with this news. You can imagine the range of emotions mom is dealing with. And there is just no outlet for her. Other than tears. And they just don't wash this away.

Please continue to pray for my sweet mama. We expect another round of tests, including a CT to look into the cause of the elevation. Its been since March that she's had any chemotherapy. Pray for her strength to find out what the next step of this year long battle will be. Pray for healing and comfort. Just please pray.

One bright note, which I'm so thankful for... a good friend called yesterday to offer them a trip to the Alabama coast, starting this weekend. They are going to gladly take them up on their offer. Pray that they can squeeze it in between the tests and what not. Mom REALLY needs to get her toes in the sugar white sands of Gulf Shores. I wish I could lay on the beach with her and drink frozen daiquiris.

I love my family

My little nest of 5 I mean. And I'm not talking about the normal husband to wife and mom to kid sort of love. I mean I love how we all fit together. Like a little 5 piece puzzle, snapping into place to complete it. How we have so much fun together. How funny and goofy we are. How we're silly and giggle. How we have such an array of personalities and quirks within the 5 of us. I love how our children accept us, as parents, and don't question our rules (not that they always follow them). I love our routines and that they all know what to expect out of each day and how excited they get over the smallest things sometimes.

I just love the wholeness we share together. I love how Andrew dotes on MG. How MG just rolls her eyes when Andrew is being THREE. How Andrew is so cautious with small toys and not leaving them on the floor because Abi picks them up. How Abi cries for MG to stop and pick her up. I love looking at the 3 of them in the back of the car, all lined up and eager to go. And yes, even when they are poking and pulling at each other I snicker under my breath.

I love how Don fathers them. I love how he's so anal and meticulous about every little thing, even though it does drive me up a tree sometimes. Its because he wants the best for them always. I love how he gets down in the floor and lets them crawl all over him. How he naps with Andrew on his chest. How Abi cries for him if she hears for him in another part of the house.

I just love the whole little picture of our home and family. The noise, the mess, the smells, the exhaustion. I love it all.

Road Trip!

My girlfriend, K, snapped this picture when we were in the car a couple weeks back. She is a super star... she volunteered to ride with me and MG back down to Tennessee after spring break was done. It was SO nice to have someone in the car for the trip back. Its usually very somber for me, having to drop my big girl off then be alone in the car for 10 hours. But this go around, I had company. It was priceless, the things we shared on I-81. She is a treasure!

Anyway.... I adore this picture. MG is a ham as always. I love every single freckle on that sweet face. We had a blast! It was the goofiest weather ever. Sun, rain, snow, sun, sleet, fog. Nuts! The weather in the mountains during a front can do that I suppose. Crazy!

Birthday Bagel

Happy 36th birthday to me!

I'm celebrating my birthday today. And a lot of other things... over a lightly toasted, cathartic everything bagel and my yummy cuppa coffee. Life has been tough lately. I've had some personal struggles and had been feeling pretty yucky about myself. Its been 6 years since I've had such gray skies. But. God is good. Sometimes its not so fun how He pulls the rug out from under you. Yet He knows when you need it.

I had managed to take the keys from Him again. I was winding my way down my own path, having a great old time. When the car started crashing I just couldn't figure out why. But now, that the mess is cleaned up, I can clearly see that I'd put some things between us. He doesn't like that so much.

So, Happy Birthday Me! Its a sunny day!

Mom update

There have been a few new developments with mom this week. First of all, the Oncologist worked out a plan for a second series of treatments. Mom will receive 2 more chemotheraphys, starting with this coming Wednesday, then they will reassess, once more. While the news about the cancer still being present was a hard pill to swallow, there was an encouraging development with her CA125. The last one done with the chemo 6 weeks ago was still hovering around the 70 mark. Last week's sample came back with a result of 54. That is very encouraging news. The goal is 35. We are praying that these next two chemo series really wallop those stubborn cells.

Today, mom found out some very good news for me. She had the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene susceptibility test done. They drew bloodwork about 6 weeks ago and sent it off to some special lab somewhere. It checks those two specific genes, which are mutated IF you are a carrier of the inherited version of Ovarian Cancer.

Mom was negative for both. This is a huge relief for her. It doesn't effect her illness or treatment one bit. But what it means is that she can not "give" me or any of her grand daughters the increased likelihood for getting ovarian cancer. Since my grandmother also had ovarian cancer (her mom) we were really thinking it might be a family thing.

Mom was filled with positive emotion telling me how happy she is that she hasn't messed things up for us. I told her even if she carried it it would be her fault, but I know what she means. She realizes she can't change things for herself, but is so happy to know that she hasn't passed on an illness to me and the 3 grand daughters in our family.

Today was a good day for her. And for me!

Sickos!

Sleeping late, going to bed early, warm cups of tea, naps on the sofa. Sounds good right? But not when its all in the honor of our house guest, Mr. Nasty Virus.

Yuck! This house is full of sickos. With the exception of Abi so far, the rest of us are battling a booger of a germ! It started with Andrew on Sunday and he's had 5 days of very high fever, no appetite, lethargy and a terrible cough. The doc diagnosed him with acute bronchitis. Don started with it on Monday, then me on Tuesday night. I'm in the middle of the worst of it now, while Don and Andrew are in the home stretch. If Abi makes it out of this healthy it truly will be a miracle.

My goal is to get this nastiness out of here by tomorrow around midnight, because Mary Grace will be arriving for Spring Break. And I don't want her precious week here to be filled with ickies! We have things to do and fun to be had! How I'm going to do that is unclear, but I'm going to do my best!

Keep us in your prayers!

Ahhhhh.... fresh air!

Its 7:46am and 60 degrees! In Pennsylvania no less! Weeee! Oh, you just gotta love the early signs of spring. I know this day is a gift, and we have more cold before we get real spring, but whew. What a blessing.

I just opened doors and windows up to air the house out. This is one of my favorite days each year. The day we can turn off the heat for a whole day and let the breeze stir. It does a body good! The crocus bulbs are opening up, the daffodils greens are peeping up an inch or two. Ahhhh indeed!

We will definitely be taking a walk to the park today. Andrew will have that outside kid smell by the time daddy comes home from work. Oh, the scrubbing he'll need tonight. I can't wait to sit Abi on a blanket and put a sun hat on her little head.

Stubborn Cells

Mom has had a not-so-great week. Physically, she's enjoying a break from the chemo and has been doing some fun things, getting out to auctions and listing some things for sale on Ebay. However, on Monday she had the fluid in her chest drawn off, which turned out to be quite a lot. It is an uncomfortable procedure, and tired her out, but afterwards she did notice the ability to breathe a bit better. The fluid had been pressing on her lungs again and they were partially collapsed. Its amazing that a person can walk around and function with over a gallon of fluid pressing on them. But after a lazy day at home, she was feeling ok again.

Yesterday, she got results back from the testing of the fluid. There are still cancer cells. We totally expected that news, since her CA125 level is not reduced as much as he doctors wanted at this point. But its still a big blow. However, we are OF COURSE still praying for a miracle. God is so good and we are just totally giving this over to Him. Mom has a wonderful sense of comfort in God through her journey with this illness. Her sense of calm amazes me.

Next week she will see her Oncologist again to see what the next step in this fight will be. Onward! With weapons drawn! Come on you pray warriors!!!