Highlights from "The Patch"

Here's a few highlights from our recent field trips to the Pumpkin Patch...

Aaron showing off his Pumpkin on the hay ride.

Aaron on the train ride.

Here is a pic of Aaron's whole class in "Jail".  It was tempting to leave a few of them in there...

I love the look on his face here.

He actually fell asleep on the bus ride home...even with all of the "singing".

Here is Ty on his field trip.

Ty and Mason...silly little animals.

Here is Ty showing off his "Green" pumpkin.

Ty and his preschool class.  Yes, it is all boys and yes, his teacher is a saint.

Silly face on the train...

I love fall! Happy Halloween y'all!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is hands down my favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.  Yumminess...

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cube butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups flour

1 1/2 cup *blended* oatmeal

{Measure then throw it in the blender or food processor and blend into a powder}

1/2 tsp salt 1/2 of an8 oz Hershey bar *finely grated or blended like the oats above*

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans or walnuts

12 oz semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.

cream the sugars together with the butter.

Add eggs and vanilla; beat together.

Add flour, salt, baking powder, baking, soda, blended oats, and shaved chocolate;mix well.

Add chocolate chips and nuts; mix until combined.

Grease a cookie sheet and roll dough into balls and place onto cookie sheet. 

Bake for about 10 minutes.

Good luck with your will power tonight...

Embrace the Camera: October 28th

Another field trip to the pumpkin Patch...with the first graders. Some how I ended up loading on to the school bus with Aaron and then looking out the window I noticed all of the other Mom's lined up on the side walk waving "Good-bye". {Smart women!} They all drove peacefully to the pumpkin Patch with their relaxing music and venti coffees. I on the other hand got to listen to the sweet chorus of children saying,

"Trick or treat, 

Smell my feet.

Give me something good to eat, 

if you don't I don't care,

I'll pull down your underwear!"

Over and over and over again all the way there and all the way back! Oh, what a special experience it was. 

For real though, I had a great time with Aaron. .

Julie {AKA Aunt Auntie} was also able to go with us.  {She drove her own car...}

Wanna' link up with fellow "embracers"?  Click here.

Will work for Quarters...

I can basically get Ty to do anything these days for a quarter.  The problem is he wants to "work" all the time.  I guess there are worse problems to have, but at this rate, he's gonna break the bank!

Here he is walking Ginger {our dog} for a quarter. 

*WARNING*

He does not pick up after her so neighbors beware.

He is actually disappointed when he wakes up in the morning to find out that Daddy is at work.  Not necessarily because he wants to see him, because he wants to "get to work".

He doesn't know that you've gotta keep working until you retire. I sure hope that work ethic of his continues.

It's raining it's pouring...

We are in the midst of our first real rain storm of the season and I absolutely love it! Of course I say that when I am cozy in the house...during school drop off and pick up, not so much.  
Apparently I passed on my "i love the rain" gene to Aaron because Mr. Aaron has been obsessed! He has been looking out the windows and just smiling and sighing and saying how much he loves this world.  If only we all appreciated it that much.  Anyway, he has been BEGGING to go out side and play in the rain so I finally gave in and he LOVED it.

Who wants to swing in the rain?  Aaron!

I know a few of these turned out a little blurry, but I had to share the joyful smile that was plastered to his face the whole time he was out there.

Before Aaron was done, he decided to catch some rain on his tongue...

I know I am obviously biased, but he is so dang cute!

Better late than never!

Embrace the Camera: October 22nd 2010

I know I'm a day late {and usually a dollar short} but it was a CRAZY day yesterday.  I have been sick with a doozy of a cold that turned into a horrible sinus infection, both boys have been sick, my local mall was set on fire {which has totally traumatized my children by the way} and as if this wasn't enough excitement for one day, my Mom backed into my car too!  Whew!  So with all that out of the way let's pretend today is Thursday and Embrace the Camera...

Here's a pic of Ty and I at the Pumpkin Patch on his preschool field trip.  This is on the hay ride on our way to pick out the perfect green pumpkin.  {Ty's choice} We had a great time...

Happy Day Y'all!

Pinto bean corn relish

This is a yummy dish and really versatile. A little sweet a little salty and a little spicy and a lotta yummy.  It's good served hot or cold with chips and it is also really good on top of a salad with some grilled chicken and tortilla strips. mmm...my mouth is watering right now.

Ingredients:

2 cans pinto beans drained and rinsed

{you could use black if you prefer}

2 cups frozen sweet white corn

1 large diced onion

1 large red bell pepper

1 Tbsp. diced jalapenos

{you can take a bit from a can and freeze the rest or use a small fresh one.  you be the judge as far as the spice-o-meter goes.}

1/4 cup sugar

3 tbsp cider vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat a large skillet to medium high heat. Add a few Tbsp. EVOO. When it's warm add your onions and peppers. Cook until soft {about 5 minutes}. Add sugar, corn and beans. Cook until slightly browned then add vinegar and a little  extra EVOO.

Child Labor

I know child labor is frowned upon these days, but I swear he likes it.  Not to mention, it's so much cheaper than hiring a carpenter.  

We {and I use this term loosely, i do a lot of talking and finger pointing, J does the heavy lifting.} are refinishing our hallway cabinets and tearing out the carpet in the hallway {our highest traffic area}.  I'll post some pix when it's all done, but let me just say, I am so gosh darn excited!  It's coming along beautifully!  =)

Looky here, our little "workerman" even feeds the "boss" McDonald's french fries when they are on a break. 

Some paint and stain: $13.00
Child Labor: 4 quarters and 1 penny
Some quality time with Daddy: Priceless

***update: Ty is in all black because it is part of his SWAT Halloween outfit.  It's not a mandatory work uniform.

Simplify

So I have been trying to think of ways to simplify my chaotic life lately and one thing {small I know} was to merge my family blog with my recipe blog. I figured it would simplify things a little bit for everyone. A little one stop shopin', ya' know? Just in case any one out there is curious on how to merge two blogs together, this little tutorial was super easy to follow. Click here.

So anyway, I made a little label for all the recipes and a handy dandy search button that way if you are looking for something, you don't have to sift through all the months of posts. I test everything on my family first, so only "approved " items will show up here. I must admit though, a lot of my favorite recipe's are ooey gooey sweets. I do try to balance it out, just know that I eat my dinner so I can have dessert. =D Enjoy!

No-Bake Cookies

These cookies are seriously addicting and super easy too! I could eat them for breakfast lunch and dinner...no joke. The best thing about them {besides the flavor} is that you don't have to turn on your oven!

Ingredients:



1 3/4 cups white sugar

1/2 cup milk

1 stick butter {1/2 cup}

4 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup chunky peanut butter

3 cups quick cooking oats

1 tsp vanilla extract



Directions:



Lay out a few sheets of wax paper on the counter {equivalent to about 2 cookie sheets} and forget about them for a minute.

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, milk, butter and cocoa powder. Bring it to a boil and cook for about 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the rest of the ingredients. Drop by the spoonful onto the wax paper and let them cool for a bit.

Voila...You have some scrum-diddly-umptious cookies in a snap!

Embrace the Camera: October 14th 2010

I'm keepin' it short and sweet today. Almost time for after school pick up and I still have a thousand and one things on my to do list...what else is new right?
So here's a little tickle time action with Aaron. That kid is probably the most ticklish child I know! I could basically show him "the claw" with out even touching him and get fits of giggles. It's fantastic!

Remember my last post about the genius idea of "embracing the camera"? Well my friend Emily is the one who came up with it. Emily and her family are adopting a little orphan from Africa. Her name is Elsabeth {yes the spelling is correct} and they want to bring her home. Emily came up with another "genius" idea to get the community involved. If you want to learn more, check out her blog {click here}. It's her story, so I'm not going to tell it...besides, she tells the story perfectly. It's really quite touching. Share the love and have a great Wednesday!

Embrace the Camera: Oct. 7th

My fellow blogger, photographer, mommy friend {Emily Anderson}came up with this idea and I think it's genius!

So here is the inspiration behind "Embrace the Camera"...
Way back when I was growing up, there was no such thing as digital cameras. We all know how difficult it is to get a good shot of your kids, but then to try and get a good shot of you and the kids together back in the film days was nearly impossible!
So, I have decided to join all the cool kids and embrace the camera.

The idea is to get out from behind your camera and take pictures with your kids. Some days I may not be looking greatest {which is usually why I'm behind the lens} but I have decided to "embrace" it. So please, just ignore the grubby sweats and enjoy the moment K?
Times a flyin' and I don't want to forget all these precious moments.

So my first entry is of Ty and I enjoying a snuggle. I really am having a blast with all of our one on one time lately. He can be a wee bit crazy at times, but sweet moments like this more than make up for it.

Wanna' join the cool kids? Click the button on my side bar or click here and Emily has all the instructions on her blog. Enjoy!

Check out this cutie-patootie!

I know people are always talking about how cute their kids are, but in my completely unbiased opinion, Aaron looks ADORABLE in his new glasses. Lucky for me he loves them too!

Dance Machine

As promised, here's a snippet of Aaron and his Dance moves. Unfortunately it turned out a bit dark, but let me just say, it was frickin' adorable! He was a total ladies man {no surprise there} and danced with whoever was willing, but mostly Lily. At the end of the night, he was thoroughly exhausted. He said he had a great day and that he loves dance wedding parties!

Aaron and Avery

Marcel and Lily---Aaron and Annette

Beckie was gettin' down too!

Oh, Happy Day!

My little sister {Beckie} got married to a great guy {Marcel} last weekend. It turned out beautiful and everyone had a lot of fun. Here's some highlights form their special day...

Marcel, his sister Tanesha and Beckie at the rehearsal/set up the night before the big day.

Ty, Aaron and Avery {one of the flower girls}

Ty, Avery and Aaron all spiffed up and looking ADORABLE {if I do say so myself} for the wedding.

Beckie and the Father of the bride {Bill}all ready to go.

Smooch

Mr. and Mrs. Ross


The wedding party

The happy couple.

Our Grandma and Grandpa...they have been married for 64 years!


Cutting the cake...they were really nice and sweet to each other. No cake smashing here just two newly married, civilized adults. {So unlike my wedding but that's another story! ;) }

Jeremy and I...married for 11 years now!


How cute is this kid? I mean seriously!

Mason and Ty...Best buddies

I know this is not "the best" picture of the bouquet toss, but I have to bring your attention away from the bride {for just a moment} to look at my sister Julie {black dress, arms out} in the background. Do you think she wants that bouquet? Oh yeah, she wants it bad...no one is getting past her!

Look closer still, she is in a choke hold! Marcel's sister Annette seems to want it just as badly...funny part is neither of them ended up with it. Play nice next time ladies!

The Garter toss...the guys played fair.

All the wedding "work" is done, let the party begin.

No one knows how to get a dance party started like Aaron...people kept commenting that he was like a professional "crumper". He is dancing with Lily {Marcel's niece}. More to come on this...I have video.

My mom and her sisters...they were a HUGE help!


Remember this day always. Love you guys!