Southern Dinner

Tonight we had what I would call a Southern Dinner. Pork chops, homemade macaroni and cheese, and green beans. My sister in law sent me a recipe for crock pot macaroni and cheese last week. At first I thought she was crazy but every recipe she has sent me has been a keeper, so I added it to our menu this week. Tonight we invited our friend and her two kids over for dinner since her hubby is out of town so I thought the mac and cheese would be a winner with the kids. And it was! Now please let me say this is not a healthy recipe by any means but I think it is just fine to have a little splurge every once in a while. Everything in moderation, right?

Crockpot Macaroni and Cheese
1/2 of a 16oz box elbow macaroni
1 cup chedder cheese soup
1 14 oz. can of evaporated milk
1 cup milk
3 cups cheddar cheese
1/2 stick butter
salt and pepper to taste

Cook macaroni on the stove until 1/2 way done (should still be chewy). Spray cooking spray in crockpot. Drain macaroni and pour into crockpot. Stir in all other ingredients. Cook on low for 2-2 1/2 hours or high for 1-1 1/2 hours. Stir occasionally.

*My can of evaporated milk was only 11 or 12 ounces and it worked great.


I love it when Phillip grills. He does a great job and generally the kitchen clean up is easier. I found this recipe on Mel's Kitchen Cafe last year and we have made these pork chops several times. They are so moist and flavorful, even though there are only three ingredients. You should give them a try!

Grilled Pork Chops

4 bone in, thick cut pork chops
1/4 cup olive oil
2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon steak seasoning (such as Montreal Steak Seasoning)

Mix olive oil, soy sauce and steak seasoning in a one-gallon resealable plastic bag. Refrigerate the pork chops for 3-8 hours (no more than 8) flipping the bag over every couple hours to redistribute the marinade. Heat the grill to medium and grill the chops 8-10 minutes per side (depending on how thick they are) until they are no longer pink in the center. Let the pork chops rest for several minutes to help retain their moisture.

A little bit of this and that

*Ashlyn has pretty wavy hair. It can get really curly on humid days and after a good long sweaty nap. I think Aubrey is going to have wavy hair too. Her little blond curls are almost too much for me to handle! I just want to squeeze her!!



*Some days the girls play so well. They will go to Ashlyn's room after breakfast and I won't see or hear from them for a good solid hour. (Yes, I do peek in and check on them :) ) They are always playing together but there are days they just click, the age difference doesn't seem to cause friction.


*After lunch Ashlyn wanted me to play Barbies with her so we went in her room and played for a while. We keep all the small things put away unless I am playing with them or Ashlyn is closed in her room by herself. They love it when we get all the shoes out!


*Things haven't been finalized yet but it looks like the girls and I are going to fly to Texas this summer. I'm not sure if I've completely lost my sanity or I just feel extra brave! Ashlyn and I flew together before she was a year old and it went relatively well. Ashlyn is very obedient and helpful so she will do great. Aubrey will be the hard one simply because I have to "haul" her around.

*I don't know about your neck of the woods but we have bugs everywhere! We can't seem to keep them out of our house, I'm about to go nuts. They say it's from all the rain this season. Ashlyn hates spiders and won't touch the critters. Well, today she found this little beetle. She wanted to play with it so I gave her a tooth pick to let him crawl on.


All was going well until it fell off the stick and landed on her and started crawling up her leg. She freaked! Notice the lingering alligator tear?


*The questions I get all... day... long... are "why?" from Ashlyn and "wus dat?" from Aubrey.

* Has anyone else tried the Better Homes and Garden warmer from Walmart? It's a knock off of the Scentsy Warmers. They work really well and are half the cost! The wax is really strong and I can smell it all around the house. I'm kinda nervous about burning candles. I'm always afraid I'll forget to blow them out and burn the house down. These have a light bulb in them, much safer!


*I am really excited for this long weekend! Phillip has off all three days and it's gonna be fun!

Summer Love

I love long summer afternoons! This afternoon we decided to eat a quick dinner at Market Place Express, one of my favorite places, then head to the new Splash Pad in town. So fun!


Aubrey spent most of the time just watching the big kids play!



But Ashlyn was having a blast splashing around!



I am so thankful for our small town and summer afternoons with my sweet family!

Washer woes part Dos

The appliance repair man showed up at our house today 12 o'clock sharp, like promised.

I led him around the corner and showed him the broken hunk of metal sitting in my laundry closet. I briefly explained how the washer stopped mid wash and wouldn't drain and how it smelt like something was burning after about 20 minutes.

He turned the dial on the washer and it started to fill up with water, then he turned the dial a couple notches to the drain cycle and the STUPID THING STARTED DRAINING!! Are you kidding me?

He messed with it some more. Tested it several different ways, added a load of towels to add weight and simulate a load of laundry. Still draining.

He told me to do a couple loads the next couple days and to call him if the problem started again. If so he would be back Monday, if he didn't hear back from me he would just mail me a service call bill. Seriously!

Me and mechanical items and the service men don't get along. My shoulders always sag in a sulking manner when the car needs serviced and Phillip asks me to take it to the mechanic. Every time I go they ask me a series of questions I don't know the answer to. I think they do it on purpose too, I'm sure the question has nothing to do with the problem. Like I know how many break pads are on my van, I just step on the brake and it stops. So, I started asking Phillip detailed questions about the current problem, studying up so I would know the answer to the mechanic's question this time. But it doesn't work, I always walk away looking like a buffoon.

Now I have appliance repair man phobia.

Such is Life

*Wednesday morning I was doing a tub of laundry and my washer bit the dust! Of course it broke before it drained all the water out. So last night I had to pull all the clothes out and rinse them in the bath tub. I am so glad it wasn't a load of jeans or towels, just Phillip's dress clothes. It's a lot of work rinsing and wringing clothes!

*The repair man comes tomorrow. I need to scoop the water out of the washer this afternoon. Cup by cup by cup.

*I hope the repair man can fix it tomorrow. A little someone is on her last pair of panties. I can either
A) Wash a couple pair by hand
B) Buy a new package at Walmart
C) Go to the laundry mat
I guarantee it won't be C until we have all worn every article of clothing in this house. I had enough laundry mat days during our first couple months of marriage.

*We went swimming with my sweet friend Crystal yesterday. I forgot to put sunscreen on Ashlyn. I know, what a mom right? The girls wear different sunscreens because of Aubrey's sensitive skin. So I put sunscreen on both of their faces and on Aubrey at home. I was going to wait until we got to the pool to do Ashlyn because her spray on sunscreen is so greasy and I didn't want it on her car seat. By time we got to the pool I completely forgot I needed to finish her up. I didn't realize what I did until half way through her nap.

*Ashlyn's burn isn't very bad but she's playing it up hardcore. She looked at her no longer red arms today and got mad because her burn was gone. She'll milk it for the rest of the month...

*When Aubrey woke up from her nap yesterday she unloaded in her diaper. When I was changing her diaper I noticed poop on her ankle. Strange! Then I noticed poop on her fingers and under her nails. Disgusting! Then I looked over at her bed and there are poop streaks on her sheet where she tried to wipe her hands. Greeeeaaaatttt!!

*The dookie streaked sheets are sitting on the dryer. Waiting for the repair man to fix my washer.

*Aubrey is starting to talk more and more these days. She is starting to call her blankie "blankie" not "bay bay". It makes me kinda sad!

*While driving in the car Ashlyn was telling Aubrey her knock knock jokes.
Ashlyn: Mom Aubrey isn't laughing at my jokes
Me: She's too little to understand jokes, honey.
(What I MEANT was, she's too little to fake laugh at all your jokes like mommy and daddy do)

*By the way, thank you Uncle Doug for teaching Ashlyn the banana and orange knock knock joke at Christmas. Just wait, I'll teach your kids something equally as annoying this next year!

*I have an eye appointment this Saturday. I haven't been to the eye doctor in 5 years. I'm blind as a bat and wear contacts. I'm hoping they don't ask when my last eye exam was.

*The girls and I stepped into the Fitness Center locker room to use the restroom before Zumba this morning. They always have upbeat music playing, you know, work out music. There just happened to be an electric guitar ripping it and Aubrey starts playing the air guitar while I'm carrying her on my hip!! I couldn't stop laughing. Their daddy's blood runs thick in our girls!

Kabobs

We love grilling! Phillip is great at it and we all enjoy eating it. We are known to grill all year round, in all kinds of weather. Rain or shine, sunshine or flash light! Kabobs are one of our new favorite grilled items. They are even good for a weekday meal since I can have everything ready to go when Phillip gets home and they only take 15-20 minutes to cook. Plus it means less clean up in the kitchen. It doesn't get much better than that!


Honey Kabobs

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic
1-2 small onions, cut into 2 inch pieces
1-2 red bell peppers, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 8oz package of whole mushrooms
4 Chicken Breast or 2 Steaks, cut into 2 inch cubes
Skewers

Combine oil, honey, soy sauce, pepper, and garlic in a gallon zip bag. Add meat and vegetables then turn to coat. Place in refrigerator for a minimum of two hours, all day is best. Turn the bag over every couple hours to redistribute the marinade.
Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
Pour off remaining marinade and discard. Thread the vegetables and meat on the skewers, keeping a little space between each item so they will cook evenly all around.

Place skewers on grill and cook 12-15 minutes or until meat is cooked through. Turning over half way through for even cooking.


*If using wooden skewers- An hour before preparing kabobs place the wooden skewers in a shallow baking dish of water to soak. This will prevent your skewers from burning.

Weekend Fun!

We have been looking forward to this weekend for a long time! Phillip has been so busy with work and church commitments that we haven't had much time together as a family.

Saturday morning we packed up a picnic lunch, some floats, lawn chairs, and a couple bottles of sunscreen and headed to the lake.


We had a simple lunch of ham sandwiches, pasta salad, watermelon, and chocolate chip cookies. These are the best chocolate chip cookies ever! I think every time I make them I tell Phillip the whole story about how I was never a big CC cookie fan until this recipe!


This picture is blurry but I couldn't pass it up, it makes me laugh. This girl can inhale cookies faster than anyone I know! I'm pretty sure she learned how to scarf them down when she ate them for breakfast while she was staying at Nana and Pawpaw's house in April. Right Nana?


Anyways, back to the lake! After we finished our lunch we headed over to a swimming area and swam. Well, Ashlyn and Daddy swam! Little Miss wasn't fond of the cool water. The water wasn't that cold but she's used her her nice little bath tub at home and she wasn't about to stick her whole body in the cold water. I had her on my hip and would try to gradually walk in deeper and after twenty minutes or so when I realized she still had her knees up at my arm pits and wasn't going to put her feet down we might as well get out. So, we just walked around the grass then cuddled under a shade tree when she got tired. I lost count how many times Ashlyn swam with her float out to the ropes, she was having a blast.


After swimming we packed up the car to head home. On our way we stopped and got ice cream cones. Aubrey got to have her portion in a cup with a spoon, normally Ashlyn will spoon feed her. We still haven't figured out how she ended up with her own cup or which parent thought it would be a good idea! She refused to let anyone help or even hold her cup steady for her. Plus she wasn't in a high chair, she was on her knees in a booth seat. She was quite the mess, and so was Daddy's shirt sleeve!!

Sunday afternoon we went out to eat to celebrate Father's Day. Phillip wanted to try out a new pizza place that just opened up, Mellow Mushroom. It was really good and has a fun atmosphere. Phillip is such a wonderful dad and I'm glad we were able to spend the weekend with him!

Bikes, Water, and Sand

I love long summer days where we have time after dinner to go outside. We decided to take a walk and let Ashlyn ride her bike Sunday afternoon.
Daddy had to air up her tires and also adjust her seat since she had grown quite a bit since last year.

I love how little kids always want to squat when you do! So cute!

Ashlyn has gotten much better at riding her bike. We used to have to drag her bike home because she was "over it". She just needs to work on breaking! She went racing down a little hill and ended up biting it and skinning her knee. I guess we actually drug her bike back home this trip too.



Ashlyn started swim lessons this week. She is going once a week all summer instead of everyday for two weeks. They started off better than they did last year, there weren't any tears. Her teacher is a college age guy, he seems nice and patient with the kids. It completely threw Ashlyn for a loop though! She walked in and said "Mom, is my teacher a BOY?!?!".
Notice the Princess band aid on the freshly skinned knee? I had to fish it out of the pool after swim lessons because she took it off during lessons and I didn't want to be known as the family that leaves gross used band aids in the pool. Thank goodness it was right on the edge and I could do it discretely. Ha!

I just had to include last year's "first day of swim lessons" picture. Cutie Pie!


I just have to include this story of Aubrey! You know they say the first born and second born child are different. The first one is bossy and independent, blah blah blah. Well my two seem to have very similar personalities, they both love to boss! We were at a friend's house playing outside and the kids were told a couple times not to throw sand out of the sand box. Aubrey was across the yard playing in a little play house and her little buddy Boston was in the sand box throwing sand around. She starts hollering across the yard "ah ah ah Bosses. Bosses ah ah ah". This is not the second time she has hollered at a distance at him. Oh, help me!!

A week late

I planned on writing about our week at Grandma and Grandpa's house last week but I couldn't gather my thoughts enough to type. Do you ever have one of those weeks where you just feel "meh". You aren't in a bad mood, you just don't feel like putting any effort into anything? That was my week. Aubrey started running fever and not sleeping well Thursday night before we left Grandma and Grandpa's and continued through the weekend. Then I had some weird stomach ache for two days followed by Ashlyn's tummy being upset too. On top of knowing Daddy was going to have another busy weekend and I would be going at it alone once again. So, I guess it just set the tone for the week. But such is life and I'm thankful for a new week ahead!

Our week at Grandma and Grandpa's started Tuesday. We headed down south after the girls finished their naps and we were just in time for dinner. Heather and her two kiddos got their around the same time so the cousins had time to play before bed. I'm so grateful that my girls have close in age cousins to grow up with!

Aubrey immedietly attached herself to Grandpa for the week! She loves the three men in her life. Daddy, Grandpa, and Pawpaw. She has them wrapped around her little finger! My girls are so blessed to have three wonderful male figures in their lives!


Wednesday we hung around the house and the kids played. My mother-in-law kept a lot of the kid's toys and books from when they were little. Ashlyn especially loves the Barbies and the Cinderella book.


When Grandpa got home all four kids got to play in his tool truck. Such fun!


The girls wanted to "drive", honk the horn, and ride in the creeper seat, but all Joel wanted to do was look at tools. Typical! Ha!


Thursday we wore the poor kiddos out, and momma's and grandma too! That morning we headed to the park to play. It was the perfect park for little kids with climbing toys and tons of rocks in dig in. I much prefer rocks to mulch. The mulch gets in your sandals and splinters your hands if you fall on it.


Cutie pie babies!

After the park we headed to a little cafe there in town. It's the type of place that has a special every day and lots of yummy pies to choose from. I got the cheese cake, of course! The kids were so tired and hungry that they sat still and inhaled their lunch! My favorite kind of meal times! :)
After our much needed naps we then lathered on our sunscreen and headed to the lake to swim.

The babies LOVED digging in the sand!


I'm pretty sure this is the only moment Aubs was not digging in the sand. She sat there for a good hour digging away. I'm surprised the little Prissy Pants would get that dirty. Both of my girls could utter "yuck" with a distinct growl in the back of their throat and shake their hands in the air before they could walk! A good example is this video of Ashlyn feeding Aubrey. I giggle every time I watch it. Anyways, I digress...


They were all so filthy and hungry that we had to divide and conquer to get their baths and dinner done! Grandma put the big girls in the shower and I bathed the babies while Aunt Heather made their dinner. I didn't know if I would ever get the sand washed out of the babies hair and ears. Whew!

Then Friday morning it was back North so we could see Daddy when he made it home that evening. It was so nice to get away for a couple days!

Making the most out of life!

My Grandad is in his 80's. He is in very good health and walks to the mail box and back everyday, a one mile trek. He does things most old men don't do. One of my favorite memories of him is him trying to teach my brother and I how to dive. He didn't have a swim suit so he cut the legs off a pair of wrangler jeans to swim in. He's a rancher, all ranchers in Texas wear wranglers, it's an unspoken rule. So, back to the pool. He proceeds to dive in the water but instead does a perfect belly flop! Have you ever seen a 70 year old man wearing wrangler cut offs do a belly flop? We could not stop laughing, including my grandad.

This afternoon my mom e-mailed me a photo titled "Dad's new toy"...


I can't wait to watch him in person!

Stuff

*We have had a busy week! It's always fun having lots of activities to keep us entertained but I'm thankful for a low key week ahead.

*Shareholders went very well! Phillip was a worn out man this weekend!
Here is a time lapse video of their full week of load in and set up. It's pretty crazy!

*While Phillip was busy bringing home the bacon the girls and I headed to my in-laws for a visit. My sister in law and her two kids were visiting also. I always have fun hanging out with Heather!
I'll have to share the pictures from our weekend. There are some pretty cute ones like this one here...

I just love that little diaper bottom and knob knees!

*Phillip was able to hang out with one of his best friends this weekend. He was in the area working and had some free time before catching his flight back to Dallas. Phillip was also able to go to breakfast with him and another friend Saturday. I'm thankful Phillip was able to get away from work for a bit and unwind.

*I love watching and listening to Ashlyn play. It's cute seeing all the things she takes in and mimics. She was playing Sunday School the other day. She gathered a lot of her "friends" and was singing and teaching them. As you can see she had one that didn't cooperate very well! Ha!

*Aubrey has been under the weather the last several days. I think she is cutting teeth. Her only symptoms are a fever and not sleeping well. Oh, and the refusal to wear clothes! She has a complete melt down if you try to dress her during the day. I guess since she's hot with her on and off fever. Thankfully we have been home the last three days! She hasn't slept through the night since Wednesday night. Poor baby!

*We have had little bunnies living in our back yard for several years now. Actually since Ashlyn was Aubrey's age. This year a whole family seems to have taken up residence. The other morning at breakfast Aubrey spotted "ra-ra" then we noticed two more. The girls went nuts watching the bunnies chase each other around the swing set.


*Summer seems to have come in over night! It has been in the 90's all last week. I guess I can safely pack away all the long sleeves. The pools are now officially open as of Memorial weekend and we can't wait to go!

PB&J Pies

Do you ever feel like you fix the same thing for lunch everyday? I struggle with what to fix for the three of us for lunch. I want something that is quick and healthy and I don't want a big mess to clean up after lunch.
I've seen varying versions of homemade pop tarts on line and I had some refrigerated pie crust that was going to expire so I thought I would throw little PB&J pies together for our lunch.

I took a couple tablespoons of peanut butter and a couple tablespoons of jelly and mixed it together in a small bowl. I then unrolled one refrigerated pie crust and made one horizontal cut and one vertical cut.


Next I spread a small amount in the middle of each of the sections being careful to leave enough room on the edge to crimp them. After the filling was spread I folded them in half to form a triangle and crimped the open seams with a fork to form a seal.


Then I baked them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (that way I don't have to wash the baking sheet :) ) in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes until they were golden brown.


They were a nice change from the same 'ol pb&j. Aubrey even mumbled "yum yum" when she took a bite. Something that rarely ever comes out of her mouth unless it's sweets!

Do you have any good kid friendly lunch ideas?