Ice day

Well, since we didn't have school yesterday. I got to spend the day with K. I was not a happy camper about having an ice day. We have plans to go camping with our friends the Lowries Easter weekend. This has become sort of a tradition for us. It goes back before kids and Laner joined out happy band. We go camp out at Inks Lake State Park that weekend. The town close by, Burnet, has their annual Bluebonnet festival that weekend. It is so much fun!! They have all sorts of stuff set up around the town square and even a parade. Maybe this year we can make it to the air show!. Last time we went, Laner and I were both prego. This will be an adventure since it will be K's first time camping and the first time we have all the kiddos together in the wild. If you are a camping person, you have GOT to go to Inks. It is a beautiful park with great wildlife, flowers, and swimming. We usually take our bikes too which would be another adventure for the family! We were planning on leaving Good Friday morning so that we can spend more time with our buds. Now it looks like school will meet that day!! UGH!!! UGH!!! I might just take that day.
K and I did enjoy our day together. We have found that he tends to get bored with his toys within a month. So, I split all of his toys and board books into three sets and rotate them each month. Yesterday, while K was napping, I was able to switch them around. K spent a good amount of time just looking through books and seeing what was new. He also gets really excited when he finds something that he remembers enjoying. I also took some funny videos of him just being funny. I wanted to make sure to get all of his animal sounds recorded. I also got him saying a prayer!! We're working on him saying, "Thank you, God. Amen." So far, you can only really make out the Thank You and Amen.

Verdict on BBQ chicken pockets

They were a hit!! I still used the cream cheese since it holds everything together wonderfully. I added about 2 cups of bbq sauce, 1 cup cheddar cheese, and half a chopped red onion. Next time, I'm going to also add cilantro for just a little pizazz.

New phrase for the weekend

As each day starts, I always wonder what K will say today. This weekend did not disappoint. We were heading out the door to go to Target to get meds, I told K to tell Daddy to come on. He turned and stuck his hand out and started beckoning C. He said, "Um on, Daddy! Um on!" We were both floored and impressed with our little boy. He, of course, had to show off his cool new phrase for Nanny, Pop, and Grandnanny.
He also was able to wish Grandnanny happy birthday. He will also wish you a happy New Year and a happy dinner.

Menu Monday

Here's hoping we feel well enough to enjoy it!



Sunday: BBQ chicken pockets (Using the recipe from R but with bbq sauce, cheddar cheese and onions. Will let you know how the experiment goes!)

Monday: Spaghetti & Meatballs

Tuesday: London Broil (HEB)

Wednesday: Potatoes and Chicken (still trying to finish up K's chicken from his birthday party!)Thursday: French Bread Pizza (We kinda cheated and had that for lunch Saturday. It was FABULOUS! And R, you were not kidding about how super easy it is! We are going to buy extra loaves of french bread and freezes them just to have it on hand.)

Friday: Indian (leftover from a Christmas party)

Saturday: Tamales



Here's a fantastic recipe that we had for Sunday lunch. I texted my parents since they went to church and we didn't (darn this yucky congestion!). I got this from my co-worker Lori. She brought some for lunch on Friday and we made her called the MIL Momma Jean for the recipe. Momma Jean lives with Lori and does the cooking. This was perfect and so tasty!!



Santa Fe Soup

1 1/2 lbs ground beef (I used ground turkey)

1 chopped onion (I used red onion)

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can rotel

1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 can corn or hominy, drained (I used corn)

1 lb mild Mexican Velveeta cheese , cut up

1 bag tortilla chips

**I also added a can of green chilies for a little extra umph!



Brown hamburger meat with onions. Drain. (I browned the turkey and then added some taco seasoning and then onions. I let those all cook together. Turkey just doesn't have enough flavor for me so I had to add some.) In a soup pot, add canned ingredients. Add turkey and onions. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add Velveeta to the soup. Let cheese melt. Add however much water to the soup to make it thinner. We like our soup thick so I didn't add much water. Serve with chips (great for crumbling up into soup!) This was a total hit for our family and would be souper easy to make and freeze. Enjoy!

Making memories

Well, I woke up Saturday morning totally pissed. There really is no other word to describe it. C has been sick since the later part of the week. He thought it was allergies due to everyone in the office having the congestion and such from construction going on in the facility. Not the case!! Allergies are not contagious!! I started feeling yucky sometime during the night. My chest felt horribly heavy and there was a tickle in the back of my throat. Plus when C is sick, he snores most horrid. Between him and my aged schnauzer Neil, I could not sleep. I got up and went into the living room to sleep. C woke up and felt really bad for me sleeping in the living room and told me to go to bed and he'd sleep on the couch. I was at the point of almost falling back asleep, and decided that if I moved too much, I'd wake up. So, he took K into our bedroom and let me sleep a little longer. That made me feel a bit better but I knew it was time to get up. K is a good mix of both of us. He gets up in a fantastic mood like me but doesn't like lounging in bed, just like C. Since none of us were in any condition to go anywhere, we decided to just have a fun day in. K wanted to go play on his new playset, but, as I explained to him, Mr. Sun was not out so neither were we. How do you keep a 1 1/2 year old occupied? Finger paints and playdough! C dragged K's kiddie table into the living room. We had a blast showing K how to finger paint. I was surprised that K enjoyed it as much as we did since he kinda doesn't like getting too dirty. But, we spent a good time just painting. Then, as it tends to be with us, we got a little crazy with the finger paints and ended up painting each other!! K was so funny about the whole thing. He reveled in the silliness of the moment. He even stuck his paintbrush with paint on it up my nose (I will SERIOUSLY be blowing red fingerpaint for a few days!!)

We told K to smile for the camera. What a cheese!!


Family portrait as painted by the Teubners

We got a bit cleaned up and got out the playdough. We would roll it into balls and K would squish them. The big fun came when he would put balls into the container and put the lid on it. He would then shake it furiously and have the biggest grin on his face. He would then pry the lid off so that the playdough balls would go flying and just scream with delight. We learned two things that morning. One, you can have a great Saturday making memories without spending tons of bucks. Two, Neil like playdough.

Saturday night was spent at C's Dad's house in Corinth. The cooked Asian (AKA ordered Pei Wei). We then played a game of Cranium. C and I were a team. His parents were a second team. His brother and grandfather were the third team. It was a total blast. C's Grandfather, Pawpaw, is wheelchair bound due to a degenerative spine disease. He was like a kid in a candy store, just drinking in the joy and laughter. There is one part of the game where you have to pose your partner into a pose to try to get them to guess the thing on the card. C's dad was like, "Ok, J, you get to pose Pawpaw!" We all laughed at that. In the end, C was the poser for that team. (What a poser!) Pawpaw really enjoyed the trivia questions. He'd even guess at other people's questions. He would say, "Is it ok if I guess it in my head? That way if I am wrong, no one will know!" After the question, I would asked, "Were you right, Pawpaw?" "Sure was!" Just a great evening to top off such a fantastic morning!

New words for the week

Yesterday morning, I was getting ready and our little early bird was just running around the bedroom. I was putting on my necklace and K stopped and watched me. He got a smile on his face and then took off (K no longer walks ANYWHERE!) for some other place in the house . He comes back a few minutes later with the bathtub plug from the guest bath. He take the chain that it is attached to and puts it around his neck. He looks up at me with a smile and says, clear as day, "Necklace."
Wednesday we were getting in the car to go to church. My backseat is full of tupperware stuff that has yet to be delivered and it is all over the place! K looks at the stuff and then, gesturing with his hands over it all, he turns to me with a serious look on his face and says, "Mess, Momma. Mess." His tone was like he was telling me that this mess next to him is not going to work.
Yesterday afternoon, he kept pointing to his big vinyl shapes and saying, "This." I asked him, "What about this?" He would respond, "Ummmmmm....This." It went on for a good while.
Last night, he was full of energy when it was bedtime. We called my parents to come over and they said they would after dinner. So, we had a good chunk of time to wear him out. He would run into the kitchen and I would find a place to hide in the living room. He would run back into the room and ask C, "Where's Momma?" He would proceed to look for me. When he'd find me, he'd shout, "Hiding!" Also, I would sit in the big chair and he would run by me. I would reach out and tickle him on his way by. He would just belly laugh. The cutest was that the closer he got to me, he'd know what was coming and giggle even more.
What a true blessing this child is to us. We worked hard for him and he was worth every bit of it. Thank you God for K. Our lives are truly enriched by him.

Updated on weekley menu

So far, this has been a good menu week. We had a minor change for Monday night. My mom asked if we wanted to join her, Daddy, and G-Nanny at Nina's for dinner. I'm not one to turn down free Mexican food so we were there!! K did a great job of eating. He really likes cheese enchiladas - YEAH!! So, we moved everything back a day except dinner on Wed since it was at church. We are saving the french bread pizza for next week - YEAH!! And I pretty much have everything planned for next week so here's hoping it all gets eaten! I am getting kinda low on frozen meals so it looks like I will have to start a cooking frenzy sometime soon to keep our easy dinners going. If I come across any yummy recipes, I'll be sure to post them.

Just sitting back

I had such an incredible day with K yesterday. We didn't go anywhere, barely got out of our jammies but we had a blast!! I truly enjoyed every minute of it. I realized the hardest thing for me right now as a parent is sitting back and letting him just be. I try not to be a hovering parent but it is hard after 1 1/2 years of being his arms and legs. I'm just not having an easy time accepting this new role as guide and observer. I was struck by this thought as I sat at the computer. It was completely quiet (a little too quiet!) I turned around and K was happily sitting by his bookshelf surrounded by books and "reading" them. This is what I had been picturing in my mind for so many years. C and I adore reading and are trying out hardest to pass that love onto our children. But, as I see the love of reading taking hold, I realize that this is a moment where I am not needed - UGH!!! Yes, he will bring us books and ask us to read them but at this moment, he was just taking it all in by himself. I had to stop myself from getting up and going over to read them to him. I had to make myself turn back around and let him have some K time. I am a firm believer that everyone needs time to themselves. I guess it is time that I get it through my mommy brain that K deserves some of his own time!!

Melting my Daddy's heart

While we were cleaning on Sunday, K was running all around. He ran over to C and stopped short and said, "Daddy. Daddy. I love you." C nearly dropped!! How sweet!!

Menu Monday

**Blogger's Note: Last week was not a great menu week. Though it did make planning for this week even easier!!

Monday: Bubble-up Pizza
Tuesday:Brisket & Mac N Cheese
Wed: Beef Stew @ the church
Thurs: French Bread Pizza (Thanks R!! C is so excited to try this!)
Fri: Dinner at Momma's for G-Nanny's b-day
Sat: Dinner at C's Dad's house. We're going up there for game night.

On a side note, since we did not have school today, I decided to make breakfast for K and I. I decided on blueberry muffins since we had just about everything save baking powder (so inspired by R's cabinet cleaning out!) I called Momma and she had Daddy bring some down. They turned out wonderful!! The crumbled topping is like bits of sugar cookies. I had some batter left over so I put that into a mini muffin pan for K. He ate 3!!! R- M would be able to mix the topping since it has no hot ingredients.

Here ya go!!

Day-off Blueberry Muffins
1/4 cup butter or margarine softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg beaten
2 1/3 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries


Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup cold butter or margarine (NOTE: I softened it in the micro first just to make stirring easier.)





In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add egg;mix well. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Stir in vanilla. Fold in blueberries. Fill 12 greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Combine topping ingredients until crumbly. Sprinkle over batter. Bake 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until brown (for my wonky oven, I have to bake for ten and then rotate it around for another 10 minutes and they were perfect. For the mini muffins, I baked for 15 minutes.) If you use frozen (which i did), do not thaw before adding to batter.

Enjoy!

Why I love garage sales

#1: You get rid of stuff. It is amazing how much stuff we have accumulated in the short 8 years we've been married.
#2: You make money. We're working on our emergency fund and this really helped us jump closer to it.
#3: You meet your neighbors. We live in an established neighborhood and I really don't know a lot of people in our small area. I was able to meet all sorts of neighbors!
#4: You change your thinking. I realized that stuff is just stuff and I am fine without lots of it.
#5: You get disgusted with yourself about your spending. After seeing all that stuff filling up our dining room for the week before the sale, I am truly fine with none of it (save David's chair) coming back into our house. I was seriously grossed out by it all that I had trouble falling asleep!!
#6: You are a blessing to people. There was a lady who we met through craigslist. She is starting a in-home daycare and got tons of stuff. She thanked us profusely and said we were such a blessing. Just made me realize how God uses me in people's lives. =)
#7: You realize that your house isn't as small as you thought it was with all that stuff in it.
#8: You raise eyebrows. We sold a majority of our baby stuff. Our neighbor asked why we were selling all this stuff when we were going to have more kids. We explained that #2 isn't going to be on his/her way for another 2 - 3 years. We decided that in order for him/her to have a better start that we needed to be debt free. Besides, they'll come out with tons of new and improved stuff between now and then!
#9: You get traditional garage sale breakfast: DONUTS!!
#10: You end up saving more money. I have found that as I walk around Target that I see things through different eyes. All I think about is that one day it will all be garage sale fodder!

After everything was gone, we realized how neglectful we have been in our housekeeping duties. Needless to say, Sunday was full of cleaning!! I am so sore!!

On the lookout

My best friend M called yesterday morning and asked how K was. I told her fine. And she was relieved. Seems that Monday evening, her daughter started coughing and they ended up taking her to the emergency room since she was having trouble breathing. Turns out she has RSV and M wanted me to be on the lookout for symptoms: coughing, runny nose. That made me remember how K had started coughing the night before. So, I called K's daycare and let B know. She called around naptime and said that K had been sleeping for about 30 minutes but woke up coughing and could not get back to sleep. C took off from work and picked him up and made him an appointment. The Dr. said that it was not RSV just a bad cough. He gave us a prescription to use in case the cough worsens. K slept pretty good last night but was up and going at 5:45 A.M.!!!! He truly is a mix of C and I. I wake up happy and cheery but am content to stay in bed and be lazy. With C, once he's up, he's up and will not lay in bed. K wakes up happy as can be but does not like snuggling for a little bit so we can get a few more minutes of sleep!!

100 things

R had this on her blog and I jumped at the chance to see just what all I have done in my 30+ years. The ones in bold are the things I have done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (does an orchestra count?)
4. Visited Hawaii5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo (long time ago)
11. Bungee jumped (NEVER!!)
12. Visited Paris (And ready to go back again!!! My fav place to visit.)
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (I can draw stick people!!)
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning (Have not had Long John Silver's in 5 years!!)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (I visited but it was after 9/11 and the observatory was closed)
18. Grown your own vegetables (Starting my garden this spring - look for fresh veggiemails!!)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France (Nothing big. Literally.)
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked (NEVER!!)
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (Duh!!)
24. Built a snow fort (Does snowman count??)
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping (teheheheh!!)
27. Run a Marathon (When do I stop laughing about this one??)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (Visited the place where my Dad's grandparents boarded the ship when they immigrated. Also, mom's family had land in what is now Southlake. Does that count?)
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language (Does igpa atinla count?)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (Not even in Monopoly)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing (On real rocks!)
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business (A few direct sell things)
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (Used to regularly but have low iron so I never could)
65. Gone sky diving (NEVER!!)
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check (Luckily, it was when I worked in the bank - no charges!!)
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle (Not yet. R - John take riders???)
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car (Was totaled in less than a year!!)
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee (Stung by a wasp in my butt-tocks)

Thanks R for the fun!!

Verdict on chicken pockets

WOW!! How yummy!! M - try these with Jordan. His creativity will jump at the possibilities! K was not a big fan and neither were the boys. They mainly ate the crust. C on the other hand ate up his and the other half of K's!! I added chopped red onions plus I steamed and chopped broccoli (K's a broccoli fan but not an onion fan). C suggested we try Mexican packets with taco meat, beans, and cheese!! Can't wait to try that! YUMMMMMMMM!!!

Menu Planner Monday

Kinda had to tweak it due to some last minute plans but here it is:
Monday: Chicken Pockets. Got this recipe from R and am so pumped to try it out!! We will have C's brother's boys tonight for dinner (J&S are going to see Carol Burnett). They are kinda picky so we will see what their verdict is.

Tuesday: Tuna Casserole and Buffalo Chicken Lasagna. The tuna is for me and K. C loves the Buff Chick but I did not like the hot sauce used so he gets to eat it up!!

Wednesday: Church dinner - Lasagna!

Thursday: Mini Meatloaf. Got this from one of my new fav cookbooks. You used turkey and spinach for the main part of the loaf. C doesn't like spinach but you cannot taste it!!! He actually requested these.

Friday: Bubble-up Pizza. This is how to cure that pizza craving without ordering it and it's a whole lot healthier. See recipe at the bottom!!

Saturday: Brisket & Mac N Cheese. The brisket is left form K's birthday party. Really trying to finish that up!!!

Sunday: London Broil from HEB. Again, we miss HEB up here because their predone meats are FABULOUS!

Bubble-up Pizza
2 cans refrigerated biscuits
1 jar of spaghetti sauce
Whatever pizza topping you like (We use ground meat, onions, bell peppers mainly)
However much mozzarella cheese you want
Saute veggies for a a few minutes just to get them warmed up. Add in spaghetti sauce. While that's marinating on the burner, quarter biscuits. Add quartered biscuits into sauce and veggies. Stir until mixed evenly. The better the mix, the more even your topping get distributed during baking. Dump it into a 13x9 and top with however much mozzarella cheese you like. Throw it into the oven at 350 for about 10-15 minutes. We have an ancient oven so it's hit or miss sometimes.

Busy weekend

I am straggling in late to wok this morning because we had a super busy weekend. Saturday was filled with meetings C had his UMM breakfast and I had a planning retreat at church that lasted until 1:30. It was such a productive meeting!! I am chair of the Children's committee and this was the first meeting with my fellow members. We got all of the dates set for the rest of the year. We also got the ball rolling for starting a family church newsletter with all sorts of goodies that will hopefully bring our families closer together. We also got the ball rolling on starting a MOPS in Grand Prairie. There is not one. The closest is in Arlington. A great gal is getting that going since we feel it is something that our church and community are in need of. This MOPS would be a small group to start and would meet in the evenings. I am truly pumped about getting these things going. I am also pumped that people volunteered to take on this missions!!
Saturday night was absolutely what I needed (and I think C & K did too!!). We went to our good friends house and had a great time just watching K and their daughter play. We were going to do some serious Wii playing but that got sidelined with the kids' antics. It was just a great moment to sit back and observe (and laugh!!)
Yesterday morning, C came to me and stated that we were in trouble. K has a stack of cards that have animals on them. He was looking through them and took out the horse one. He then took the card and placed it on his rocking horse!!! What a smart guy!!!
Today's word is "mallit". He found one of C's old phone covers and brought it to C and said, "Mallit?" C had to explain that, no, it was not his wallet.

Ready for the weekend!!

I love Fridays!! I can't wait to get to school since that means I am that closer to leaving it for the weekend. The kids always as how I am doing and I tell them (in a completely cheery voice) "It's Friday!! I am fantastic!" We get to wear jeans on Friday (yeah...granted..I wore my jean capris because I want to) so that helps me out tremendously. This will be a busy weekend. Tonight I have a meeting at church. The great thing is that Momma has to be there to so we're going for Mother-daughter dinner - yeah!!! Tomorrow morning, Chris has UMM breakfast meeting and I have a committee planning retreat. I am the chair for the Children's Committee and am so excited!! We have a great gal who is our Children's director and I have some ideas on ways to bring our families out for fun events. Saturday night will be totally fun as we are going over to the Brinkman's for dinner. We found a long lost HS pal this week and he is coming over with his family. I have missed him over the years since he has such a sarcastic sense of humor and gives things an interesting perspective. Sunday will (hopefully) be our day of rest. I doubt it but we'll try for it!

Back to routine

For some reason, all of the Teubner's are having a hard time getting back into the groove of back to work. Before Christmas, Chris and I were up at 5:30. K slept until 7:20 or so. Now, we wake up at 6 and K wakes up around 6:15!! AARRGGHH!! We just cannot wake up but K can??? Speaking of, he was totally impressing people at church dinner last night with his vocabulary. We had grilled cheese so he got to use "samiches" a lot. This morning, he had a new three word sentence: "I drink mulk". Just never stops amazing us.

It is so hard to blog!! Something will happen and I'm like, "Oh!! I need to put that in the blog!" But when I sit down to write it, I cannot remember what it was!! I need to start writing stuff down.

Yeah for Wednesday!!

There are quite a few reasons why I look forward to Wednesdays. First, the week is half over. That means it is closer to when I get to see me guys all day!!! Second, dinner at church. Our church's Wednesday night dinners are great since it's only $3 a person. Plus, we get to really visit with people. Sunday's don't give us much visiting time since there is more of a time factor. I really enjoy people seeing K interact with people who I hold very dear to me. C's mom came to a few of the dinners and all she could say was, "There's no doubt that child is loved!" Third, bell practice is after dinner. While I am not blessed with a fantastic voice for singing in public (I totally rock car concerts and shower concerts!), I find that bells are a way for me to rejoice in Christ. Plus, the members of our bell choir are some great people!! And last, but not least, I am one day closer to summer vacation!!

New word of the day - "mamich" As I was making lunch this morning, K came over and point to the sandwiches and said "Mamich". It's not even a word we have been working on!!

PS - R - You will enjoy your son not just because he is a boy but because he will bring a whole new perspective to you.

Wordy Wordy!!

It seems that in the past two weeks that our little prodigy's vocabulary has EXPLODED!! He is saying so much now and likes using his words. Well, he uses them except when he REALLY wants something then he reverts back to sounds and we have to tell him to use his words. Otherwise, words of all kinds make an appearance. His newest one is "Hiding". He will come up to you and say "Hiding" and then run and hide somewhere, usually the newly discovered guest room closet. The best is when he is using a new word and his face just lights up when he realizes that you understand him. He is so smart!! We are working on three word sentences, such as, "Milk please Mommy." Granted, when he says milk, it sounds like mulch!!

Menu Monday

I saw this on R's blog and think it is a great idea. It will also keep me on the menu I keep at home which tends to be more flexible than I care for. I used to plan for two weeks but things always seemed to get off that second week so I am down to planning one week. Let's hope this works!!

Monday: Spaghetti and Salad
Tues: Shrimp and beans
Wed: Church dinner
Thurs: Pot Roast (pre-made from HEB - YUM!!!)
Friday: Tuna Casserole; Veggies (This is one of K's favorite!!)
Saturday: Dinner at the Brinkmans
Sunday: Tamales

Please note that the only dinners that are not frozen are Tues and Sat. I used the summer to make extra casseroles and froze them. Has made dinner planning and eating at home so easy!! If I get a chance this week, I'll put the recipe on for tuna casserole as it is pretty healthy and freezes beautifully.

Happy New Year!!

Well, one of my resolutions is to do a better blog job. I have contemplated stopping the blog but realized that it really helps my during the summer when I scrapbook.
Our New Year's was spent with our good friends in Houston and their three. We headed down on Monday and took the dinner from Don Juan's. When they were up here while escaping Hurricane Ike, we introduced DJ's to them and they really liked it. So, for their Christmas present, we took some down. it is amazing to me the K can eat a whole kiddo burrito!! Such a big boy!! On Tuesday, the three of us headed to Sugarland to see what all was going on there. We lived in Fort Bend County for the majority of our time in Houston and miss it terribly. We drove around to see what all have been built (Which is tons!!) and stopped by the town square. There are tons of shops and a really cool fountain. We got out of the car to go to a toy shop before meeting a friend and her family for lunch. Surprise, surprise!! K had peed out of his diaper - a first!! We had no extra clothes on hand. We hopped back in the truck and headed to the mall that is next to the town square and bought some jeans. We had time to change and head over to Lupe Tortilla's for lunch. We meet Heidi and her family there. C met her at TAMUG and they have remained in touch since then. We went to Heidi and Dan's wedding (on the beach!!) and have watched their family grow to include two beautiful children. Dan has worked in the hotel industry for years and they have lived all over the Caribbean and are water lovers. It was such a good time! The last time we had seen each other was their wedding which was over ten years ago but it felt like we had seen each other a month ago. Their kids were so fun! Their son brought part of his rock collection to show us - very cool! Their daughter wanted to show off her new Sketchers shoes. And they love queso!! So much so that Dan ordered a second bowl of queso. The waiter brought it and it was a small bowl. The kids were like, "Well, that's not going to last." Needless to say, they are kids after my own heart! After lunch, we headed back to the town square and walked around. K loved the fountains and having Ben and Jerry's ice cream! Our next stop was to drive by our old house. We still love that house and miss it. If would, we would have moved it up here with us. We were sad to learn that it had foreclosed but were totally overjoyed when we pulled up in front of a well manicured lawn! And it looks like the Griswolds have moved in. The interesting thing is that we could see the trees that we planted in the backyard. They have grown so much that we could see them over the house! That was totally cool since we did everything to that backyard including putting in sod! We took the long way home so that K could nap.
The next day we decided to give M&A a break and took K and their two oldest to Galveston. What a treat it was to see the three of them in the backseat in their carseats!! It was really cute when the two boys feel asleep and were leaning the same way! We were anxious to get to Galveston to see how things were going after the hurricane. We had seen little signs even on our way to M&A's house (signs down or twisted, etc). As we approached the causeway, things became more drastic. On Tiki Island, there were many houses missing. Once over the causeway, it really hit home. There were boats in odd places, like front yards. There were houses gone. There were lots of stores and businesses closed but more were opened that I had expected. We immediately headed to the Seawall. Upon getting there, things looked pretty normal. We took a left onto the seawall. The most interesting sight was that the fishing pier was completely gone. The sign for it was still there but it wasn't. We turned around and headed back down the seawall towards our lunch spot. We took the kids to Rainforest Cafe. K didn't like all the animals moving AT ALL!! He would cry and grab for C since he was sitting next to K. Ev got scared at first but we explained that they were pretend to help us learn more about the animals without being in danger. The other E didn't care one way or the other. I will say it was interesting at lunch. K ate like a madman but the other two didn't seem to want to eat which meant no dessert =(. We had talked about taking the kids to the beach but it got colder so we just drove around the island afterwards. We went down the seawall and saw all the damage to the Flagship. That's the hotel that sits in the water. The bridge was still pretty much washed out and you could see through part of the first floor. Next to the Flagship was the remains of the the Balinese Room and the other buildings that were in the water. All that was left was part of one building and the support poles. The Balinese's entrance was a there but there was nothing else. Very sad considering the history of the place. If you want more info, just ask! We then headed to the Strand side of the island. That was hard since the majority of businesses were still closed. Some had "We'll be back" signs and quite a few had for lease signs. Someone had put up a tape line that showed were the water level was - SCARY!! And, always showing there is humor in everything, someone had gotten crafty. On most store windows, they list what the shop sells. One shop had "Sunglasses, Beach towels, Shells, Ecoli." We cracked up! We also visited TAMUG and it survived very well. The students should be able to return this month for Spring semester. We then headed mainland to meet some college buds for ice cream. We literally took over the place. I guess with three kids, it happens. We headed back hoping the kid would nap - NO SUCH LUCK!! When we got back, M&A had enjoyed their time and cleaned the house - CRAZY!! A little while later, the Copps joined us. It was their first time to meet their son, Calan. He is such a beautiful baby!! He looks like such a big boy and was making the cutest sounds. He has found his voice and is ready to talk. He just doesn't know what to say!! It was so interesting to sit back and watch us all being parents. We can't wait for next year when the youngest boys are running around with the other kids - so fun!! Plus, it will be at our casa - YEAH!!!