Savi and The Shiner

On our first full day in Gatlinburg we decided to venture out of the hotel for dinner, and a lot of people watching. (Which is another subject in and of itself) The folks you see in Gatlinburg are of two distinct camps. 1) the people drawn by nature; hiking, biking, river sports, etc 2) the folks drawn by Dollywood, Deep Fried Oreos, Airbrushed Tee-shirts, and the county fair atmosphere that the main drag through Gatlinburg has to offer. Quite a bit to take in.

We were not particularly fans of the corn dog and funnel cake stands that were strategically placed every 100 yards and wanted a nice place to sit down and have a meal that was still kid-friendly (read, not a bar and grill). We happened upon a Shoney's and thought that was probably the best bet for that night.
Here we are on the way to dinner. Gunnar pushing Sydney, who was tired out by the hiking around we did that day, everything right with the world.


We arrived at Shoney's and ordered the buffet for the kids, so they could pick and choose. $3.99 each, and free for Sydney! Sweet! I helped the kids dish up and then sent them back to the table so I could plate up a green salad for myself. Not 2 minutes later I returned to the table and found this:

...I started asking what happened and was told "she got hit" by the waiter.

"WHAT? What do you mean she got HIT?" I said.....it took me a full 5 minutes to find out that the waiter had swung around from another table and smacked Savi's face with the edge of his serving tray. No apology, acting like it wasn't a big deal. I was STEAMING.

The manager came out and asked if she was OK. I tried to be civil and calm....but there still hadn't been an apology. "Well, she has a hard purple bump, and a gash that is still bleeding. And she's pretty upset. She's definitely NOT OKAY," I said. I asked for some ice. He retrieves some and I help her position it.

Again he leaves, no apology. At this point I'm starting to get a bit more upset.

Meanwhile, Savi has totally lost her appetite and isn't able to eat anything.

15 minutes later the manager returns. FINALLY apologizes, and let's us know he'll comp our whole meal and to please make sure we order dessert too. We're feeling a bit better now, and I try to lighten things up for Savi up by telling her "Thanks for taking one for the team". Which didn't exactly cheer her up at all.

But when the server returned with stuffed Shoney's bears and tiger pops, well, that did the trick!
So much better! At least until bedtime when she said it hurt to close her eyes. I gave her some Ibuprofen and she conked right out.

And here she is the next morning...shiner central!

Her poor eye got blacker and blacker as the trip went on, and people commented on it everywhere we went! She was SO DONE with the comments that she took to covering her eye whenever she sensed anyone looking her way. :(

Less than a week later, she's all but healed up though! Isn't it amazing how quickly our bodies work to heal themselves!?!?!?

And NOW she has an awesome story to tell her friends when she returns from Spring Break!

Road Trippin': Gatlinburg

The goal was to discover why The Great Smokey Mountains is the most visited National Park on the East Coast. I'm in love with the forests of the Smokey Mountains. This moss has been dormant all winter. Imagine how it will look in the summer!!

There were a lot of cool things to see, and we stuck to the kid-friendly hikes....can't wait until all the kids are old enough to do the really cool ones that are 8 miles round trip instead of 3 miles or less. We're breaking Sydney in this year....she hiked about 1/2 mile and then wanted to be carried, but we'll get there.
This is an old mill behind a 200 year old farm just a few miles outside of the town. There was still water running through it from the stream that is just behind it. The woodwork was amazing! Hand-made hinges and tongue in groove work on the log cabin.

The boys, climbing around in the hay loft.
It's a postcard! ;) The 2 room house was set down the hill from the barn, on a steep and rocky grade. I'm not sure how that worked back then, but it's still standing! There was alot of attic room too, most likely for making moonshine!

We took the lift up the hill overlooking the town of Gatlinburg the last night. This is the view from the top, just after sunset.

The kids became Jr Rangers. This pic is of them being sworn in. We started this tradition as we drove across the country during our move last winter. They have badges for Jewel Cave, Badlands and Mt Rushmore too. They are anxious to add to their collection. Ranger Hill was really cute with them!
This is the trailhead to Mingus Falls in Cherokee, NC. Such a short little hike after the stairs.
...and look how beautiful!

Sydney is in her element here, climbing around and looking for salamanders.
Success!!

We took so many pics of this beautiful area....stay tuned for at least a couple more!

Our 7 year old & A Pirate Party

A little over a week ago, Gunnar turned 7! (Bad Mommy! Behind on blogging!) We had a small family celebration the night before to make way for the Pirate Party of 9 the day of!

You see all those cute 7 year old boys? They were as loud as the look! But they sure know how to have fun. :)Whacking the Pirate Pinata with everything he's got. I think everyone got 1 hit in before the bottom exploded.

Scavenging for Pirate's Booty.

Walking the "plank". They earned their eye patches for this amazing feat. ;)

Then on to presents...this is where it started...

...and this is where they ended up. With each gift the crowd moved in closer and closer until the birthday boy was backed into a corner. It was hilarious! He got a bunch of lego sets, a game, a badminton set, a frisbee, an rc truck, and his favorite gift of the day? FLARP. Welcome to being a boy at age 7, I guess. LOL

In all the chaos, I forgot to take a picture of the skull and crossbones cake I made, but believe me, the black frosting was a hit!

I was so exhausted by the end of this party, all the noise, trying to get the whole group to do the same thing at the same time. Honestly, I didn't need to PLAN anything....they move at 60 MPH and totally entertain themselves. And the best part? When I asked G what his favorite thing about the party was, he said, "When it was just me and Preston at the end playing on our own....it was like a playdate!" REALLY? Next party - 1 friend!

Our Best Guy

...celebrated another trip around the sun yesterday! We had a super-busy day, but the weather was beautiful and we celebrated in true Hovik fashion.
The kids were so involved in picking out his gifts this year. March 1st rolled around and they were already discussing what their Dad would like. It has always been really important to Chris to have a relationship with each of the kids individually, and they KNOW what he likes because of how well they know him.

Savi chose solar powered pathway lights for the front walk. Gunnar gave his Dad a Nerf football so they could toss it around and practice for Gunnar's upcoming flag football league.

Sydney chose a pancake pan that has round indentations with animal faces in them. She loves when her Daddy makes pancakes on Saturday mornings!

I gave him a new tie and some Carolina gardening books....he's got a lot of work ahead of him!!

The Birthday Boy spent most of the day getting his hands dirty. I went with him to select 8 shrubs so he could get started on the landscaping on this beautiful first day of Spring! We chose 2 of each, English Laurel, Forsythia, Loropetalum and Viburnum. We're also on the hunt for some good looking Tea Olives. Just the start of many, many shrubs and trees that will beautify our yard for years to come.

Happy Birthday Weekend to our Tree (and Shrub) Loving, Pancake Making, Adventure Seeking Guy!

We love you!

Thursday Treats

I feel like all my posts have been about food lately. It's strange. I have a lot of other things going on, but this is what ends up on my camera. ;P

I was supposed to bring brownies to a girl gathering last week. We got together for a friend's birthday and had snacks and pedicures after the kids' bedtimes. It was glorious!

I didn't actually have a brownie mix as I went to make them that afternoon, but I DID have a chocolate fudge cake mix, so I improvised and threw together some Chocolate Chocolate Chip cookies, aka C3 Cookies. YUM.

They were a hit with the kids as they were, but when they discovered that this thin cookie makes a really excellent ice cream sandwich, they disappeared really quickly!!

C3 Cookies

• 1 Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix
  
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted
• 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional - - I did not use any)
  

1. Preheat oven to 350 ºF.
2. Place cake mix, eggs, butter, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large bowl. Stir with spoon until thoroughly blended. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans. Drop by level measuring tablespoonfuls onto greased baking sheets.
3. Bake at 350 ºF for 12 minutes for chewy cookies (cookies will still be puffed) or 14 minutes for crisp cookies. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheets. Remove to cooling racks. Cool completely. Store in airtight container.

What's Cooking?

This was dinner on Sunday.

Carnitas. Doesn't that just SOUND yummy?! So delicioso!

Dish 'em up! I made that pico de gallo too. It was to.die.for. (if I do say so myself)

It was so good in fact that Chris took some to work for lunch the next day....and he very rarely does that!

It makes me so happy when my family LOVES what I made for dinner! I put so much thought and effort into it and it just kills me when the result is ho-hum. So I take my victories to heart.

The last couple of weeks I've been trying to be more conscious of what we already have in the house that needs to be used and writing down menu ideas that I'm only missing a couple ingredients for. I'm so pleased by the way it's working out. I don't have the 5:00 stress of, "Oh no! What am I going to do for dinner!?" like I used to do sometimes. Especially when Chris started coming home every night for dinner...that was a bit of an adjustment.

I finally made a "Regulars List". I've been meaning to do it F-O-R-E-V-E-R. It's basically a list of things you cook on a regular basis broken down by the main ingredient type. Can you believe that off the top of my head I had 45 items? I couldn't either! I think I may turn into a menu planner yet! (or maybe I already have)

One of the many benefits of doing so would be planning my menu based on what's on sale that week. For instance, if Pork Roasts are on sale, DING, Carnitas! OR Cranberry Pork Roast!....if Ground Turkey is on sale, DING, Turkey Chili! OR Shepard's Pie!....you get the idea. I always allow for a down night too, like Tuna Melts or Omelets...something easy and off the cuff...and of course a leftover night as needed.

Here is what my list of ideas looked like the last 2 weeks:

• Soyaki Chicken & Veggies
• Chicken Tikka Masala
• Carnitas
• Panera knock off Broccoli Cheese Soup
• Homemade Pizza
• White Roughy & Parmesan vermicelli
  
• Lasagna Marinara
  
• Andouille Chicken Sausage and veggie stirfry
• ABC Turkey Meatball Soup
  
• Salmon w/ Mango Salsa
• Spaghetti with ground turkey marinara
• Shepherd's Pie

I ended up making all but 2 of the things on my list, and now they are on my list for this coming week (or so)

• ABC Turkey Meatball Soup
• Salmon w/ Mango Salsa
• Chicken Sausage Kabobs
• Corned Beef & Cabbage
• Chicken Parmigiana

I'm also trying to make fish at least 1x per week. Keeping track of what I'm cooking will help me do that better! It also helps to know that your frozen roast or whole chicken needs to be moved from the freezer to the fridge 2-3 days before you plan to cook it. That's hard to do when you don't plan. I hate to admit that I ended up wasting a lot of meat that way in our last house.

I'm hoping to waste less (not at all), not do things on the fly, and provide balanced meals for my family. These listings are just the main entree...of course I add salads, fruit, steamed veggies, etc. Just thought I'd share, since I know all of you other Moms (Chief Chicks In Charge) are battling the same issues as I am everyday. At least I like to think so.

What's been working for you?

Marching Along

It's March! Wow.

This is a big month for us as a family. For one, my two best guys celebrate their birthdays this month. They are exactly 30 years and 1 week apart. :) :) (We also have a few other extended family birthdays this month)

Plus, you know, SPRING!

But before all that comes St. Patrick's Day. I am not Irish, nor is Chris, but we do love to celebrate this holiday with a traditional meal. Although, I am somewhat of a European Mutt, so maybe somewhere in there is some Irish blood...which would explain my love of all things Corned Beef.

(this one's from 2008)

Am I the only one who gets excited about this? I can't wait until the Flat Cut goes on sale for $1.49 a pound and the cabbage is .39/lb! Ahhhhh, the yumminess of it all!! My Dad used to make this when I was growing up...maybe it's all the nostalgia talking here.

I'm especially looking forward to the warming trend that is supposed to be happening in the next week. HELLO, highs in the sixties! How perfect will that be? Because, I'm telling you, when I woke up this morning for my run and it was 26 degrees, I just wanted to crawl back under the covers. But, I got up, and out the door...and that is most of the battle for me! I'm in week 3 of my 8 weeks of training for the 10K I'm running on April 10th....and I'm doing well so far.

What are you looking forward to the most this month?