A few pictures...

Well...it's a SNOW DAY here today. In addition to the snow that was still hanging around from the other day (about 4 inches) we got about an inch of ice last night with a few more inches of snow, so school was cancelled and the hubby was even on a two hour delay for work. Which means that my usual crazy Friday mornings, are now pretty low key. I've been cleaning and doing laundry and just getting things done! Very nice.

Anyway, I had a few seconds so I thought I would post a few pictures from our trip!! Hope you enjoy, and hope everyone had a very nice weekend!

Hot Shot and Minnie

View of Bahamas from our balcony

Munchkin enjoying a day in the Bahamas (poor hubs and hot shot missed this day due to the flu)

Sunrise

Hubs and boys on Castaway Cay (key) - Disney's little part of the Bahamas

This kid love the water!

"I'm on vacation"

HELLLLOOOOOO out there!!

Hello everyone - or no one. I'm not sure if you folks are even checking for new posts seeing as how it's been so long (yet again). As usual, life is busy...GOOD but busy!

Lets see...a week ago I was sailing around the Caribbean and enjoying time in the Bahamas with my family. My parents took the 4 of us, and my sister, on a Disney Cruise! It was a great time (minus the fact we all swapped around the stomach flu - starting with me) but other than that it was fabulous! The weather was beautiful, the kids had a good time, and I got to spend time with my parents and my sister!

We got home from our cruise on Thursday night, and then had the weekend to recover from our travels, do LOTS of laundry, clean house, all those fun things. Saturday was a beautiful day here, the high was up near 50, and it was nice and sunny! I even went and ran 3 miles which is sadly the most I've done in awhile. I've been slacking big time in the running department...well really working out in general. But I AM going to get back to it...

Anyway, so Sunday we went to church and enjoyed the day hanging around the house. Unlike Saturday, Sunday's high was around 10 degrees, and that night it got well below zero with the windchill putting the temps in the NEGATIVE 20-25 range...yea that's cold. That was the night that the ignitor to our heater also decided to stop working. So, there we were, coldest night of the year so far, and no heat. It was around 5 when we made our discovery, so we called our landlord and he sent out someone to take a look. Unfortunately he didn't have the kind of ignitor that we needed, so we were on our own until Monday when they could get the part and get back out to fix it. We have a fireplace, so that helped in the den, but as far as the upstairs went we didn't have any sort of heat. So, hubs went out to get a space heater and an electric blanket, and around 10 we moved the boys into bed with us, and we all snuggled up for the night. It was actually pretty cozy in there with the heater and the blanket...but getting out of bed the next morning was another story. It was 45 degrees in the house in the morning. So, we stayed in bed as long as we could before having to get up and get big kid ready for school. After I dropped him off, the little one an I spent the morning at Target until they called to say they were on their way, and by lunch we were warming back up!

It was quite the experience, and not one that I want to repeat any time soon, but thankfully we were able to figure out a plan for the one night!

Today it's been snowing all day long. It started around 7am and has just kept going, I think we're supposed to get around 5 inches or so. The boys and I went out early to mail off a few packages to my in-laws who we won't get to see for Christmas, and then got big kid a haircut, but other than that we've been hanging at home and while they were napping I got a few things done!

I can't believe that Christmas is right around the corner...it really seems to have snuck up on me this year. Although even though I don't "feel" ready for it, I do have almost all my shopping done. I still need to get something for my dad, and maybe another little something for my mom, but other than that, we're all set!

Okay, well that's it for me today. I'll be back tomorrow (I hope) and will post a few pictures from our trip! Hope you all are staying warm wherever you may be!!

Black and White

Black Friday and White Sunday that is!

This year I did something I have never done before, I went to the mall at O'Dark-Thirty and participated in the "black Friday" craze. If you know me, you know that shopping really isn't something I am huge on doing in the first place. Sure, walking around the mall in the middle of the week is fine, especially if you have someone to grab a coffee with and chat to. But I don't really consider that "shopping". The actual act of going out, looking for things, spending lots of money...it's really not my bag. Add the holiday crowds to that, waking up before my kids, and standing in long lines and really I'd rather just stay home. BUT I am a big fan of saving money on items that I would be buying anyway.

A friend and I went to the mall on the Wednesday before Turkey Day to let our little ones play and do some pre-season shopping. But every store we went into we could tell that the items we were looking at were going to be marked down come Friday, and some of the stores we went in were even nice enough to share with us exactly what their deals would be even though they weren't marked yet. SO we made a plan that we would go bright (or not so much) and early (VERY much so) Friday morning and knock out some of our holiday list. Our Hubbies were quick to agree because that meant they got out of it, and part of the time we were gone the kids would still be snoozing. So, Ang showed up at my house at 5 and we were off.

I was fearing the WORST, but actually, the mall we went to was not bad AT ALL. There was only one store with a long line and even that wasn't too terrible. People were nice, and there wasn't any of that craziness that you hear about in some stores. I got all the stuff on my list that I was going to pick up earlier in the week, and with the exception of a few small items, I am DONE with the Christmas shopping!!! And the deals really were nice. I saved us a good deal by sucking it up and going. And really, it was kind of nice going with a friend without the kiddos. So, that is my story...

Saturday we went and picked out our tree. Usually we do a fake one because, well we have it, and living down in the south I never felt like it really got cold enough to chance bringing in a real one because they could have bugs and stuff... But this year we decided to go for a real one and we had a good time. But it was VERY cold. Here is a picture of us with our tree before we took it home. It's the one to the left of me in the picture (not ON my left - on the left side of the photo).

And last but not least...WHITE Sunday. When we woke up Sunday morning there was a small dusting of snow on the ground! This is the first time either of my little guys have ever seen snow, and the big kid was VERY excited to get out and see what it was all about. He even helped his daddy shovel the driveway (not that it really needed it). Here are a few pictures from the morning.

First Snow Angel

Not sure what to think...

Me and the big kid

After a few snow angels and shoveling off the drive it was time to get back in and get ready for church, but it was fun. It's all melted now which to me is the perfect snow. Enough for a few snowballs, but a distant memory by lunchtime!

I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I know I am very blessed to have so much to be thankful for!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving, eat lots of yummy food, and most importantly enjoy the one's your with!

Blessings!

Tuesday at the Table

Well, I was all excited because I thought that I had forgotten to post stuff about the food I made while Nat was here (because she told me I didn't) BUT I scrolled down, and sure enough I did post. I made a chix pot pie that was really yummy...so go take a look down at some of my older posts for the details about that. Here is one pic of me putting the finishing touches on it.

Okay, so that is the only picture I have today, but I did make a few things that were really yummy, I was just lazy and didn't take pictures. The first were buckeyebars!! They were SOOOO good. I made them in celebration of OHIO STATES victory over MI!!! WHOOO HOOOOO! While I don't have my own picture, mine looked very much like the ones on the original link, so just go with that.

I also made some chicken chili the other night which was VERY good. It wasn't a white chix chili, it was tomato based and it turned out really good, again, no pics of my own but you can find the recipe and some pictures HERE. I give it 2 thumbs up, and even better, it's super easy. Also, it can be improvised. Some of the stuff I didn't have so I just used things that were similar. Like instead of a can of fire roasted tomatoes, I just used regular diced...things like that.

And last but not least, I couldn't wait and made some pumpkin pie this week as well. Nothing special, you can find about a million recipes for it, so I'm not going to link, because I don't even remember which one I used. Standard filling in a homemade pie crust...mmm mmmm good!

Okay, well that's it for this weeks TatT. Hope you enjoyed. :)

It's Turkey Time...almost :)

Well, as we are all aware Thursday is Turkey Day, so I found this survey about the big day and figured that would be more fun then just listening to me ramble. Hope you have a good day.

Where will you spend Thanksgiving? On the actual day we will be with my Grandma and family in MO, then on Saturday I'll cook our own little mini-dinner so we can still have some of our favorite fixin's that we won't be having down there...really just another excuse to eat too much two days instead of just one!

Do you want to be there? Sure, it will be nice to see family that we don't usually get to see, and my grandma

Who are you looking forward to seeing the most? My G'ma I guess

The least? no one...they're all cool enough. Really I don't know them well enough to NOT like any of them

Who makes waaaayyyy too much food? Usually me!

Who eats the most? The hubs can put it away!!

Who's most likely to fall asleep after dinner? The hubby and the boys

Who's most likely to get drunk & fall off the couch? Ha, probably no one in this crowd!

Are you perpetually placed at the kids table? Haha, not anymore. Now that I have kids, I get to sit at the grown up table!

If you're not the host, will you help clean up? Yes, but this year we are country clubbin' it for the big day so no one gets stuck with clean up duty!

Will you be eating turkey?Of course...yum!

Will green bean casserole be served? I'm sure there will be some version of it

Mashed potatoes, lumpy or smooth? either - or, I'm easy to please

Gravy or no gravy? yes please, but not too much

Is it Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie? NO WAY!!

What is your favorite pie? any kind with a good home made crust

What's the best T-Day dessert you ever had? I love pecan pie, even better...sweet potato pecan pie

Is it: stuffing or dressing? Stuffing....dressing goes on salads.

Do you like candied sweet potatoes? I love sweet potatoes any way I can get them!

Jellied or whole cranberry sauce? I'm a freak and actually really enjoy the jellied cranberry sauce

What is you're favorite dish? the stuffing!!!! And sweet potato souffle!

Least favorite? I love it all, but the part that i could actually do without...the Turkey...go figure

Weirdest dish? that pistachio jello stuff with the marshmallows and pineapple...My Grandma used to make it...really yummy

Do you watch the Macy's parade? Sometimes

How bout football? Definitely. It isn't Thanksgiving without football!

Do you watch the Peanuts special? haven't in awhile, but now with the kiddos I'm sure we will be doing it again

Do you, or anyone you know have a singing turkey decoration? Not that I know of! Haha

Have you ever dressed like a pilgrim? I think as a kid for school

Do you put up decorations? Sort of...I have fall stuff that I put up between Halloween and Christmas, but it's not necessarily Thanksgiving-specific.

How much to you think you will eat? Way too much, but that's okay because on Thanksgiving calories don't count!!!

Funniest T-Day moment? I can't think of anything.

Worst Meal EVER???? Never a bad meal! Thanksgiving is awesome!

If you have pets, do you share with them? Yes, the girls always get some turkey.

Will someone say grace at the table? Yep

Do you remember the story of Thanksgiving? I guess so.

What are you most thankful for? How fortunate I am to have such a wonderful family and friends.

Slackey McSlackerson

Yes I am. Sorry about that (again). It seems like every time I post here these days I start out with an apology because I haven't posted in such a long time.

Okay, so I started writing this on MONDAY!!! Yes, as in 4 days ago. Things have just been so busy here recently that everyday I have the best intentions of blogging, but then, something always comes up, and before I know it, another day has gone by. So, I am going to try and be better, but I have to warn you, the blog may not be updated as much as it has been in the past. My daily "free" time has dwindled down considerably. Hot shot no longer naps, which means that my once 2-4 hour window that I used to have while they were both napping, is now, well pretty much non-existent. I still have him do "quiet time" while the munchkin is napping so I can get work done on the computer, but that only lasts between 1-2 hours which doesn't usually give me enough time to get over here and blog. I know...sad. But, I am here NOW so lets make the best of it shall we!?!?

My trip to CT was great. Sadly we didn't take too many pictures. Okay, well that's a lie, I took LOTS of pictures while I was there, but none that included myself! I took pics for both Sam and Dawn of their kiddos and such, which was a LOT of fun to do, and I was happy that I got some good shots for them! The weekend went by too fast and before I knew it I was on my way home. But I was really glad to see Sam and the boys before they take off.

Last weekend (Saturday) was my 5 year wedding anniversary with the hubby! Yea, happy 5 years baby! It's been fantastic and I look forward to a lifetime more! Sadly the hubby had to work all weekend...yuck. But we still managed to go out to dinner Sat. to celebrate! I'm a lucky gal!

I missed Tuesday at the table (again) but I did actually do some baking this week! In attempts to get the leftover Halloween candy OUT of the house, I've been baking with it and then sending the finished goodies out with the hubs to his work! This week both boys helped me so I have a few pictures of that. We just made good old choc. chip cookies. But substituted an assortment of M&M's in place of choc. chips! They were very good, and I have to say one of my best batches of cookies EVER! Maybe it was the cute little helpers I had??!?! I also have some stuff from when Nat was here that I never posted, but I'm going to save that for Tuesday...

Ready to help

Hot shot and his "taste" spoon...don't worry there was NO double dipping!

They are so fun! Yes, the munchkin is sitting on the counter, but I didn't leave him up there unattended. He likes to hang there and sample the goodies while I cook.

So, I'm going to run now that I have given ya'll some sort of an update in our crazy lives. The hubby and elder just got back from a Starbucks run. He's home early from work, because I had a dentist appointment earlier and they told him not to worry about coming back in because he WAS there all weekend! I had to get a filling in my wisdom tooth complete with 4 SHOTS of anaesthesia! I went in last month and they couldn't get me numb, so this time they didn't take any chances. I even had to get a shot on the roof of my mouth...OUCH! That one hurt. Okay...I'm really going now!!

time for an update!

Wow, I've been slacking again! I feel like after I got back from MCM all I have been doing is playing catch up with everything from work to home and in between! I think I am finally on top of things again, but I am going out of town this weekend as well, so who knows. But I am looking forward to my weekend, I'm going to visit my girl Sam for a few days before they fly off to live in Guam for 3 years.

Anyway, things have been busy. Work has really picked up which is awesome! I just updated my sight tonight, so you should check it out here. Lots of new stuff up! The fam is doing great. My mom came for a visit last weekend which was really nice. It was good to see her. Halloween was a blast, and the big kid was really into it! Here are a few pictures:

Carving Pumpkins

The Star Wars Family

Grams and Luke

baby Yoda

Other than that, we've just been enjoying what's left of the fall weather and hanging out as a family. Okay, I was hoping there would be more substance to this post, but I'm too tired to come up with much. I hope that all of you out there are having a nice week so far, and I'll try to be better about posting again...

MCM Race Report

Okay, so I know it's taken a long time to get this report out, I'm sorry about that. I've just been scrambling to play catch up around here.

Anyway, I'll try to make this short and sweet and to the point, but I can't promise anything. The whole weekend was wonderful. DC is a fun place and I had a great time. So, as you know, this year I ran in the 33rd Marine Corp Marathon held in Washington DC. I've been training for it for the past 18 weeks, and overall it went really well.

My ultimate goal was to come in under 5 hours, which I did. My official finish time was 4:49:25. I never "hit the wall" or had a moment where I thought I couldn't do it. Don't get me wrong, it was tough, but not nearly as bad as I feared it could be.

We lucked out and got PERFECT weather on Sunday for the race. We were up early, left the hotel around 6:30, and were at the start right in time for the 8am gun. My first 3 miles were pretty slow. I was so scared of going out "too fast" that I think I may have held back a little too much. But that's okay, I was able to hold a pace the entire 26.2 miles, which I hear can be tricky for some. I don't remember exact details of the course, but it was beautiful. The first 8 miles or so, as we wound our way through Georgetown, was so pretty. I really enjoyed the entire course. The only part I didn't like was around mile 20 we were on the bridge that never seemed to end! But other than that it was a good time. The crowds were great, lots of fun spectators, some even nice enough to hand out everything from bananas to beer. Mentally I did pretty good, at mile 16 I got a tad discouraged as I realized I still had 10 miles to go, but before I knew it I was at mile 18 and from then on just trucked along.

My training really helped me, I felt ready and strong throughout. By far the best part was crossing that finish line, getting my medal, and meeting up with Sam to start celebrating. I'm so glad she was there with me. It was hard not having my boys, but over the years she's come to be family. She rocked her race too by the way, so if you haven't, you should go check out her report.

So anyway, to sum up, I went, I ran, I finished...and it felt DAMN good! I know most of you who knew me way back when wouldn't ever think this would be something I would do, and really, I don't know that a year ago, I would have believed it either. I AM A MARATHONER!!!!

Here are a few pics from the day. I don't have any of the official one's yet, but when I get them, I'll post them!

4 gals ready to head out for a run!

A pretty morning in DC

I FINISHED!!! Me and Dottie (our lucky duck)

All finished - 4 marathoners!

My "good luck" flowers from my hubby!

Tuesday at the Table

Well, I am getting this posted today, but not by much. It's currently 11:07 and I should be in bed, but I really wanted to post all my creations this week. I made myself choose three to post, because otherwise it would be pretty long. So here it goes.

First off I made Mexican Pumpkin Lasagna. Yes, you read it right, pumpkin. It's really good, and the pumpkin isn't really a flavor you taste, it more just adds body and some extra nutrition to the dish. This is the hubby's portion, but I made 1/2 with cheese and 1/2 without (for myself) and each side came out just fine! The recipe uses tortillas instead of noodles, I used whole wheat low fat ones (because that's what I had) and they worked just fine. It actually reminded me more of enchiladas than lasagna, but either way it was really yummy. And both boys ate it so that is a plus!! If you want the recipe let me know and I'll email it to you. It's out of my pumpkin cookbook.

Served up with some squash, zuch, onions and sweet potatoes.

Next is my Chicken Pot Pie...YUM! This is one of my favorite meals, but we don't make it often because it takes awhile to prepare the filling - but it's so good when I make it. This time it was even better because I made my own crust!! YUMMY! I even cut out cute little pumpkins to go on top...yea I was pretty proud of myself! :)

placing the pumpkins

ready to go in the oven!

all done

ready to eat! YUMMY

And last, another recipe from my pumpkin cookbook...pumpkin pancakes! These were really good, and a nice change from everyday buttermilk pancakes. And yes, I do have a small obsession with all things pumpkin this time of year. These were pretty easy to whip up, so again, if you want the recipe just let me know. I had mine with a drizzle of maple syrup and some apple butter...very tasty!

The munchkin enjoying his pumpkin cakes

Well that's it for this week. I don't know how much posting I'll get done the rest of the week. I have lots of fun things to post about but as you all know my marathon is THIS WEEKEND!!! I leave Friday AM to fly out to DC so I won't be around much. But if you don't hear from me before, I'll be back next week with all the details. Catch ya'll later!

Tuesday at the Table

This has been another big baking week for me, but thankfully most of it was sent out for others to enjoy. Before I get into my big baking adventure, I'll post actual food. I want you all to see that I do feed my family something other than baked goods loaded with sugar!

Saturday night I made my spaghetti. Nothing fancy, but I do make the sauce myself. I usually change up what goes in my sauce, but tonight it was pretty straight forward, onions, garlic, seasoning and for the meat we went with hot turkey sausage. YUMMY! Served it up over some whole wheat spaghetti noodles, alongside broccoli and wheat rolls...simple but super yummy!

So, what do you do when you go apple picking??? Make all things apple of course. I made some apple oatmeal muffins (sorry no pix) to send off in a goody basket to a new family in the area, and then for my family made apple pie. I am SOOO pleased with how it turned out I can't even begin to tell you.

I'm going to share a dark secret with you all...usually when it comes to pie crusts I let Pillsbury do all the work, or if my mom is around I'll have her do it (her crust is THE BEST). I've always had an unnatural fear of all things pastry crust-like. But I forgot to pick up my ready made pie crusts this week at the store, and was all set to make pie, so I decided to put on my big girl panties and tackle my fears! I pulled out moms recipe and got to work. She wasn't kidding when she said it was no fail - it rolled out easy, and when the pie was done the crust was flaky and perfect. I'm a gal that LOVES pie crust and now that I've done it myself, I'll never be able to go back.

as you can see I am a VERY messy baker

almost done

ready to go in the oven

cooling off...soooooo delicious

I wish I could take a picture of the way the house smelled while this baby was cooking up in the oven because it was incredible...but pictures will just have to do. I can tell you waiting for it to cool was torture!

This recipe was super easy. If you're interested you can check it out here. It's super easy, although I think next time I make it I will add a little flour to thicken up the filling a bit...but the taste is phenomenal!

Well that's it for this week! Nat's coming this weekend so I'll be cooking up some good eats! I've already got a list going...and check back tomorrow for another post...I'm on a roll!! :)

Pickin' Pumpkins

This weekend was a nice one. Laid back, relaxed, and with Columbus day we even get an extra day to just spend time as a family!! Saturday we had big kids soccer game, then it was home for what we like to call family nap time (we ALL took naps) then it was off to the pumpkin patch! The boys had a great time, and we found some good pumpkins for Halloween!

The hubby with his boys - on the tractor ride out to the patch

The "pumpkin whisperer" - our little munchkin thought it was SO fun to "talk" to the pumpkins. He would lean down like you see here and just babble on and on. It was quite entertaining!

Looking for the perfect pumpkin!

It's a good thing I have better luck with other peoples kids than I do with my own when it comes to taking pictures. They are such goof balls! But I'll keep 'em cause they are just too darn cute!

Sunday was long run day, which really wasn't all that long. I went 10. A little shorter than I was going to run, but I was running into 20-25 mph sustained winds and it was exhausting! I feel more tired today than I did after my 20 mile long run last week!! But my time was pretty good, so I am happy with that. I'm looking forward to the marathon, and then going back to my "usual" routine of switching things up. I love to run, but a change of pace will be nice for awhile!

The rest of the day we played outside, visited with neighbors, made a family trip to target, and played outside some more. It was a nice day out despite the wind so we took advantage of it. Today it's rainy out, so we may take the boys to the mall to play to burn off some energy.

Alright, well that's it for me today. Hope ya'll had a nice weekend and I'll be back tomorrow with TatT!

An apple a day...

Today was hot shots first field trip with his school. We went to an apple orchard and got to pick apples, along with play on the playground, and go through a corn maze! It was a very fun morning and the boys had a great time!

Not too much else to write about today. I've been so busy today. After the field trip, it was home to do lunch, clean house, then after the munchkin woke up from his nap we were off again to the commissary. Then it was home, out for a (very) quick run...no not for time...because I cut it a wee bit short...then we were off for dinner, home...kids to bed...whew...it was a busy day. It's now about 9pm and I am beat and ready to head to bed.

So with that I am going to leave you with these pictures and I hope you all have a good weekend!!!

Do your homework!

I don't post about much of anything with a whole lot of substance around here, and that's fine with me. This blog isn't for anything deep, just a way to keep in-touch, share thoughts, and all that fun stuff...but every now and again I actually do have something to say. Before you get too worried...don't. I'm going to keep this short and sweet, but I just think it's important.

Unless you've been living under a rock you are aware that the election for President is coming up in LESS than a month! So...I urge all of you to please do your homework and research, and figure out who you are going to vote for, and come election day....GOOOO VOTE!!! We are so lucky to have this right that so many people take for granted, so take advantage of it, and get out there!

Okay that's it. End of post. I just thought this was worth mentioning. Most of you that read this I am pretty sure already have plans to go vote, but just in case there is some one out there that hasn't put too much though into it, I urge you to think about it!

I'll be back tomorrow with my final post for the week! Hope you all are having a good week so far!!

Little Girl

No...we're not expecting or anything of that nature. Girl is big kid's fish that he got shortly after we moved here. I think I remember telling you all about our trip to go pick out Girl and how the hubs and I couldn't believe that our Hot Shot picked out the ugliest fish at the store. But over the past few months we have all grown to really like Girl (yes that is her name - Hot Shot picked it out himself) and she is part of our family. So, I figured I'd share a few pictures of her. I have been meaning to for awhile, but every time I think of it her bowl is in need of a cleaning. But I cleaned it the other day, and had the camera nearby...so here you go. I present to you our fish...GIRL!

I hope you enjoy these...I'll be back tomorrow with a post with some actual substance...maybe ;).