Monday, August 30, 2010

Is it Monday already?

First of all, I need to take a moment to give The Winey Mommy a big THANK YOU for showing me some love on Twitter, and gaining me some new followers! Now grma's not the only follower :) I'm still trying to figure this whole tweeting thing out, so bare with me!

My busy weekend did not end Saturday. I woke up Sunday morning with tons of stuff that still needed to get done before our open house. Seriously, who's idea was it to start open houses??? Having a bunch of strangers walk through and inspect your home.. closets, toilets, floors... everything has to be spotless. It's a lot of work!  By 2pm the house was sparkly clean, the kids were at my mom's and we were loading our three dogs into the car. After the open house, Hubb's and I went shopping to get him some new clothes for his new job, then it was home for dinner, baths and bedtime. Thankfully, I got a good nights sleep last night but I think I'll still take a little nap after Gav goes to school today :)

The only things on today's agenda - grocery shopping & laundry. But that's enough to wear me out, especially with my two children!!

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Exhausting Weekend

Do you watch Bachelor Pad? I do. I am in love with David. He is gorgeous... ahh so hottt. & I'm mad they voted Gia off... She was my fav girl. & There is something so sexy about Wes. I didn't watch his season on the bachelorette but I hear he was a total asshole. I don't know, he is pretty sexy though.

Okay, enough TV talk. How is your weekend going? Mine has been busy and exhausting! Friday I drove out to Ft worth to pick up my grandma, then we drove to Arlington to this place called Dixie's. Oh. My. Gosh. If you have a charm bracelet and live in the DFW area.. this is the place to be. They have EVERY charm you could think of & at such reasonable prices! I am totally in love with this little shop. They also have some adorable dresses, shoes and purses... Oh and TONS of jewelry. I could spend all my money there.

Anyway, so I got 7 new charms put on my bracelet (yes!!) and we had lunch, then went back to her house for a little bit, then I drove home in rush hour traffic. (Don't know what I was thinking!) Since I got home, we have been scrubbing down the house because we've got an open house tomorrow. It is so exhausting. I clean the toilet, Gav pees all over the seat - I clean the fingerprints off the fridge, Kenna wipes her cheeto fingers on it five seconds later - I pick up all the toys and put them in the toy box, the kids see who can pull them all back out the fastest - I fold 5,487 loads of laundry, Kenna knocks down every. single. pile. It never ends, I swear.

It is 10pm, Kenna has been asleep for an hour and half, and Gav is just starting to wind down; I think I'll be asleep before 10:30 tonight. & hopefully will sleep good and be fully rested and ready to tackle these kids tomorrow (figuratively speaking, of course) :)

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Random

Is it just me or is twitter complicated? I created a twitter account a while back just to follow the RHONJ (I'm lame, I know) but never actually tweeted anything. Until today. GM said she had a twitter and wanted me to find her... It took me 10 minutes to do that. Then I spent another 15 minutes trying to figure out how to tweet her. Anyway, I am currently following 20 and have 1 follower... niiiice. I swear I'm not a stalker or anything.

Gavin's 4th day of school. He wakes up today and starts asking for Chick-Fil-A for lunch. The boy can't go a week without his Chick-Fil-A fix. So I got him some to take for lunch. I'm a sucker, I know. But I couldn't pass up the sweet tea... yummmm.

Hubbs got a new job & he starts Monday. I'm going to be so lonely. I've been spoiled having him home for the past three months and now he's back to work. While Gav is at school and hubb is at work, it will just be me and Kenna... I think we'll enjoy a nice 3 hour nap :)

Also.. Kenna has a new favorite word. Stinky. She looooveess to say stinky. It's so cute. I'm gonna try to get a video of her tomorrow to post!

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Mac N Cheese

This is hubb's grandmother's Mac N Cheese recipe, it has been in the family for years! Hubbs would kill me if I ever tried a different mac n cheese recipe, but no need to because this one is delicious!

1 lb. elbow macaroni
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 lb (1/2 big block) Velveeta cheese
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook the macaroni according to package directions. Drain. Cut the Velveeta into 1 inch cubes and set aside. In a large pot, melt the butter, then sprinkle in the flour. Whisk together over medium low heat to form a roux. Continue cooking for 4-5 minutes, whisking constantly (to keep from burning). Pour in the milk and dry mustard; whisk until smooth. Continue whisking constantly until the mixture is thickened. Reduce to low heat. Throw in the Velveeta and stir until melted. Add the seasonings to the pot and stir. Pour in the cooked, drained macaroni, and stir to combine. Transfer to a baking dish, and sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top. Bake for 20 minutes or until breadcrumbs are golden. Serve and enjoy!

You can also skip the macaroni part and just make the cheese sauce. It is delicious over broccoli and cauliflower! & is a great way to get the kids to eat their veggies! Yummm.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

What a nice day :)

Gav had a great second day of school :) He came home so happy today and said he had more fun today than he did yesterday. That made me happy! He did a scavenger hunt, sang songs, had story time, and bought his lunch at school (even though I packed him a lunch this morning) all by himself. I am so proud of him and happy that he is enjoying this new part of his life.

With Gav at school for 3 hours, and Kenna napping most of the time he is away I find myself getting a lot done. Today I cleaned the house, and completely made dinner, then had time to sit down on the couch and flip through the channels. It's nice having quiet time :) Anyway, since dinner was already made, all I had to do was stick it in the oven, and voila! We ate early tonight and then went for a walk around the neighborhood, and played at the park for a little bit.

When I downloaded the pictures, I guess I unplugged the camera before all the pictures were on the computer, and I only got like half of them :( Sucks. They're all deleted off the camera.. I'm not sure how it all happened but anyway here are a few pics from our walk...

Getting situated before we left

Gav thought she was falling, so he put his arm around her

Kenna is cutting two more teeth so she looked like this the whole time...

My sweet boy

My crazy girl

Oh! And yesterday I grabbed my pink nail polish and painted Kenna's toe nails... they're kind of messy because I had to do it fast! But from far away they look fine :)

Monday, August 23, 2010

1st day of school

Aahh he's at school. My little man is enduring his first day of school. His first day of being without Mommy, Daddy or another family member looking over him. He is with strangers; people that he will soon call his friends.

He went to bed kind of late last night, woke up around 10 this morning, picked out his toy story shirt, got dressed, and packed his lunch all by 10:30.




Then he sat and watched TV for a while before I got my camera out and started taking pictures. Before I knew it, we were at school, surrounded by other children and parents. Gav was quiet, and didn't say much. We had a parent meeting in the library, he got his name tag, and we headed to the cafeteria for lunch. Hubbs and I stayed with him for lunch today, and he told us about how he was excited for school and recess and story time, and puppet shows. He was so excited. Then lunch time was over and it was time for Mommy and Daddy to leave. I was not ready to leave yet. I watched him get in line behind his teacher, and walk out of the cafeteria with a smile on his face.


I was getting calls and texts while we were at the school so as soon as we left I started calling family members telling them how well he did. Telling them that he was such a big boy, explaining how proud of him I am. I thought today was going to be pretty hard for him, and that he might cry or have a hard time going to class without Mommy and Daddy. I guess it's just me, because I'm the one that teared up watching him walk in a single file line to class. He never even looked back to say bye, he was too excited for what was to come.


I cant wait to pick him up from school today and hear about how it went and what he did. I hope he has so much fun and makes new friends.

It's hard for me to see my little baby man growing up.



Saturday, August 21, 2010

Daily Routine

I was reading a fellow blogger's post about schedules today, when I realized I don't have a schedule. My life is chaotic and my kids aren't really on a schedule, we're kind of all over the place. Is that horrible? I sat down and tried to write out our daily routine, and I came up with something. A day in my life usually goes a little like this...

9am - Kenna wakes up and talks to herself for 10 minutes before I get up and get her. I change her diaper, and we quietly play in her room for a little bit.

9:30 - We head downstairs, and I turn on my morning talk show before Gavin gets up and SpongeBob takes over the TV. I start making breakfast while Kenna destroys the kitchen.

Gavin wakes up sometime between 9:30 and 10am.

10am - Breakfast is ready. I feed Kenna and pick her cup up off the floor 500 times because she thinks its funny, and finally decide to just take it away. Gavin is up by now and watching cartoons. He refuses to eat breakfast.

10:30 - Clean Kenna. Clean the highchair. Clean the table, floor, and dishes. Clean the disaster known as my kitchen that Hurricane Kenna destroyed while waiting for her breakfast. During this time she is usually in the living room, tormenting her brother.

11am - Head upstairs to get ready for our play date at the mall, water park, pool, friends house, or Chick-Fil-A. While I'm showering and getting dressed, the kids are either playing together nicely (which is rare), or fighting over toys (which is often).

11:30 - Argue with Gavin for 10 minutes about what he's going to wear today. "I want to wear my blue sweater and boots." It is 110 degrees outside, you're not wearing that. "Then find my Toy Story shirt, I'll wear it." You wore that the past two days, it's dirty. (That is his favorite shirt and he wants to wear it every. single. day.) "Ugh, fine then I'm going naked." No you're not. Come here and put this on.

11:45 - I get Kenna changed and dressed. Brush both kid's teeth. Look all over the house for matching shoes, find them and put them on.

Noon - Head out the door, 15 minutes late, inevitably forgetting something.

12pm-2pm - We have a play date and lunch or we run errands.

2:15 - We get home, and I put Kenna down for a nap.

2:15-3:45 - Kenna naps. I play with Gavin, start laundry, pick up toys, read blogs, find something to make for dinner, and take a 5 minute nap.

3:45 - Kenna wakes up. We head downstairs and have a snack.

4pm - Play with the kiddos, reading books, building lincoln log houses, making tents in the bunk bed, playing house, or shooting each other with G.I. Joes and robots. Pick up toys.

5pm - Fold laundry from earlier (yes, I do laundry pretty much every day). Start preparing dinner while kids run around in circles chasing each other or the dogs. Discipline kids, make dinner, yell at kids to calm down and behave, cook dinner, threaten kids that they will go to bed without dinner if they don't simmer down and stop running through the kitchen.

6pm - Dinner is ready. Set the table, make both the kids plates, cut up their food, blow on it until its cool, and get drinks for each of them.

6:20 - Kids are situated. I finally make my plate and sit down to eat.

6:30 - Everyone is done with dinner, except me. Wipe down kids; hands, mouth, face, arms, and ears (how they get food in all those places, I will never know.) Hurry and finish my plate.

6:45 - I'm done with my plate. I clean off the table, and follow the kids into the living room to relax for a little while. My mother in law cleans the kitchen since I made dinner, isn't that sweet? :)

7pm - I head upstairs and start the kid's baths.

7:20 - They're clean and bored in the bathtub. I get them out, dry them off, lotion them up, and put jammies on.

7:40 - Ahh we're almost to bed time. We go to Gav's room and put on a movie or read books.

8pm - Kenna goes to bed.

Gav goes to bed sometime between 9 and 10.

From 10-12 I spend my time catching up on DVR'd shows, writing blog posts, or snuggling with hubbs. Then we get up tomorrow morning and start it all over again!

Are you exhasted yet? I get exhausted just thinking about it. I'm sure when Gavin starts school on Monday we will develop a new and improved daily routine, or at least I hope so.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

School & New Shoes

We went to Gav's school tonight, took a tour, met his teacher, played in his classroom, and went over the daily routine. It was so much fun, seeing where he's going to be learning and playing and having fun. I'm very excited for him. This is the start of a whole new chapter of his life, and I really think he's going to enjoy this first year of school.

And I feel like I'm going to get a little taste of freedom, in the three hours a day he's at school. I will be able to run errands, prepare dinner, play with Kenna, clean the house, do laundry, take a nap.... ahh it will be nice :) Tomorrow we've got to go get school supplies, a backpack and a lunch box, I think Gav will get a little more excited once we do that. He loved the classroom though... he thinks its so cool that he has a locker with his name on it. I will be taking him to school Monday, and staying with him for lunch, then he is off on his own and I'm hoping it wont be too hard for him... or me.

Check out Kenna's adorable new{ish} shoes. I got them for her a few weeks ago and think they're the cutest things ever!


& here she is with Bosco. Can you tell what she is saying?
"doh dohh" = dog

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

A little more than random thoughts

There are five dogs in my house right now. Our boxer, my Mother in law's two dogs, a schnauzer and a jack russel, I'm pet sitting my Mom's chihuahua for two weeks while she is out of town, and my brother in law is pet sitting his friends dog, and saint bernard puppy. It is total chaos over here. The two big dogs have been running all over the house all day long, knocking down everything in their path, including the kids. The chihuahua is unfriendly and mean.. he hates the other dogs and the kids. And the older dogs are not happy that their house has been taken over by all these mutts.
 
In other news, I have been getting stuff ready for Gavin to start school next week. He will be starting Pre-K on Monday, he'll go for three hours a day and he is not looking forward to it. We're going to meet the teacher night at his school tomorrow so I'm looking forward to that & hoping Gav will be excited for school once he meets his teacher and sees his classroom. So I've been cleaning out his dresser and closet, getting rid of clothes that are too small, and making room for new school clothes. While I was at it, I decided to go through Kenna's clothes, and all of their toys and donate the things they don't play with anymore. It's been a productive week so far! Today we went school clothes shopping, then came home and took a nap, and now its time to make dinner and finish laundry. My day never ends!
 
Photobucket

I'm participating in the 30 day blog challenge, starting today :)

Monday, August 16, 2010

Random Monday Thoughts

GM went home today :( I miss her already.

My baby boy will be starting school next week. For the very first time... I might loose it a little.

If my daughter was my first born, I probably would not have had any more kids. That child gives me a run for my money; she's nothing like her brother.

My mom went out of town this morning and I'm already sick of watching her little Chihuahua... He's the meanest little thing you've ever seen.

I got lazy and bored of trying new recipes... So instead of doing it for 7 days... I knocked it down to 5.

Last night's True Blood was a little disappointing.

I'm excited to sit down {alone} tonight and watch Bachelor Pad and RHONJ in peace and quiet. (I don't live for TV, I swear.)

That movie Date Night... It's pretty funny and totally relatable. You should watch it.

I want the charms I just ordered from Ebay to hurry up and get here already.

Ugh. I'm stuffed from dinner and ready to put the kids to bed but it's only 6:30!!!

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Day 5 - Edna Mae's Sour Cream Pancakes

Yesterday was day five - Sour Cream Pancakes.

Total disappointment for me. Hubbs was so excited for a new, exciting take on pancakes. He ended up disappointed too. I'm not even sure why these sounded good to us because thinking about it now, sour cream and pancakes don't sound good together at all. Anyway, I made these for breakfast yesterday and they were too 'mushy' for me. Hubbs said they weren't fluffy enough, Kenna ate them up pretty fast, but that girl will eat anything. And Gavin, well he doesn't really like to try new things and when he heard me say I didn't like them, he wasn't about to try them.

As for today, I'm taking a break. After everyone in my house gobbled up the Blueberry Crumb Cake, they begged me to make another one, and I did yesterday, that one did not last long, and they're asking for another one already! I'm telling you, you have to try that stuff... It's so good! Plus, Granny Mam (my wonderful grandma) is visiting, so we're going to make a big pot of fried spaghetti, and enjoy some delicious comfort food tonight. I'll be back with a new recipe review tomorrow.

Hope you're enjoying your weekend :)

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Day 4 - Chicken Fried Steak

I have made chicken fried steak before, and it always turns out good. I usually just season the flour with salt and pepper, but The Pioneer Woman's recipe calls for Lawry's seasoned salt and to coat it twice in the egg wash and flour for an extra thick and crispy breading. Annd she makes her own gravy... something I have always been too intimidated to do. I usually use the little pouch of gravy mix from the grocery store but have wanted to learn to make my own gravy. Tonight I did. & it was SO much tastier than the gravy mix I use. I will never use the pouch again... It is home made gravy for me from now on. I will also continue using Lawry's seasoned salt in my flour because it gave the breading great flavor. Tonight's dinner was a hit with everyone. I am horrible at blogging about my cooking experiences... I never remember to take a picture of the finished product before I start scarfing it down. So... sorry ya'll but I dont have a photo for you.

Did I mention GM drove in to visit us today? And she is staying for a few days :) Yippeeee!
GM and Kenna sharing a giggle :)

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Day 3 - French Breakfast Puffs

It's day three of my 'try a new recipe every day' week & this time I chose Ree Drummond's French Breakfast Puffs.



I'll be honest, I was a little afraid of how these were going to turn out. The recipe calls for shortening, which I never use, hence why I didn't have any on hand and chose to substitute with butter. I was afraid they weren't going to be 'fluffy' enough. I was wrong, again. They turned out great! And were SO easy to make. I love that I can freeze them so I'll have some on hand for those mornings where I don't have time to make breakfast. & did I mention the kids love these? They're coated in cinnamon sugar... Of course the kids love them! And you will too so go make a batch!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Day 2 - Potato Skins

Today was my second day of trying new recipes. I went with one I thought was going to be easy peesy. It wasn't as easy as I thought. I tried Ree's Potato Skins. Potato Skins are one of Hubbs favorite foods, I've never made them, and the recipe seemed so easy. So I gave it a try...

This isn't the best picture but I had to get one fast before everyone ate all the skins!

Yuuummy. They were very delish. However, scooping out the potato while trying to keep the skin in tact is a little more difficult than it sounds. You should still try it though. It was all worth it.

I searched Ree's website and couldn't find this recipe but it is in her cook book if you want to give it a try.

Monday, August 9, 2010

Cooking

Let me start by saying I have a passion for cooking. I am not the best at it, but I love learning new tips & tricks and trying new recipes. My Mother in law has two bookshelves in the kitchen both stuffed full of nothing but cookbooks. & I love flipping through the books and finding something new to try for dinner. Sometimes I make a delicious meal, and other times it ends up going in the trash because no one can stand to eat it (yes, that has happened a few times). Nonetheless, I enjoy making a nice home cooked meal for my family and all of us sitting around the dinner table eating it up; so the rewards outweigh the occasional embarrassments.

With all that being said, I was laying in bed Friday night, flipping through the channels. Enjoying a moment to watch whatever I want on TV because it is Shark Week and my husband has had our TV on the Discovery Channel all. week. long.

I found Julie & Julia on one of the movie channels. I had heard of this movie before but never watched any of it so I decided to watch the first few minutes and see what it was all about. Once I started watching, I couldn't stop. & I found it quite inspiring. When the movie was over, I came downstairs, logged into blogger, and somehow stumbled across this blog. What a coincidence, right? After reading her blog I started looking for the cookbook she's using and finally found Ree Drummond's site. I browsed through some of her recipes and decided I need her cookbook! Her recipes sound so yummy!!! And I want to try all of them. I immediately ordered the book on amazon and then went back to her site to find a recipe to try right away.

Don't get your hopes up ;) I will not be working my way through the whole book and blogging about every recipe I make... That is too much work. But one of the tasks on my 101 in 1001 list is to try a new recipe every day for a week... I will be using her recipes, and I started that task today...

I made her Blueberry Crumb Cake. & Oh my gosh. It was deeeelicious. Hubbs tore into it and the kids gobbled it up real fast. It will definitely be added to my collection of recipes. Yum yum! Also, my book came today! Now its time to go find something to try tomorrow :)

Monday - Blueberry Crumb Cake
Tuesday - Potato Skins
Wednesday - French Breakfast Puffs
Thursday - Chicken Fried Steak
Friday - Sour Cream Pancakes


PS... Did you realize today is 8.9.10

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Circus Time

We went to the Circus yesterday. I never went as a child so this was my first time to go. I was excited about going and I was excited for the kids because I knew they would enjoy it. But there was some doubt in my mind as to whether I would have a good time. Every time I hear about the Circus, the thought of the instructors abusing or hurting the animals always lingers in the back of my mind. I can't stand that thought. However, I figured once I got to the Circus and saw the animals and saw my children's faces light up in excitement, those horrible thoughts of what the animals go through would not be present.

I was wrong. So wrong.

I could barely stand to watch because the animals looked so sad and helpless. It made me sad.

Not to mention, I am terribly afraid of heights and just watching the acrobats hanging 50 feet above me, freaks me out. It put knots in my stomach. Ick. The Circus was not a good place for me.

Gavin had a great time, though. He was dancing to the music, laughing at the clowns, and amazed by the animals. The Circus left him with a lasting impression and he's already begging to go back. Next time, Daddy will have to take him.

Gavin and Auntie

Gavin's eyes were glued to the stage

Kenna on the other hand, my wild child, I thought she would be totally into it.

She slept through the whole first half.

Woke up during intermission, and stuffed her pretty little face with popcorn the whole second half.
She wasn't at all impressed. Guess she's just like Mommy.

Go to the Circus.

Friday, August 6, 2010

What? I got an award??

Yes! I got two!!! My first blog awards!! I'm so excited! & thankful! A big thank you to Mandy at Mommy Musings for both of these awards :)


The rules for this award are to thank the person who gave you the award, share ten things about yourself, pass this award onto ten bloggers who you recently discovered and think are fantastic and finally contact the bloggers to let them know you’ve picked them for an award.


Ten Things About Me:

1. My favorite color is RED.

2. I secretly wish I was Italian :)

3. I have a mild obsession with True Blood.

4. I have had three jobs my whole life.


5. I want between three and five kids. {It varies from day to day.}

6. I love, love, loovvveeee to cook.

7. I dip almost everything I eat in Ranch dressing. & both of my children do the same. Hubbs thinks this is absolutely disgusting.

8. I am allergic to the sun. {It is quite ridiculous, I know. I break out in a horrible rash from head to toe if I don't put loads of sunblock on before going to the pool.}

9. I actually like gardening. But can't keep a plant/flower alive for more than a week.

10. I have never had surgery & would like to keep it that way {until I get my boobs done}.



Now onto 10 great bloggers to pass both of these awards onto.....










Monday, August 2, 2010

Typical Monday Morning

Well, maybe not a typical Monday morning but... pretty close.

I just fed Kenna lunch. I take her out of high chair and let her run around while I'm cleaning the kitchen. Gavin's sitting at the bar eating some pizza flavored goldfish, and Kenna starts begging for one (yes, like a dog). Kris reaches down and gives her one. Two seconds later, she's choking. I turn around and Kris is like "She's okay....." I go.. "NO she's NOT okay!! Pick her up!!" As soon as he picks her up to start patting her back... all of her lunch comes flying up from her stomach, out of her mouth, and all over Kris and the floor.

The next words out of Kris' mouth... "Oh my God. She just threw up all over me. TAKE HER."

I grab her from Kris and head upstairs to clean her off and I hear "I did it too." Then I hear Kris go "You've got to be kidding me!!!!" Gavin has a weak stomach & couldn't take the sight of Kenna's throw up, so he ran to the other side of the house but it still wasn't far enough away & he ended up throwing up too.

This has happened before. It is totally disgusting cleaning up both kids vomit in one day. But I found it kind of comical today because Kris was holding her when it happened. & in her whole (almost) 14 months of life, she has not once peed or pooped on Kris, so this was amusing for me. Plus, all I had to do was run her upstairs and throw her in the bath tub. I left Kris down here to clean up both piles of throw up. I mean, it was kind of his fault for not patting her back sooner to keep her from coughing so hard she threw up.

Then from upstairs I hear him saying "I can't believe she choked on a measly little goldfish. The kid eats popcorn with two teeth and she chokes on a goldfish?!"

Hahaha. That's all I have to say.

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