this is what happens

when you let your 4 1/2 year old have the camera.

gary feeding the dogs

hayden cheezin'

ahem...really?

i don't even know what to say.

Happy Birthday Auntie!

We love you Auntie and hope you have a great day!

ouchie

Yesterday was Hayden's 18 month well child exam. I told him all morning he was going to get shots, but nothing prepares them for the pain. Bless his little pumpkin pie heart!

He was so sweet and unsuspecting.

He flirted and laughed and played. The nurses just loved him, and then OUCHIE!!

He got four shots.

Poor Guy :(

Stickers made it a little better, but only a good nap helped the most!

OMG...could that face be any sadder??

Sad while sleeping...my heart is breaking.

Our little man is 29.8 pounds and is 34 inches tall.

His exam was great and we are glad that is over.

lk designs

Layla Kate is forever asking me to do a craft.

For a month or two last year I was REALLY into making jewelery. I don't have time to do it anymore, but I have all the stuff just sitting in the craft closet waiting to be used.

This craft was by far was the most fun for both of us.

I think I have a little designer on my hands!

Viola~~ St. Patty's Day bracelet.

After all that intense work we were hungry for "cheater banana pudding"

I am ashamed to admit that I love me some banana pudding. I have a killer recipe for banana pudding, but I can't make it because I will eat the whole thing by my self in two seconds flat.

So this is what we do:

Cut up a banana, put some pudding in a bowl, break up some Nilla wafers and sprinkle on top. Add the yummyness of whipped cream {spray some in your mouth too} and then top it all of with sprinkles.

Are there any "cheater" recipes you want to share?

Pantry Destructor

That door leads to our kitchen pantry.

Those fingers you see sticking out of the bottom...they are Hayden's.

He loves the pantry and thinks it is funny to mess it all up.

I think he knows I like it organized and he wants to keep me busy.

Luckily he can't open doors yet, but if one of us leaves the door open for only a second he will go in and shut himself in the pantry and play. It is impossible for us to cook without going in there. It is a constant struggle. He poured a whole bag of Fritos out the other morning. On the floor.

I mopped the day before. ha! J/K, but really, I probably did!

I guess I should look at the bright side...when he is tearing things apart in the pantry I don't have to worry about the rest of the house.

wrestle mania

Just a dusting & 'this n that'

Thank you all for the encouraging words yesterday.

I have decided to never mop again. Heehee!

And in other news we are no longer owners of that laundry mat.

We were able to finally get that all figured out.

********

Thanks to all you who offered ideas for my San Fran/San Jose trip!

I am very excited about that upcoming adventure.

We only got a dusting of snow this morning...yeehaw! It has pretty much all melted now.

I wasn't looking forward to getting a bazillion inches, but we were spared and I am so happy!

It is just down right cold...burrr.

The pups rear ends checking out the dust. They wouldn't turn around. Maybe they are sick of me chasing them with the camera just like the kids...HA!

********

I have been doing The 30 day Shred on and off since October.

I really hit it hard in January. I am also still sticking to my Weight Watchers plan.

Anyway, I hadn't lost weight for a couple of weeks, and so I stopped doing the Shred.

I lost weight again...weird.

I guess I started building more muscle. Which is okay, but I want to loose more weight.

Gary wanted to join in the exercise, and did the Shred a few times, but he wanted more of a cardio work out. I bought The Biggest Loser Cardio Max. We did it last night, and we really liked it. Similar to the Shred there are many different levels, so we just started with the first workout.

Anyway, switching it up will be great. I'm not going to stop Shredding, but Shredding everyday must be too much for me. The Cardio Max really gets my heart rate up...more than the Shred.

That is my exercise tid bit for the year..HA!

Manic {random&buggy} Monday

I am bugged today. You know just irritated with stuff.

1. Someone hacked my twitter account. Really? What is that about? Some crazy people have nothing better to do than make someone else miserable. I'm embarrassed...the hackers sent a nasty Direct Message to people. So, it wasn't me, and people that know me probably just deleted it. But it still makes me crazy.
2. I am really irritated with the fact that when you call someone you can't get anyone on the phone. Really, I am talking about businesses. There is an error in our name with a county near us having to do with taxes. Apparently, Gary and I own a laundry mat that we didn't know about. And we owe taxes on said property. So, anyone need their clothes washed? If someone would pick up the phone it would be great. That way we can get this error fixed.
3. I dropped my phone on the ground in the parking lot of the grocery store this morning. It wouldn't work for about 20 minutes and I thought I might loose my mind. Why am I so dependent on that phone? It really isn't that cool anyway. I want a new one, but am not eligible for an up-grade until April. Hopefully, by April I will decided what I want.
4. I kind of like using these little numbered bullets so one more thing...

1. I am really irritated with the fact that every.time.I.mop. I spill or break something. I wish I were kidding. Do you think my tile floors would designate if I never mopped again? I mopped two weeks ago, and dropped the crock pot lid. Shattered~all.over.the.CLEAN.floor. I mopped last Wednesday. Dropped a whole unopened bottle of red wine all.over.the.CLEAN.floor. Oopsie! It was loads of fun to clean that up. Luckily the kids were in bed. Callaway, who is white...solid white...only suffered a few stains. He was frantically licking it up. I had to shoo him while scrubbing as fast as possible. A wino dog I do not want.
2. Oh, one more thing. {and why did my numbers start over?} I was so excited to finally try Nutella, and I did, and I don't really like it. I wanted to like it and it be the most awesome thing ever. But not so much. Hayden LOVED it! I'm thinking Layla will. Me, I'm just gonna stick with Jiff.
3. And why can I not move pics in blogger since using Chrome? Do you guys have this problem. In my other browser I could highlight a picture and drag it where ever. Now I have issues...so frustrating!!!
4. If any of you are still reading this, please let me know about your randomness today!!

I just had to share a pic of my little man. He LOVES pull-ups! He won't let me put pants on him. He gets the pull-up on and he runs from me. It is a little cold here for no pants, but I'll just turn the fire up, and continue chasing him. Heck~he runs so much he's probably not cold!

Fun time with a laundry basket

boy crawls into laundry basket

adventurous daddy sees boy and takes him for a ride

laughs and giggles fill the house

More coming this week...Gggrrrr

During the big snow event we recently had here in DFW we ventured out to get a pizza.

We could have had it delivered, but I was excited to see the scenery and so were the kids.

We we loaded up and saw the sights, luckily the roads hadn't had a chance to turn icy.

IT WAS AMAZING!

Hayden is obsessed with trains...when he sees one he points and screams choochoo!!

I took this one for him.

We were in a moving car, so these may not be the best, but anyway it was fun trying to capture pics of something so rare {snowintexas}

This one was taken at the pizza place in the drive-thru.

We sort of live off the beaten path, but our area is growing.

I am so excited to see the growth.

****

I guess I should just get happy about the white stuff.

Apparently we are getting more this week.

FOR THE LOVE OF PETE...come on SPRING!!!

I am done with this winter weather.

The kids are happy though...Layla already has plans for the snowman she is planning to build.

Anticipation

I am so excited to be going on a long weekend getaway very soon with my husband.

I will miss my kids like crazy, but I really need a mini-vaca and can't wait to

jump on a plane to San Fransisco!

WooHoo!!

We will be staying in San Jose, but essentially visiting both places.

Can you help me?

Have any of you guys been?

Any ideas of fun things to do would be greatly appreciated.

You know we love to eat~ fun restaurant ideas??

Gary has been to San Francisco, so he has some ideas and

I might get to see my BF that lives in Los Angeles...that would be amazing!

Have a great weekend :)

i found my yankee

Have you ever walked into a flower shoppe to order flowers or a plant?

All the flower and plant smells all mesh together to form one lovely smell that is extraordinary!

I love the way it smells.

I just have two words...

Dune Grass.

Oatmeal FollowUp

Remember last week

when I posted about oatmeal?

I promised my meatloaf recipe, well I lied.

I’m sort of posting a meatloaf recipe.

I wouldn't call it meatloaf though.

The way I make ‘meatloaf’ isn't your typical loaf of meat.

The words meat and loaf smashed together

are nasty and unappetizing to me.

Did you like meatloaf as a kid?

I didn’t and I can speak for Gary and say he didn’t.

My mom never made it.

My mom didn’t really cook with red meat.

She just isn’t/wasn’t a fan.

Gary’s mom cooked something she called meatloaf,

but it was drowned in tomato sauce.

When Gary and I got married I was a beginner/terrible cook.

I tried so hard and I kept/keep trying.

I love to cook and did even as a beginner.

Sometimes my cooking is good, and other times we call the

local pizza guy after a failed attempt.

I wanted to be a good cook and would try so many different times

and ways to master a certain recipe.

I.wanted.to.make.good.meatloaf.

Period.

LifeGoal!

I don’t know why, I just did.

In my opinion I mastered the loaf of meat we now call

{drumroll please}

“Red Top Rounds”

1 ½ lbs ground beef

{if I have leftover raw pork sausage from breakfast

I’ll throw that in too/instead of ½ pound beef}

1 egg

3/4 cup milk

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1/2 cup quick cooking oats

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup ketchup

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons prepared mustard

******

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, combine the egg, milk, cheese, oats and salt.

Add the ground beef, mixing well, and form this

mixture into eight miniature rounds.

Place them in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish.

In a separate bowl, combine the ketchup, brown sugar and mustard.

Stir & spoon over each round.

Bake for 45 minutes.

Kid tested and approved!

(the spacing on this post is weird)

xoxoxoxo

We had a fun few days celebrating Valentine's Day.

I took the pictures above on Valentine's day. The kids were all in red and loving each other, a rarity in our house. Usually they are running from each other.

In the picture of the kids kissing I'm not real sure, but it looks like Layla may be licking him. Ughhh. They were hamming it up for sure.

Gary was out of town on Valentine's day, so the kids and I had strawberry milk and strawberry muffins for breakfast.

The four of us shared a box of chocolates one of those snowy days last week...yum!

When Gary got home yesterday we went to Zio's for an Italian dinner. Sadly the only cute picture is the one of Hayden eating spaghetti noodles.

The best part of the meal...dessert...we ordered an 'against the law' Oreo treat (pictures lower right). Wow...really yummy!

I would tell you about it, but I don't remember I ate it so fast. Layla and I were bumping spoons. I have been really good lately and don't want to gain back any of the 14 pounds I have lost. But~every once in awhile a treat is a nice reward.

Layla had a fun time at her Valentine's party at school yesterday. Hayden was so silly. He walked right in, sat down and acted like he belonged in the class. I was worried Layla wouldn't like that, but she did. The first thing she told Gary about was Hayden acting like a big boy. I am just happy that he didn't walk into the classroom like a tornado. He can mess up a room in .836 seconds.

I am going to hide all the Valentine's candy. Layla mostly got suckers and sweethearts, so I won't eat those {thank goodness for no m&ms} but, Easter is next.

More candy, to battle over. Candy...ughhhh.

Do you have the candy battle in your house too?

Happy Birthday Aunt Susie!!

Gary's sister Susan turns 24 today! HA!

Just kidding, not really 24, but doesn't she look great.

We love you Aunt Susie!

Hope you have a great day :)

Tip of the day...don't scrimp on the q-tips :)

+

+

=

happy girl!

we had tons of fun creating with q-tips.

I bought generic q-tips.

When Gary inserted one into his ear he thought he hit his brain.

OOOooopsie!

We are becoming q-tip artists.

I can't wait to share Valentine's Day pictures I took this weekend. Layla's preschool party was postponed until today because of the snow.

Hopefully I can take a few at school and post some pics later this week.

Did you have a good V-day?

Fun in the snow = tired family

I am so sore from playing in the snow!

The Shred was tough this morning...I pulled a muscle in my right leg running through the tall snow! It was so worth it though. The kids had so much fun!

The sled and snow rafts were a huge hit.

We are all a little worn out though.

The kiddos are cranky today...both are down for naps as I type this.

Layla said she had a headache, and Hayden is teething.

This HUGE snow event has us whipped!

We are looking forward to a restful weekend.