Just Shy of a "Y"

flashback friday

2012-01-27T07:30:00.000-06:00

10 months old

1 1/2 years old

3 years old

I can't believe how much Layla has changed. I can barely remember her at 10 months old! I am so thankful for a huge online photo gallery. I love to look back in the past. I hope to always be camera crazy. I want the kids to have all these memories when they want to look back to the past!

Have a great weekend!

{insert fun title here}

2012-01-26T16:45:00.001-06:00

I am so proud of my little Layla Kate. She is doing a super job conquering 1st grade. It makes me so happy to see her reading so well. When I was a little girl I loved to read and I am hoping she enjoys reading as much as I did, and still do. I really like to see 100's on her writing papers. Her writing is getting better every day.

Hayden is feeling under the weather today. It makes me sad for him. He is so stuffy and congested. We were supposed to have a lunch date with friends at Chic-fil-A today, but we called in stuffy. I'm glad we are home because I have wiped his nose so much he is getting a chapped face. Poor little guy.

His face lit up when we set up his train set! He loves that train set and loves the sounds it makes. It has a remote control and he thinks that is the best thing ever. The engine even puffs fake smoke ever so often. It is a 'mack daddy' train set and we have enjoyed it so much!

Daisy the dog wasn't to excited about the train. It put her on edge. I think this is the first time she has been exposed to it. Hopefully she will be nice to it and not chew any of it's pieces.

We got some much needed rain this week. I feel like it rained all week, but it was only 2 full days of rain. Our backyard still had standing water today. I took this picture on Tuesday. While we are thankful for the rain we are thankful for a bit of sunshine today! It is a pretty winter day today.

Tomorrow the high is going to be around 68 degrees which is even prettier than today so Gary decided he is smoking a brisket. Yum!

I cleaned the house this morning. Hayden was pretty quiet since he is feeling yucky, so I had the chance to really get some scrubbing done. It wore me out. I am exhausted. I am happy to have it clean for the weekend. A clean house is one of my favorite things.

That is all I have on this Thursday afternoon. I'm heading to the kitchen check on dinner. I'm cooking a chicken recipe in the slow cooker. I have used my slow cooker so much lately. I love how easy it is!

jumping and rolling

2012-01-24T07:30:00.000-06:00

Really Dude?

Huh? This isn't acceptable behavior?

I'm gonna jump Mommy!! Are you watching?

Ugh! What is it with boys standing on furniture? And jumping off of it??

Wild man. He needs to be tamed.

He is a fun little man. I really enjoy my days with just he and I during the day while Layla is at school. I had so many days with just she and I before he was born and now I get that with him when he isn't in preschool.

Hayden helps me with the chores sometimes.

This is the dreaded linen closet. The kids feel free to help themselves to blankets, throws and pillows whenever they so desire. Keeping this closet clean is impossible.

When I am feeling super lazy I love to do the 'shove and go'.

You know, you have done that trick. You are so tired, but need to hide all the blankets and throws from the kids latest fort built in the living room. You nicely fold all the blankets, but can't seem to fit them in the linen closet so you just shove them in and hope they don't dump out on you the next time you open the door. Oh yes, the 'shove and go'.

Our linen closet has sheets, beach towels, bed pillows, throw pillows, old sentimental handmade quilts, baby blankets and linens for our travel trailer. The closet is stuffed to the max.

I fold all the sheets which is a hard job at times.

And I roll all the beach towels, throws and small blankets. Rolling is so easy and super easy to maintain.

Who need this much stuff?

I am embarrassed by all the stuff in there. I think I am subconsciously expecting a super cold winter with no electricity. After people see this blog post they will be flocking to my house if there is a winter white out. Soooo....if you are feeling a bit frustrated with your linen closet organization and you are doing to much of the 'shove and go'...try rolling your items.

Happy Tuesday...Have a great day!

Birthday weekend update

2012-01-23T07:00:00.000-06:00

Our whole weekend was spent celebrating Gary!

I have always made a big deal about birthdays and I always will! I think it is very important to celebrate birthdays. So that is what we did all weekend long.

The weather was amazing on Friday so Gary wanted to grill steaks. Steaks are always a hit in our house. Gary commented that his weekend was perfect the second he saw the kids dipping their steak into the steak drippings on our serving dish.

See that juice. The kids loved it. Oh me oh my.

Saturday morning started with a dance party in the living room. The kids have really enjoyed Layla's playlist on her iPod touch. They love dancing and jumping around like crazy!

Then the kids wanted dad to open his gifts. The kids got him golf balls and socks.

My parents kept the kids Saturday night so we could have an adult birthday dinner.

My parents have a few new puppies and so Layla was in hog heaven. She is such a dog lover, just like her Momma! Daisy went with us too and she played so well with the new puppies!

The kids had a great time. My parents have a great big backyard and the weather was great!

How cute is this puppy and her sweater?

And this little pumpkin....she is a little sweetie!

Oh! So many pups. Daisy loved meeting her new friends!

This is a terrible picture, but I had the best bowl of lobster bisque at Daddy Jack's in downtown Fort Worth. I love Daddy Jack's so I was thrilled when Gary picked it for his birthday dinner.

I had pecan crusted rainbow trout, veggies and a baked potato. Gary had stuffed shrimp. It was stuffed with a ritz cracker stuffing. Oh it was oh so good and so rich. We all shared appetizers ... blue crab legs, crab cakes and mussels. I didn't partake in the mussels, but I heard they were good. For Gary's birthday dessert we had Key lime pie.

It was a delicious evening!

We went to dinner with 2 other couples and we laughed the entire time. I had the best time....I think we all did. We all ate entirely too much food. It was a great splurge night and we are so thankful for fun friends.

We met my parents on Sunday for lunch and I was thrilled to see my little loves. They had the best time with their grandparents!

We all took naps and then we had birthday cake!

Mmmmm! Thanks Netsie for the delicious birthday cake!

We had hopes of playing outside Sunday afternoon, but we were all enjoying just being lazy. That AND there was a dust storm. It was so hazy and nasty outside. The wind blew all day long. You can't even see the sunshine through all the dust. Yuck!

I love these three people so much! I know I say it all the time.

We had a super fun weekend and I am hoping to spend a million more years with Gary so we can celebrate many many more fun birthdays!!

38

2012-01-22T13:55:00.000-06:00

my best friend is 38 today!

happy birthday to the best husband and father on the planet!

beautiful weather

2012-01-19T20:25:00.001-06:00

It was 70 degrees this afternoon so we played outside and enjoyed the warm temperatures!

Did you notice....they colored their entire swing set with chalk. sigh.

I love to watch the kids play. They have the funniest imaginations. They come up with the greatest games. I could just sit and watch them and take pictures of them for hours.

I'm looking forward to spring time so we can have some green grass! I love our yard in the spring and summer when the grass is green and fluffy. The kids went bare footed today and said the grass was hard. Can you believe it? No shoes in January.

After a fun time outside the kids came in and ~~gave me a headache~~ played pretty music.

Her facial expressions are so funny!

Hayden jams out to a backward guitar. I couldn't stop laughing at him.

I'm so thankful for these loud kids!

I cooked a whole chicken in the slow cooker

2012-01-18T09:54:00.001-06:00

If I haven't mentioned it before I will now....raw chicken grosses me out! I don't know why, but I have always had issues with chicken. I rarely order chicken entrees when dining in restaurants. If I eat chicken I usually cook it at home. I will eat a chicken sandwich from Chic Fil A and I love a good chicken parmigiana dish from an Italian food restaurant. I guess because the chicken is fried I feel as if it is cooked fully.

Gary and I have always split kitchen duties. He usually cooks all the meat, while I do all the veggies/side dishes. Here lately, we are both branching out and learning more and more about each others cooking techniques. Pretty soon I'll have him baking up a casserole. I don't think I'll be firing up the ole smoker anytime soon...haha! Can you see me grilling/smoking meat?

I dunno.

I'm saying all this to tell you....

I cooked a whole entire raw chicken yesterday!!!!

This is big for me!

I touched it. I washed it. I seasoned it. I put it in the slow cooker and cooked it!

Here is what I did:

I laid celery stalks and baby carrots on the bottom of the slow cooker. I used my favorite chicken seasoning (remember my pantry necessities post ?) all over the chicken. I left the skin on because the skin will keep the chicken moist while cooking. I placed the seasoned chicken into the slow cooker. I then cut up one whole onion and laid the slices all around the chicken. I then shut the lid!

All done. Silly, but I was nervous.

The waiting began.

How long do I cook it? Will it be raw in the center?

At 11:30 am I left the chicken alone in the slow cooker on high heat. It started smelling so delicious! I was so excited, but worried too. After about 6 1/2 hours at 5:15 pm we were ready to dive in.

Gary skinned and de-boned the chicken and it tasted just like a rotisserie chicken from the deli! Actually we could barely get the thing out of the slow cooker it was so tender. It fell right off the bone.

Success!!

We ate the chicken with stir fry veggies and rice. It was a great meal and now I have left over chicken for another recipe. Maybe I'll make chicken salad.

I think I am a big girl now and I will not stress out about chicken any more. I am bigger than any chicken. My slow cooker and I can conquer any meat. I know I am a goof, but y'all love that about me.

Have a great Wednesday!

tomato, basil & melted feta cheese

2012-01-17T13:22:00.001-06:00

Gary and I are trying to eat healthy but not skimp on good food and good flavor.

I sliced 2 tomatoes and laid them in a small baking dish.

I topped the tomatoes with 2 ounces of tomato basil flavored feta cheese.

{a block of cheese he brought home from WI}

I popped the tomatoes topped with cheese into the broiler and left them for about 5-7 minutes.

I took them out and topped with salt, pepper and a few sprinkles of basil.

I drizzled a tiny bit of olive on on top and put them back into the hot broiler for another 3 minutes.

We were truly impressed with our treat!

It is a must try for an appetizer, lunch or side dish for dinner.

pizza pies

2012-01-16T10:30:00.002-06:00

We wanted to do something fun and different last night for dinner since the kids don't have school today. I thought homemade pizzas would be perfect. The kids are always begging to help us in the kitchen. We all four had lots of fun creating our own pies!

Gary got all the ingredients prepped and ready while I helped the kids take baths and put on their pj's.

This is the best pizza sauce HANDS DOWN!

Black olives are a must on our pizza.

The kids almost ate all the olives before they could get in on their pies.

I was shocked...BOTH kids ate artichoke hearts & mushrooms. They both snacked on them and topped their pizzas with them!

Hayden's little hand snagging a mushroom!

Gary brought this string cheese home from Wisconsin and it melted nicely on the pizzas.

Daddy smeared the pizza sauce and the kids did the rest!

Layla creating her pie!

She added artichoke hearts too!

Yum!

Hayden's turn to create!

He added artichoke hearts too!

My little three year old rocked this pizza creating task! He had a great time!

My pie!

Daddy's pie!

In the oven they went for about 10 minutes.

I think Hayden's pizza looks like a kid pizza!

I was proud of Layla adding bell peppers.

I topped my pizza with some tomato basil cheese Gary bought in WI. It was the perfect touch.

The pizza crusts I bought were 400 calories. I wasn't sure if I could finish a whole pizza, but I did. I added those calories into the "my fitness pal" app first thing Sunday morning. I planned my whole day of eating around what turned out to be a 642 calorie meal. Yikes, but it was fun and worth it!

Gary's pizza was very similar to mine, but he added pepperonis and jalapenos. His pizza looks super gourmet in my opinion. Looking back at all our pizzas I think our creations match each of us so well. Heehee! Only I would say something like that.

Happy Monday!

I hope you have a wonderful holiday today!

Silent Sunday

2012-01-15T13:14:00.001-06:00

another random post

2012-01-13T10:14:00.000-06:00

1. I am so excited! I got a delivery of new spring Thirty-One catalogs yesterday!!!!! Let me know if you want one...I can mail you one! :) There are so many fun and cute things for spring! Layla is dying over a new pattern called Flutter. It is butterflies and it is so stinkin' adorable!

2. The mailman hand delivered our mail to the front door yesterday because the catalogs were too large for the box. Those letters and that package were freezing cold. It is cold day here again today, but hopefully we will warm up to the 50's later today. I am sitting right in front of the fire as I type. I am a tad jealous of a few people tweeting about snow. I hope we get snow again this year!

3. My 6 year old address book is old and just plain messy. I really think I need a new one. I'm thinking I need another Erin Condren item in my life. I am really loving my on the go life planner! I think the address book has a perpetual calendar! I need!!! Anyone have an EC addy book? The picture below is of my life planner!

4. In April we will celebrate 6 years living in this house, our house. Gasp! 6 years. That is the longest Gary and I have lived in a house ever. I am really thinking it is time to change up a few things. Since Christmas our mantle is driving me crazy. And the window treatment in the living room....blah! There are so many things we want to do to this house. Part of me thinks it is time to move, but the responsible part of me knows we need to stay here a few more years. Redoing things is what it is all about. Layla's ceiling fan has been giving us fits, so that seems like a great place to start this weekend!

the day we moved in back in 2006

5. Earlier this week Layla woke up at night because of thunderstorms. She slept in our bed with me. Two nights in a row we had storms in January. When do kids out grow being afraid of storms? She has probably slept in our bed maybe 5 times in her entire life. All these times were after age 3 and during really bad storms. I have to say it was kinda sweet to have her sleep with me, but she said I am a cover hog!

6. Gary has been out of town working all week long. We are so ready for him to come home!!! The best part....he is bringing us Wisconsin cheese again. Whooo hooo! I love cheese! We all love cheese! I can't wait AND he buys the kids string cheese that is to die for. I am hoping for another block of Tomato Basil cheese. Yum!

7. What in the world is it about Spongebob that kids love? Hayden begs me every day to watch it. I can't stand that show at all. He doesn't watch watch it very often so why does he want to?? I have said before it makes kids brains mushy. I caved though. He got to watch it yesterday. Right after one show I told him his brain was getting mushy. He turned it off.

8. Ok, last number...

Yesterday Layla and Hayden each had a friend come over to play at our house. There were four kids running and playing in our house. It was so fun to see them all play. For the first 30 minutes I got my feelings hurt. Hayden and his buddy went into his room and shut the door, and Layla and her friend did the same thing. I just sat in the living room happy but sad. Happy for quiet and thankful for great friends, but sad because I wanted to play too. I did get to play later, so not to worry. What am I going to do someday soon when they just stay in their rooms with their friends and don't hang out with me anymore? I am enjoying every moment. I don't take a second of time with my kids for granted! They just grow so fast. It seems like yesterday I was standing next to Gary and Layla when we moved into our house. Time flies!!!

I hope you all have a great weekend!

sentimental couch

2012-01-12T07:00:00.000-06:00

There are some silly things around the house that I can't get rid of. I have donated or sold so many of the kids things. One thing I can't part with is this silly Dora couch.

Layla is 6 and Hayden is 3. Layla loved Dora once upon a time. Hayden has never really cared for Dora. He has maybe watched 12 episodes his entire life. Clearly it is silly for us to still have a Dora couch, but oh well.

I suppose I should jump on over to pinterest and figure out a way to recover this little gem!

Oh so many memories!!

Even Harley loves the Dora couch!

Layla has read TONS of books in this comfy spot!

I can't even count the times this foam bed has been thrown into the washing machine...the zipper on the cover is broken because it has been taken on and off so many times.

Hayden and I were playing in the playroom on Tuesday and he made himself into a fruit roll up!

These are the silly little memories I am thankful for. Even though we don't watch Dora anymore and the kids are getting to big for the Dora couch this Momma will have to keep the couch just because I want to remember. Who knows if it will make it forever, but maybe our grand-kids can romp around on it!

Is there something you just can't seem to get rid of?? What silly sentimental thing can you not part with?

rabbit soup

2012-01-11T12:00:00.000-06:00

I love boiled cabbage, but honestly it isn't something I pick up at the grocery store very often. I forget about it, or I'd rather have cole-slaw. Last week I found left over cabbage in the fridge from New Years day. I really didn't want to waste it, so I decided to make cabbage soup with tons of left over stuff I had on hand.

I cut up 1/2 a head of cabbage and threw it in my soup pot. I also had 1/2 a box of chicken stock. That went into the pot also.

I found a left over baked potato, so I peeled the skin off, cut it up and threw it into the pot. I was thinking if nothing else it would add a bit of thickness to the soup.

Chopped red onion is a must. I had half a red onion, so I used that.

Red onion makes every recipe look so pretty.

I always keep a bag of mixed veggies on hand in the freezer. You just never know when you will need them. I always use them for chicken pot pie.

The green beans aren't my favorite, so I pulled most of them out and tossed them into the trash. I also added a few stalks of chopped celery and 1/4 of a bell pepper.

I think I ended up with about a cup of mixed veggies.

Since I really didn't plan on the kids eating my diet rabbit soup I decided to put a hand full of crushed red pepper flakes into the pot too. I like my veggie soup HOT in more ways than one.

Of course I added a few sprinkles of garlic salt and black pepper to the pot.

Then I filled the pot with water to cover the veggies and I let it boil.

I know, Christmas is over, but I just love that little reindeer on my stove top. It burns a tea light sized candle and I just can't make myself pack it way. It is covered in GLITTER. So cute!!

That is all I did.

Soon after the veggies came to a full rolling boil I just let it simmer pretty much all afternoon.

Gary and I did what we call 'drive bys.' We each left a small bowl and spoon near by and grabbed a few bites as we needed them. We didn't even have to microwave it, I just let it simmer on the stove top. It was a great way to put something warm and yummy into our tummies when we really would rather eat something bad like cookies or chips. So... this is is not to bad for a low calorie (trying to eat better) snack!

Fun!

2012-01-09T21:22:00.001-06:00

I am watching the BCS Championship game. I have to do something else while I watch football, so I downloaded this fun app. I looked through my phone and found pictures I have taken so far this year. I usually ALWAYS take a picture a day and I was happy to know I had 9 pictures to add to this calendar.

How fun will it be to go back and look at what we did for a whole year?!?

My new iPhone takes the best pictures! My old phone took horrible pictures so I am quite addicted to my new camera. I downloaded the Project 365 app and I am so excited about it.

Are you participating in a form of Project 365 this year?

Our weekend

2012-01-08T17:38:00.000-06:00

Our weekend was low key. Don't you just love weekend like that?

Layla went to a friends house for a play date turned sleepover. She was one happy little girl!

Friday evening I had fun taking pictures in the setting sun.

On Saturday I attended the Thirty-One Spring Premiere.

I am so excited about all the new spring prints and patterns!

I also enjoyed having girl time.

Since we got rid of Bogey, {i haven't posted about that, sorry} Harley is like a new dog. She has been super social and even hangs out with Daisy now. Clearly, Harley needs a new collar. She has been super peppy and appears to be much happier. I am thankful for our 12 year old pup!

I spent today chopping veggies and getting ready for our week.

We cleaned house...dusted vacuumed cleaned bathrooms and did tons of laundry.

The kids cleaned every door knob in our house. It's their new favorite chore!

We were hoping to spend more time playing outside, but it was dreary.

We are making salmon and new potatoes for dinner and I am hoping to watch Desperate Housewives. I think it is new tonight. I miss Brothers and Sisters. Anyone miss it??

Have a great evening!

Thursday afternoon randoms

2012-01-05T16:31:00.000-06:00

I wish I could explain just how giddy I am about the new episodes of Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice airing tonight. I need some good TV in my life!

My heart is so heavy today. I had weird dreams last night and they are weighing on me today. The dreams are stemmed from real life issues people around me are having. Sometimes I take on worry for other people. Sometimes they may be people I don't even know very well. I know this is random. I just need to put it out there to remind us all to live life to the fullest every single day. You never know what tomorrow will bring.

I have been in the kitchen all day long cooking and cleaning. I washed and cut our romaine lettuce for the week. I baked a failed loaf of bread.

I made rice crispy treats for the kids. I accidentally used an entire stick of butter when I melted the marshmallows so I ended up having to double the recipe. I didn't have enough rice crispy cereal so I put Trix in the food processor to make more cereal. Did I lose you? Anyway, the treats turned out good and they taste fruity. I don't like them, but the kids do. It actually all worked out great! I don't need to eat the darn things anyway. I have extras so y'all come on over and grab some if you want.

I am enjoying using the my fitness pal app on my iPhone. If you don't already know about it, it is a calorie counting app. You can also keep track of your water intake and exercises. It sure is cool. Also you can have friends. Having friends makes me stay on track. You know?

I love iCloud. All the pictures I take on my phone are automatically streamed onto my computer. Any pictures Gary takes stream to our computer and my phone. How stinkin' cool is that? AND any apps I purchase are shared between Gary and I. It is so fun and easy and I wish I started using it months ago. Oh how I love modern technology!

This little sleepy faced dude worked out in his pj's this morning. haha! He makes me laugh.

All I can say is...at least someone is using that thing! ;)

I had to take a picture of Layla before she left for school yesterday. She wore jeans.

This is huge y'all. She is not a fan of jeans, so when she picked them out on Sunday {we pick her clothes out for the week on Sunday afternoon} I just knew we'd have issues come Wednesday morning. We didn't! Yay.

I am heading outside with the rest of my family. They are all outside laughing and playing in the 66 degree temperatures! It is so nice to have some warmer days thrown in with the cold days. We love it!

Have a great evening!

my little baker boy

2012-01-04T07:00:00.000-06:00

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip & Walnut Cookies

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

2 sticks of butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

2 cups oatmeal

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup of chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups walnuts crushed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl stir brown sugar and butter. Add in vanilla and egg until light and fluffy. Stir on oatmeal, flour, baking soda and salt. Add in chocolate chips and walnuts.

Lightly spray cookie sheet with cooking spray. Drop dough by rounded spoonful onto the cookie sheet.

Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool and move to a wire rack.

Each cookie is 120 calories, makes approximately 3 1/2 dozen cookies depending on size.

Mmmm...delicious!

New Years Eve & weekend recap

2012-01-02T19:40:00.001-06:00

I'm doing our weekend update tonight simply because today seemed like it was still the weekend.

Today was our catch up day. We cleaned the house and did laundry and basically got ready for Gary to go back to work. He has been off for two weeks and it has been so nice! Layla will be heading back to school in the morning. We have had a fun break, but I think we are all ready to be back into our normal routine!

So, back to our weekend.

We had a fun time celebrating New Years Eve in Waco. Saturday morning we loaded up the Jeep and drove down to Waco to visit friends for the night. Each trip we take gets easier and easier. Since both kids are potty trained we can just pack a few things and head out. We packed light and it was nice to not have to pack our whole house for a weekend trip.

We got to Waco in the early afternoon and the weather was amazing. It was about 70 degrees and so we all headed outside to play. Shelby and I had a fun time sitting on the patio watching our husbands and kids play on the golf course. Jarred and Shelby live on the 4th tee box on a golf course in Waco.

The kids had a fun time running and playing together. We were very blessed with great weather and running and playing wore the kids out! Macy was the baby sitter when us adults went to dinner, so I was happy Hayden was exhausted and went right to sleep when she asked him to!

So ... with the kids safe at home us 4 adults headed out to eat at a fun restaurant called 1424 Bistro. We met up with 3 other couples. I was so excited to see some friends I hadn't seen in a few months!

I had the best Seafood Picatta, but my dessert was the best I had ever had. I hate to say I don't remember the name of it. All I know is it was a moist white chocolate cake-ish dessert and I can't wait to go back so I can order it again. Anything with white chocolate is my favorite!!

Shelby and Jarred at dinner.

Gary and I at our New Years Eve dinner.

After dinner we headed back to Jarred and Shelby's house. We all rang in the new year playing games, laughing and acting silly. It was nice to be safe at their house with our munchkins all tucked into bed. Us adults all stayed up entirely too late. I always think I will be fine the next day, but sleep is my friend. I was a mess on Sunday due to lack of sleep!

Sunday we let the kids play and then headed home Sunday afternoon. Gary and I had our first ever 5 Guys Burger and their amazing fries. The french fries were my favorite part. They were so good! We planned to have black eyed beans, cabbage, ham and cornbread, but we were so full from the burgers, we ended up having cereal for dinner.

As I mentioned earlier, today was a day of rest and catch-up. It was nice to stay in our pj's all day long. I got totally caught up on laundry. Tonight we cooked our ham, black eyed peas and cabbage. I made mini cornbread muffins and we ate our New Years Day meal a day late. We put the kids to bed super early tonight because they too were tired from our Waco trip. Hopefully we will all be well rested and ready for a fun week!

Happy New Year...have a great week!

My thoughts on 2012

2012-01-01T18:40:00.001-06:00

Every year is a great year if you make it great.

Every month is a great month if you choose to make it great.

Every day is a great day with the right attitude.

Weather is a great metaphor for life...sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad, and there's nothing much you can do about it but carry an umbrella! -Terri Guillemets.

I choose to have a positive outlook no matter what life throws at me. I have been through some pretty stinky stuff in life, but I have learned from every single thing that has happened to me. I may not post all the bad things that happen to our little family on this here blog. I want to keep it positive around here. Sometime life gets us down, but we need to snap back to reality and realize life is what we ourselves choose to make of it.

When you change your habitual thoughts, it is like changing the direction of a train.

Speaking of trains. The area we live in is basically surrounded by train tracks. They are everywhere around our house. When I get stopped as a train passes it is a reminder to me that I needed to stop and wait. As frustrating as that train is I wait and remember, maybe I needed to slow down.

Does that make sense?

This year I hope to keep on keeping on living the life we have. I'm not planning to change a thing. I want to try to stay positive when times are tough. I want to teach my kids to communicate openly with Gary and I about anything they encounter.

Layla and Hayden are more fun every day. They get smarter and more independent every single day. As you all know kids don't always do what you say, they do as you do. I strive to be a good role model for them, and so does Gary. My favorite parenting quote:

There are two lasting bequests we can leave our children, one is roots and the other is wings.

Roots and wings baby! I remember this when I start to get sentimental about the kiddos growing up. They are supposed to grow up. It is mine and Gary's job to grow them as best we can so that when we set them free they can fly and know right from wrong!

I hope you all have a wonderful 2012! I am excited to see what is in store for our family this year. I look forward to 2012 with much excitement and I hope to make it a super fun year!

When you have control over your thoughts, you have control over your life.

a day at the park

2011-12-29T21:32:00.000-06:00

The weather here in Texas has been amazing! We have had a few unseasonably warm days and it has been wonderful. We are outdoor people and so winter can get hard for us. We all get cabin fever closed up in the house when it is cold and rainy.

I am thankful I live in Texas. If we had tons of snow on the ground for months on end I'd go nuts.

Gary and I lived in Michigan for about 6 months BK. {before kids} I almost did go nuts. So THAT is why I am thankful for living here!

To say we have loved this weather is an understatement.

A good friend of mine told me about a fun park near our house and I'd never heard of it. We decided to visit that park today. At the entrance of the park there is a windmill and this old truck.

It is a photographers dream spot for family pictures!

See the old barn the truck is in and,there was an outhouse. We had a fun time explaining that to the kids. Layla was grossed out!

The kids were little explorers. They were running around from place to place having tons of fun.

We did a little bit of hiking. The views were amazing.

We had a picnic lunch! The boys had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and the girls had turkey and cheese sandwiches. We also had grapes and cheese puffs.

The kids loved looking at the cactus plants. We made sure they didn't get to close though.

The sun felt so great beating down on us. We thought it would be fun to take the T-tops off of the Jeep for the ride home. It was a so fun to feel the wind blowing through our hair. Luckily my hair wasn't blowing...I always keep a cap in the Jeep for Layla and I. Wind is not good for our long hair!

It's a good thing I had a cap on. A BIRD POOPED on my HEAD. YUCK. GROSS. SICK.

Gotta love nature! Good thing I also keep baby wipes in the Jeep. I just wiped it right off.

Can you believe that happened? The kids got a good laugh out of it. It made them giggle for hours.

All in all it was a fun day!

Now the kids are tucked into bed and Gary and I are watching the Alamo Bowl.

Sic'Em Bears!!! Go Baylor.

Wordless Wednesday -- Our Day in Pictures

2011-12-28T20:56:00.001-06:00

Christmas Day 2011

2011-12-26T16:32:00.000-06:00

We had fun celebrating Christmas Day at our house with BOTH of our families!

We woke up SUPER early because the kids were so excited to see their Santa gifts.

The looks on the kids faces where priceless!

My sweet spoiled babes.

I got the coat I asked for...

and Gary got the Jeep brand luggage he asked for.

Dad was running along beside Hayden as he took his four wheeler for it's trial run.

Hayden LOVES his four wheeler so much!

Layla couldn't wait to clear off her dresser to make room for her new docking station/speakers for her iTouch.

Play-Doh was a HUGE hit in our house. The kids have been asking for new play-doh for months!

Their stockings were filled with play-doh and candy.

When our families got here around lunch time they too played with play-doh.

We all Skype'd with Kristin...she is in Prague teaching English. We missed her this year, but we know she is having the time of her life teaching abroad!

MewMaw was low key this year...she decided on a simple silver cross necklace instead of the necklace she chose last year.

MewMaw, Hayden and Layla.

My dad, opening his gift!

Layla was excited to watch Netsie open her gifts! Layla had a super fun time picking out jewelry and a watch for her.

Layla got a blizzard maker and so of course blizzards were served on Christmas Day in our house!

Harley was feeling festive and came out of our room to greet everyone. She even let some of our guests pet her. If you know Harley, this is RARE!

MeMaw threatened to steal Daisy Mae...Gasp! She fell in love with our new little sweetie pie pup! I think Daisy is screaming "NOOOO" in this picture!

We had a wonderful day!

It was exhausting and by the end of the day I felt as tired as Daisy looks in the picture above!

Gary and I laughed and laughed when we sat down to relax for the night. Gary was cracking me up when he recapped our day...he needs a blog. All I can say is our day was eventful! We wouldn't have it any other way!

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T21:33:00.002-06:00

Today was a fun and special day for our little family of four!

It was the perfect day!

We started off the morning by having bacon, eggs and strawberry muffins.

After breakfast and some playing the kids had a bubble bath to get ready for church.

We headed out to our church's Christmas Eve service. I had tears in my eyes half the service. I felt so blessed to have my family sitting right next to me! The kids did a great job sitting still and being quiet during the service. They were super happy when we lit the candles and sang Oh Holy Night.

It is a memory I will cherish forever!

When we got home from church the kids got to open their one gift of the day...their traditional PJ's!

As you can see, after the pj's were put on the craziness began. Holy Hyper!! These two kids were super pumped about all that is to come!

The best picture I could get of the four of us in our new pj's is this one. Daisy Mae was confused....clearly she is facing the wrong way!

Dad took the kids out to sprinkle reindeer food. It was sleeting a bit, so he carried them. They were just laughing and giggling the entire time!

Once we fed the reindeer the kids picked out cookies for Santa.

They included a glass of milk in case Santa wants to dip his cookies. They also decided to leave carrots for the reindeer.

And of course Layla wrote him a letter!

Gary and I can hardly wait until the morning! We can't wait to see what Santa has in store for these super good kids. Gary's extended family and my parents are coming to celebrate with us tomorrow! We are excited to spend the day surrounded my family.

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas!!

Christmas week in our house!

2011-12-23T10:41:00.003-06:00

We have had a busy and fun week.

Gary is on vacation, so we have been hanging out as a family of four all week long. It has been awesome. I am posting a day by day journal of our week for our memories.

Monday

Monday we went to see a movie. The kids both LOVE Alvin & the Chipmunks, so we went to see ChipWrecked. It was a super cute movie, but I was ready for the squeaking to be over. The kids had a great time and they sat still the entire time. And when we got home guess what movie they wanted to watch?? Thank goodness we have multiple TV's in our house.

Tuesday

Tuesday the kids had dentist appointments.

I love this picture I took of the kids in the waiting room of the dentist office.

The kids both got great reports at the dentist. I am so happy all the brushing is paying off!

We did a bit of last minute shopping on Tuesday also. It is wild out there.

Wednesday

Wednesday we baked cookies. Holy mess. I don't know why, but for some reason the cookie baking didn't go so well. I guess I didn't let the dough get cold enough. Whatever...I can't even begin to tell you the issues we had with our baking session. The kids had a super fun time, and that is all that matters!

See what I mean....the kisses fell though. I'm a ding bat. They really didn't need to cool on a wire rack. Dooooh. Anyway. You live and you learn. haha!

Wednesday Night

Wednesday night we went to the Texas Motor Speedway's parade of lights. It was about a mile long Christmas light display. The kids were Oooohhing and Ahhhhing like crazy. It was so fun!

Thursday

Thursday we decorated the cookies we baked.

The kids had a really fun time! I pretty much decorated 2 cookies and they did the rest. I gave them full decorating privileges. They ate and decorated....

Hayden pretty much ate sprinkles right off the plate.

Layla is a great little cookie decorator. She had the most fun of all!!

Of course the best part was eating the cookies.

We saved a few cookies for Santa Clause.

Last night the kids were crazy little heathens. Gary and I decided to put them to bed early -- 7:00 pm early and they BOTH slept until 7:00 am. All this Christmas fun caught up to them.

Today is Friday.

Christmas Eve Eve. I'm not sure what today holds, but I know for sure Layla and I are giving each other pedicures. We both need fresh new festive polish on our fingers and toes.

I hope you have a great day!!

Christmas Card 2011 plus some...

2011-12-21T07:00:00.000-06:00

Today I am sharing our Christmas Card for this year.

This card perfectly portrays our family.

I'm also sharing the kids Santa picture for this year.

My Christmas gift from Hayden's preschool was this picture in a frame!

How stinkin' sweet is that??

I'm not gonna lie. I teared up.

My heart melted right into a puddle.

And this one???

Oh wow...I have no words. This is typical Hayden.

Merry Christmas!!!

jalapeno ranch dressing/dip

2011-12-20T07:30:00.000-06:00

My parents hosted Christmas on Sunday for my Dad's side of the family.

A week or so ago I asked my mom what I needed to bring and she requested I bring chips. She told me she got her hands on a recipe for Chuy's jalapeno ranch dressing. I thought about that dip for over a week.

Have you ever had it?

It is so good and it's a festive shade of green. It's perfect for this time of year.

We all loved the jalapeno dip and the bowl was empty in no time at all. She gave me the recipe and Gary and I made it last night.

This is what you need:

1 1/3 cups of mayonnaise

1/3 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup chopped jalapenos

1 small can chopped green chilis

1/2 cup cilantro

1 packet ranch dressing seasoning

I poured all the ingredients into my blender and blended them up.

It's that easy.

Gary and I tasted our batch and decided to add more cilantro and jalapenos.

We like it spicy!

We made bean and cheese quesadillas and they were so good served with the jalapeno ranch dip. I think the kids are starting to like spicy food because they enjoyed the dip too!

Thanks to my mom I am sharing this great recipe with y'all!

A peek of our home during Christmas time ...

2011-12-19T07:00:00.000-06:00

Our house is all decorated for Christmas. I have pretty much the same Christmas theme every year. My favorite Christmas things are reindeer, and I always decorate with red and gold. I love to check last years blog posts to see how my decor changes from year to year. As you will notice my style is a bit simple and functional. I like to do just enough decorating to make the house festive. I'm not the best decorator, because I'd rather be in the kitchen cooking. I do have fun decorating, however I think could stand a few lessons.

I love our tall skinny tree. She is 9 feet tall and she came fresh out of the box 4 years ago. This year her lights didn't work. Gary (being the sweet man he is) cut off every single light and re-strung this tall lady! Bless his heart. I would have thrown her in the garbage and bought a new tree, but he saved our pocket book some pain!

The kids favorite part of our tree is this silly old gold star. I was thinking I needed to get a new topper for our tree this year and Layla gasped in surprise. "Mommy, Christmas trees must have stars!!" So the gold star it is!

a few of my reindeer ornaments

Our mantle is always fun to decorate. This year I decided to use lit garland. I love it so much. Our house is so cozy at night with the tree and the sparkling mantle.

Hayden insisted the nutcracker remain on the mantle. He usually doesn't belong there, but Hayden insists he is protecting us. Also the silly rooster match holder doesn't really mesh with my Christmas decor, but it belongs there. We have gas logs and the matches are stored up high right there for easy access for us adults, but the kids can't reach them. The rooster holder was my grandmothers. She hand painted it and I love it.

I wanted a simple center piece for my breakfast table. We eat at the table every night so I didn't want a huge bulky centerpiece. This glass bowl filled with read and cold balls is perfect!

Layla loves this little angel. She has a place for a tea lite candle. She looks so pretty at night with her candle burning bright.

Since I mentioned Layla....

She loves having a tree in her room. I think this tree is PERFECT for her.

Hayden loves his Christmas tree too. He always asks to sleep with the lights on, but we always end up turning them off. He like to lay in bed and play by the light of the tree instead of sleep!

We have these fun little door knob hanging friends. The angel hangs on our front door and the reindeer on the backdoor that leads to the patio. They have little bells on them so you can hear the jingle when you open or close the door.

I love buying cinnamon scented pine cones every year. They smell so good!! These pine cones were just plain ole pine cones but I added a few balls to their basket to liven them up! They are in the kitchen/breakfast area on the bakers-rack.

My formal dining room table is suffering a bit this year. I really haven't done too much in there, and now the table runner is holding all the Christmas cards we have received. I usually set the table with fun dishes, but I'm not feeling it this year.

Here is a quick look at the outside. The Santa is on the front porch and the snowman is on the back porch. I need to take some night time pictures. Gary hung clear lights all the way around our house. I love the look of clear lights!

Merry Christmas from our home to yours!!

Layla's 1st grade Christmas party

2011-12-16T20:12:00.001-06:00

Layla had a fun time at her 1st grade Christmas party today.

She has the sweetest friends. I love every single one of them!

The party was a huge success. The kids did 4 different activities in stations. They ate cookies, fruit, veggies and cupcakes, made reindeer food, played Christmas bingo, and created a fun bookmark. The party was really organized and I think it went smooth and the kids had fun.

Oh my...her face is really excited! haha!

Can you hear the squeals just looking at this picture?!?

I tried to get a picture of Layla with frosting on her face, but she moved faster than me!

Christmas party at school = huge success! We are so blessed to have a great school and great friends!

******

Tonight we celebrated the beginning of Christmas break by having a pizza picnic in the living room while watching Home Alone.

We moved the ottoman, threw a blanket down on the floor and ate pizza, carrots and ranch dressing on festive paper plates.

They were both so excited saying today was the best day. Haha!

Sugar all day long and then pizza for dinner. I'd say that is pretty fun.

Hayden was being so sweet to Daisy. She was begging for a bite of pizza.

I was impressed, Layla ate 3 pieces of pizza and Hayden at 2 1/2 pieces. They tried root beer for the first time and they didn't like it. I'll never complain about my kids not liking sodas, but I just knew they would like root beer. I just hope someday they will drink root beer in a root beer float. Seriously, if we had vanilla ice cream I would be having one right now. Yum!

Have a great weekend!

the elf & cupcakes

2011-12-15T20:33:00.000-06:00

We have had our elf...Buddy for YEARS!

Buddy is basically like any other Elf on the Shelf. He has been reporting to Santa daily for years.

Every Christmas season after our tree is put up Buddy flies into our world. He reports daily to Santa from a different place in the house. Some of his favorite spots to perch are on the microwave in the kitchen, on the mantle in the living room and we have even seen him in the vestibule area sitting on the piano. He is a friendly little elf and we have loved him for years.

Well last night Hayden was playing with a balloon in the kitchen (someone really should be watching these children) and Buddy fell from a super high place to a super low place...the tile floor. It was the saddest thing I had ever seen. Layla was screaming and Hayden felt so bad because his balloon knocked Buddy down. Gary covered Buddy with a towel and before we knew it Buddy was gone. It was a sad night.

We received this picture in a text message today. It said, " I broke my foot and will be on crutches the rest of the Christmas season. I am ok and not mad because it was an accident. Be good kids and I will return or Santa will send a replacement elf."

We did get a replacement elf today. The kids are thrilled. Hopefully this little elfie won't break his leg! We haven't named it yet. I will keep you posted...teehee!

Early this morning I saw a tweet mentioning that today was National Cupcake day. I don't know if it is or isn't National Cupcake day, but I certainly was not gonna be left out. I made cupcakes and the four of us. We ate our cupcakes and watched Charlie Brown Christmas.

They were so so good!

Tomorrow our Christmas break begins. Gary is on vacation and Layla is done with school for two whole weeks beginning tomorrow. Whooo hooo! We are stoked.

Layla is so excited about her Christmas party at school. I know it will be a blast. I'm sure I will have a few fun pictures to post tomorrow!

Happy Birthday to Jesus Preschool Celebration

2011-12-14T14:14:00.002-06:00

This morning Hayden woke up super excited about his preschool Christmas party.

He was ready for me to take a few pictures of him in front of the Christmas tree.

Here he is with his classmates singing songs during the program.

When the program was over Hayden was pumped up...as he was leaving the church he gave Gary a gigantic high five!

The whole preschool gathered together to eat Happy Birthday Jesus birthday cake.

Hayden was waiting so patiently for his slice!

Is it ready mommy?

Mmmmm....it is so delicious!

All of us moms decided we needed a picture of the kids in front of the Christmas tree. What a task that was...they were all sugared up from the cake and were not very cooperative. This is the cutest one I got. Hayden just loves all his sweet classmates!

Hayden was so very excited to ring this "lellow" bell. His face makes me giggle!

Once we got back into the classroom we played a few games. The game they are playing in this picture is musical chairs. They were not handling this game very well. It seriously was the funniest thing I have watched in a long time. All the chairs are marked with their names. The kids love their routine and knowing where they sit every day. The musical chairs game is a game where you walk around the chairs until the music stops and then you sit in the first chair you see. Oh my...that was not happening. The boys and girls were scrambling to sit in their OWN marked chairs. Haha! Bless their hearts. They are such creatures of habit! It was so cute to watch them play!

The kiddos had a book exchange.

They decorated cookies!

We all had a fun pizza lunch.

We are truly blessed to attend such an amazing preschool. We love Hayden's teachers! They take such good care of him and we appreciate them so much!

Hayden is done with school until the new year. I don't think he realizes it yet. I'm sure next week he will be asking to go to school. I hope to keep the kiddos busy with fun activities leading up to Christmas! This is such a fun time of year...I can hardly wait until Layla is out of school on Friday.

Happy Wednesday!

no fuss potato soup

2011-12-13T09:17:00.001-06:00

I made a very simple potato soup recipe last week. It was one of those days when I planned to have something else for dinner, but I forgot to thaw the chicken. Ho Hum. I acted as if I totally knew what I was doing...haha! I didn't follow a recipe at all. I just made it up as I went.

~ I used ~

6 potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 large carton of chicken broth

1 1/2 stalks of celery, chopped

1/2 medium onion, chopped

2 TBS garlic, minced

olive oil

milk as desired for consistency

4 oz cream cheese cubed

salt and pepper to taste

I started by peeling, cubing and then boiling potatoes in a carton of low sodium chicken broth.

While the boiling was happening -- on the next burner over I sauteed garlic...

{We need a new skillet...huh? Ahem...Santa maybe?}

...celery and onions in a tad bit of olive oil.

Is there a better smell in the entire universe than the smell of garlic, onions and celery on the stove top? Seriously...not to sound corny, not that I was adding corn or anything, but IT MAKES MY DAY to smell good stuff cooking in my kitchen. Ok, enough corny-ness.

The cold medicine I'm taking has seriously made me crazy-er than normal.

I let the potatoes boil until they got soft and then I mashed them up with a potato masher, I added the celery, onions and garlic to the mix. I added milk as needed to make it soupy and then put about 4 oz of cream cheese into the hot soup pot. I added salt and pepper too.

Then I let it simmer for 20 minutes or so. I had to add a bit more broth so I didn't end up with mashed potatoes. And that is it.

Potato soup a la ... fly by the seat of your pants.

The kids ate soup with those fun bread sticks you can get in a box near the salad dressing aisle.

We also had celery, carrots and ranch dip & salads for the adults.

I made these for dessert. They were WAY too sweet for me, but the kids really loved them!

They are fruit-loop treats!

Made with fruit loops instead of rice crispy cereal.

How fun would these be right now with green and red cereal? So festive and Christmasy. I know that isn't a word, but I have been using it lately.

Have a great Tuesday!

Our weekend in iPhone pictures

2011-12-11T16:35:00.001-06:00

We started out our weekend with pancakes for breakfast.

Gary makes the best pancakes and Hayden asked me to cut his like a pizza.

Can you tell I am loving my new iPhone. I have really enjoyed the camera. There are so many fun photo editing apps. I love instagram and picframe.

I attempted to wear a sock bun. It was so fun and cute, but I don't think my hair is long enough. We got in the car and it fell out. I was so sad. I finally found a pinterest idea that worked for me....for about 10 minutes. My hair just doesn't hold style.

We went to Cabela's after I got an email that Santa would be there!

This man was there on display. The kids thought he was hysterical. They asked if he was alive once. He was a weird wax man doing a little camping! Santa was in Cabela's in the huge room with all the animals on display. The line was formed all through that room. Thankfully we got to see all kinds of deer and wildlife while we waited in line.

Layla got to sit with Mrs. Clause. Hayden didn't want any part of Mrs. Clause. I was worried for a second that he wouldn't want to sit with Santa, but he did!

They were super excited to sit with Santa and tell him what they wanted for Christmas. Gary and I were so proud of the kids. They were getting super antsy while waiting in line to see the jolly white bearded man. I'm thankful for zero meltdowns. The waiting was the hardest part, but they did great!

We stopped to take a picture of Hayden on this bull!

My cousin came in town from San Antonio. We had the best time hanging out with him and my Aunt and Uncle. We made slider sandwiches, warm mexican dip and buffalo chicken dip appetizers. We played and watched the Heisman award presentation. Yippee for Baylor's Robert Griffin III!! We were so thrilled to see him win such an amazing award!

Today I woke up and sneezed about 150 times. I guess I have a cold. We skipped church and have had a low key day. The kids got an email and video from Santa Clause. They thought it was the most amazing thing they had ever seen, even though they got the same video last year.

I made a new chex mix recipe. It has walnuts, cranberries and cinnamon chex.

I will share the recipe this week!

Look how festive these holly glasses are. I have been drinking out of them the whole month of December. I just love them! They were Gary's parents and we use them now. I feel so festive!

This evening we are gearing up for the last week of school before the Christmas break!

Hayden has two days of school and Layla has five days. They each have their class parties this week. We are excited about a fun but busy week ahead.

I hope you had a great weekend!

flashback friday

2011-12-09T09:01:00.001-06:00

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

1 Target dress .... 4 years

2011-12-08T08:41:00.001-06:00

She gets sassier every year...ya think?

slow cooker oatmeal

2011-12-06T19:58:00.001-06:00

Lately Hayden has been loving oatmeal. He asks for it every day!

I love making this recipe and watching the kids devour it in the mornings before school.

It is easy for me to prep at night while I'm making their school lunches.

You should give it a whirl!

Here is what you will need:

3 apples peeled and cubed

(I only use 2 1/2 apples. I eat half an apple while prepping the oatmeal)

3 cups of oatmeal

(I use Quaker quick oats)

5 cups of water

1/2 cup brown sugar

a couple sprinkles of cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

Place a slow cooker liner in your slow cooker!!

Here is what you need to do:

Layer the apples on the bottom of the slow cooker.

Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and vanilla.

Pour oatmeal over the apple mixture and then top with water.

Put the lid on and walk away. I don't stir it at all and I never open the lid after I add the water.

I prep this before I sit down to watch TV in the evening. I prepped this at around 8:00 and then just let it sit until I went to bed.

Last night I went to bed around 11:00. I turned the slow cooker

to low and turned it on for the night.

We wake up around 6:30am and eat at around 7am.

So it ends up cooking for about 7 hours on low.

It's that easy!

It isn't the prettiest oatmeal I have ever seen, but the kids ate it this morning.

See the big chunks of apples...

Pink puppies have to eat too you know...

Bear Bear needs a drink of OJ.

"All done mommy, Can I have mo?"

Hayden is on his third bowl today.

If you use the slow cooker liner it is easy to clean up. The first time I made this I couldn't get my slow cooker clean. I had to purchase SOS pads. SOS pads with the lavender scent are amazing!

I hope you have a great Wednesday!

tuesday evening randoms

2011-12-06T18:30:00.000-06:00

I didn't post about our weekend this week. We didn't really do much. It was cold, rainy and windy so we mostly just played inside and watched movies. It was exactly what we all needed. We needed rest and we watched a ton of football. It seems like we didn't fully recover from the Thanksgiving holiday. Thankfully we are all rested and caught up on sleep.

This morning when we dropped Layla off at school Hayden saw all the kids getting out of the cars. A teacher would open the car door and the kids would jump out and run into the school. Hayden said, "Mommy, she is bustin' dem kids out." I giggled. It's so true! I love a three year old little brain. They are constantly thinking.

I got a new phone yesterday and I love it. I had the slowest model iPhone they make. I am very happy with my new upgraded iPhone. I just need to know what new and fun things I can do now. If you have ideas of apps I'd like let me know! I am thrilled to be able to check twitter and Facebook from my phone again. AND the camera rocks! Hopefully I will try Facetime soon too.

Layla has been listening to me talk about my Thirty-One business and she loves looking through my catalog. She decided to created her own company. She named her company Six Lex. She created a catalog and has been selling to us. She is just too cute! I sure hope she is an entrepreneur when she grows up.

I am a tad bit irritated because both of our home computers are acting strange. Computer issues stress me out. You'd think computers would be smart enough to fix themselves. I know one of them is non repairable because of age. Let's just hope the other is an easy fix.

I bought new lotion yesterday. I needed a thicker lotion for winter and I finally found the time to get a few new scents from Bath and Body Works. I also got a few Christmas hand soaps for the kitchen and bathroom. I am excited about their fun smells! Once I try all the different things I bought I'll share my favs with y'all. One of my most favorite things in the world is to take a warm shower and put lotion on and then get into my pj's. I love smelling all pretty in my pj's.

Tonight at the dinner table Layla said she had a Lady Gaga joke for me. I stopped chewing and my face got beet red. I thought OH DEAR...my sweet girl has lost her innocence. haha! just kidding, sorta. Anyway, she told me her joke, "How do you wake Lady Gaga? ...... poker face!" Isn't that funny!? Then she proceeded to explain to me that Lady Gaga is a singer and she sings a song called "Poker Face." Did you know that? She acted as if I didn't know that. Oh me, oh my!

Tonight I told Hayden since we stayed home pretty much all day he could skip his bath. His eczema is getting better and it seems like when we don't bathe every single day he doesn't get AS dry. All that to say...I asked him to put on his pj's. Off he ran and he stripped down naked and ran his clothes to the laundry room. He opened the door and screamed, "Momma, this pile is outta control!!" So yep...there is that. My 3 year old threw me under the bus. I think I know what my plans are for the evening. Laundry.

and with that I will talk to you all tomorrow.

single sentence Sunday

2011-12-04T12:30:00.000-06:00

We have been busy decking the halls.....Fa la la la la!

dreaming & thinking

2011-12-02T21:21:00.001-06:00

I am sitting here in my quiet, dark living room relaxing from a long but fun Friday. Friday evenings are hard for us. The hustle and bustle of the week wears on the entire family. I am happy to be sitting down in my quiet house on my comfy sofa. I am sitting here reflecting on all the things I have. My handsome husband, my adorable kiddos and the hairy dog beasts I love so much. I sit here tonight wondering how to say what I want to say without seeming greedy.

We have so much, but I know Gary and I both want more. We have a nice house with plenty of room for our family. I think of the future. I realize I should be satisfied with the home I have, and I am. I love our house. We are blessed that each kid has a room, we have an office in which Gary works every day. We have a playroom and a large backyard. I love our big kitchen and how open it is to the living room. Am I being selfish because I want more? I do want more. I want my forever house right now. We want our house now so that we can pay it off before we retire.

I want the house a few block away that I saw being built. We saw it, and we looked at it. We walked through it and Gary and I both fell in love. We felt the disappointment when the SOLD sign was placed in the yard. I realized that God had his plan for us and that house. I was good with it. God didn't want us to have that house at that time. As it turned out that was to be someone elses house.

Then a few days ago I saw that the AVAILABLE sign was miraculously back in the yard again. My heart skipped a beat. I slammed on the brakes and turned the Jeep around. I sped toward the sign in the yard to see the house was truly on the market again. Is it a sign? Well heck yes it's a sign...a for sale sign. BUT .... Are we supposed to pursue that house again? Do we put our house on the market? Or am I just being selfish and wanting something more that isn't necessary?

Tonight I will pray. Clearly I was okay when I realized that house wouldn't be ours over a month ago. I will be fine if that is the case again, but it really made me stop and think about our future and where we will be in 5 years. I know where our goals say we will be. I know what we want, but God has plans that we don't know about yet. So, for now I will just sit back and enjoy what I have. I will be thankful for the house we currently live in and the memories we are currently making. Because when it comes to making a home, the house really doesn't matter. The people do, and I love my people.

God will lead the way!

Rice crispy treats

2011-12-01T07:00:00.000-06:00

I can't stay away from the yummy gooey deliciousness of rice crispy treats.

The packaged kind just don't taste the same in my opinion.

I make mine with 1/2 stick of butter, 1 bag of mini-marshmallows and 8 1/2 cups of rice crispy cereal.

The first thing I do is grab a super large bowl. I melt the butter for about 1 minute in the microwave.

Then I toss the marshmallows into the butter. I microwave them for 45 seconds stir, and then microwave them again for another 45 seconds and stir until fully melted.

The next step is to pour the cereal into the bowl of melted butter and marshmallows.

Stir them like crazy!

Once the cereal is fully mixed in grab a cookie sheet for thin treats, or a 10 x 13 baking pan for thicker treats. Your choice!

This is the fun part!

I spray the cookie sheet with cooking spray...

and then I spray my hands too.

This is the only way to not make a huge gummy marshmallow mess.

Pour the mixture onto the cookie sheet and mash it down using butter spray coated hands!

Just keep mashing and spreading until you get the mound of treats flat.

Do keep an eye out for little fingers that may creep around while preparations are underway.

Looks like someone got a pinch of the good stuff....

Once the treats are all set into the cookie sheet let them rest for about 15 minutes or until they fully cool.

Yum!

Then cut them as desired.

This time of year you can add sprinkles in red or green. {add them after you spread them and before they cool} You can even use cookie cutters to make fun Christmas shaped rice crispy treats!

RC treats don't last long in our house!

Now you are going to be craving these all day...I just know you will!

Holiday Picture Outtakes

2011-11-30T07:37:00.001-06:00

(If we are FaceBook friends, sorry for the duplicate [I posted these there yesterday]

They are just too funny to NOT share)