The halls are decked

Sunday we decorated the Christmas tree!

It was very fun for Layla...she was so into each ornament.

Hayden was in demolition mode...typical 16 month old boy!!

Turkey Day @ my parents

We had Thanksgiving lunch at my parents house with my family on Thursday. We enjoyed tons of food!! It is always fun catching up with everyone. I took a few pictures after our meal, but didn't get any eating action shots.

I'm sure the family is happy about that!!

I just had to post this picture of Hayden stretching out after a large meal.

Aunt Pat and Kacie cheering for our team.

We cheered and watched UT play the Aggies. Hook'em Horns!!

Hayden and DeDe (my daddy) They are best buddies!!

After lunch snack. Even though we had just eaten, Layla wanted a snack.

I loved wearing olives on my fingers when I was a kid! Maybe I still do :))

Action shot from afar. Everyone was so full. We just sat around and chatted on the patio. The kids ran in the yard like crazy people! Just like a normal day...HA!

We were being silly girls...we had so much fun.

My mom and I.

Thanks for the yummy Thanksgiving meal!!

3 Day Blur

#### UPDATED ####

I'm adding a few pics since blogger is allowing me to!!

Celebrating Thanksgiving was so much fun this year.

The kids had a ball, ate too much pie and marshmallows...but hey, it was a hoot! We started off the festivities at my parents house with my family on Thursday. Friday Gary's family came for lunch here at our house, and then we ended Friday with some great friends hanging out with us until tonight. It all happened so fast my head is still spinning!!

Or not...blogger won't let me upload pics :/

Pics to come soon :))

Hayden saying he is DONE with turkey for the season!! He was rolling around on the ground being a total goof ball.

I just love this picture of Gary and his mom...so sweet!

And that is all for the pics I took on Friday.

I took more shots, but non of the others were cute...bummer.

Layla's Latest Recruit ~ ww ~ Butterfly Catcher

Fabulous November Weather

You just never know from one day to the next what kind of weather we will be having here in Texas. Yesterday was wonderful, and this morning is chilly again. I think it was around 70 yesterday and today will be a high of 61.

We play outside when we can...we have lots of energy!

Harley is smart...she is getting out of dodge...the kiddos were running crazy.

See what I mean?

Little guy pointing out airplane, after airplane, after airplane.

Future air traffic controller?

Or movie star?

The weather even made the dogs frisky!

What do you eat on Thanksgiving Day?

I am a southern girl, born and raised in Texas.

Central Texas, and now I live in {sort of} North Texas.

I have celebrated almost every Thanksgiving with my side of the family.

Gary has been really sweet about every year packing up and going to my parents. They don't live very far from us, so luckily we drive there and back in one day. I'm quite sure that one day he will want to do something different for Thanksgiving, so I will understand if he wants to change it up. I will just consider myself lucky that he is so cool about the current arrangement.

~~~

One thing I'm pretty sure will stay the same is the menu.

I had no idea that other people across the country don't eat the same things we eat on Thanksgiving day.

Here is what we eat :

Oven Roasted Turkey

Cornbread Dressing

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Sweet Potatoes with marshmallow topping

Green Bean Casserole

Corn Casserole

Cranberry Sauce of some sort

Rolls

Pumpkin Pie

Pecan Pie

What do you eat?

Is my menu considered Southern?

Hubby is cooking tonight...whew!

After a trip to the library, I played with the kids outside ALL afternoon. I am worn smoooooth out!! The kids were busy & crazy outside.

I took lots of pics (to come soon)!

I came inside and made the kids chicken nuggets and an apple!

Woohoo...go me on the big bad cook I am tonight.

Gary came home and heard what was on the

menu and wasn't digging chicken nuggets and apples.

(My plan worked!!!)

He cooked....a gigantic not WW friendly [deep dish] pizza...but oh so yummy!

I'm gonna eat pizza & watch the Texans whip the Titans!

A new spin on corn

If you guys don't make this for a Thanksgiving side dish...try it this year! It is so yummy. I make and take it every year to my parent's house.

This year Gary and I are cooking on Friday for his family, so I will be making it twice this year.

Corn Casserole

2~cans of sweet corn
1~8 oz package of cream cheese
1~4 oz can of chopped green chilies

Mix all ingredients in a microwave safe dish.
Heat until cream cheese is melted.
And your done! Super easy and tasty!

I am off to the kitchen to start making cornbread for the dressing I am making for our meal on Friday. I am also making a ZERO point soup for me to snack on this week. I am going to be around so much food, but I am planning to stick to my Weight Watchers plan. Lord help me!! The soup is really good, it has a ton of veggies, cabbage, zucchini, and a can of Rotel.

Anyway, I will be snacking on it trying to curb those cravings...HA!

What was I thinking doing WW over the holidays??

Have a great Sunday afternoon Y'all!

Lulu

Today we had a fun time visiting Netsie & DeDe (my parents). The highlight of the trip for Layla was getting to see Sassy the cat. She talked about Sassy the whole car ride home.

Layla LOVES cats and is planning to ask Santa for one. A cat isn't ideal for our family. Our two dogs won't be fans of a feline in our home, not to mention Gary is highly allergic to cats. Period. We will probably never get a cat. Plain and simple, but for a 4 year old cat lover that is a hard pill to swallow...not that she swallows pills, but whatever. She is sure that Santa will deliver on this deal.

Sooooo have you guys seen Lulu? Meet Lulu.

LuLu acts just like a real kitty when you pet her. She purrs, rolls back and looks into your eyes to let you know just how much she loves you.

♥♥♥

I was reading reviews about Lulu and get this...someone purchased Lulu for her mom in a nursing home. This woman said her mom was sad and depressed and missed her cat from home. The daughter bought this cat and the mom is VERY pleased. HA! Let me be the first to say that Lulu IS very real.

On a recent trip to Wal-mart we found regularly priced Lulu ($50.00) on sale for $28.00. I freaked out...how was I gonna get Lulu home with Layla shopping with us?? I ran to the bath section and grabbed a towel and covered Lulu and we continued on with our shopping trip. Every once in a while you could see Layla looking around the store for a cat. The gosh darn thing was meowing in the basket. Hayden at one point ripped the towel off the box searching for the meowing sound. Gary and I couldn't stop laughing. It was rather fun getting that silly cat home quietly. You'd think it would be like a bird and quiet down when a towel was thrown over it's cage. NOPE...and the drive home was even more of an adventure. But, we will have one very happy little girl when she wakes up on Christmas morning. I can't wait to see her face.

She also wants this:

Snuggle buddies

When it is cold outside, snuggle up with a warm blanket puppy.

Munchkin Feast

Doesn't the table look so cute!

*****

Look closely at the pumpkin center pieces.

They are rolls of toilet paper wrapped in orange tissue paper. The stem is brown construction paper rolled up! How stinkin' cute and easy is that??

All the little munchies standing at the table about to bless the food.

These kids are so sweet...I just love that we have such a great preschool group.

MY little munchkin...she wasn't feeling the bows in her pigtails. She yanked them out. Oh well.

Getting a little exercise after the ginormous feast.

Can you believe that next Thursday is Thanksgiving??

Gobble Gobble

Gary took a few pictures of Layla this morning before school. Her class is having their Thanksgiving feast today, and she was so happy to wear her NEW handmade turkey shirt.

We had so much fun making it. It was easier than I thought. I just knew we'd have paint all over the kitchen. She asked me half a million times for a turkey shirt, and I couldn't find one in stores. So, we just made one ourselves.

Hayden, sporting his PJ's is gazing at his big sis!

Racing Action

Gettin' in the race car.

Tryin' to get settled.

Game face on.

Fire'in her up.

I'm outta here...race time boys!

Charlie Brown's Party Mix ~ FMM

Today's addition of Friend Makin' Monday is sharing winter recipes.

The topic of food is easy for me to talk/blog about. I love sharing recipes. I have been thinking all morning about which recipe to post and finally came up with an old favorite.

I thought back to my childhood, and things my mom would cook in the winter. She cooked lots of yummy food, but I always remember having Chex Mix ALL winter long.

We would grab a bowl full and watch football games, or I'd snuggle up with a blanket and good book and snack away. You could always smell the yummy~ness coming from the oven in the kitchen and I could hardly wait to eat it warm and fresh out of the oven.

Mom would put in in the same large gold Tupperware bowl...I love memories of being a little munchkin. I hope to pass some of my recipes on to my kids.

I hope they will associate food with fun times like I am doing now. okay okay...on to the recipe:

Charlie Brown's Traditional Party Mix

1/2 a stick of butter
1 1/4 teaspoons season salt
4 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
8 cups of Chex brand cereal (corn, rice, or wheat)
1 cup peanuts
1 cup pretzel sticks

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. In a open roasting pan melt butter in oven. Stir in seasoned salt and Worcestershire sauce. Gradually add cereals, nuts and pretzels. Stir until all pieces are evenly coated. Bake 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Spread on absorbent paper to cool. 

I usually add a few extras...chili cheese Fritos, and even potato strings.

Store in airtight container.

The recipe card in my hand is dated 1989. I have had this card in my recipe box forever! I love recipes/cards/books almost as much as I love pictures.

They all tell a story! I'm guessing I cut it out of a magazine and taped it onto a recipe card. And I know what your are thinking...why make this mix when you can just buy it in a bag? It is much better this way...trust me.

Your turn: head on over to Amber's blog and link up to post your FAV winter recipe too. I am going back over there myself and grab some recipes.

Weekend Recap

Our city provided trees for us to plant this weekend. I remember signing up for something about 6 months ago, but really didn't think we would ever see the results. Saturday morning the little sticks were delivered and Gary planted them. Our neighbors also got trees too, so it was fun to plant them with the kiddos running around the yards.

We live in a very new neighborhood with very few trees. That is the only thing about building a home in a neighborhood like ours...no trees.

We have a few more trees now, and that is great. We got a really long stick, and then this one seen below. It almost looks like a shrub. They will grow into nice large trees in a million years. I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but they are so small...it cracks me up! Thank goodness for the rain this afternoon. It is watering them down.

Our little stick.

Layla & I had a ball making her a turkey shirt! It turned out so cute & she is so happy with it. She is planning to wear it to her Thanksgiving feast at preschool on Wednesday. I will take pictures for sure!!

(look it's Clark Griswold)

Gary hung the outdoor Christmas lights...Yay! We just do clear lights all the way around the house. We aren't planning on turning them on for a couple of weeks, but just having that off the TO DO list is nice. We won't turn them on until we put up our Christmas tree...the weekend after Thanksgiving.

My little HarBar's arthritis is acting up. Her little hips are hurting her and she barely slept a wink last night. I was up with her several times. I'm saying prayers that she feels better soon. She is a cow dog and feels as though she needs to protect us in our fenced yard. She runs all day long. I have her locked in our bedroom, but she still hears all the goings on in the backyard and runs around the bedroom. How is that helping her little hips? Ughhhh!! Anyway, I'm hoping she will feel better soon.

A Buttery Cocktail

Paula Dean's
Hot Buttered Spiced Cider

1/2 gallon apple cider
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, plus 1 strip zest
1/2 cup fresh orange juice, plus 1 strip zest
3 cinnamon sticks
4 whole cloves
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
Bourbon, rye or whiskey (optional)
Cinnamon candy sticks, for garnish (optional)

1. Combine the cider, citrus juices and zest, cinnamon sticks and cloves in a large pot. Simmer over medium heat about 20 minutes; do not boil.
2. Ladle the cider into mugs, leaving the zest and spices in the pot, and add about 1/2 teaspoon butter to each mug. Spike the adults drinks with a shot of bourbon and garnish with cinnamon candy sticks if desired.

This recipe is on page 149 of the November issue of The Food Network magazine. I couldn't believe it when I saw that it had butter in it! It is truly a Paula Dean recipe!

I made a batch last night, and it is gooouoood.
If you aren't quite in the holiday mood just yet, this drink will get you in the spirit!!

a little bit of this and that

Wow whee...this week has been busy!

Hayden is turning into a little man right before my eyes and it has happened this week. He is trying so hard to talk but really "eih" is all that comes out. If something happened to his pointer finger we'd all be in trouble. It points to his drink "eik" and the airplanes in the sky "eih". Except for mommy "mAaamA" and Daddy "Dadaaa" and Layla "GaGaaA" This morning after dropping Layla at school he was trying to Moo like a cow. Sooo stinkin' funny. I'll try to take a pic of his little lips sticking out Moo~ing. You just made your lips stick out just thinking about it didn't ya?

Did you guys watch Grey's or Private Practice last night? I'm so glad a saved some Weight Watcher points for that glass of red wine. I had to have something to calm my nerves. WHY do they air Private Practice at 9:00PM. Who can sleep after all that business? Holy Moly it wore me smooth out. I could record it and watch it another day or time, but then someone would tweet about it or I'd see/hear a review on TV or the radio. GEeeez it was gripping!

I have to say I LOVE those shows. I'm guessing I love a racing heartbeat and cramps in my fingers from grabbing on my blanket while watching a car with two women {one pregnant} roll down a crusty hill too. ARgghhhh. And about Grey's, did you see the preview for next week? REally? McSteamy as a father?? Wow, that is a crazy turn of events. I am however so OVER Izzy and Alex. Is this high school? They have some serious issues they need to deal with. I just have a really hard time with communication issues. Everyone has a mouth and that is what it is for...talking. Talk out your issues. You are married to each another, but you can't talk. Anyway... I can't wait to see what happens with both shows. Thank goodness they are shows. I think I may be a little too into them..teehee!

________________________________

Someday far from today, Layla will be so mad about me telling this story. And the picture....HA! Yesterday she came into the office while I was working on reading blogs. She was holding her chest area and she said " Mommy, did you know that boobies don't have bones." She proceeded to dance around the office holding herself, laughing and singing about her boobies. I would love to be in her brain for just one day to hear all the thoughts she has.

And one other thing I think I'm gonna add to my sidebar.

This quote is AMAZING!!!

If you planted hope today in any hopeless heart. If someones burden was lighter,because you did your part. If you caused a laugh ,that chased some tears away. If tonight your name is named, when someone kneels to pray. Then your day has been well spent...Author Unknown

Love it, love it, love it!!

Every time I read it I get the chills!

Happy Friday Y'all!