Basketball team party!
We had such a fun time at our party for basketball. Amanda couldn't come because she had some major dental work done and we really missed her. I love these girls sooooo much. And we had an awesome season!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
February 21, 2011
Happy Birthday Baby Brother!
A few memories:
Tiffany and Lee at our Stone Harbor House. The fire place in the background proved to be a dangerous place for Lee. He tripped and hit his head here and had to get stitches.
I don't know when this was taken. I think I was in the 9th grade. Lee is holding our dog, Beau. I especially love the duck pillows on our sofa.
This is Lee in his room at Stone Harbor. He is holding my cat Abby so I would have been in college here and lee must have been in high school. Tiffany and I loved Lee's water bed.
Lee has always been an awesome uncle. This was taken in 2003, right after Sophie was born.
The kids love Lee! 4-wheeler rides, adventure days are just a few of their favorite things!
We call him "The Golden Child"
Love you Lee!
February 20, 2011
Today was our first scrimmage for Bo's team. It was a lot of fun to watch. I was having so much fun that I completely forgot to take pictures. Mom did take a picture of the kids playing on the playground during the game. I love it when there is a playground by the field we play on.
We won our game. Bo pitched the first inning and did well. He also had a few good hits.
February 19, 2011
The last game for the Pistons. Cooper, Reed, Sophie and Carson are in their usual spots playing with their DSIs and with their parent's phones.
It's been a fun and the boys have really improved.
1, 2, 3 ... Go Pistons!!!
February 18, 2011
I had to pick up something from Tiffany, so we just headed over to their house and ordered a few pizzas.
After dinner, on top of the playhouse, in the playroom
Playing X-Box
Hanging out in his room, i love all of his stickers and pictures he has on his wall
Documentation, Madi cleaning up the kitchen (without being asked)
A very physical game of kitchen basketball
Meanwhile, the parents sit around watching Justin Beiber play in the NBA Pro Celeb Basketball Game.
February 17, 2011
I love Longhorns Baseball! We have been practicing since November and we are finally about to start playing again. Our first tournament is the first weekend in March. Can't wait!!!
Friday, February 18, 2011
February 15, 2011
#C25K Week 1, Day 1
So I have started a new workout plan that Tiffany has told me about. I have downloaded it onto my phone and I have enjoyed it so far! This is where I do my workouts! It's hard to be miserable in a place like this!
Random thoughts from my workout today:
-- It really makes me mad that people don't pick up their dog's poop!
-- The Pandora Praise and Worship Station is almost as good as going to church.
-- I will be 40 in a little over a month!
-- I'm thinking of growing my hair out.
-- Could this be a mid-life crisis?
--I'm really out of shape.
-- I am so blessed, I am so blessed, I am so blessed.
-- Thank you God!
February 14, 2011
Happy Valentine's Day!
I loved watching Reed go through his Valentines from his friends. He could tell me who gave each one to him. Meme sent him a Valentine also and he told me..."Mom, put this in your purse so when I go to baseball, I can show my friends." That's it up there with the dog on the front. Also, I made his Valentine's box out of an orange juice carton. I got the idea from Family Fun magazine. It was soooo cute!
We had a perfect Mystery Valentine's Dinner. It was so much fun! I gave the kids their menus, but instead of having the actual menu items, it had Valentine's Day sayings. The pasta was angel hair, the sauce was melting hearts, the ice cream sundae was cold shoulder. So they didn't know what they were ordering. Reed got his Ice Cream Sundae before he got his Spaghetti. I adapted it to fit our family's taste. If you would like to see this idea fully explained, go HERE. It's another one of my favorite bloggers.
February 13, 2011
A great day at church, then to the ballpark, then home for some soup.
Italian Sausage Cheese Tortellini Soup
(Not as difficult as the name implies)
This is not my picture. I borrowed it from my FAVORITE blogger. If you would like the recipe for this soup go HERE. It was so delicious and Michael even gave it the title of "Almost best ever."
February 12, 2011
Sweet, Precious, Beautiful Angel
It was such a fun day to be a girl! We started off the day at Dunkin Donuts, Sophie's favorite. Then we went to Sophie's basketball game (we won!). We dashed away as the game ended to get ready for the pageant.
We were there with time to spare and Sophie looked amazing and had nerves of steel. In the audience with me were Nana, Papa, Nana, Amanda and Sandra. Bo, Reed and Michael had to miss because of Bo's basketball game.
Terrible shot, but here is Amanda with her poster for Sophie.
February 10, 2011
Sophie has decided to be in a pageant this weekend. It is Thursday and I don't have a dress yet. This is our first experience with pageants, so I turned to my good friends for help.
Some of my favorite people on the earth are the HARMONS!!! Amanda has been through all of this before with her nieces (and Cole). So on her Mom's birthday, she went out and shopped for a dress for Sophie. When she found one she liked, she would text me with pictures. She actually bought 2 dresses for Sophie to choose from. Happy Birthday Sandra and thank you for shopping for us on your special day. And thank you Amanda Harmon. You are a very special friend.
February 9, 2011
Comfort Food
I made Chicken and Rice for dinner last night. Whenever I make rice for dinner, I always make a little extra for rice pudding. This is one of my favorite breakfast dishes and it's so good with coffee.
Jodi's Rice Pudding
2 cups cooled, cooked rice
2 cups whole milk, divided
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
1 TBSP butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
In medium saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups milk, rice, sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat until thick and creamy, about 20 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup milk. Take out 1 cup of hot pudding mixture and add it to beaten egg. Mix well and immediately pour back into rice mixture. Cook 2 more minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Serve in individual bowls and sprinkle with cinnamon.
Monday, February 7, 2011
February 6, 2011
Super Bowl Sunday! It's just like a family holiday for us! My whole family gets together at my Dad's cousin's house for good food and catching up. **I may get a little mushy** On this side of the family, I grew up with a bunch of boy cousins that I adored. They have all married beautiful wives that I consider family as well as friends. We go on vacation together. We spend holidays together. We truly care for each other. I am so proud of my family and our generation especially. All of my cousins are now caring mothers, fathers, uncles, aunts, sons, daughters and grandchildren.
Sid and Elaine are such gracious hosts, we always feel right at home whenever we visit. Here we are singing Happy Birthday to my Uncle Robert.
Watching and Waiting...
Way to go Zachary!
The half time show didn't really keep us entertained.
Things I wish I would have taken a picture of:
- The squares (after each quarter, someone wins a gift card if they pick the right square) I think this year the winners were Parker, Tiffany, James and Lisa. :)
- The backyard FULL of kids on the swings, on the tennis courts, riding trikes or playing basketball
- The food, the food and the food... It was all soooooooo good. I did make my jalapeno popper dip and it was a big hit.
Hot Fudge Sauce
This is a really good hot fudge sauce that can be eaten with anything you want. My family makes it for special occassions to go with cake and ice cream. You can't go wrong with a pound cake, vanilla ice cream and this hot fudge sauce drizzled on top. It's also perfect on top of chocolate devil's food cake (yes, from the boxed cake mix) and vanilla ice cream. You could use this as a fruit dip or you could just eat it with a spoon, it's that good.
Hot Fudge Sauce
1/2 cup cocoa
4 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix cocoa, cornstarch sugar and salt in pan. Slowly add milk, stirring with whisk to remove lumps. Stir constantly with whisk over medium heat. When mixture just begins to thicken, remove from heat and add margarine and vanilla.
Hot Fudge Sauce
1/2 cup cocoa
4 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix cocoa, cornstarch sugar and salt in pan. Slowly add milk, stirring with whisk to remove lumps. Stir constantly with whisk over medium heat. When mixture just begins to thicken, remove from heat and add margarine and vanilla.
February 5, 2011
Reed and Henry, cousins having fun at Nana and Grandaddy's!
Wish I would have taken this picture before Daniel and Angela left.
Words cannot describe this big plate of Meat! These are the best steaks you will possibly ever eat! One day I will nail down the recipe for Grandaddy's marinade and share it with you.
February 4, 2011
Dinner With Friends
Our sweet friends Jason and Angie and their 3 kids came over for dinner tonight. (We have 3 kids and they have 3 kids so going out to eat at a restaurant is a little chaotic.) Sophie and Maddie hit it off from the start. Sophie has asked if Maddie can spend the night ever since. Aren't they beautiful?
Here are the boys: Reed, Braydon, Bo and Brock.
Enchiladas
1 lb ground beef
1 can green chili enchilada sauce
1 can refried beans
6-8 flour tortillas
1 pkg. (2 cups) shredded Mexican style cheese
Brown the ground beef then drain. Add 1/2 can of enchilada sauce and the whole can of refried beans. Stir until well mixed. Plop 2 big scoop fulls of ground beef mixture to each tortilla and roll up like a burrito. Line each tortilla in baking pan and then pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the top. Sprinkle all of the cheese over the enchiladas and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.
To serve: Make rice ahead of time and use that as the base of the plate. Place 1 enchilada over the top of the rice and add a spoonful of sour cream on top of that. Add some tomatoes, green chilies and onions and this makes a yummy dinner. The cheese dip and chips are a great side too or as an appetizer.
Friday, February 4, 2011
February 3, 2011
Visit from Nana and Papa
We had Baked Potato Soup for dinner and delicious Milk Shakes (made by Sophie). Reed and Nana are very serious about this Wii game.
Papa and Bo are very serious about their milk shakes!
February 2, 2011
Today was Clown Day at Reed's school! I love the way Reed isn't shy about dressing up and being silly.
February 1, 2011
It's Homework Time!
Sophie is kicked back in the recliner reading.
Bo is very focused. By the way, 5th grade math is not easy (for me). And this bowl was full of pineapple and Bo almost finished the whole bowl. It was the most acidic pineapple I have ever had and Bo's tongue was on fire all night, he could barely eat his dinner.
Reed doesn't have homework, but since he idolizes Bo so much, he had to go get a coloring sheet of his own to do for homework. He is cracking up in this picture because he broke his crayon. Who knew homework could be so fun?
