Violin Recital and Stage Fright

Tuesday began quite differently then most days at our house. JA woke up early to go out hunting, and all three kids slept in till 9:00. So, I enjoyed relaxing in bed until I heard the typical refrain of "good moning" from Lydia. We ate breakfast, did some laundry, and then I sat down with Kara to begin practicing her violin. She was very excited about her recital that evening, and she did very well playing her violin.
By the time lunch was over, I knew we were in trouble. Kara had a violin lesson scheduled for 4:00. By two o'clock she was tripping over things and wailing over the littlest things -- my little girl was TIRED!!! At three o'clock I called and canceled her violin lesson -- it was obvious that without a nap she would have a terrible lesson and an even worse recital. I laid her down in Andy's crib because I didn't want Lydia to wake her up.

Two hours later I finally let her get up -- a nap was never taken. I was praying that the two hour rest time may have helped to re-energize her. We ate supper, and began getting ready for the recital. She was very excited about it, but I couldn't help be worried that she would get up there and refuse to perform (even though she had a practice performance at church on Sunday and she did well then).

At 6:20 we headed out to the recital. Kara was very excited when we got there and she ran right up to Miss Abigayle to give her a present (which I had intended to wait on, but you can't hardly stop a three year old who was already at the front of the church before I even stepped in the doors).
Well, Kara was the first one to play since she was the youngest and least experienced, and she was the only violin student (the rest were piano students). She performed exactly how I thought she would -- She stood up on the platform, violin in hand and smiled, and smiled, and smiled, and swayed, and refused to sing her Rest Position song. She was so unsure of herself she couldn't even get her violin into rest position or playing position correctly (two things she has been able to do very well for about two months). She finally focused on what she was to be doing and did her finger position on the E string, and I think she was a bit disappointed when Miss Abigayle stopped her from playing her finger positions on the other strings.

Below are the videos of the recital. After the recital JA and I gave her a present -- A kitty cat ornament with a bell on it's collar--engraved to remind her of her first recital. I'm already starting to pray that she will be more cooperative and less distracted at her spring recital.

What's For Dinner?

Alicia tagged me about a month ago to post my favorite dinner recipes. Here are my favorites which I can usually do with something that I have around the house.

One-Pan Taco Beef and Noodle Skillet

1 lb ground meat.

1 pkg taco seasoning

2 cups water

1 pkg mac n cheese

1/3 cup sour cream

1 large tomato chopped

1 cup shredded lettuce

1 cup (or more) broken tortilla chips.

Brown meat in a large skillet and drain. Add seasoning mix, water and macaroni. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; cover. Simmer until liquid is almost completely absorbed. stir in sour cream and cheese sauce mix until well blended and top with tomatoes, lettuce, and tortilla chips.

* To save money, I use ground turkey in this recipe.

BBQ Hamburger Sandwiches

1 lb lean ground meat

1 green pepper and onion finely chopped

1/2 cup barbecue sauce

1/2 cup water

1/4 pound cheese

4 hamburger buns

Brown the meat in a large skillet and drain. Add peppers and onions and cook for five minutes. Stir in barbecue sauce, water, and cheese. Cook until cheese is blended. Top hamburger buns and throw in some side dishes.

* To save money and eat healthier, I use ground turkey and whole wheat hamburger buns.

Mom's Coffee Cake
I love breakfast for dinner, and my mom's coffee cake is my all time favorite.
3 cups flour
5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 c sugar
2/3 c melted butter
2 c milk
1 tsp vanilla

Streusel Top
1 c brown sugar
4 tbsp butter softened
4 tbsp flour
2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 and grease 9 x13 pan. Mix butter, egg, sugar, milk and vanilla. Then add dried ingredients. Combine ingredients for streusel top in a separate bowl.

Pour half of the batter into the pan. Layer half of the streusel mixture over the batter, top with remaining batter followed by remaining streusel mix. Bake 25-30 minutes

*For a healthier meal I use 1 1/2 cups of wheat flour, 1 1/4 cups white flour, and 1/4 c milled flax seed. It tastes the same and the kids don't notice the flax seed (which adds some great fiber).

I like to cook some eggs for dinner with this coffee cake so that we are all satisfied (and I can have leftovers for breakfast).

Strawberry Salad
Dressing
1 c oil
1/2 c red wine vinegar
1 garlic clove
pepper to taste
*shake all together in a jar or container

For the salad use
Lettuce (your preference although I like mixing the red leaf and romaine)
sliced strawberries
mozzerella cheese
crushed walnuts or sliced almonds (your preference or whatever is on hand)

*This is a yummy salad that everyone seems to like.

I won't tag anyone since I took so long to respond and this is a busy month, but I would love to see your family-friendly and easy recipes.