Time wasters.....or not.....

Do you have a blog that you HAVE to look at EVERY day. Sadly I have 4......

PW woman's for new recipes and giveaways....sigh....I love her blog. Ohh and her photography section is just so helpful not that I could ever come even close to what she can do but I am learning and having fun with it!!!

MacMamas for inspiration and a good read!!!!

Food gawker of course....the reason why there are drool stains on my pillow. I usually check that one out before I head to bed.....ohh me ohh my if you don't have sweet dreams after looking at those delicious recipes than there is something wrong with you.

Craft gawker....this one is my new favorite.....people just simply amaze me with their talents sometime.

Yup it's soup season.....

Yes a stolen photo...ehhhh hem...Cheri (you really know your PW woman)!!! Very yummy if you like cauliflower. Next time I will not use the celery though just because Neal is not a fan. Also looking at the ingredients again I realized that i did not use the sour cream and the soup was still delicious. Conner has always liked soups too so this was a hit with him. He ate 2 bowls of it and it has been the most he has eaten in a long long time. HERE is the recipe.

SO excited....

My new lens for my camera will be on it's way tomorrow!!!

All the single ladies....

check out these MOVES.

Might be making some people mad BUT....

I'm thinking of deleting my blog and starting a diary instead :) We will see ....

Crazy video.....gotta see it!!!

Biggest snake ever found dead!!!

I love me a good deal....

They are so silly!!

.99 cents each at the Children's place.... can't beat that for brand new jamies. They do make Conner look a little sick tho....that boy is skin and bones. Ethan has a lot more meat on him :) Hey did anyone read about the 19.2 pound baby that was born this week.....ohhh my word that's bigger than our big boy Ethan by 4#'s!!!!!

Sorry to dissappoint....

No new recipes today!!!! Had a busy morning and trying to catch up with a few things this afternoon which means that I should NOT be on here :) Just throwing a bbq chicken pizza together for supper. I have to say that I'm a bit glum today must be this weather. I've had a headache for the last few days and I think it might be a migraine by the end of the day. Need some sunshine!!!! While driving this morning I was noticing that the leaves are really starting to turn, it's so incredibly pretty but just the idea of whats coming next is depressing to me. I DO NOT like winter!!! Our days at the parks and playgrounds are numbered so I better take advantage of the weather while it's still nice.

Food is on my mind....

SO I have been a bit lazy lately with exercising and watching what I eat but I'm back to being determined to loose a few more pounds. I guess more so to try and stay in shape more than anything. Neal went running with me the other day and it felt so good to keep up with him and even do a little better than him....not that I'm bragging or anything...haha. Ok maybe I am a little but most of you know how competitive he is and how he always has to be the best so I like to give him a hard time. ANYWHO....food has just been constantly on my mind. Not sure what is going on but it needs to stop. And NOOOOOOO I am not pregnant!!!! I think it's just the fact that it's fall and I love to bake and cook in the fall. So I am searching once again tonight for a new recipe to try tomorrow....hmmmmm what will it be. Hopefully I find something good that I can share with you all. The last few new ones I've tried have not been impressive :( I'm also learning how to bake bread....it's been interesting around here especially with my little helper Conner and the fun he likes to have with flour :)

Almost finished.....

Choooo chooooo "twain" !!!! A thanks to Amber's great uncle for the idea!!! He made a school bus crayon holder and I just LOVED the idea so I went to Menards to see if I could find some wood scraps. I found this piece and it only cost .75 cents and they even cut the pieces for me the chimney thing was .99 cents so I decided to go ahead and make this for Conner. I know that he will like it and maybe it will encourage him to actually put his crayons back where they came from :) Still have to figure something out for the wheels so when the kids wake up from their naps I hope to make a trip to good will and see if I get lucky and find something VERY inexpensive that would work. I really don't want to have to cut them out with a jig saw :p plus the jig saw is in storage so not sure if I could even find it.

Super easy super yummy cookies....

A friend shared this with me and I love this idea for quick Easy and yummy cookies.

1 spice cake mix ( I suppose that you could use any kind of cake mix)

1/2 cup of oil

2 eggs

Mix together and bake like any other cookie. 375* for 6-9 minutes.
I also rolled mine in sugar and pressed them down with a for like you would a pb cookie then of course to make a good thing better I drizzled some melted white chocolate on top :) yummmmmm!!!

Weekend plans...

Well we had so many plans for this past weekend unfortunately Neal and the kids were sick and most of those plans fell through for us but we managed to make the most of it. On Friday we were going to see my Mom for her b-day but did not want to get them all sick so instead we took our germs to the general public....kinda. We drove over an hour to go to an apple orchard since we don't have anything too much closer to our house. It came highly recommended by many people. I'm not sure what these people were thinking recommending it to us because it was probably the worst apple orchard I have been to and ridiculously expensive not to mention that you could not pick your own apples. We got a muffin then decided to try and find a place where Conner could play for a while. 3 petting zoo things came up on our GPS ALLLLL of which were closed....so disappointing. SO after driving around for about 3 or 4 hours we came home and took turns sleeping since we were all under the weather and tired and a bit cranky. On Saturday we were going to go to Mallory's 3rd b-day party but once again we did not want to get them all sick especially before their vacation. SO we stayed home and did absolutely nothing. Sunday Neal and Mike went to the Bears game in Chicago. They had a really nice time even tho they got soaked. They have been so incredibly excited about this game for so long now. I packed the kids up and went to Rockford for my moms b-day. We had a really nice time!!!! Neal was still off on Monday so he spoiled me and took me Ikea. I have been wanting to go for so long now. We got Conner's b-day presents so now I don't even have to worry about that which is nice. We met Neal's Dad in Elgin for lunch and then on our way home we stopped at his parents house for supper. We got to eat outside which was amazing. The weather was perfect and Conner had fun playing with bubbles and watering gma's plants. Now we are back to reality. Neal's back at work and I'm back to starting new projects but I really need to finish the ones that are already started.

A picture from the game. Neal had my camera with him so all day long I felt a little lost because the camera usually goes wherever I go. I felt like one of my kids was missing :)

Thanks Conner....

My little project is coming along very nicely with Conners help. He painted it for me before going to bed and did a very nice job of it I only had a couple spots to touch up. Should be all done in a couple days :)

Our little artist....

Conner has finally taken to coloring. I thought this day would never come. He was so excited this morning when he came running up to Neal and I with this little picture of a car that he drew all by himself. It's actually very impressive to me for someone who has been coloring for only a couple weeks :) No it's not a work of art but to me it's like the most wonderful thing in the world. He has the tires down anyway...hehe!!!

Hmmmmmm

Any ideas????

6 month photo shoot....

Ethan at 6 months (well almost) is 27 inches long and 15 pounds. We did a 6 month photo shoot which one do you like best. I can't decide!!!

One last look before I head to bed....

Yes I know all parents think that their kids are the cutest in the world as do I!!!

Conners crazy hair....

Sorry....had to convert to black and white. I've been venturing more and more out of the Auto mode on my camera and in this case the lighting was all strange but I loved the picture of Conner. Converting to black and white did the trick.

"toot"

Holding a little "twain" we made today!!!

Conner has always said "toot" for train but has finally figured out how to say train or "twain". His vocabulary is really growing fast and talking in sentences too. Crazy that just a few months ago he was still not saying much at all. He's really into learning right now as well so I've been trying to take advantage of that.....short attention span but I try!!!

Some fun pictures...

A lot of this going on lately. Conner likes so much to make his lil brother laugh and giggle. And he just loves to play with him and even shares his toys pretty well. Hopefully this continues and they become good buds.

Look at those little hands work!!!

Such hard work!!!

Not always all smiles!!!

But they are so sweet when we do get them!!!

Wishing....

I want this baby SOOOOO bad....I keep getting out bid since I don't wanna spend a lot of money!!! Maybe I will get lucky one of these days tho!!! Patience, as many of you may know, is not one of my strongest traits :)

Yuuuummmm....

I sure wish I had a recipe for you. This was so incredibly good. It's food like this that is making it very incredibly hard for me to lose any more weight!!! We had spaghetti for supper last night and usually I make a pizza with the left over sauce but that did not sound good at all. Neal has been asking for lasagna but I'm not a huge fan and did not want to go through the trouble that a lasagna can be sometimes. So I made this instead. I used whole wheat rottini noodles and layered it like a lasagna with all the same ingredients. Used sliced provolone cheese and some olives on top. It was seriously delicious.

2 little teath....

The bottom two teath are looking so cute. He's working very hard on the top ones but it might be a while yet!!!! And check out those eyes....sigh!!!!

Love to have company.....

We had another great day today. This morning Neal's brother Mike came to see us and of course Conner was very excited to see uncle Mike :) The 3 boys went to the park to play for a while and I stayed at home and made a yummy lunch. A dinner big enough for 10 was devoured by the 3 of us!!!! I made a roast, red potatoes, carrots and cheddar muffins. For dessert I made an apple cake...see recipes below.

This afternoon my Mom and Dad came to see us which was great. Conner of course was thrilled that they came to play with him. It was nice and relaxing and I'm so glad that they made it out. Conner played hide and seek with G'ma (his favorite game at the moment) and then colored and played with his new stamps with g'mas help. Conner was sad when everyone left :P

So below are some new recipes. The cheddar muffins were not great so I wont be posting that recipe but I'm I'm trying to find one that is similar to the Red Lobster biscuits. If you have anything that is similar I would love to try it :) The cake is YUUUMMMYYYY....I'm not sure if I will be making any more apple pies so if you have time or if it sounds good then do try it :)

These were the cheddar biscuits. They were just tooo cheesy and heavy and we were just not fans but they do look great :)

Cake
16	tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks), cut into 16 pieces, softened but still cool
2	tablespoons unsalted butter (softened) for pan
1 1/4	cups granulated sugar
6	tablespoons granulated sugar for pan
2	tablespoons light brown sugar for pan
3	large eggs
2	large egg yolks
1/2	cup heavy cream (4 ounces)
2	teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/4	cups cake flour (9 ounces)
1	tablespoon baking powder
3/4	teaspoon table salt
Apples
2	Granny Smith apples (about 1 pound), peeled, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2	tablespoons light brown sugar

Instructions

1. 1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease standard nonstick 12-cup Bundt pan with 2 tablespoons softened butter; dust sides with 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, then evenly distribute remaining 4 tablespoons granulated sugar in bottom of pan. Evenly sprinkle brown sugar on top of granulated sugar, breaking up large lumps with fingers.

2. 2. Whisk eggs and yolks in 2-cup measuring cup to combine. Add cream and vanilla and beat until thoroughly combined.

3. 3. In bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, combine flour, 1 1/4 cups sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix on lowest speed until combined, about 30 seconds. With mixer still running on lowest speed, add butter 1 piece at a time in 1-second intervals, beating until mixture resembles coarse meal, with butter bits no larger than small peas, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.

4. 4. With mixer still running, add 1/2 cup liquid; mix at lowest speed until incorporated, 5 to 10 seconds. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. With mixer still running, add remaining liquid in steady stream (this should take about 30 seconds). Stop mixer and scrape down bowl with rubber spatula, then beat at medium-high speed to combine, about 30 seconds.

5. 5. Toss cubed apples with 2 tablespoons light brown sugar and distribute in an even layer over sugar in pan. Add batter in 4 portions, and gently level with offset spatula. (See illustrations below). Bake until cake begins to pull away from sides of pan, springs back when pressed with finger, and toothpick or skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes. Meanwhile, line wire rack with 12-inch square of foil. Immediately invert cake onto foil-lined rack. Cool at least 1 hour, then slide onto serving plate; cut into slices and serve.

This is Pioneer Woman's recipe and you can find it here. I found that this is by far the best way to make roast and do splurge on the fresh herbs and wine they do make a difference :)

Neal will be mad....

I got this candle at Wall Mart on clearance and it smells AMAZING!!! Apple cider and spice and everything nice......yummmm. It kinda makes Neal's nose tickle tho.....stinking allergies!!!! I'm still burning it till he gets home :o Hopefully he Neal wont be toooooo upset. Mmmmmm it smells soooooo good in here right now.

Wow it's amazing....kids are actually napping at the same time this afternoon and I don't know what to do with myself. House is clean, laundry is done, supper is all finished just have to stick it in the oven and it's so quiet. Very nice for a change. Ethan is having a really hard time again with the teeth, he's waking up a lot at night which I don't mind I just feel bad for him. The 2 bottom ones are through he's now working on the 2 top ones and those have a way to go. I can hardly believe that my baby has 2 toothers.

One of those days....

Started out so well. I got up at 4:30 fed Ethan and put him back to bed. Made some coffee and ironed Neal's work clothes and got things ready for him before he left for work. Got back in bed snuggled up with my kids on a very cold morning with my hotcup of coffee. What a great place to be....watched the sunrise and read while the kids slept. They both woke up around 6:30 in very good moods we ate breakfast then Conner ate two popsicles while I trimmed his hair and then we took our shower. Conner watched a video while I cleaned up the house and did some laundry. I made an early lunch so that we could head out for some fun. I was thinking of taking them to the park maybe a hike in the woods and to see dad at work BUT Conner decided to throw a HUGE fit over eating lunch so off he went to bed and here we are stuck at home :P I guess sometimes punishing your kids hurts us moms more that it hurts them. Well maybe after his nap he will eat and we could still go but by then it will be time to get supper started and Neal will be coming home so we will see. Now I hear Ethan is waking up from his morning nap...little man is just talking away in his crib. He wakes up so happy unlike his big brother who always wakes up crying :)

yay Conner....

He made it past the 23 lb mark...how I'm not sure considering that he has not been eating much at all. He is actually 25.8 lb....yay!!!! I'm very excited because it's been a long time since he has put on any weight!!!!

Edwards apple orchard....

Well we made our first trip to the orchard today!!! We met Neal's mom Angie and the kids at Edwards Apple Orchard. It was a beautiful day and a lot of fun too!!!!

G'ma Jenny and big boy Ethan!!!

Conner and Tommy!!!!

Tommy, Mallory and Conner!!!

Looking at the animals in the barn!!!

Conner and Mallory riding the ponies ALLL by themselves :)

Welcome September...

I'm not exactly sure why but this is my favorite month of the year. It could be the weather, or the seasonal food, the apples and raspberries, the orchards or hikes in the woods, the change in nature or maybe the fact that there is nothing going on no holidays or the stress that comes with them. Just pure joy of the outdoor living. SO welcome September and all the joys that you bring into my life.