Pictures of the big event!

Here are some pictures from Lefty's award ceremony last night! I of course cried when he got down to the platform to receive his award and shake the mayor's hand (well, ok. it was just the mayor's delegate, but still!!) --of which I do not have a picture of....ugh! Fortunately, they had a professional photographer there so hopefully in a few weeks I will have the professional one!

Here he is sitting in the chair, waiting for the event to start. He had to sit with his Principal and we sat on the other side of the auditorium (which made him a little nervous at first!)

Here is several of our friends who came to see him get his award!

Here is the entire family after the awards ceremony.

And here he is with his dad sitting outside on a bench (Someone else was actually taking their picture, I just snuck one in too!)

I also decided to throw in some birthday pictures. Lefty turned the big SEVEN this week! He is so excited to be 7. I'm not sure what is so magical about 7, but he is just thrilled to pieces!

Proud Momma

This evening we are getting all dressed up and heading to our city council's chambers. Lefty is receiving an award from our mayor! He has done so well in school that he is getting a "City Scholar Award"! I am very proud of him. He works very hard in school and the hard work is paying off. Every time we go to conferences the teacher tells us how hard he works, what a good example he is to the other kids and how helpful he is to her and to the other kids.

I am so excited for him!

We have several dear friends and family coming tonight and he also invited his teacher to come! He is beside himself with excitement!

I have my camera batteries charged, Kleenex in my purse, dinner is prepared (I just need to heat it up later), and I have every one's clean clothes laid out ready to change into AFTER they eat dinner!

I guess I am beside myself with excitement too!

Unruly neighbor

When we moved into this house a year ago we were so excited, there was a 9 yr old boy across the street, a 10 year old boy next door and an 8 year old boy up the street a little bit. The boys finally had some kids to play with.

The 9 year old across the street is pretty decent and we enjoy our boys playing with him. The 8 year old up the street... he is the one I mentioned before about always being home alone. So he tends to be rough, a liar, and has been known to just walk in my house (when the kids are all outside).

But, my big problem is the 10 year old next door. I will call him J. Every time J is over something in my house ends up broken. He has a tendency to leave just before "clean up time" and he is very bossy. I know all kids can be bossy, but he sets these rules that are absolutely ridiculous and he wants to enforce those rules in MY HOUSE! He also tends to help himself to whatever is in my house. He has helped himself to MY crafty items. He has helped himself to food and he has also helped himself to some of Mr. Man's tools and wood in the garage. When I say helped himself, I mean it. He doesn't ask and he even tries to sneak stuff out of the house.

The most recent incident with him occurred about 2 or 3 weeks ago. He came over, like he always does, at about 9:00 on a Saturday morning. He and Lefty ran out back to play in our backyard. About 10 minutes later I headed out to check on them and found several very large branches from my crab apple tree (which produces pretty pink flowers in the spring) laying on the ground and the two boys were climbing in the tree. I am not necessarily opposed to the tree climbing, but I don't want the tree destroyed either. I asked what happened and the 10 year old kid told me that he jumped on the branches until they broke. I was so upset I had to walk away. I got Mr. Man to go deal with it. I heard Mr. Man saying to both J and Lefty "No one is mad. We just need to discuss what happened so it doesn't happen again." I was thinking "No one is mad? What is he talking about because I am fuming mad." Anyway, we ruled the trees off limits. They went off to play out front riding bikes, etc.

Later that same day, Mr. Man was out front with the kids while they played. J decided to tie his large golden retriever dog to Lady Bug's bike. Mr. Man didn't see him tying the dog up but saw Lady Bug's bike go flying down the street as the poor dog panics and goes running off. So, Mr. Man stopped that one and then the next thing he sees is his boyhood wooden wagon (which means a lot to him) that has been tied to the dog and - once again - the dog panics and runs off down the street smashing this wagon into a million pieces.

Lefty came running in the house because he knew J was busted!

Mr. Man sent J home. J came back about 30 minutes later with $50. Mr. Man refused the money and tried explaining it wasn't about the money and that it was something special. Mr. Man told him that if he can't be respectful of our things then he can't play at our house. J returned home. He hasn't been back to play since.

I feel kinda bad, but at the same time I don't miss the kid. Does that make me mean?

Bread without bread

Does any one out there have any idea what "bread without bread" is???? My sweet daughter keeps asking for bread without bread. I try and try to ask questions to get an answer out of her, but all she says is "It is bread without the bread." At first, I thought maybe she meant plain bread. Nope. Ok, how about something like a biscuit or bagel maybe? Nope. Bread without bread.

No clues here people! Any one got any ideas???

Friday recipe - burritos

Due to my foot injury I haven't cooked a meal in over a week. Therefore, once again, this post goes without pictures!

We love burritos and tacos in my house. We eat some form of these probably once a week. Here is my recipe for ground beef burritos. I have been making them this way since I can remember. Going back to when I was single, living alone. This past week, Mr. Man had to make these and the kids weren't going to let him off the hook of making the meat. He tried and tried to get them to just do a bean and cheese burrito, but nope. They weren't going for it! I told him how to do it. It tasted pretty good. He drained off all the liquid though, which I don't do, but the meat was still very tasty!

Burrito Meat
INGREDIENTS:
1 lb ground beef
1 clove minced garlic
onion powder, seasoning salt, black pepper to taste
1 can RoTel tomatoes (do not drain)
canned Refried or black beans
tortillas
Toppings such as, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, shredded cheese

In a large skillet, brown ground beef. While meat is cooking season with onion powder, seasoning salt and pepper. When meat is browned, drain off grease. Stir in minced garlic to meat. Add RoTel tomatoes and simmer on low heat for 10-15 minutes.

Add beans and meat and any optional toppings you wish. Enjoy!

You know you live with boys when. . .

You know you live with boys when you hear laughter coming from the bathroom. When you go to investigate you find two little boys and the big boy (better known as the father of those two little boys) standing in front of the toilet laughing and staring into the toilet.

Regretfully, you ask what is so funny. You are soon told that one of the littler boys pooped and clogged the toilet. And more eruptions of laughter ensue as details of how large it was and what color it was are revealed to the lady standing in the doorway wondering why she even bothered to ask.

Yep. I live with boys alright!

Get Well Cards

My little momma's boy, Lefty (who is 6 -soon to be 7), made me the sweetest get well cards on Monday. One was a coloring book page he colored of a bear holding balloons. One was a picture he drew of several things that he tells me were horses. The last one was more of a letter, but it was folded like a card. On the front it said "To the best mom in the whole world" then on the inside he wrote - I typed it just as he wrote it:

"I'm sorry that you hurt your achle. I bet it hurt when you fell.

Did it hurt or not? Do you have to wear that thing forever?

Please write me back soon. I love you."

I thought it was cute he wanted me to write him back. So, while Mr. Man was cooking dinner I laid with my foot propped up and grabbed a notebook. I wrote him a little letter back and placed it on his pillow.

Then after he brushed his teeth, he told me to go look under my pillow (I was in Lady Bug's room reading to her). I looked under my pillow and Lefty had placed a one dollar bill from his allowance money under my pillow. This is huge because he is trying to save his money for some train things he wants. I asked him what the money was for and he said "To wish you well."

To wish me well?? Sounds like he should work for Hallmark or something doesn't it?? He made me feel so important!

What a good lil' momma's boy!!!

Just some Tuesday randomness

Today is just one of those days. Boring. Lame. Not much to report.

Family is good. Everyone is healthy. Everyone is really pitching in to help while I can't move around as quickly as I used to. (Mr. Man keeps joking with people that as soon as he gets the laundry done I will feel better - little does he know that in our house, family of 5, the laundry is NEVER done! hee hee. I could be "laid up" for a long, long time!)

Foot is still very swollen and ugly with bruises, but it doesn't throb constantly now so that is progress. I still find myself needing some pain medication a couple times a day - this is better than the 4-5 times a day over the weekend.

We are gearing up for Lefty's birthday party. He decided on a lego theme, but we are going to Amazing Jakes so really all I am going to do in the lego theme is some goodie bags and the rest is up to Amazing Jakes! His birthday is actually the 27th, but due to Mr. Man's work schedule we are having the party on May 2nd.

That's all I got today. I'm off to do some bloggy reading.

My weekend

My weekend was interesting...

On Friday, my girls weekend to the mountains got cancelled due to snow. I ended up working until 4:00 pm on Friday. I left in the heavy snow to get the kids from daycare. The roads were getting to be slick but we got home safely and waited for Mr. Man to get home. After dinner and a movie at home, I was getting ready for bed - I realized I forgot something downstairs so I headed down the stairs (without bothering to turn on a light). I thought I had made it to the bottom BUT lo and behold there was ONE more step! So a-tumbling I went and ended up somehow sitting on my foot, screaming "It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!" Mr. Man came running and he wanted to see it. His response? "Oh, gross it is HUGE!" So I look at my ankle which is now the size of a tennis ball and I'm like "I need ice and some drugs please!" Mr. Man helps me into bed, where we prop up my foot on some pillows and wait for the pain to subside. I didn't really want to go to the ER but said my husband insisted I wake him up if the pain got worse or I felt I needed to go in. I told him to wait and see if I could make it through until morning. Nothing is worse than an ER on a snowy Friday night. I can imagine how long we would have waited. I was fairly sure my ankle wasn't broken so I figured I could hang tight til morning!

Saturday morning, bright and early we load up to go to the ER. We went to the ER at 7:30 and I was in and out and home by 9:30. It is just sprained with some torn ligaments. They wrapped it in an Ace bandage with an air cast. Today I can finally get up and move around more easily, but over did it this morning getting everyone ready for school, lunches made etc. I have it elevated again with ice on it now.

Sunday was more laying around and watching more movies, while my husband and kids lovingly waited on me! I love my family!

I still can't get a shoe on because of the swelling and bruising.

Hope you all had a better weekend than I did!

P.S. - It is ok to laugh at me. I laughed too. I wish I had a really cool story for the sprain, but nope it was just plain stupidity!

Green Chile Frittata

I posted a few weeks ago a veggie kind of frittata, but this week I am posting a green chile frittata which was good too and very easy to put together! Lady Bug and Spirit would only eat it if they wrapped it up in a tortilla like a breakfast burrito (which was also quite tasty I might add!), Lefty ate 2 large pieces of it! This fed my family of 5 with a few pieces left over - the recipe could easily be doubled to serve for more people.

Green Chile Frittata
INGREDIENTS:
5 eggs
1/4 c flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
dash of salt
1 (7 oz) can diced green chiles (I used a little over half the can because I was afraid any more than that would make it too hot for my kiddos!)
1 (8 oz) container cottage cheese
1 c shredded colby-jack cheese
2 Tbls melted butter

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish.

In a large bowl, mix eggs, flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in green chiles, cottage cheese, colby-jack cheese and melted butter. Pour into the prepared baking dish.

Bake 15 minutes then reduce heat to 325 degrees and continue baking for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown on top. Cool slightly. Cut into squares. Serve topped with sour cream and salsa if desired. mmmm, mmmmm, good!

Girls weekend

My husband's youngest sister is moving from our area to Virginia the early part of May. So we had planned a little girls weekend and planned on heading to the mountains tomorrow about noon. We are planning to meet my husband's oldest sister, her daughter and her two daughter-in-laws. We have a bed-n-breakfast reserved for us all. My SIL (the oldest of the sisters) wants to do a slipper exchange (I've never heard of such a thing, but sounds fun!) We all drew names and have to buy a pair of slippers for that person. Kind of different, but fun!

ONE snag..........

We are experiencing snow today. The mountains are expecting 20". I really don't want to go and get stuck up there! I am such a baby, I know, but as much as I may enjoy being with my SILs - I don't want to be snowed in with them!!!

So we'll see how this turns out! In any event, be sure to check in here tomorrow for the green chile frittata recipe - you MUST try it! It is so tasty!

Ya'll....I have an ant problem

My ant problem is not, however, a problem of having an abundance of ants in the house. It is a case of a dear 4 yo girl who loves "the baby ants" and collects them. She then places them in plastic Easter eggs of which they crawl out of. She loves to let them crawl on her -- she has 20 ant bites to prove it. She even makes little toys and blankets for the baby ants.

#1: I am shocked that my girly girl loves the bugs -- show her a spider and she will run screaming faster than you can blink!

#2: I would really rather not encourage the ants inside my house -- more importantly inside my kitchen where she tends to "lose" them.

Who said boys were bad?? Sheesh! I have a girl about to drive her momma crazy!

Very cool winnings

Remember the SITS girls' Spring Fling? Well I won something from over here. I won a T-shirt like this one. I also won a purse from this Etsy seller.


I got my totally cute t-shirt first and let me just tell you -- it is the funnest shirt to wear! People comment on it everywhere! I wore it to pick up the boys from school one day and the teachers all just thought it was a hoot! My neighbor wants one really bad too! So go here to IUsedToBeCool.com and check out all their stuff! I'm telling you it is a fun website to play around on!


I also won a very cute bag. When I got my package I was surprised to see that I got the cutest bag ever - and it has a cute little makeup bag inside. She also sent me some handmade coasters. All of it was way to cute for words --- AND GUESS WHAT..... I can't get my pictures to download right now! UGH!!! So, I guess #1: You'll have to take my word for it and #2: You'll need to head over to her Etsy shop and check out her goodies! I will post the pictures later, after I'm done kicking things around a bit- because I'm sure THAT will make the pictures download! LOL!

Easter weekend

We had a really nice weekend. The weather wasn't the greatest, but we had great family times together!

Saturday after breakfast, we headed over to a friend's church (she is the children's ministry leader there) for an egg dying party, then an egg hunt. That was a lot of fun for the kids. the weather wasn't bad, but it was muggy. Spirit, who is full of 8-year old attitude these days, was much too grown up to participate in such childish things..... until he realized how fun it looked! Then he got really into it!

Sunday I got up and made green chile frittata which was fab-u-lous! {I will post the recipes --- WITH pictures ;-) this Friday!}, fresh strawberries and orange juice.

After church, we rushed home to get ready for my in-laws to come over. It was a rainy-dreary day, but we had a really nice time anyway. The meal turned out really good and my husband decorated the table all fancy for us (I forgot to take pictures of it- ugh!)

The rest of the afternoon was just laying around doing a whole lot of nothing. The kids played games and watched a movie.

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A LITTLE UPDATE AND A FUNNY STORY ABOUT THE DOG:

UPDATE:

I took all your advice and decided to just be firm with the dog every time she goes near the front door. We only started this Friday and already she is much better. As soon as someone goes near the door I just tell her to sit and stay --- much to my surprise she DOES in fact sit and stay. She didn't get out once over the weekend and Friday was a nice day where the kids were in and out a lot! Progress? I sure think so!

FUNNY STORY:

The dog got two baths yesterday because she kept going in the mud (with all the rain there wasn't much choice if she wanted to potty outside and not in my house!) but then this morning after I let her out to potty she was scared to come in because she was afraid I was gonna haul her off to the tub again! Poor dog!! I had to coax her back in with treats! LOL!!

Friday Recipe Edition - EASTER recipes

I thought for fun I would post our Easter menu for this year. My mother-in-law and father-in-law will be coming over Sunday about 1 or 1:30 to eat with us. They are predicting warm weather which would be nice so that the kids can go outside to play.

Our menu will be pretty similar to what I did last year.

For breakfast I am going to make a frittata and serve some fresh fruit on the side.

Then for lunch with my in-laws:
*Spiral cut Honey Baked Ham
*Pan Fried Asparagus (just take your trimmed, fresh asparagus and saute in a little bit of olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper until bright green and crisp)
*Garlic cheddar mashed potatoes *See recipe below
*Deviled Eggs (my mother in law likes to bring these)
*Rolls
*Fruit salad (Take any kind of fresh fruit and stir in some flavored yogurt, I usually do strawberry or raspberry yogurt with bananas, raspberries, strawberries and grapes)
*Lemon Bread


Garlic Cheddar Mashed Potatoes
INGREDIENTS:
6 medium baking potatoes, cubed
2 Tbls butter
2 Tbls milk
1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese
dash of garlic salt
1 1/3 c French's Cheddar French Fried Onions

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Boil potatoes until tender. Mash potatoes with a butter and milk. Mix in soup, 1 c cheese and garlic salt. Stir until cheese is melted. Spoon potato mixture into a 2 qt baking dish. Top with 1/2 c cheese and onions. Bake 5 minutes or until hot and onions are golden.

Looking for some help

Remember the dog we found? We posted flyers, we posted ads, we told everyone we knew and no one claimed the poor dog. We finally decided no one was ever going to claim her and she was now our responsibility. The kids were ecstatic. We had her spayed and shots updated and a collar tag made with her name (that the kids lovingly chose) and our phone number. She is a very sweet, loving dog - most of the time. She loves walks in the park. She loves to snuggle up with someone on the couch. She has a little routine in the mornings of rushing out to do her little business then she comes in to find her toy and she has to play with one of us for a little while.

Now for her bad qualities -- She loves to take off. As soon as the door is open a tiny amount - she makes a run for it! This hasn't been a huge issue because of weather (well there was the one weekend she got out 4 times and then probably 3 times a week we have to chase after her!), but as soon as summer rolls around she is going to BOLT daily! I do not know what to do. I don't want to spend all summer chasing my dog through the park.

We had a family meeting and the kids suggested we just lock her up all summer. OBVIOUSLY, that is not going to work. Part of her getting out is their irresponsibility of not closing the door and gates behind them carefully, but the other part is that she is such a little dog that she can squeeze out of the tiniest opening!

Someone suggested that I need to prove that I am the "alpha" and not her. I am going to give this a shot when we walk her, but does anyone of my whopping 6 readers have any other suggestions? I looked into training and it is so expensive I would like to try something on our own first. I don't want to get rid of her just because we can't get our act together but chasing her is not my idea of fun! If it means anything to anyone she is a Jack Russell Terrier/Chihuahua Mix

HELP!!!

Teacher Appreciation

Here in the U.S. there is a full week dedicated to Teacher Appreciation. This year it is May 4-8. At the school where the boys go though, they really just have one big celebration day and they picked May 6th as the date. There will be a breakfast in honor of the teachers and one of the PTO moms (Go Wanydra!!!) was able to convince our school district to buy the staff lunch!!

I always do a little gift of some sort for the teachers. This year I took an idea that I did for "Devotional Diapers" -- NO! I am not giving the teachers diapers! -- I modified this to create this:

"T" is for Teacher - Tea bags covered with some inspirational and humorous quotes to get the teacher through a rough day!

First I Googled "Teacher quotes" and found some really great ones to use.

Then I printed the quotes up on the computer using some different fonts.

The kids covered the boxes with scrapbook paper.

Then glued the quotes onto the tea bags. The tea bags I bought came in a box and were individually wrapped so we glued these to the front of the wrapper and then carefully placed them back in the box.

Then I printed up a label that said:

"T" IS FOR TEACHER
You always quench our thirst for knowledge!
Please enjoy these inspirational tea bags.
When life boils your kettle...make tea!

I am quite pleased with how they turned out and can't wait to give them to the teachers. These were very easy to put together and cost me very little to make. The box of tea was $2.50 and I had scrapbook paper already. My mom was saying that these would also make good co-worker birthday gifts and other great simple gifts.

Below is a list of some of the quotes I used:

There is a reason I need the summer off

You know how to tell when your teacher is ready for vacation? Movie Day!

No matter what your day’s got brewing, get off the pot and grab some tea!

Teaching is the profession that teaches all the other professions.

Good teaching is one-fourth preparation and three-fourths theater. ~Gail Godwin

A good teacher is like a candle - it consumes itself to light the way for others.

Good teachers are costly, but bad teachers cost more.

The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. ~William Arthur Ward

Who dares to teach must never cease to learn. ~John Cotton Dana

The best teachers teach from the heart, not from the book.

There are three good reasons to be a teacher - June, July, and August.

The object of teaching a child is to enable him to get along without his teacher. ~Elbert Hubbard

Teachers are expected to reach unattainable goals with inadequate tools. The miracle is that at times they accomplish this impossible task. ~Haim G. Ginott

The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery. ~Mark Van Doren

A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops. ~Henry Adams

What the teacher is, is more important than what he teaches. ~Karl Menninger

He who opens a school door, closes a prison. ~Victor Hugo

Teacher appreciation makes the world of education go around. ~Helen Peters

I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well. ~Alexander the Great

It is easy to make a buck. It's a lot tougher to make a difference. ~Tom Brokaw

I would thank you from the bottom of my heart, but for you my heart has no bottom. ~Author Unknown

I can no other answer make, but, thanks, and thanks. ~William Shakespeare

A teacher is a compass that activates the magnets of curiosity, knowledge, and wisdom in the pupils. ~Ever Garrison

No one is more cherished in this world than someone who lightens the burden of another. Thank you. ~Author Unknown

Teaching is not a lost art, but the regard for it is a lost tradition. ~Jacques Barzun

In teaching you cannot see the fruit of a day's work. It is invisible and remains so, maybe for twenty years. ~Jacques Barzun

No one who achieves success does so without acknowledging the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude. ~Author Unknown

We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude. ~Cynthia Ozick

Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well. ~Voltaire

The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind. ~Khalil Gibran

The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings. ~Eric Hoffer

I've seen and met angels wearing the disguise of ordinary people living ordinary lives. ~Tracy Chapman

The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated. ~William James

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. ~William Arthur Ward

One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child. ~Carl Jung

NOW, Go here for more tips and hints and tricks at We Are That Family.

It all starts with one toy...

Saturday morning as the kids and I were just waking up, I noticed it was snowing pretty hard. I commented that I hoped it wouldn't snow all day and then I said "Well, I suppose it is ok because we have plenty to do inside." I was actually referring to cleaning and laundry but Lefty took it to mean we have plenty of toys. He said: "Yep. We have like a thousand toys in here." then he paused for a moment and said "It all started with just one little toy."

I laughed so hard. Isn't true? When I had my first son. He was so tiny and didn't do a whole heck of a lot but eat and sleep and yet his stuff consumed our tiny house. Now, three kids later there are cars, Legos, Knex, books, dolls, tea party stuff and much, much more all over the house -- and it started with just one little toy 8 years ago!

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This is Lefty eating breakfast with tool goggles on -- don't ask me why he has the goggles on, but it cracked me up so I had to post it here!

The short straw

I started to write this "poor me, pity party" post about how I drew the short straw yesterday and then realized my day wasn't all bad.... let me explain:


THE BAD: It all started Saturday night, I wasn't feeling very well. Not terrible, just kinda blah. {It is period-related cramps, headache and just over all yuck feeling!} Woke up Sunday morning feeling worse. Mr. Man headed off to work at 8:00 am and I managed to get the kiddos breakfast. I felt so yucky I decided I was not going to church.


THE GOOD: Lefty took very good care of me. He brought me water. He brought me snacks and then he asked me if I wanted some Pepto. {this one made me giggle inside!} He even set up Lady Bug a movie to watch and got her a snack too. After a little while Lady Bug made me soup in her kitchen (it was pretend chicken noodle soup with cheese on top)


THE BAD: Since it had snowed all weekend the kids had not really been outside much so by 3:00 pm Sunday they had some serious ants in their pants and they were driving me nutso and what happens? I get a call from Mr. Man that he is going to have to work late -- until 5:30 or so! Are you kidding me!?!?!? Nope, indeed he was not! I decided to play a game with the kids. They fought almost the whole game, but I didn't let that get to me because I just kept telling myself "I will be relieved soon. I will be relieved soon" THEN, 5:20 comes along and I get another call from Mr. Man -- the van won't start. So, I pull my unshowered self off the couch, throw my hair in a pony tail and out the door we all go. I was driving my husband's Jeep which has an antifreeze leak.... so here it is snowing and we are apparently out of antifreeze in the car and are freezing cold. Good times, ya'll!!

THE GOOD: Pick up Mr. Man and he tells me he thinks the van is just out of gas (he is notorious for running vehicles out of gas) so we go to the gas station and take him back to the van...sure enough it starts right up! AND, my husband loves me so much that he stood in the snow (and in his business suit) to fill the Jeep with antifreeze so the ride home was so cozy - in fact Lady Bug told me she was hot! AND after dinner my husband cleaned up all the dishes so that I could take a hot bath! *awwww*

So as I started to write how terrible my Sunday was and then I realized I have a great family who loves me more than I give them credit for sometimes!

Thank you family!

Bacon Wrapped Chicken with Rice and Gravy

I have been getting some flack for not posting pictures with my recipes...but I am here to say I will work on that. #1 I am not a good photographer and #2 I often don't even think about taking pictures until the food is almost gone.

So here is another recipe without a picture but my defense on this one is that I took a recipe and made some modifications and I wasn't sure it was even going to turn out. It turned out good and was fairly easy to make. It threw together quickly and then into the oven to cook. Easy Peasy (as my friend Lori would say!)

Bacon Wrapped Chicken with Rice and Gravy
INGREDIENTS:
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
12 slices of bacon
8 oz sour cream
1 (10.75 oz) can cream of mushroom soup
cooked white rice (I actually used rice pilaf which was good too!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wrap each chicken breast with 2 strips of bacon. Place in a glass 9x13 baking dish. In a small bowl, mix the sour cream and soup together. Pour the sour cream mixture evenly over chicken. Bake uncovered for 50-60 minutes or until slightly brown on top. Serve over rice.

Peaceful girls night in

With the boys being cooped up for their Spring Break they are less than quiet and still in the evenings lately -- BUT Mr. Man took them to Nebraska yesterday to visit a friend of ours. One of Mr. Man's nephews also lives in this small town so they will spend some time with him and his family too. The boys will have a great time I'm sure of it!

So, last night it was snowing and since it was just Lady Bug and I we made ourselves a frozen pizza and sat in front of the TV to watch Cinderella. Then we colored for awhile. Gave the dog a much needed bath. Then we had ice cream and watched American Idol. She put her pajamas on at about 7:30 pm without even being told to. After giving the dog a bath I was soaked so I also got into my pj's before eating some ice cream.

After putting Lady Bug to bed the clean, fluffy dog and I settled into my bed and I sifted through some catalogs and magazines. It was such a nice evening!

All over the place...

WARNING: This post is very random and all over the place!

It is Spring Break here and guess what? We have had nothing but snow and wind. That is just fab-u-lous.... well fabulous for my husband 'cause he is the sorry sap stuck indoors with the boys all day every day! *evil laugh*

They have gone to the library twice. Rushed out to buy replacement game controllers because one broke *gasp* and have pigged out on junk food.

Another snow storm is supposed to roll in this afternoon. Yippee! (Sense my sarcasm?)

So here I sit, thankful to have a job right now while the family is at home waiting for more snow.

Pretty boring in our house.

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NEWS FLASH!

Mr. Man and the boys are taking a short road trip to visit some friends in Nebraska. They are leaving at noon-ish and will be home tomorrow afternoon. Our friends have a farm and their teenage boy will take my boys out on the tractor -- which the boys LOVE to do!

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In other news.... Lefty turns 7 in a mere 26 days and we are working on his party plans. This poor kid has missed out on a big party every year. Last year he didn't get to have a big party because we were right smack dab in the middle of moving on his birthday. Poor kid. This is his year for a party and boy does he have big hopes. So last night I worked on bringing him down a notch or two!