Christmas 2009

It's always so much fun to spend time together for the Holidays. We had such a wonderful Christmas and made some great memories. Ashley, Allyson, and Livy on Christmas morning.
Charlie checking things out.

Allyson

Ashley and Charlie at Grandmother and Grandad's house.

Katie and Chesley at Chance and Jerilynn's house on Christmas eve.

Cutter and Conner.

Ashley and her aunt KK

Ashley and Cambry.

Charlie playing with his "choo choo" that Santa brought.

Look what Santa brought. Thanks Santa.

Christmas is a time for.......

.....EATING!!!

My Goodness WHY do we do this to ourselves every single year?? I guess family + food = LOVE! This is a new recipe I got from my Mom this weekend. It is called Beef Skillet, and it is very good and worth trying.

Ingredients:

1 lb. of ground turkey or hamburger browned and drained

1 can of tomato soup

1/2 cup of picante sauce

1/2 cup of water

tortillas Corn or flour...I used 6 small corn cut into bite sized squares

Brown your meat and drain, add in soup, hot sauce water and tortillas.

Let simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Top with Shredded cheddar cheese and serve. I served mine with Rice a Roni spanish rice (my favorite).

very good and fast.

Easy cheese ball.

Ingredients:

2 packages of softened cream cheese

2-1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 package of ranch dressing mix (dry)

about 1 cup of chopped pecans

Mix cheeses and ranch together well

form a ball, and roll in pecans.

wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Really Yummy, and oh so easy.

Rolo pretzels

Cover a cookie sheet with foil and preheat oven to 250.

Place desired number of pretzels on sheet and top with a rolo.

bake for approx 3 minutes (enough to soften, but not melt)

Remove from oven and take a pecan 1/2 and press it into the rolo, smashing it into the pretzel.

cool and enjoy.

Very addictive!

Just thought I would throw this in. These funfeti cakes during the holidays are so fun to bake and make a great treat for after school or after dinner. This Christmas on turned out cute!

Yummy side dishes

I love easy side dishes that I can make early in the day to serve along with dinner at 6:00 when my hubby walks through the door. Yes...i strive to be a good wife/mother! HAHAThis pasta salad is soooo good and easy to whip up. It is a favorite of mine, and you can do LOTS of variety to change it up.

Ingredients:

1 Box of pasta (I used the garden rotini this time, but have used regular and macaroni too)

I cucumber cut into bite size pieces

1 bell pepper chopped

1 half bag of cheese chucks ( I used the colby jack kind-Pepper jack would be awesome)

1 half package of ham cubes (more or less if you like)

1 stalk celery

1/2 bottle of light ranch dressing (eyeball how much you like...you may have to add more after it sits in fridge for a while!)

Mix all together,cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours so it all combines together well.

You could use Italian dressing too...that would be good, or the mini pepperoni in place of the ham would be awesome. The variations are endless.

UUmm this is what is for dinner tonight!

Broccoli slaw is another easy side to make ahead.

Ingredients:

1 bag of broccoli slaw

bacon bits

ranch

just dump broccoli slaw in, coat with ranch, and sprinkle in some bacon bits and stir.

how easy is that. Let it sit in fridge for at least 4 hours to soften the slaw and combine flavors.

We had this last night. So good

Happy Wednesday all!

The Week in Review...

Our computer was out of commission last week, along with my Ipod. Both of them were having issues. I'm so glad to finally have them both back, and finally have time to catch up on my blogging.As you can see from the above picture, we got a new pick up. We traded our van for this little beauty and are so excited. We both really loved the van, but we were foreseeing some repairs that would cost us in the long run and really thought it was best to say so long to it. I'm hoping to get another one someday, but until then I must learn how to drive this big baby.
KK and my great niece (her grand-baby!!) Mackinzie. She is 7 months old and is a little doll. She will be crawling all over soon. She is creeping around right now and a happy little girl. BTW- her feet are too fat to wear shoes!! HAHA

Some of our family. Unfortunately I did not get pics of everyone. The day kinda flew by and I was a little preoccupied tying to "host" Thanksgiving. Thanks Mom and KK for helping me.

This is my little man all tuckered out Thanksgiving morning. He came in bed with Mom and Dad that morning, which is very unusual for him. He is not a peaceful sleeper and not a lot of fun to lay with. It kinda feels like you are in a cage fight during the night!!!!

Have I Told You Lately.....

.......How much these kids warm my heart!!

Last night we had a blast laying on the bed just laughing! There is no better way to end the night than that. It will give you that warm fuzzy feeling inside that will give you sweet dreams for sure!!!!

As we approach Thanksgiving....I feel how thankful I am to have these WONDERFUL kids and a extra WONDERFUL husband. Life.....does it really get any better than this?

FOOD...What else is there to say??

These are just some of the things that I am eating while trying to loose some pounds. These are perfect for lunch. I like almost all of the flavors, and they also have some good desserts too. The spinach Florentine is awesome.
These are awesome. They have little bits of dark chocolate in them, with nuts and seeds. They are sooo good. I think they have 120 calories if I remember right. I'm out of them right now!!

I have drank Diet Coke for years, but occasionally I like a change in flavor. This is my new one. I like all diet drinks....EXCEPT Diet Dr. Pepper. It is just horrible tasting to me. I can't drink it at all. I love Diet. 7up, sprite zero, and Fresca in all flavors.

This is good for your heart. 3/4 cup of oats, 1 and 1/2 cup water and splenda is approx 215 calories and a good warm, filling breakfast.

OOHHH LALA......the lemon is sooooo good. It is my most favorite. 100 calories and they do not taste at all like yogurt. They taste like a pudding. I'm not a fan of the caramel, but the berry and chocolate raspberry are good too.


NOW on to NON-DIET FOOD.

Peach crisp: so easy and so good.

1 can of peach pie filling.

2 pks of raisin and spice instant oatmeal (instant)

Brown sugar

cinnamon

butter

pecans

I just dumped the pie filling, topped with the oatmeal, sprinkled with a couple spoons of brown sugar, sprinkled with a few shakes of cinnamon. I love pecans-so I topped with probable a cup. Cut about 6 pats of butter and spaced them over the top.

Baked for about 30-minutes at 350.

I did not measure anything so it is very easy and good. I used an Pyrex that is about 6 inches square.

This was surprisingly sooooo yummy!

I was a little scared at first.

This is bacon and tomato pasta.

It called for 1/2 lb. of peppered bacon. I used regular bacon instead. Peppered bacon is sometime too much.

1 can of diced tomato 14 oz. or close to it.

1 tablespoon of minced garlic.

a few "shakes" of dried basil

salt

pepper

1 lb of pasta

Fry and crumble your bacon

reserve drippings and remove bacon.

Cook your pasta

add your tomato, garlic, basil to bacon grease and bring to a simmer.

add your bacon back in.

drain your pasta and add it to the sauce and toss.

top with Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste.

serve with a green salad and some garlic toast.

Left overs are awesome!!!!!

A little of this...A little of that!

Hello....Just a quick post of some of what is going on with us.....!! FINALLY finished painting the living room. Unfortunately I can't say we are finished painting ever. We have 3 more rooms to complete....hopefully before Christmas!
I'm loving this deep green paint. I feel like I'm walking into someone else's house everyday.

STOP!!!! Can u guess who this is??

A Strong smell of baby was coming from his room with the door closed!

UMMM, what is that smell???

He ran and hid fast. Can anyone find Charlie please...I can't seem to find the little messy boy.

The carpet sure smelled good that night.

Boy did he have fun! Shake...shake....shake!!!

Halloween Cuties!

Happy Halloween 2009 I'm sure this will be Ashley's last year to Trick-or-Treat, which is a little sad. It is always fun to get them all dressed up in their overpriced costumes and send them out for all that yummy candy. I always have to "check" the candy before they can eat any!
This was Charlie's 3rd Halloween, and he still was not into it much. He hit 3 houses...Nanny &Papa's, Grandmother & Grandad's, and Shirley& Richard's. He did however, bring home a handful of chocolate. He does love his chocolate!

Ashley dressed up as a Hippie this year. She went Trick-or-Treating with her BFF Hannah this year. Hannah's parents took them. She made a candy haul too.

Little man went as Thomas the Train. He really could care less about this dressing up thing. We had an easy night, hit 3 houses, went to Sonic and got .50 cent corn dogs for supper and went home while the sun was still out and painted the living room. It was very relaxed and we enjoyed spending the weekend hanging out. Now on to the next Holiday.....Turkey Day! Yummmm!

our week in review.....

Well, I really hate that my blogging has come down to one post every week or two, but that is just how it is sometimes. With work, house things, kid things, and Mom and Dad moving we've been going and going. (to Henry's back....I'm sorry!)It's so cloudy today that I couldn't get the best pic of our NEW painted dining room. Here it looks pretty red, but it is really much darker in real life. (P.S. don't look at my messy kitchen, we have "projects" going on this week and it's a wreck in here!) I hate the mess, love the finished result!!! Henry painted the dining room this past weekend while I worked. He had to apply 4 coats of this paint.....2 gallons! Now most of you know that this dining room is not all that big, but it was a lot of work. Trim was painted a gloss white too. I LOVE it so much. Can't wait to put it all back together. Still have some work to do. (again...Sorry Henry's BACK!)
I made these little pizza "cups" for dinner last week. It was fun! You use your cupcake pan and press pizza dough in the bottom and up the sides, fill with a spoonful of sauce, toppings, and cheese. Then bake them for the recommended time for the crust you use or til golden brown. It was a fun new spin on regular homemade pizza. Ashley helped and we had a good time. A little fun making dinner takes away the "chore" felling of cooking EVERY night!

And this is just plain cute so I had to post it....!
He is wearing his daddy's hat, being just cute and silly!

Everything else: Ashley started 2nd session volleyball last week! I don't know if I posted that she earned her Orange belt in Juijitsu a couple of weeks ago! Halloween costumes include a blue train, and a 60's girl costume. I'll post pics this weekend hopefully. Mom and Dad are pretty much out of their old house, except for some odds and ends in the garage and outside. It is a little sad to see that house go...My grandparents had it built a long time ago and their are some memories there for sure. Mom gave her dog, Emmitt, to my cousin Dan in Irving. She is missing him, and so are me and my kids! He'll enjoy his new home though! Have a good week...I'm off to run around and work on the house.....and chase a 2 year old that loves to stand on his step stool to "reach" things!!!! YIKES!!!

A facebook friend of mine shared this web site the other day. It's picnik.com and you can do all kinds of fun stuff to your photos.Look at this cute little cereal eater. Isn't he just the cutest.
I tinted Ashley's picture pink for Breast Cancer month. It is very pale, but gives it a neat effect.

Have a great weekend everyone. We will be busy again! Go figure!!!

What's going on!!!

We have had yet another busy week, and weekend. Thank goodness we have a day of rest and relaxation. Columbus Day...love having it off!! We went to the ever favorite Toys R Us last weekend to get Christmas ideas. Charlie of coarse fell in love with this little red cutie. I love McQueen. Isn't he just the cutest thing. Charlie loves Cars in general...not just from the movie. He loves anything with wheels-Buses, Choo Choo's, and airplanes too. He is ALL BOY for sure!!
We went for our annual pumpkin picking too. It is so much fun to make a little tradition as a family. It is so simple, yet so much fun to go and pick out those cute little decorations for our porch. I also got some peppers to hang in my kitchen. They are so cute and match so well.

This was the pumpkin that Charlie picked out. Just the right size for our little punkin'.

FALL-----There is so much I love about fall! One main thing is it is the perfect time for pumpkin. I love pumpkin recipes. This is pumpkin dip. It is soooo good with ginger snaps. A wonderful little snack on a cold or warm day.

We are anxiously awaiting the delivery of our new couch and love seat. We have really debated over whether or not to but leather. After much thought and consideration we decided to go ahead and splurge on the soft brown leather. Can't wait for it to be delivered and to put our new living room together. I'm even looking forward to painting it before the furniture is delivered. Anyone who wants to help just let us know!!!

Extra info:

FINALLY finished volleyball session 1 yesterday. Session 2 starts soon! They did really good this year, and it is amazing how much better and more fun the games are since the first year we started!! Ashley also had a belt test on Friday night and got her orange belt in Jui Jitsu. She is becoming a great little martial artist. We are soooo very proud of her. She is going to a party this afternoon at her friend Hannah's house and is super excited. What a great idea to have a party on a school holiday!

Weight loss update: 11 pounds!

Hope all is well, have a great day and week!