Best Weekend In a While

What a fun weekend! I was able to spend some quality time with my good friend, Amber, to celebrate my birthday early on Friday night. We had amazing margaritas  dinner at Zapatas, and my favorite Pumpkin Spice Latte after. She even gave me my favorite WoodWick candle! I love her.
  Saturday was pretty laid back, and included a Mommy/Daddy/Baby trip to Wal-Mart, where we lost one of EK's new shoes. We retraced the entire shopping route to no avail, and left with a half-shod baby. It's the new look, you know!  We picked up some compost to put around our trees in the front yard, and rode the Kubota around with Wylie in tow spreading the dirt.

I had just enough left over soil to fix up one of my junk finds from last weekend!

I picked up this metal animal feeder for $5 last weekend while EK and I were shopping for decorations for our home.  I knew immediately what I wanted to do with it! I placed it between two lounger chairs on our deck, so it will serve as a table for drinks, etc. once I remove the huge pumpkin from the top.  I poked a few holes through the bottom for drainage using an ice pick. I recommend a drill, but Ryan is not too fond of me pulling out the power tools. I filled it from the top opening with dirt, then planted the kale and pansies.  

Next weekend, I have plans for these.

I hope that everyone had a great weekend, and I can't wait to see pictures of everyone's little ones in their Halloween costumes! Here's hoping for LOTS of candy for everyone!

Fall On Our Porch

When Ryan and I built our home, we knew we wanted a huge porch. We pictured ourselves being out there in the evenings, in our rocking chairs like old people. I didn't realize how insanely huge it would turn out to be... we deal with a 60 x 12 porch on a daily basis. The dogs track mud everywhere, grass and bugs are everywhere, it's kind of a pain. It's hard to keep clean, but it's even harder for me to decorate.
  Last year, I didn't put too much effort into decorating since I was grossly pregnant. I was determined to actually get with the program this year and decorate for at least fall and Christmas.  I may be a little behind, but I was able to finish things up for fall this weekend! I will probably leave this up through Thanksgiving, but I may replace the flowers in our large pots sooner than later.

Here's the before:

A little far away, but basically we just had the chairs and little table between them.

And the after:

Yay for a no longer empty porch!

I used a little bench that was my Granny's on the far left side of the porch to hold a few flowers and name plaque I painted. Note the wart-y pumpkin we adopted. 

I picked up the stand up wooden sign at Canton earlier this fall! I have decided I do not like purple or red mums. The blooms seem to lose their color so quickly, these look dead. 

Charlie probably counts as decor... he never leaves the mat outside the front door!

Ellis Pottery ran a great sale on pillows a few weeks ago, and I grabbed these for under $4 for the pair! I have to brag on the gorgeous yellow mum that Granny Skeet gave us for our anniversary! 

Well, that's that! It feels so good to come home to a porch that I love, and I'm already brewing over Christmas plans. I would love to see pictures of your fall decorations!

I cooked something, and it was actually good.

I have never, ever claimed to be a good cook. My poor husband has half-heartedly eaten many of my new recipe endeavors for a long time . He finally asked that I just stop trying, unless it's extremely basic or comes in a Roman's Pizza box.
Never having been one to give up, I still routinely attempt new recipes. Occasionally, I'm successful. This was one of those days ! The weather has finally cooled off, so I thought McAlister's tortilla soup sounded fab. I grabbed a soup/salad for lunch while working, and it was so good. That got me started on the hunt for an easy recipe that I could make in the crock pot.
  I had a really hard time finding a recipe that fit my taste. One had too many beans, one was too watery. Others involved actually cooking something. On the stove. Undeterred, I grabbed a few ingredients from this recipe, and a few from this one, and added a thing or two of my own (this rarely works out in my favor).

Here's what I ended up using:

A crock pot liner (yes, I would totally write this in your recipe because it is a MUST)
About 2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast (I used a rotisserie chicken)
2 Cans low sodium cream of chicken soup
1 Can Campbell's Fiesta Nacho Cheese Soup (this is where the creaminess of the soup comes from, one of my random additions)
1 Can Rotel ( I used Medium , could use Hot if you like it extra spicy)
2 Chicken Buillon Cubes (I didn't have the chicken broth that all of the recipes called for)
A few shakes of Cumin
2-ish Soup Cans of Water (more or less to thin soup to desired thickness)
Corn Tortillas cut into strips


I dumped all of into the good old crock pot, gave it a stir, and set it on "Low" for about 6 hours.  About 10 minutes before I was ready to eat, I mixed in about 4-5 corn tortillas which I cut into strips using my kitchen shears.

I topped the soup with just a tiny bit of cheddar cheese and sour cream.

Oh, my gosh. Yum. My belly is warm and fuzzy...or not..

Weekend Recap

We made it through another weekend! Sometimes I wonder- Why does the weekend fly by so quickly, but the work week sooo slowly? Thankfully, we don't have to list too many "reds" in this recap!

Friday:

• Put away all of Ryan's freshly washed winter clothes
• Finish decorating the front porch for Halloween (Solely for myself... you don't get many trick-or-treaters when you live in the middle of nowhere)
• Do EK's laundry
• Clean the kitchen, empty junk drawers

Saturday:

• Hit a few local shops to find things to decorate our new living room shelf  (We got some  old books and an antique radio for next to nothing!)
• ANOTHER baby shower. I'm surrounded by Fertile Myrtles. 

Sunday:

• Weekly CVS trip See my Sunday post!
• I'm most excited about this! EK and I are going to the pumpkin patch with my mom.  You can bet on lots of photos!
• Plan my lunches for the upcoming workweek I planned them, and they were gross. Whatever.

Somewhere in There:

• Update EK's clothing drawers. Out with the tiny, in with the monstrous.
• Hang my Pinterest inspired-pallet shelf  I am trying to decide if I even like this thing..
• Print photos from my camera

All in all, a lot was accomplished! Saturday, EK and I spent the majority of the day in town shopping. We met Ryan for lunch, and then headed to a baby Shower. EK was absolutely nuts at this point, and crawled all over the place, trying to rip into gifts and eat them. 

She spent the night with Ryan's parents Saturday night. It had been a while, and it was so hard to leave her! I am not real sure how we will do next month when we go to San Diego and leave her for a few days.  Ryan and I finally got the pictures and new shelf hung up in our living room, and it looks so much better!

Icky IPhone picture of before. I will post a separate entry later with the new look!

Sunday, EK and I met my mom and granny at the pumpkin patch! We had such a good time, and Mom took lots of great pictures of the day!

Granny Skeet, Me, and EK

EK was a little preoccupied with all of the straw.

Ready to go pick her pumpkin!

For me!?

Oh my gosh. I love pumpkins!

I am so ready for Halloween this year. It has always been one of my favorite holidays, and I can't wait to carve our pumpkins with EK.

What are your favorite Halloween traditions?

Sunday Shopping

My weekly Sunday shopping trip was not quite the same today. You see, EK spent Saturday night with her Grana and Papa Kev, leaving me and Ryan to a empty, quiet house. So, my shopping was done minus my little partner in crime.

Anyway, I am not an "extreme couponer" by any means. Half the time, I confuse myself and end up just saying "Forget it!" Today was a good day, though. I was able to get several things which we will use for a grand total of........ nothing out of pocket :) I  was able to use Exta Care Bucks that I earned last week to pay for all of today's items, plus I made it out with a few new ones for next time!

Here's what I found:

4 cans of soup, Revlon Foundation and nail polish, shaving cream, and 2 bags of Pretzel M&Ms (one of my new favorites!)

The total for all of the items was $33.97 before I took off any coupons or Exta Care Bucks.

The total after coupons was $25.47

Coupons I used:

$1.50 off of 2 Pretzel M&M bags

$1 off Revlon Nail Polish

$5 off Revlon Foundation

$1 off of 4 Progresso Soups

I had enough Extra Care Bucks from last week's trip to make my total $0. My store does not make you pay tax on items if they are "free". 

Top it all off with the $8 in Extra Care Bucks I earned for next week, and I'm a happy girl..... and Ryan has a few cans of soup to eat :)

TGIF...

Wow! This week absolutely flew by. I am so happy, though, because I have lots of fun things planned for this weekend. Ryan has to work during the daytime, but I'm sure EK and I will meet up with him for some of our activities.

Friday:

• Put away all of Ryan's freshly washed winter clothes
• Finish decorating the front porch for Halloween (Solely for myself... you don't get many trick-or-treaters when you live in the middle of nowhere)
• Do EK's laundry
• Clean the kitchen, empty junk drawers

Saturday:

• Hit a few local shops to find things to decorate our new living room shelf
• ANOTHER baby shower. I'm surrounded by Fertile Myrtles. 

Sunday:

• Weekly CVS trip
• I'm most excited about this! EK and I are going to the pumpkin patch with my mom.  You can bet on lots of photos!
• Plan my lunches for the upcoming workweek

Somewhere in There:

• Update EK's clothing drawers. Out with the tiny, in with the monstrous.
• Hang my Pinterest inspired-pallet shelf
• Print photos from my camera

That's all! I love writing out my plans. It seems like I really have a focus and get so much accomplished. I've given up on finding the perfect fall wreath. (Although, a patient did have a gorgeous one this morning on her door. Too bad she has dementia and no idea where it came from!)  I can't wait to update with photos from our weekend. 


What things do you have on the books for the weekend?

My New Favorite Sandwich

I've never really liked vegetables all that much. I can usually find something I don't like about them, for example: I hate the slimy crunch of onions, the mushy seediness of tomatoes, the stringiness of string beans, the blah-tasticness of green peas, the ick-factor of brussel sprouts, and the snap-smush bite into a bell pepper.

When EK decided to come along, I decided that I needed to at least try to think about eating in a healthier way. That fell to the wayside when she a newborn. Who has time to think about eating with a newborn and a full time, demanding job? I definitely lost all of my baby weight, but I certainly don't recommend doing it the way I did it. Starvation equals a tired, grumpy momma.

Fast forward to last Sunday. The starvation point has passed and I have managed to eat a few meals thanks to my wonderful husband.If you remember, I went to a baby shower for my best friend. It was complete with cake, punch, mints, and party sandwiches. They weren't just any sandwich though- they were made with cucumber. And cream cheese. Fat. Free. Cream. Cheese.

I got the recipe (cream cheese and cucumbers) from the hostess, and I have been in sandwich Heaven since.

Here's What You Do:

Soften 1 block of fat free cream cheese (I let it sit on the counter for a while)

Peel cucumber into thin slices using your vegetable peeler.

Spread the cream cheese over bread ( I prefer it on white bread; but wheat bread is probably a little healthier)

Layer as much cucumber as you like

Trim off crust 

.....Eat.


I realize that this may not be the healthiest recipe of all, and that cucumber is probably 99.5% water. It sure does beat a burger and fries, though! 

D'oh!

Today, my unthinkable happened. I forgot EK was in the car. 

<insert nice music here> Our weather is perfect today. When we left the house, it was cool, misty, and cloudy. This may not sound too great, but it is absolutely, hands down, my favorite kind of day. It could only be better if I didn't have to drive to work. 

   EK was mesmerized by the trees and their leaves blowing in the wind, and giggled the whole way to the car when the mist hit her little nose. I strapped her into her carseat, and I covered her up with her "car blanket" (you know, the one you are too lazy to bring into the house and wash...).  We creeped along down the driveway, and I didn't turn on the radio like I normally do every morning. I guess I was just so amazed by the gorgeous weather that I didn't even realize it. 

  Today, EK is staying at Mammaw's house. This means we have to drive through town, past everything. This means we turn right out off the county road, not left. Here's where Mommy-fail happened. I drove past Mammaw's street, right on to the highway. At this point, I got over the scenic beauty and turned on the  radio. Now, if a kid has ever loved music, it's ours. She sings. I really am just waiting to hear her sing along to Eric Church, since he has frequented the CD player more often than not lately. So anyways, I guess she was just holding in her inner songbird until this point, because she started belting it out. "Weeeeeblahabladgahblah".  She scared me. How could I forget she was in there? How could I just drive right by the place I drop her off at every other day?  I just thanked her for reminding me she was there, before we drove the entire 20 miles to my office.

"Hey Mom. Check me out. I can take my socks off. That's why I'm quiet."

  So, yes. I have kind of forgotten my child, if you want to get technical.  It happens.

I love hearing other "Mom Fails"! What is your best failure?

(Belated) Monday Morning Round Up

Holy Monday, were you busy. Glad you are gone, but I missed my weekend recap! I was  very proud of everything that got accomplished, considering I spent a great deal of time at a patient's house on both Saturday and Sunday morning! I got everything done on my Friday to-do list, with the help of Aunt Kaci, who watched our little bundle of crazy joy for a few hours! 

Saturday, Ryan had to work until 4am, so we spent a lot of the day napping. EK and I went to look for a wreath for our front door, but nothing we saw around town was very appealing. So, I'm still on the hunt for the perfect fall wreath. Maybe I will make up my mind on one before Christmas.  Needless to say, we didn't hang any pictures, either. Ryan has to do that stuff.

Sunday, EK stayed with her Grana a while, then we had Papa Kev's  soup for lunch! We went to my very best friend's baby shower. Her little girl is due December 2nd, and we cannot wait! I hope that Lilly and EK are as close as Abby and me. (Short story: Abby and I used to call each other every day to see what was for dinner at whose house. Whoever had the better dinner is where we both ate!) EK and I picked up my Granny Skee,t and then met my Mom. EK loves to hang out with them, and show off all her new tricks. She LOVES a good party!

"You're the best, Mom. None of the other babies get to eat this crap!"

Friday:

• Make a Hobby Lobby run to pick up a few picture frames for E.K.'s newest photos
• Clean out the fridge (I think the chicken salad has been there for two weeks. Oops...)
• Wash the two little dogs after E.K. goes to bed DONE before 7 o'clock because EK was gone!
• Start laundry for the weekend

Saturday:

• I will most likely have a patient to see this morning, since I am on call for the weekend
• Hang the new canvas portraits in our living room (and take before/after shots)
• Wrap baby shower gift
• Pick out a wreath to hang on our front door, using my new Celebrating Home wreath hanger

Sunday:

• Weekly CVS trip in the morning
• Go to Hooks for my best friend's baby shower
• Hang out with my Granny and the rest of my family

Somewhere in there I'd love to:

• Give myself a pedicure
• Recreate a recipe from Pinterest   (This was just bleh... we won't go there)
• Take a nap..... 

I hope that everyone had a great weekend, and a great Monday, too!

Celebrating Home Giveaway at Ourlifeblog.net!

Happy Friday!

I have partnered up with Elizabeth at Ourlifeblog.net to offer a giveaway for a Celebrating Home Scented Gel Warmer !  We will also be giving away an Apple Pie gel scent, so your house will smell amazing for the fall holidays. Check out her blog, there are tons of ways to enter!  Also, be sure to check out the Celebrating Home link at the top of my blog to view current product specials. There's a nice deal on candles right now!



Weekend Planning!

Linking up with My Happy House for weekend planning! Things always go more smoothly when we have a plan. Ryan is hard at work on the evening shift this weekend, which means EK and I have lots of time to ourselves. I try to find lots of outdoor morning activities or do a shopping trip on his night rotation weekend, so that we can keep the house somewhat quiet while he sleeps! Add me being on call to the mix, and even my best laid plans could go south at any time!

Friday:

• Make a Hobby Lobby run to pick up a few picture frames for E.K.'s newest photos
• Clean out the fridge (I think the chicken salad has been there for two weeks. Oops...)
• Wash the two little dogs after E.K. goes to bed 
• Start laundry for the weekend

Saturday:

• I will most likely have a patient to see this morning, since I am on call for the weekend
• Hang the new canvas portraits in our living room (and take before/after shots)
• Wrap baby shower gift
• Pick out a wreath to hang on our front door, using my new Celebrating Home wreath hanger

Sunday:

• Weekly CVS trip in the morning
• Go to Hooks for my best friend's baby shower
• Hang out with my Granny and the rest of my family

Somewhere in there I'd love to:

• Give myself a pedicure
• Recreate a recipe from Pinterest
• Take a nap..... 

What kinds of things do you have planned for this weekend?

27 and holding..

Happy Birthday, Ryan! 

 Ryan is the big 2-7 today. I love the 3 weeks out of the year where I can say, "My husband is 3 years older than I am."   

Ella Kate and I decided that there was no better gift for a man's 27th birthday than a Husqvarna leaf blower. Yes, that's right... a gas-powered, glorious leaf blower.  It was all EK's idea. She is the sweetest daughter EVER. He wouldn't disagree with me. 

Even better than his gift was the fact that he called for jury duty today. I would love to be a fly on the wall in jury selection when a State Trooper walks in as a juror candidate..

We love you, Daddy!

Be on the lookout for a Celebrating Home Fragrance Warmer giveaway that I will be sponsoring with Elizabeth over at Our Life! 

Our Little Human

It's my first blog hop! Today's topic for Toddle Along Tuesday is Something You Love About Your Kid.

Ella Kate

I love your big blue eyes..... even at 2 am....you got them from your daddy.

I love your sweet little nose.

I love your pouty lips, and how you scrunch them up when you wake up in the mornings.

I love your weird, thick hair. You got it from me. I will go ahead and apologize for the hours you will spend with a blow dryer and straightener attached to your head.

I love how you lean down to kiss your daddy in bed every morning before we leave for work. I love him, too!

I love how excited you get by the little things, and your cute little"Ohhhh" face.

I really just love you!

The Gross List

I love Pinterest just as much as the next girl. You kind of become a Pinterest snob if you were one of the "originals"... or got it before the rest of your friends did :P
  Anyway, I have had my share of cooking mishaps. When I found Pinterest, I felt like a chef or a rejuvenated Julia Childs. Maybe even Rachel Ray. There have been a few wins on the list, like 4 ingredient Garlic Chicken Parmesan and the Pumpkin Dump Cake. I can't forget Best Broccoli Ever. As expected and predicted by Ryan, there are a few things that have made it to the dreaded "What the H. E. Double Hockey Stick Is This Sh-t List." So, I present to you "The Gross List".

The Gross List

Ranch Crock Pot Pork Chops with Parmesan Mashed Potatoes
Sounds good, huh? Looks amazing, right? Well, it wasn't good- and it looked like dog poop on snow.

Ranch Crock Pot Potatoes

They burned in the crock pot. They smelled like a rotten salad. They were nasty.

  Crock Pot Potato Soup

Sounds easy enough. This was thick, lumpy and gross. I think I even took a picture of this one after I made it.

The best looking thing in this picture is obviously my Fiesta bowl.

I find it funny that the majority of my cooking successes ( and I use that lightly ) have been desserts. What can I say? I love dessert! 

Lessons learned:

 Ranch+ Crock Pot= Gross

Try to cook something other than a potato. Or a frozen form of a potato.

If you run across these pins, just Say NO. Or else, your family will look like this.

Happy (almost) 9 months, EK!

Tomorrow, our silly girl will be 9 months old. I cannot believe how quickly this has blown by us! There are several ladies in town who are expecting, and I will say that it makes my gut hurt just a little with baby fever. Fear not- I'm sold  on this IUD, and I really just love our little family. It is so complete, nothing can compare to the way this little girl just lights up our lives.

In the last month, Ella Kate has started crawling. Everywhere. She loves everyone she meets, and if you are lucky- you get a big, slobbery kiss. Hugs don't come cheap, either.  She sings in the car while we drive, and giggles all.the.time.
We just spotted a new tooth a few days ago, a top one this time! Daddy and I are so excited about this, she has definitely worked for it!

 We finally broke down and let Dr. Hollier put tubes in her ears. No more ear pulling! If you ever need a great ENT around Shreveport, he's your man! We had such a good experience.

 EK is definitely starting to have preferences for things, a few of her loves this month are:

-Shoes. They makes great chew toys, apparently!
-Fruit puffs
-Baby Cheese Puffs
-Drinking from a straw
-sharing Yogurt Your Weigh with Mom, Grana, and Aunt Kaci
-The floor air vent at Aunt Kaci and Uncle Clifton's house
-Rocking "fast" with Grana
-All of the clothes from Granny Skeet and GiGi
-Pulling up on things you shouldn't!

Things on the "Bad List" include:
-Diaper Changes- she is so squirmy..
-Getting Dressed
-Being alone on the floor
-Going to bed (I'm assuming this is pretty natural!)

We are so happy to have her, and can't wait to see what 10 months will bring!

Today, I lost my sunglasses.

I never, ever lose my sunglasses. This could very well be due to the fact that they never leave my head. I always say I look dumb in headbands, but really, my glasses serve as a headband.
Anyway, since I never lose my glasses, I thought I would do something else I never do. Blog! Who knows where I will go with this, or if I do anything at all past this week. You just never can tell.
Let me go ahead and give a quick summary of a few of the.... "characters" who will grace this blog-

This is Ella Kate (Rooter, Munchkin). She was the shock of our life, totally unplanned but totally worth it!

This is one of our original babies, Wylie. There are 3 dogs in our family, but he's the favorite most photogenic.

Ryan and I... well, we used to look a whole lot better than we do now. Babies and jobs do that to you!