Friday, November 30, 2012

Miracles

I would just like to let everyone know that my mom's lymph node biopsy came back and there is no trace of cancer in any of them!! When she had her initial biopsy the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes, but it looks like darn awful chemo worked!! I hate that stuff with a passion, but I also love it no matter how awful it is because it works!

Happy tears people these are happy tears!


Wednesday, November 28, 2012

For You

My BFF. My Other Half. It made my day seeing your beautiful face and spectacular boobs yesterday! I love you and miss you and this is my internet letter telling you to choose Vandy! I will love you not matter where you go, but I hope you know the closer you are to me the happier I will be!
 
This picture reminds me of good times freshman year and a 1 bedroom efficiency!
 
Lissy you complete me!

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Fun Fun Fun

So what do I like to do for fun???
 
Sadly I had to take a few minutes to think this one through. Brent and I don't get out much so most of the things we do are around the house. We watch a lot of Netflix and usually eat dinner at home. When we do go out to eat it isn't ever anywhere fancy, but those don't really count as a hobby.
  
I really like to read and the majority of my reading time happens while I am drying my hair. Bath/Shower and Hair drying time is my special Mommy time. Brent mans the munchkin while I soak and relax. I have a clip that helps hold open my book and I can get through 5-10 pages depending on how I am styling my hair that day. I actually read a complete chapter the other night while Brent was watching football and Mckinly was sleeping!
 
I also love crafting. I haven't actually knit anything in a while, but i started a white cowl neck infinity scarf for myself, but it hasn't been touched in over a month. I am thinking about making Mckinley a mini one in brown or navy blue, but those will have to wait for Christmas break nap time.
My favorite thing to craft with is felt. I feel like you can make anything out of felt! I am currently working on a felt camp fire set for Mckinley for Christmas and if I finish that I would like to make her a felt fishing game with a magnetic fishing pole and a little pond with lilly pads. Felt is so easy to work with and relatively inexpensive which is good for my non existent crafting budget.
 
 
One other thing I used to love to do and I am hoping to get back into if I can ever find the time is running. I am signing up for my first cross country trail race in probably 2 years in January and I am hoping the bug bites me again because I miss running. Between Brent's work schedule, Keeping a house, and Mama being sick I haven't had much extra time to hit the pavement, but there have been many times especially on the weekend where I should have gotten off my butt and out the door, but I just didn't have the motivation. I think signing up for the Winter Cross Country Series will be just what I need to get myself back in the game.
 
 
I guess meal planning is my newest hobby. I started in September planning out a month's worth of dinners and have done a pretty good job planning out my meals, lists, and budgets. This past month was probably my least successful, but between Thanksgiving, Brent being out of town, and my parents and in laws sending us meals I haven't had to do much cooking. The good thing is I can just transfer most of my November meals to December with only replacing minimal supplies.
 
Now that I think about it I like to do a lot of stuff! I thought this was going to be hard because I feel like an old fuddy duddy these days, but between refinishing furniture, making camp fires, finishing the Sookie Stackhouse series, and spending time with my family I am one busy Mama!
 

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Swaddle Strap Winner!!

We Have A Winner!!!!




Congratulations Susan! And thank you to everyone who entered. Like i said before, this company has a special place in my heart and anything I can do to help get the word out about them I am happy to do! 

Once again Congratulations and I hope everyone had a Wonderful Thanksgiving and aren't too exhausted from getting all of your Christmas decorations out and up.



Friday, November 23, 2012

Thankful {Day 20, 21, 22, & 23} & Thanksgiving

I have fallen a little behind in my thankfulness days, but since I refuse to get out in the Black Friday madness I have a little time on my hands now that Mckinley is sleeping and my dresser is drying. Everyday was spent with my family and like my Aunt Francine said while we were waiting out in the waiting room during mom's surgery Tuesday "Even if I hadn't married into the family I still would have kept in touch because that is just how they were. They took you in and just make you part of them and all that mattered was family." And that is how I still feel. I would rather spend everyday with my family then anyone else. They are absolutely the most important things to me so they get a few more Thankful days. So let's get down to it.

I am thankful for: 
My mom for being a bad-ass and kicking cancer's ass
My dad for being amazing this past year
My sister for finding what she is meant to do and for taking such good care of mom and dad
My mom's doctor's for taking such good care of her
My hubby for putting up with me and all my hair brained ideas
For my little girl for sleeping like a champ
My sister's sweet boyfriend Jeff for treating her like she deserves to be treated
Being almost done with Christmas shopping

I added a few more then the 4 days i missed to make up for falling behind.

Now on to what has been going on these past few days to keep us so busy

Tuesday was spent trying to prepare everything for school next week in 1 day and let me tell you preparing everything in 1 day when it usually takes 3 days to a week isn't easy. Most people think preschool is all play with a little bit of work thrown in and yes we try to make things fun, but we work hard people! Cathy left around 11 to head to the Bahamas (lucky girl) and I left a little early so I could get to the Dr's office to try to see my Mama before she went back for her second surgery. It wasn't  major surgery, but she still had to be put under because the incision on her left side needed to be cleaned up. The skin had started turning purple and they wanted to take care of it before it became infected. I didn't make it in time to see her, but just being there for Daddy was good enough.

Wednesday we hung out with Mama all day to keep her company and help her around the house so we skipped a little blogging time. We were supposed to sign our closing documents that evening, but the closing lawyer couldn't print everything off so we have to go back Monday.

Thursday was of course Thanksgiving day and boy let me tell you it was a busy day. We all woke up early and started cooking the sweet potatoes for the sweet potato casserole. While they were boiling I painted some more on our new dresser and then it was time to make some casserole. I am going to go ahead and give myself a big pat on the back because they were DELICIOUS! I might just share the recipe later if you are really good! We headed out to Brent's parent's house at noon and gorged ourselves on way too much turkey, ham, and twice baked potatoes. Mckinley was a little shy at first and was pretty stubborn playing with her cousin June. It was really funny to see her acting like that because she is so sweet with the other kids at daycare. I think she was hungry or sleepy because she didn't want June to touch her or touch any of her toys. We were scared there would be a baby rumble, but everyone made it out alive. June is in that stage where she wants to discover everything and play with everyone now that she is crawling and Mckinley is entering into the "Mine" stage (yippee). After she ate she was a different person, but I was shocked that she would only eat corn and biscuits! She wouldn't even touch the green beans!! After we thoroughly gorged ourselves we headed out around 2 and head over to Bo and Judy's house to enjoy some deserts. Mckinley had really warmed up by this time and acted like a maniac running around and screaming! We might have suffered a bumped lip which caused a little screaming, but besides that and being absolutely exhausted she was pretty darn good. All in all it was a great day spent with the family with few melt downs and lots of eating.

Today Mckinley and I are just hanging around the house while Brent is out searching for some Black Friday deals (he is INSANE!) I have done a little more painting on the dresser and am currently debating cleaning up the path of destruction Mckinley made last night. I really want to get everything organized before we start getting out all of our Christmas stuff. We will be getting our Christmas trees tomorrow and we need to go ahead and at least get that stuff out. I am not sure how long our decorations will last with Hurricane Mckinley  around but we shall see. We will be putting the baby jail around the tree and presents and we will see how many fits and tantrums that causes. Toddlers make life so much more interesting!


Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Win An Ipad Mini!

iPad Mini Giveaway Event

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Monday, November 19, 2012

My Go To Halloween/Thanksgivingish Pumpkin Dip

I made this dip for our last Faculty meeting at school and our Halloween Party and it was a hit at both. I won't be making it for Thanksgiving because I have been assigned Sweet Potato Casserole for Brent's family and we won't be bringing anything to mine because we will be hitting there second and will miss the main eating events.
If you want something light and delicious for a pre meal snack then this is perfect! I served mine with ginger snaps, but some people like to dip with apples also.
Ingredients:
{1} 15 oz can of pumpkin
{1} 5 oz box of instant vanilla pudding {just the powder, don't make the pudding}
{1} 16 oz container of cool whip {low fat}
{1} small pumpkin
{1/2} tbsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice
{1/2} tbsp. Cinnamon
Directions:
1. Mix pumpkin, pudding mix, cool whip, and pumpkin pie spice together {by hand} in a very large bowl.
2. Chill for several hours before serving. Meanwhile, carve your pumpkin!
3. Sprinkle with cinnamon, and serve with fresh apples slices, vanilla wafers or ginger snaps.
I am thinking about writing a cook book one of these days for Busy Mom's. Simple and easy tried and true toddler and picky husband tested breakfasts, snacks, and meals. What do you think. I know most of my recipes are from cookbooks and the internet, but i also have a lot I have put together myself and I think I could come up with some pretty good stuff.

Thankful {Day 19}

Today I am thankful for two day weeks and calendar mess ups. 
Someone accidentally put that Thanksgiving break started November 21 and because of that we get the whole day off instead of half the day like we usually get. I know I know you are thinking we already get a bunch of days off, but that is just one more day I get to spend with Little Lady hopefully resting since we don't do too much of that on the weekends. 

I am also thankful that my job and my bosses allow me to be there for my Mama whenever I need to be. She will be having another surgery Tuesday on her left side incision. The skin seems to be turning purple and her awesome doctor wants to be proactive and instead of waiting for anything bad to happen they want to go back in and cut out that part and fix her back up. 

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Thankful {Days 17 & 18}

Yesterday was insane and I totally forgot to do my thankful post and I promised myself that I would follow through with this so bare with me.

Yesterday I was  thankful that my mom and dad taught my sister and I how to do things for ourselves.
We can change our own tires, redo furniture, and we even have our own power tools.

My parents have been fixer uppers since before it was cool. They redid a gorgeous house in midtown and are still fixing and redoing stuff to this day.

Because of them I am turning this beauty into a work of art!




Today I am thankful for Mckinley's newest game. She used to give me sugars (kisses) all the time and then she got to cool for school and thought it was funny to laugh and run away breaking mama's heart a little at a time. I am still not sure how this game came about, but it is hilarious and means lots of kisses for Mama. How do you play you ask???? well basically you make your child give you slobbery kisses and then you laugh and say woooooooooo really loud and hi pitched. Then repeat over and over and over again. I LOVE this game it melts my heart and I love how funny she thinks she is. I wish I could post the video of her spinning but she is neked for 80% of it and no one needs to see that. just know my child spun neked for about 5 minutes and looked like a tiny drunk and made me almost pee my pants and for that I am Thankful!


Saturday, November 17, 2012

Guest Post

Today is kind of a big day for us around here!!! We found a new dresser and it might not have been the one we originally planned to pick up today, but the one we ended up with is MUCH better!! I can't wait to get started sanding, filing, and repainting!!

Another big thing going on is my first real Guest Post!!!!! If you want to know about the joys of teething then come on over to Growing Up Geeky and say hi and give Melissa some love. 

Mckinley is really freaking excited about her first guest post too!!



Thankful {Day 16}

Today I am thankful for scary dirty houses and crazy people who don't know what they are talking about.

You  are probably scratching your head right now saying "What are you talking about Roxanne and why are you thankful for that?!?!" Well it is because of this crazy person and nasty house with dirty panties on the floor that I am now the proud owner of a not so brand new dresser. She is so purty and she just so happens to be sitting out on our back porch waiting to be sanded and painted!

Waiting at the scary house. We were a bit early because  we were afraid we would get lost and no one was there because they were at their new house which I hope was taken better care of.

What we would have come home with. It had potential, but just wasn't what we were looking for. I want real wood people!!!!! Something sturdy that will last for years!

We got up this morning super duper early to go check out and pick up this dresser I found on Better Then Ebay Furniture (a local kind of Craigslist group on Facebook), but when we got there after driving 30 minutes house looked like someone had been murdered and left for dead. It was really scary and yucky and we got out of there pretty quickly. On our way home Brent and I decided to drive around to some yard sales since we were sans bebe and we had $50 burning a hole in his jeans pocket. Well wouldn't you know a street over there was a big bright green sign hanging on the trash can and as I was driving by I saw 3 big pieces of furniture on the top of the driveway !!!! We turned back around to check it out and it was exactly what I have been looking for.. 

All Wood-Check
A Little Bit Of Character-Check
$50- Check

The little girl in charge of of the sale originally had $85 for the dresser and mirror, but since we didn't need a mirror I asked her how much without it and she said $50!!!!! OH HAPPY DAY!!! So we loaded it up smashed a few of Brent's fingers and drove our new beauty home to get started.


We hit up home depot for some wood filler and later had to make another run for sand paper pads and it was on like Donkey Kong. Tomorrow I will finish sanding and then hopefully paint while little lady is napping.

We will also be shooting our Christmas card picture tomorrow so get ready for some Christmas magic coming your way soon!

Friday, November 16, 2012

Thankful {Day 16}

Today I am thankful for amazing bosses! 

Now I am not just saying this because my principal's little girl just happens to be in my classroom (She is perfect in ever way!!!!!!) I really do love my job and the people I work for an with. They have gone above and beyond this year with everything going on with my mama. 

I am so so so lucky to do what I do and work for who I work for.
I am never leaving people so get used to me being around!

Thank you Mr. Mullis and Mrs. Gardino for

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Thankful {Day 15}

Today I am thankful for family and friends.

They say it takes a village to raise a child which is very true, but it really takes a village to get through cancer. When all of this started we could have never known how everyone would rally around our little family like they have. From the visits, to the meals, to the prayers you have all been absolutely amazing.

We love you all and please know we are thankful for you!

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Ipod Touch Giveaway

Thank you for joining us for the iPod Touch Giveaway event, hosted by Happy Mothering and Green Moms Media and sponsored by LampsUSA.com and EarnSEO.

About LampsUSA

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Thankful {Day 14}

Today I am thankful for Mrs. Julie and Mr. John.
If you haven't heard me talk about them well that is because I don't want to give away our family secret! 
These special people are the wonderful people who keep Mckinley when Brent and I are at work. 

I found out about Mrs. Julie while I was pregnant and frantically hunted her down because childcare was the one thing on our list I didn't have figured out and we had a few needs when it came to who would be caring for our precious munckin. It needed to be close, affordable, preferably in home, and of course they needed to love my Little unconditionally and spoil her rotten. Check, check, check, and check! 

When I say my child is spoiled rotten at Mrs. Julie's house I mean SPOILED ROTTEN!! She has maybe cried once when I dropped her off and that is because when I set her down she runs arms up to whoever is up first. It makes me so unbelievably happy to know my baby girl is so happy and well taken care of.


We love you Mrs. Julie (and Mr. John)



Pre K Days {Mr. N Nursery Rhymes}

I forgot to upload a few pictures today and left the card in my school camera so I will have to for realz finish this post tomorrow, but I am so darn tired of working on it I just had to get it up and posted. I have been so busy trying to get next week {Thanksgiving} and the week after {Transportation} finished so I can be ahead of the game that I just need to get this off of my brain!

ENJOY!

{Weekly Wrap Up}

Last week Mr. N came to visit and taught us all about Nursery rhymes. Since nursery rhymes are silly poems with rhyming words I wanted to really focus on what else......Rhyming words! I feel like this is such an abstract concept for my babies to grasp that I wanted to spend extra time on it. Each student has  K.I.T.E. folder they take home everyday and in the back of their folder is a section for GASP.....HOMEWORK! Yes I give my 4 year olds homework and the LOVE IT! It is simple activities that reinforce what we are learning in the classroom and this month half of their homework has to do with rhyming. 

I was really excited to let my kids finally use the SMARTBOARD to play a rhyming game which really seemed to help them get the whole rhyming concept. Rhyming isn't a very tactile concept so being able to touch the pictures and hear the words at the same time seemed to really make it sink in. We will be spending a longer amount of time on this skill because I want them to really understand it.

Now how about some Nursery Rhyme/Rhyming activities.

This week we worked on Workbooks I have made up out of worksheets I have or activities I have made up. This is a skill they will need to have for kindergarten so every now and then instead of an Activity I will be substituting a workbook. In this particular workbook the students had to draw a line to the matching rhyming word on the opposite side.

Another rhyming workbook. This time the students had to look at the picture in the middle and draw a line to each picture it rhymed with.

I want to start focusing on drawing shapes next week so we completed a workbook on tracing shapes and matching shapes.

 And our final job we made an N nest with a little blue birdie.

I was really excited about our Nursery Rhyme activities this week. I wanted to once again show my students multiple ways you coule Tell or Read a story so we read a Nursery Rhyme Book, Watched a Video and I Used a Picture Story/Felt Board Story. On the first day we talked about what a Nursery Rhyme is and that it was a special story because it was a poem written especially for little kids and had rhyming words.

We read Hey Diddle Diddle and found the rhyming words and then the kiddos made their own Dishes and Spoons.

I told them Baa Baa Black Sheep using a picture story or felt story. Then I wrote the Nursery Rhyme on the SMARTBOARD and the students helped me find the rhyming words. Then they made their own Black Sheep by sponge painting  a piece of white paper with the sheep's body drawn on it. After they dried they cut out the body and the rest of the pieces and put their not so little sheep together.

We read Humpty Dumpty and watched a little Nursery Rhyme rap video of the story. Then the students made their own Humpty Dumpty. I meant to have them tell me what they would do to put Humpty Dumpty back together again, but we ran out of time and then I forgot.

The last story we read and then watched a Nursery Rhyme Rap was The Itsy Bitsy Spider. Then the students created their own Nursery Rhyme Book and they were the Author and the Illustrator which is something we have emphasized since we started reading books and now they got to do it themselves.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Thankful {Day 13}

7%

Yup that is how high our mortgage rate used to be because we just got our refinance approved at 4%!!!
That will take almost $300 off of our mortgage! When you don't have a lot of money that is huge! That is money we can use to pay off my credit card then we can use that money to pay off Brent's credit card and then we can roll all of that into his student loan.

We will soon also need a new car for Big Daddy once the Jetta dies and this will greatly help when that day comes.

So today I am thankful for Nassura Wong our refinance counselor. She made everything super easy and I knew this was going to be a good thing when she exclaimed in her cute accent "Why your rate so high?!?!?!?!"

Thank you Nassura Wong for helping our little family out we love you even though we have never met you.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Making His List and Checking It Twice

Sorry Santa, but I won't be on there this year and no it's not because I have been naughty. Brent and I have both gotten pretty big things this past year and have decided to not do gifts this year. I got beautiful pictures of my baby girl and Brent finally found his beloved pea coat he has wanted for 3 years. It is the little things in life for us people. We live a simple life over here at TeamD so things that most people see as everyday things are big deals for us so some pictures and a coat might not seem like something you should forego Christmas gifts for, but we are happy and that is all that matters. We also said no stockings this year, but I might have one or two things I already bought for Brent's so he will still get a little surprise. he never listens anyways so but he never listens anyways and will probably end up slippin a lil somethin somethin in my stocking.

This year the only Christmas gift I want is my Mama to be cancer free. I don't think that is too much to ask for. So Santa if you are reading this get working on that ok!

The Talk

No not that talk. I mean that talk you need on that day you are feeling down. that friend you need to hear from and they seem to know you need them just at that exact moment. 

This happened twice last week. Two of my nearest and dearests caught me at just that moment. I was sad, and scared, and just down in the dumps and then the phone rang or my Skype beeped at me and the second I heard those voices I instantly felt better and the sun seemed to shine again.


I am better now and it doesn't feel like the world is ending.
All because of you.

Thankful {Day 11 &12}

We spent all Saturday and Sunday with my family since my Mama is home and resting. Yesterday I was Thankful for how strong and hopeful she is about her recovery. 

Today I am thankful for my precious little home. It may be small, but it has a lot of character and it is perfect for us right now. 


Saturday, November 10, 2012

A Month Of Meals {Week 3}

So things aren't going so well with our meals this month. Not in a bad way in a people want to keep feeding us way so a few of our meals planned for last week are still residing in our freezer. That just means the few days Brent is out of town we will be forgetting about our White Bean Chicken Chili recipe and eating up some room in our freezer for next months meal plan. i will however still post the White Bean Chicken Chili recipe for your cooking pleasure.

I am not sure where this recipe originated from so i can't source it, but I will say my dear sweet friends Russell adn Amber have been so kind as to send me this recipe over and over again because somehow I keep losing it. Hopefully after I get my meal plan binder situated it won't go missing anymore.

Are you ready for some cheesy, chickeny, chili goodness??

{White Bean Chicken Chili}

Ingredients
 2.5 cups chicken broth
1 tsp. lemon pepper
2 tsp. cumin seed
1.5 lbs. boneless chicken
1 garlic clove minced
1 cup chopped onion
3 tbsp. olive oil
18 oz. shoepeg corn undrained
4 oz. diced green chilis
3 Tbsp ground cumin
2 (15 oz.) cans great northern beans
2 tsp. chili powder
2 tbsp. lime juice
1 (8 oz.) shredded monterey jack cheese
1 (8 oz.) shredded pepper jack cheese

Directions
1. Cook chicken breasts in first 3 ingredients. Remove and shred. Reserve broth.
2. Saute onion until translucent in olive oil. Add garic at end and saute for 1 minute
3. Add onions and garlic mixture, chicken, corn, chilis, ground cumin, lime juice, and chili powder into reserved broth.
4. Bring to boil and simmer until bubbly.
5. Cook 25-30 minutes.
6. Add more chili powder, cumin, or cheese if desired.
7. garnish with Fritos and montery jack cheese.

Best the day after
ENJOY!

Thankful {Day 10}

Today I am thankful for the friends I have made via the internet. I have met some Absolutely Amazing women this past year and I have never met a single one of them, but I count them as some of my closest friends. Some I went through my entire pregnancy with, had babies with, watched them grow and are now commiserating over teething and little people attitudes. Others started out at as blog contacts and have now become dear friends.

I have never met any of you, but I love you all!

Friday, November 9, 2012

Thankful {Day 9}

Today I am thankful that my Mama is at home recovering from her surgery yesterday!
She is such a fighter and I hope I can be just like her when I grow up!




Thursday, November 8, 2012

Swaddle Me!

 I remember those first few days of my precious Little's life. She was so tiny and fragile, but that little lump of baby could work herself out of any and all swaddle we tried strapping her down lovingly wrapping her in. I mean no matter how tightly we made that Baby Burrito she could get one arm or the other out and then it was game on. 

I remember scouring the internet for something new to try when I stumbled upon This site. 

I wrote a lovely little ditties all about our experience with the Swaddle Strap which you can peruse Here, Here, Here, and Here. Look how little my baby was!!!!!!!! I love going back and reading old posts. That is exactly why I started this blog so I could go back in time and see what I was doing when, but I digress.

Back to the real reason for this post. I love this product because it works and there is nothing better then a calm happy baby. Anna and Eve is a family owned and operated business and the best part is everything is made in the good ole USA!  One other plus is the family is super duper sweet and I have made it my life goal to get the word out about their products! Oh products you say? Yes they now have multiple products!! We will get to that spicy detail another date and time because I have something for you before I tell you about their newest mind blowing mama product! 

I have tried this product myself and I swear by it. I will not advertise any ole product on my little ole blog. I do my research and I have sought out the companies I would purchase and use in real life. I like reusable, handmade, homegrown, real products and if I find something I like then I want everyone to know about it especially if it can make their lives easier because I am all about minimizing the crazy to maximize the important stuff like dancing in the living room to loud 80's music.

You might be asking yourself right about now "What is the point of this post besides telling you about this awesome product?" Well how about WINNING THIS AWESOME PRODUCT!!

I am doing my first for real for real product giveaway! What you might ask do you get when you win??
How about  a small or large swaddle in any pattern or solid color (organics excluded)!!!!!!
What the what???

All you have to do is complete the Rafflecopter entries and wham bam thank you mam you are done! Get ready for a calm happy baby and some really good sleep.

I will be reviewing a new product also from Anna and Eve called the Life Changer so be on the look out for a few Out and About posts.


Thankful {Day 8}

Today I am thankful for really good doctors. Mama's surgery went GREAT and she is recovering! She is of course in pain, but like she said this is nothing compared to the chemo! 

This was a long day, but it was a good day!


Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Ipad Mini Blogger Signup

How about 1 more awesome Christmas gift you can win!?

Get ready because from November through December 5 you can enter to win and Ipad Mini! 

iPad Mini Holiday Event

Hosted by Mom to Bed by 8
Prizes: iPad Mini
Event dates: 11/21 - 12/5

Free Blog Event! Sign-up here, BLOGGERS WANTED

Ipod Touch Blogger Signup

 If you haven't started your Christmas shopping just yet then look no further! Wouldn't it be better to WIN something for that special loved one!? A 16GB iPod (4th Generation)! 
You can enter to win anytime between November 16-December 17. 
Go check it out and enter to win!



iPod Giveaway

Mama Needs A New Pair Of Shoes

I LOVE these shoes! They all look so warm and fuzzy and comfy. I may not be able to sleep but gosh darnit I can enter giveaways! 

Mommy and Me Giveaways is my FAVORITE place to enter giveaways! They always have great ones!


Mommy and Me Giveaways

Maybe I will even win a TV!

Processing

I have not really let my mind process what is going to happen tomorrow. I have kind of been waiting for a chance to write it out, but haven't gotten a chance until today and I am sure little lady will be moseying on in here in just a second, yup there she is, to help me type. 

Tomorrow my mom will have her double mastectomy. I can't believe this day is already here. I feel like it has been years since this all started and yet it has flown by. I know I keep saying that, but that is the only way to explain this whole process.

This is happening TOMORROW! I can not imagine what she is thinking about tonight or how she is feeling. I wish I could be there to talk about everything. I wish I was with Mama tonight to talk about everything even though she hates talking about how she feels,but I make her do it anyways. I am not sure if it is to make her or myself feel better, but I love that we can just talk about things.

My brain still won't let me process what is going to happen tomorrow even now after writing about it. It still feels good to get it out and I look forward to posting an update tomorrow that they removed all of the bad shit and things went beautifully. Step II in the get rid of the cancer battle will be done and then she is off to radiation and reconstruction. Juts a few more steps and this is all over.

What was life like before this. I fell like 2012 has been a dream and once it is over we can all go back to normal life. Will things be normal after this or will we all be different? Will we all be better or stronger after all of this? Will we appreciate these short lives we get to live more after this? You just don't know what this experience is like until you are in it or have gone through it and I pray no one else I know ever knows how it feels.

. I know this post is random and choppy, but my brain just can not function at full capacity and this is honestly how it is functioning tonight. This is all I have in me and all I can do for tonight.

Once again any and all prayers are always appreciated. I don't know if I can pray anymore so I may need y'all to back me up for a few days or so.

Alive

I promise I haven't really fallen off the face of the Earth! We have been battling the stomach bug in our house these past few days (The stomach bug won in case you were wondering) and my Mama has her surgery tomorrow morning so my mind has been in a few different places. My poor little blog has suffered, but I promise to be back soon with bigger and better things! I am working on a few Reviews and Giveaways right now and will have a few really cool things coming up soon so be on the look out for a health and body product review and giveaway and I might just have two pretty awesome baby/toddler product reviews and giveaways!
 
 
 
 

Thankful {Day 7}

Today I am thankful that my Mama will be having her mastectomy surgery tomorrow. It felt like we would never reach this point in her recovery, but now that it is here and they will be removing that piece of you know what tumor from her body makes me feel like I might be able to breath a sigh of relief soon. This is a major surgery and I am praying for her Amazing doctors to be on their best behavior tomorrow and I also pray for a quick recovery for Mama.
If you have any spare prayers tomorrow they would be greatly appreciated!


Monday, November 5, 2012

Toddle Along Tuesday {Halloween}

I am linked up over at Growing Up Geeky  for Toddle Along Tuesday. 
This weeks theme is Halloween. Come on over and check it out!




A Month of Meals {Recipes-Week 2}

Sadly Baby Love has caught my stomach bug and poor daddy seems to be heading down the same road. Little is napping right now so I thought I would take a few moments to put together week 2's recipes.

{Loaded Baked Potato Soup}
source Ingredients
1 bag Ore Ida hash browns
2 cans 9or 2 cups) low sodium chicken broth
2 cups water
1 package of reduced fat country gravy

Directions
1. Add chicken broth and water to large pot on high
2. When broth and water begins to boil add hash browns.
3. Mix gravy with a little bit of water before adding to pot to prevent lumps.
4. Reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
5. I like to mash mine a bit with a potato masher, but  it is yummy either way.

{BBQ Chicken}
source

Ingredients
4-6 boneless, skinless Chicken breasts
1 (18 oz) bottle Barbecue Sauce ( I used 'Sweet Baby Ray's')
2 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/4-1/2 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper flakes (optional)
1/4 cup Brown Sugar

DIRECTIONS
 Place chicken breasts in the bottom of crock pot. In a medium bowl mix together barbecue sauce, vinegar, garlic powder and red pepper. Stir sauce and then pour over chicken. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Close with lid and cook on low for 4-6 hours. (The last 30 minutes of cooking, remove the lid from crock pot and let water evaporate to thicken sauce) Serve!

{Chicken Noodle Soup}

Ingredients
4 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup sliced celery
1 tsp. dried basil, crushed
1 tsp. dried oregano, crushed
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 cups medium egg noodles
2 cups chopped chicken/turkey

Directions 
In a 3-quart saucepan combine broth, onion, carrot, celery, basil, oregano, pepper, and bay leaf. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 5 minutes. Stir in uncooked noodles. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 8 to 10 minutes or until noodles are tender but still firm and vegetables are just tender. Discard bay leaf. Stir in chicken; heat through. To serve, ladle soup into bowls. Makes 4 main-dish servings.

{Roast}

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

I enter A LOT of online contests like 1 a day, but you can't win unless you enter and I figure the more I enter the better my odds are of winning something and I have actually won a few pretty awesome prizes!

My first win was a 16x20 canvas of a photo from Mckinley's 9 month pictures which I haven't received yet. I will probably not be using this particular photographer again because her customer service is not good at all. I bought a session off of Groupon and we got some cute pictures for the price and she was kind enough to resend the pictures I misplaced, but it took her 7 months to do it. We actually have a Photographer we are in love with that I found after buying this package so we won't have this problem again, but lesson learned

My biggest win so far was $300 worth of diapers and diaper swag!

My most recent win was SUPER EXCITING and very useful because of my Monthly Meal Planning. I entered a giveaway over on Frugal and Thankful for a Crock Pot cook book and I WON! If you know me you know I love cooking in my Crock! I love coming home to a delicious smelling house and a dinner already done plus I love how easy it is to clean. Sadly I already had Novembers menu completed and the groceries purchased so we will have to wait until December to try out some of the recipes.

I also have 1 more place I will be pulling some recipes from next month. I stumbled upon the blog
Crock-A-Doodle-Do. This mama has some awesome healthy Crock recipes that I am dying to try out!

Now if I could just win us a new grill all would be right in the world!


Thankful {Days 5 and 6}

Yesterday I was out of commission and sadly today Little Lady has her first stomach bug and poor daddy got christened. 

That means I get to be thankful for 2 things today.

The first thing I am thankful for is my BFF. My PIC. My Person.
Her name is Lis with an S and she is the one person who knows more about me than anyone else. She took care of me when I slept on the bathroom floor in college. She always stood by my side even when I let a bad boyfriend take me away from my friends. She loves my hubby and my little and me no matter how cray cray I get. 

She understands my insane brain and she can match me in potty words. 

I love you Lis and I look forward to seeing what the future holds for you. 

I am also very thankful for the person who has to put up with me all day everyday. No not my precious hubby, but my Co-teacher, Assistant, whatever you would like to call her. Mrs. Cathy and I have worked together for 3 years now and how she puts up with me and my scatterbrain beats me. She is awesome with our babies and she has the most creative ideas! 

I am very Thankful for you both and I love both of you very much!!

Saturday, November 3, 2012

A Month Of Meals {Recipes-Week 1}

  When I started meal planning I never thought I would actually have people telling me I inspired them to start planning their own meals. That is one of the reasons I wanted to start blogging about it and sharing what has worked for me and our little family. I love putting my menu together and writing out my grocery list and it doesn't really take me that long to plan everything out, but then comes the recipes. I print them out or pull them from my cook books and then the real work begins. Some recipes I pull from Pinterest or Google searches which makes it so much easier to post them, but this month I wanted to use my Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook which means I will have to peck out those recipes all by my slow typing self. I will be posting 1 weeks worth of recipes at a time or as many as my 1 year old who only allows me to type 5 minutes at a time before she starts screaming at me and trying to press buttons on the laptop.
I Challenged Myself this month so every meal is either something that can be frozen and pulled out later or something cooked in the Crock Pot.


{November Menu- Week 1}

{Roxanne's Roast} 
picture source

Ingredients
1 large roast split into 2 equal pieces
1 bag of baby carrots
1 onion
Potatoes (will not go into freezer. Will be put in when ready to Crock It)
2 envelopes of  Lipton onion soup mix
Beef broth or boullion
Worcestershire sauce

Directions
1.When I get home from the store I cut my roast into 2 equal pieces and place them in freezer containers.
2. Place 1/3 package of carrots into each container.
3. Cut 1 onion into large pieces and add 1/2 to each container.
4. Pour in 1 Cup of beef broth into each container.
5. Add Worcestershire
6. Add 1 package of  Lipton onion soup mix to each container.
7. Place lid in place and freeze until ready to Crock It.
8. Remove from freezer and let thaw in fridge night before you will be cooking it.
9. Dump all contents into crock.
10. Add potatoes.
11. Cook on low for 8 hours.

{Crock Pot Loaded Baked Potatoes}
source

Did you know you can cook baked potatoes in the Crock? Well I didn't until this month and you better believe this is how I will be cooking my potatoes next week!

Ingredients
2-3 Potatoes
Foil
Sour cream
Shredded cheddar cheese
Bacos

Directions
1. Clean potatoes
2. Wrap in foil
3. Place potatoes in Crock
4. Crock for 8 hours

WHAT!! I don't have to wait 40 minutes for my potatoes to cook! 
MIND BLOWN!

{Chicken Pot Pie (Makes 2)}
picture source

Ingredients
refrigerated pie crusts or frozen crusts
1 rotisserie chicken
2 cans of mixed veggies
11/2 tsps rubbed sage (dried)
1 1/2 tbsps butter
2 cups canned chicken broth
2 tbsp. All purpose flour

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425°F
2. Pull chicken off of bones and set aside
3. Combine flour and 1/2 teaspoon sage in medium bowl.
4. In large skillet/pot  melt butter in heavy large skillet oven medium-high heat.
5. Add chicken broth and  flour mixture to skillet and stir until thickens.
6. Add in chicken and vegetables and 1 teaspoon sage. 
7. Bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits. 
8. Season with salt and pepper.
9. Pour mixture evenly into pie crusts
10. Top with crust.
11. Bake until bubbly and crust is golden brown
12. If you will be freezing for later wrap and store in freezer before cooking. Pull out the night before to thaw then follow cooking directions.

{Mexican Stuffed Belle Peppers (Doubled)}

 source

Ingredients
4-8 bell peppers
1 pound of 85 percent lean ground beef
1/2 of a yellow onion, diced
1 cup of canned enchilada sauce
1 1/4 cup of shredded jack cheese
1 entire bag of cup of cooked (leftover) mexican rice
salt and pepper
sour cream and diced green onion for toppings

Directions

1. Finely dice a 1/2 of a yellow onion. Pour a cup of prepared enchilada sauce into a heat proof measuring cup and add diced onion. Heat the onion/enchilada sauce mixture in the microwave for about 5 minutes to soften onions. 
2. Cut the tops off of four bell peppers. Remove stems and seeds and dice the tops of the bell peppers. 
3. Pour 1/3 of a cup of water into the bottom of the crock pot and nestle bell peppers in.  
4. In a large mixing bowl, combine one pound of uncooked ground beef, onion/enchilada sauce mixture, diced bell peppers, 1 cup of shredded jack cheese, 3/4 cup of cooked rice, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper.
5. Fill bell peppers with ground beef mixture and top with more cheese.
6. Cook on low for about 6 hours. You can test mixture with meat thermometer for doneness. It should be cooked to 160 degrees.

7. f you will be freezing for later wrap and store in freezer before cooking. Pull out the night before to thaw then follow cooking directions.
Note: You must used pre-cooked rice. I used leftover mexican rice,  but you can also use cooked white rice. Just bump up your seasoning so that the mixture is not too bland. You can add chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, chipotle in adobo. Whatever sounds good to you!


Pulled Pork Sandwiches
source

Ingredients
1 large pork shoulder/Pork Butt or whatever you like to call it
Onion
Garlic cloves (I use the pre chopped bottled stuff because it is easier, cheaper, and last longer)
BBQ  seasoning
Liquid Smoke
BBQ sauce (I used 2 different kinds because I didn't have enough of either and it was delicious!)
Water
Buns
Slaw

Directions
1. Rough Chop onions and garlic and place in bottom of Crock.
2. Place Pork in Crock and sprinkle generously with BBQ seasoning.
3. Add Liquid Smoke (I was cautious with this, but wish I had added more)
4. Pour in enough water to fill Crock 1/4 of the way up.
5. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.
6. Remove Pork Shoulder and place in large bowl to pull apart and remove bones and fat. I found a form and some tongs were really helpful. You will also want a few large bowls for discarded pieces.
7. Pour remaining liquid, onions, garlic, and bits and pieces through colander to strain and discard.
8. Return pulled pork to Crock and begin shredding with 2 forks or hands if you let it cool.
9. Pour BBQ sauce over pork to mix together.
10. Serve on buns with your choice of fixins (that's southern for BBQ toppings and sides like Slaw, BBQ Beans, and Potato salad).
11. Freeze extra meat for later use.

{Joan's Homemade Soup}
Coming Soon
I am still waiting for this recipe MIL!!