Hang on gang....we are on our way! See you soon.

Are You Kidding Me?

I don't think this has ever happened to us before- all three kids are currently on antibiotics for strep. Maci came in first with Andy following 6 days later and then Aaron joined the party today. Thank goodness for a doc that writes 3 Rx's at the first appointment. She knew how this was going to go down. Now...anyone know a doc that will write a "just in case Rx" for Brad and me? Otherwise we may be looking for a doc in the crowd at Disney!

Finally! An Announcement!

I've been waiting. And waiting. And waiting for my niece Jana to make her announcement to the blogging world. Finally the day has arrived. So since it has now been shouted from Facebook to Blogger let me shout it too-- Jana is having a baby!!!

This is the first baby in our family in the last 17 years that hasn't required me throwing up, gaining 30 pounds, going into labor, and waking up at all hours of the day and night. FINALLY a baby I can snuggle and play with yet pass off when she cries or poops.

Hooray! Hooray for Matt & Jana. Hooray for the new generation of baby mommas. Hooray for new tradiitons...I gotta come up with a tradition...my sister always sends a big box of goodies to my kids on Vday. I need a tradition like that for this kiddo. Maybe Easter packages? Maybe 4th of July? Hooray for tiny little feet and pretty little noses. Hooray for that Johnsons & Johnsons shampoo smell and hooray for a reason to shop at Babies R Us.

So many reasons to just say HOORAY!

Ashley's Chicken Enchiladas- Kicked up a Notch

We like Ashley's chicken enchiladas- alot. We also like spice- alot. So here is the recipe for Ashley's enchilads kicked up a notch on the spice scale.

diced cooked chicken

1 can medium enchilada sauce

1 can hot enchilada sauce

1 can chopped green chiles

large flour tortillas

small container of sour cream

1 package of Ranch mix

couple handfulls of cheese

jalepenos

Combine the chicken, medium enchilada sauce, green chiles, sour cream, ranch mix, and 1 handfull of cheese. Spoon mixture into flour tortillas. Line flour tortillas in a caserole dish. I use the square Pampered Chef stoneware. It fits 4 large tortillas. Pour the hot enchilada sauce on top. Sprinkle on the other handfull of cheese. Add jalepenos to the top. Make it looke pretty. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake another 10 minutes or so. Let it sit another 10 minutes or so.

It's Me on Voki!

Get a Voki now!


Get a Voki now!

BF- It IS a Good Thing

I love love love Black Friday. I also love love love preparing for Black Friday. If you are still preparing the night before, you are way behind the times. Sites like Black Friday Ads begin posting weeks ahead of time. You can also sign up for email updates. The email updates let you know about the before BF sales as well. Brad and I caught a *major* deal last week for the kids! Another feautre is the list creation option. As you scan the ads, simply click to save the items you are interested in. Items are sorted by store and when you print it out the night before you are given a handy dandy organized list.

Additional points of interest- Toys R Us opens at 12:01 this year. Old Navy opens at 3am. Target is at 5am. Best Buy is 7am. No news yet on Wal-Mart. So....the possibility of shopping all night is looking pretty good. Old Navy will have jeans for $15 and kids jeans for $10. They are also offering Lego RockBand game FREE with any $20 purchase--while supplies last.

See how fun it is? Look at these people....don't they look like they are having fun? Clearly these are prepared shoppers. They are taking advantage of the day to the fullest possible potential.

See these people...rummaging through the paper while they wait in line. They don't look happy. They look unprepared. Sad day for them. They will likely miss out on some of the best deals.

Learn from their ignorance. (Bless their hearts.) Do your homework and have a fabulous Black Friday!

Mm Mm Good

Now is the time to stock up on all your Campbell's Soup needs. Grocery stores are going to be having sales like crazy for the holidays. WalMart has veggies for 50cents right now by the way. Anyway, you *always* need cream of mushroom and cream of chicken soup in the pantry. Always. They are the perfect base for so many recipes including these:

Baked Potato Soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

2 "can-fulls" of milk

1 small carton sour cream

cooked bacon pieces

diced green onion

couple handulls of shredded cheese (I use mont. jack / colby mix)

2 cooked and diced potatoes

Start by popping those taters into the microwave. While they are *baking* go ahead and pour in both soups and the milk. Stir well. Add in the sour cream, bacon pieces, and green onion. Continue to stir and when it is heated through, add the cheese. By now your taters should be ready. Dice them up (I leave the skin on but that's just me) and drop them in. SOOO easy and SOOO yum!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can milk

1 bag frozen broccoli pieces

pepper

cut up velvetta cheese (about *that* much)

Cook the broccoli as directed. Drain. Add in soup and milk. Heat through. Add cheese. Let simmer until broccoli gets to desired tenderness. This one is even easier and still sooo yummy. It also takes fabulous with crumbled ritz pieces on the top.

Both of those recipes came from me taking pieces of other recipes and then changing howthecrapever I wanted or needed to. Recipes are just a guide. Use them accordingly.

But now baking...that is a different story. There is a science to baking. Recipes must be followed there. Exactly why I don't blog about baking. I'm not really into the rule following part of it.

Mistreatments Take Two

This mistreatment is my first sewing project since 8th grade. For real. Perfect? No. Lovely? Yes! They appear a little uneven in the picture because...well because... they may be a little uneven. But in real life they are up way high and it's not noticeable. I haven't lost a wink of sleep over the matter actually.

I made these curtains for the boys' room out of a flat sheet and a dust ruffle. See that header thing...that was tricky. Yes Mother, they are still wrinkled. Don't worry. Those wrinkles will fall out- eventually. Plus, the boys don't care.

Future Mistreatment

Ok, THIS shower curtain from Anna's Linens will be perfect for my dinging room! Click on the picture to make it big and see the detail. The colors will be fabulous with the new decor of the downstairs. The big question is the *how to* for this one. Should I get two and make panels? Just do a valance type topper? Maybe add fringe to it and make a straight topper? Hmm...ideas anyone?

$12.48

See that huge clock? (Like you could miss it!) It was on clearance at Target for $12.48! Check those endcaps girlies. Check those endcaps. You never know when a treasure will be back there hiding. Now the story won't be complete without adding that originally the hands were a bit "floppy" but my daddy fixed them!

Mistreatments Take One

Before. Please don't laugh at my ivy. It served me well for many many (many) years.
After. This is my first take at a mistreatment. I found a darling zebra shower curtain at Target. Yes I said shower curtain. But that part doesn't matter. What matters is that it is a darling zebra print. Add that to my red bathroom and I have a fabulous window mistreatment as well as a nod to my high school alma mater. The how to part wasn't too bad either. Add a few curtain clips to attach to the top. I folded instead of cut because I may actually want to use it as a shower curtain one day. It took a couple safety pins and about 30 minutes of playing around to get it folded and pinned like I wanted it. It could take less time if you aren't as picky. I eventually gave up on perfection and went with "looks good to me." This is a crappy picture...I'll try to remember to get a better one and try again. Keep checking back....many more mistreatments to come!

This Is What FIRST Place Pirates Look Like

Way to go Porter Ridge 6th Grade Girls!!! They worked more hours on this than you can imagine and it all payed off as they accepted thtat FIRST place trophy! Stop the music below before you press play.