Calling ALL Bakers!!!

Anna's second birthday is this Friday!!! We are going to have a get together with friends on Saturday with cake and the whole 9 yards. So on Friday I was thinking that I would just make her a cookie cake. I have made one before but I cheated with the premixed stuff. This time I would like to make a REAL one lol. I have one recipe but it looks complicated lol. If you have a simple cookie recipe I would love to hear about it. Or if you have an even better idea for her Friday celebration please let me know!!!

Thanks you so much for your help with this.

Tiny Talk Tuesday!

So here is my tiny talk for this week!

Just this morning after going to one store Anna started talking about food. I needed to go one more place so here is our conversation:

m: I know you are hungry baby. Do you want to go home to eat or go one more place?
A: Store - as loud as she could!

Who knew a 2 year old could LOVE to shop so much.

Her cute words!

food - yum yum

Her yia Yia and Pop taught her this one.

if she sees a green light she says GOOOOO
if she sees a red light shes STOOOP

I wish I could do more but I have to dash! Go HERE for more cute little words.

Tackle it Tuesday!

Well, we have been tackling my guest room! It had turned into my Christmas collect all plus some room lol. With my Mother in law and sister in law coming to celebrate Anna's 2nd birthday I wanted to have it nice and clean (for a change lol). So we started on it yesterday & I have a few more things to do to it today. I will post pictures hopefully when Anna is napping! So swing back later this afternoon.

If you would like to see more exciting tackles go to 5mfm!

Menu Monday - July 30th

Monday - Chicken Tettrazini (sp?)

pictured on the right side. I tried it for the first time a few weeks ago and it is YUMMY!

Tuesday - hamburger steak w/gravy & mashed potatoes and peas

Wednesday - left overs!

Thursday - my mother & sister in law will be here

I think I am going to try out some Sonora Chicken Pasta on them.

Friday - Anna's birthday - we will either go out or fix her favorite - SPEGHETTI

Saturday - Something light not sure what yet!

So what is on your menu for the week. If you would like to see other yummy menus go HERE.

We have a winner!!!

DANA AKA SUNSHINE!!! You are the winner of my recipes! I wish I had more to give out. I appreciate all of the entries and interest! If you drop by from time to time you will probably see some of the recipes. That is a suttle hint to come back whenever you have a moment lol. Again thank you so much for coming by and I hope to get to know you better.

Just 1 WEEK!!!

My baby girl is going to be joining the ranks of the terrible 2's!!! I can't believe it. I remember so vividly the day I went to the hospital to have her. It was a scheduled c-section, although it was scheduled many different times lol. Oh well, she was meant to be born on her great grandma's birthday! She was so very tiny weighing in at 4 lbs 5 oz. She has grown so much and is turning into a little girl instead of my baby. I think her turning 2 is going to be harder on me than when she turned 1 lol. Can we just slow down time for a little while so that she can stay my baby for a little longer. If I blink she will be going to college and getting married!


I still haven't gotten her birthday gift yet. If you know of something that isn't overly expensive that she will absolutely love please let me know. I have an idea of what I will get her but I am still not sure about it.

It was a long night!

Last night Anna stayed up late to see her Daddy. When she does this she doesn't go to sleep as fast and she is always up early. On top of that the crazy dogs were up and down all not long. Not both of them just Buddy! I am so sleepy I am going to be counting down the hours until nap time! Anywho, such is life right.

While I was watching Anna play with her Daddy I was sitting there thinking of the first few weeks of my marriage. The day I moved into the apartment with my hubby was an exciting day. We didn't really have a honeymoon so we moved in the day after our wedding. It felt so WEIRD to be all alone with him lol. We had moved to a new city so it was just us. I remember all of the hope and excitement that I felt as we started out on our new journey together. Not everything turned out like we expected and we have had our troubles. Including me just having to ride around the neighborhood early on cause I was so mad I couldn't even talk to him. Don't ask me what I was that angry about because I really don't remember lol. The point is that 11 years ago I couldn't imagine how wonderful it would be watching the man I love playing with our daughter. I couldn't imagine loving him more than I did back then. The truth is that I do love him more. I love him more because he forgives me when I screw up, he hangs around even when I drive him nuts (which I know I do). I love him more because of how well he knows me. I honestly think he knows me better than I know myself. Unfortunately, he can't say the same thing about me. I am not nearly as observant and intuitive as he is.

So the long night and early morning were worth it. I know that my sacrifice was worth it because it made both my hubby and my daughter so very happy. However, tonight I will sleep!!! LOL!

Wordless Wednesday

Dog Days of Summer

*Edited to Add: This drawing will be closed Friday at noon (Eastern Standard time). Please have your entry in before the deadline and the drawing will be held shortly there after! Good luck!!!

Rocks in my Dryer has been hosting a bloggy giveaway and I have decided to participate!!! I am going to give away a photo album full of recipes!!! Everything from appetizers to desserts and don't forget yummy drinks and Christmas candy too. If you would like to enter just leave a comment and your email address!!! I will do a random drawing on July 27th!!! I will even give you a sample recipe:

Easy Chocolate Eclaires!!!

1 box graham crackers

2 small boxes instant french vanilla pudding

3 cups of milk

1 - 16oz cool whip

1 - tub of chocolate icing

1) Mix pudding with milk; Fold in cool whip.

2) Layer bottom of large pan or deep square bowl with crackers

3) Layer pudding mixture, then another layer of crackers and pudding (approximately 3 layers of each. Finish off with crackers on top.)

4) Spread cake icing on top of crackers. (You can add icing on each layer of crackers if you prefer more chocolate. You can also use a different flavor of icing if you would like!)

5) Refrigerate over night so crackers will soften.

Thanks for entering and good luck!!!

Tiny Talk Tuesday

Anna is my tiny talker. She will be 2 in just a few weeks.

This weekend we went to the beach and this particular beach had a lot of crabs. She had never seen those because where we usually go doesn't. She fell in love with these hard shell creatures and was fascinated with one particular one. When he went away she said: Come back bug!!! Luv You!!!

(There is a crab in the picture. He is hiding in the grass. )

______________________________________________

dessert is deert

book is ook

outside is ouside

don't forget to add a little southern accent because she sounds like a little southern belle with most words!

______________________________________________

Her favorite phrases:

Open de door

wanna go ouside

come on les go play

I wanna GOOOOOOO

For more adorable Tiny Talk go to Not before 7!!!

Tackle it Tuesday

My tackle today will be my kitchen. It needs an overhaul. So today we are going to put away a bunch of stuff that is just hanging around. Maybe give some of it away on freecycle and clean all of the cabinets and countertops and maybe if Anna will allow it I will get the floor mopped. So check back in this afternoon for the grand finale!!!

For more grea tackles go to 5mfm!!!

Finally ALL done!!! Of course, now I need to do my dining room lol. Ah a tackle for tomorrow!!! So much fun!!! It is nice accomplishing something though!!!

Happy Monday!

We had a super busy weekend. It was a lot of fun but boy was it exhausting. You can read the details over at Anna's blog. We really did have a great time. Today we have been doing laundry and all of that fun stuff you have to do when you return from a trip. We get the pleasure of washing the dogs this afternoon. We came back and they were all smelly again! Anna is napping right now. So I am enjoying the silence. I never really understood the statement "Silence is Golden" until we had Anna. You love the sound of chatter and laughter but sometimes your ears just need a break lol. Of course you all know I wouldn't trade a second of it for anything! So my hubby has his finals tonight and tomorrow night and then we have 2 whole weeks with no classes woo hoo!!! I don't have any profound wisdom to share today I just wanted to check in and reconnect with the bloggy world. Oh well my silence is over. Talk to you all later!

My Childhood Home

This is for a meme going on over at Owlhaven. They want to hear all about what made your childhood home special. So I will tell you all about my home.

The first home I remember I only have a few memories. It had hardwood floors that creaked and they scared me so I would run as fast as I could at 3 or 4 and jump on the bed so that whatever monster was under there would not grab me. Sad huh lol. I also remember that my brother threw one of my favorite toys on the roof of that house and I cried over it the day we moved out.

The home we were in from the time I was 5 until the day I got married however is full of memories. Both good and bad. So many memories are fighting to get out and on paper so bare with me if they are a little jumbled.

My favorite memory that I have of the house is in the front yard. My Mother had a flower bed in front of the house it was built up with railroad ties and it was over grown most of the time. One day my brother and I decided we were going to dig to China! What better place than there it was soft and if people started coming out we were close to the front door lol. So we started digging we made a LOT of progress and suddenly I hit something hard. We were down in the hole deep enough for us to feel like we were doing good. Well what I hit was red and of a funny consistency. I was young but I knew that hell was fire and red and stuff so what path do you think my brain took when I saw that red strange stuff. Yes you got it I thought I had dug to far and we had found hell! I was so scared I jumped, well, climbed out of the hole and ran in the house sobbing and carrying on that Satan was going to come out and get me cause I had disturbed his home lol. Such an imagination, it never stopped either!

We had pool parties in a little 3 ft pool in the back yard. Family get togethers and friends over. My brother was quite the prankster we were going out of town so my uncle was going to check on the house and everything while we were gone. My brother had a fake snake - my uncle was petrified of snakes! My uncle came over and knew that we would be home in the next day or two and he wanted to check the pool. He went out to check it and saw this snake in the pool and freaked out! He ran away from it but couldn't leave it there because he was afraid we would jump in and get bit or something. So he goes back and gets the ladder and starts grinding on this snake. Imagine his upset when it rolls over and it was a fake snake lol.

The pool was a source of a lot of entertainment but it was also a source of a lot of upset. My brother liked to splash me and I didn't take to that well. One day I had had enough and I told him to stop. He continued I told him 3 times and he kept on so I took matters into my own hands. I grabbed him and shoved him under the water! I was going to drawn him. My father was in the pool with us but he was clueless about what I was doing until my mother yelled at him. He saved me from drowning my brother lol I am sure I would have stopped I was teaching him a lesson! He never did splash me again!!!

Inside the house has a lot of memories too. My brother looking for Christmas presents making me be the look out. Climbing in to bed with my brother when it was storming cause I was afraid. Laying in bed listening to my mother do the dishes because she knew I hated to go to bed and have the house be totally silent. We only had 1 bathroom and 4 people so I would always wake up like at 5:30, when I was in high school, so that I could have some quiet time in the bathroom. You can only listen to them banging on the door going hurry up, hurry up so much ya know. I had a few friends over one night and we were watching Friday the 13th, who knows which one, my mother decided to be cute and when the music started right before he attacked she threw some socks at us. Popcorn went everywhere!!! I could keep going but Anna needs me so enjoy this and leave me a comment if you want me to check out your story!

I am throwing myself a pity party!

My pain in the butt car is still broke!!! We thought it needed a battery, well we hoped it just needed a battery. Apparently, we were wrong. I don't have a clue what the problem is and to find out that will take the green stuff that we have so little of. So it looks like Anna and I will be stuck at home quite a bit over the next month or two. If anyone would like to donate some of that lovely green stuff to our cause you could become my new best friend!!! lol I am just kidding. Well, unless you really do want to in that case I would not refuse lol.

On to better more exciting things we are going to a one year old birthday party and surprise going away party for friends a friend of ours we haven't seen in a while. His son turns one and he is going out on a boat for I think 6 months but I am not sure. We will be going to that Saturday and then stopping to visit my cousin for the night staying at a beach on our way home. That will be great too. We haven't seen them in a while either. They have a son that is 10 months old and are the same ones that lost a baby when we had Anna. I won't go into details about that because it is to heart breaking and I don't want to focus on any more bad stuff!

I am trying to shake off the blues if you can't tell so I will tell you some of the funny and wonderful things Anna has been up to. You could always check her blog but now you don't have too. Unless of course you want to see pictures and videos. She has been so full of energy. She is used to going a good bit through the week. Probably every other day we would go to the indoor park or grocery store or just somewhere to see other faces. So anywho, we have been trying to find ways to entertain ourselves. You can only clean so much. So we have been dancing and reading and pretending a lot more than we did before. See there is my silver lining right lol. Well one morning she woke up before me and my hubby and she decided to put on makeup. REAL lipstick you can see the picture HERE! It is beautiful, huh! Seriously though who could get mad at that face. You could tell she thoroughly enjoyed it and she was such a good girl she didn't get it on anything else! She loves music so we have made 3:00 our music hour. We just spend the hour singing and dancing and acting silly. She is a much better dancer than I am, she has her Daddy's rhythem! I can only dance if I have had a little something to drink. Which isn't often so most times I just can't dance! Luckily Anna doesn't care if I don't know the cool moves or if I get off the beat. Isn't that great!!! We have a pool time every other day pretty much too so that is entertaining for her. She loves anything that involves water. So her little baby pool just makes her day.

Yikes this post got a lot longer than I intended. Sorry for blabbing on and on. Make me feel better and tell me something wonderful going on in your life!

Wordless Wednesday!

Sorry this one isn't totally wordless. This was the sunset from the hospital roof top the night Anna was born. My hubby took it - isn't it beautiful!!! For More Wordless Wednesday go to 5MFM!

Works for Me Wednesday!

I was reading over at Not Before 7 yesterday and I told my secret that I am not doing a baby book for Anna that I am using her blog as an internet book. I print the pages and keep them in a notebook. It is easier for me since I have to share the information with family and friends anyway. I also have the worst handwriting ever so doing it this way ensures that years from now we will all now what I was saying lol. I guess it is the lazy way out but hey it works for me and at least everything is getting documented.

For more great tips go to Rocks in my Dryer.

Unconditional Love!

Have you ever experienced that moment when you know that you are your childs EVERYTHING!?! That is an amazing moment, isn't it. Last night I put Anna down and plopped down at the computer to do a little blogging/and reading of other blogs. About an hour later she woke up crying and I went in to see if perhaps it was just a bad dream. She was awake so I climbed in with her (I am so glad she is in a big girl bed). She curled up next to me as close as she could get and when she felt me moving to get up she sat up. She then laid her head on my chest and curled her little tiny precious arm right around my neck! I stayed for a while just basking in the moment. Of course there have been other times that I have felt the incredible love of my daughter but this one just seemed so innocent and so pure I had to share!

Tackle It Tuesday

Here are the objects of my obsession for this Tackle. I have scrubbed from head to tail. Bleached their bedding and scrubbed the floor! It took me well over an hour to feel like both dogs were actually clean. With all of the rain we have been having they have been smelling like wet dog - can I hear you say GROSS! Now they smell much - much better. The floor feels much better! & Their beds are all clean!!! Yay for a successful tackle!!!

For more exciting projects please go to 5 Minutes for Mom!

Menu July 16th

Monday - Lasagna

Tuesday - Black bean soup (maybe)

Wednesday - Chicken Parmesan with pasta

Thursday - Chicken Fajitas w/refried beans

Friday - Baked chicken, onion casserole*, tomato & cucumber salad, pasta salad

Saturday - Left overs

Sunday - Fried chicken, mashed potatoes and black-eyed peas

Some adjustments may be made but this is my approximate meal plan. If you have any fun twists to add to it please share them with me! This my first time doing the Monday Menu Plan I am hoping it will help me out with my creativity and grocery shopping! If you would like to see more Menu's go HERE!!!

*onion casserole - you slice the onions and place them flat in a casserole dish then put cream of chicken soup over the top and spread to get it in the crevices. I typically add a little pat of butter but you don't have to and then just bake in the oven at 350 until the onions are soft typically around 30 minutes or so. Oh yeah you can add cheese to the top as well. It is yummy!!!

If you use the tip I saw on Rachel Ray - put onions in the freezer for 30 mins. prior to slicing will keep you from crying.

Very Random Thoughts from the Weekend!

We went to the beach yesterday! We had a blast but I have come to one conclusion about ladies swim wear. They should make it like toddlers swim wear. You know the snaps in the crotch - ladies have to go potty too ya know! I think a man designed the first one and we have just continued the tradition of making it difficult for a lady to go "powder her nose" lol.

We took some of the cutest pictures and videos at the beach you can see them over at Anna's website! My hubby finally had a little time to go with us so Anna thoroughly enjoyed having her Daddy to play with. Speaking of time my wonderful hubby took Anna to church with him tonight so I am a free woman for a few hours!!! Isn't he the greatest!!! I have enjoyed my peace considering Anna has been cranky since she woke up from her nap. I hope she is a good girl at church. She managed to stay in nursery for almost 2 hours this morning!!! I was so very proud of her. I slipped out after about 15 minutes and they said she had a few moments of uncertainty but she recovered quickly. If you don't know, this is a HUGE deal considering that in her full 23 months of life she hasn't ever really stayed in the nursery EVER!!! So Praise the Lord I got to go to BIG church today lol. We did the invitational hymn of "Just As I Am" one of my all time favorites.

Just as I am, without one plea, But that Thy blood was shed for me, And that Thou bidst me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, and waiting not To rid my soul of one dark blot, To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, though tossed about With many a conflict, many a doubt, Fightings and fears within, without, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind; Sight, riches, healing of the mind, Yea, all I need in Thee to find, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve; Because Thy promise I believe, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, Thy love unknown Hath broken every barrier down; Now, to be Thine, yea, Thine alone, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, of that free love The breadth, length, depth, and height to prove, Here for a season, then above, O Lamb of God, I come, I come!

It always gets to me though because I think about my life and my baggage, if you will, and I think how embarrassing to have to go to God and say here I am Lord all of me. All of my imperfections, my sins, my flaws I am bringing it all to you, God. Yet, I know that He knows all about everything anyway so if I give it all to him I can cleanse myself and have a clean slate. A clean slate would let me start over, do better, do things right and maybe be the person that he wants me to be.

My prayer today:

Dear God,

Please take me Just as I am Lord! All of my imperfections and sins and wash it all away. Make me pure and in your image. Help me to be the person that you want me to be - the person you can make me. Our preacher today said that the way to be the person You want us to be - is to be that person. So I say to you God I am the person You want me to be I am the Candace that is kind, gentle, loving, forgiving and non judging! I am the Candace that will spread Your word not only through words but through actions! Help me to let go of my sins and to feel your forgiveness. Help me to forgive myself and to move forward from here on out and not look back except to say that I sinned but God loves me enough to wash it all away. Thank You Lord for all of your blessings in my life - my hubby, my daughter, my extended family and friends! Thank you for being a loving and kind Father! Please help me remember this prayer whenever I have doubts and fears! I love You very much and I pray that I can show you and others!

In Your name I pray!

Amen!

Shake it up!?!

Do you ever feel like you should shake up your life a little bit? Do something different to see if you can make things better. I feel like I am at one of those crossroads where I can make a choice to change things. I just don't feel at all certain what it is I need to do lol. I wish sometimes that our lives were all mapped out for us so that we could see exactly where we are going and how we need to get there. Yes, I know that would take out some of the fun but when you are in the place that I am it would be so much easier! Please tell me that I am not the only one that feels this way!!!

The Sweetest Sound Ever!

I am going to be a techno geek in no time lol (yeah right). I figured out a way to save Anna's laugh on my cell phone and now it is my ring tone. It is the sweetest sound ever. If you have one of those stuffed animals where you squeeze the foot and it laughs or the cell phones with the cackle ring tone it is very similar to that except even better because it is Anna lol. Now I am just itching for a ton of people to call me just so I can hear the phone ring lol. Well I just wanted to share now I have to run off and try to learn more fun techy stuff!!!

Feeling Blue!

This morning my hubby left to go out of town over night. We really don't have a lot of time together because he is in school and very active at church and when he is home we want to do family stuff. I have been missing him and feeling fairly cheated because of what he is doing. I know in the long run it will all be worth it but that doesn't make the present any easier. This morning I was going to take Anna to the soft play ground to play for a while to keep our minds off of missing Daddy! However, we get in the car Anna is all strapped in and I go to crank up and guess what happened!?! Absolutely NOTHING!!! It turned over and dinged and then nothing. I HATE car trouble. I have been tied up in knots all day thinking about how much this is going to cost. We are hanging on by our teeth financially and this is going to hurt! I have been so absorbed in ME that I have forgotten that I am not the only person in the universe. I popped over to Big Mama's blog and she reminded me in her wonderfully articulate way that God has his own plan. My hubby is working with the youth because he feels God's calling to do so. He works with teens that have major family issues and he is really good at it. He is a wonderful man that is going for his Masters degree because he knows that it will help us in the long run.

Today I was having my little pity party and I really shouldn't be I should be rejoicing that we have the blessings in our life that we do. Everything happens for a reason and maybe that reason simply was I wasn't supposed to be on the road today. Maybe it was that I needed to clean my kitchen (which I did when I was so frustrated - it looks fabulous). Sometimes we don't find out the reason but we should know that there is one! Big Mama was talking about her dog getting out this morning. She can tell it so much better so you should really pop over there and read it but the gist of it was that something happened simply because her dog was missing that probably wouldn't have happened otherwise. It just really struck a chord with me today. I would really appreciate any prayers you can offer up for me I need to release control of my life over to God. I am so tired of driving and running over curbs. I just have trouble letting go and not snatching the wheel back ya know!?!

Works for me Wednesday - Speghetti

Or Sghetti as Anna calls it. We eat speghetti at least once a week because it is so easy to make and Anna just loves it. I cook it differently from most people so I thought I would share with you guys how I do it.










Here are the ingredients that you need except I forgot to add garlic and pasta to the picture lol.






1) Brown hamburger meat
2) Drain any extra fatty grease out
3) Season to taste with Worchester Sauce, salt, pepper, garlic etc.

4) Add a can or jar of speghetti sauce - I use Hunt's Traditional
5) Add a can of diced tomatoes
6) Let simmer for a short period but if you don't have time that is ok too





7) Now it is time to add the speghetti - I don't cook it seperate I cook it all together
8) So I add a little water or beef broth then I add the speghetti I typically break it in half and then add it because it is just easier but you can do it keeping them whole.

Melanie - wanted to know how much water I add and I would love to say it is exactly 2 cups or whatever but sadly I have never really measured. I grab my water pitcher and pour in until the pot looks right. You can add the pasta first and then add water so that all the pasta is covered like the above picture. You can always add more later if you need to. Also, I cook it covered for the most part but at the end I will uncover it for about 5-10 minutes or so just to let some of the water cook out. If you like it more juicy keep it covered. This is a dish that you can do numerous ways and often times when I cook it it will taste different. I will do something different to it to slightly change the flavor so play with it and you will find what works for you. I hope you read this Melanie I would have sent you an email but you have your profile hidden!


9) Let it cook on about 4 or 5 until the pasta is soft and then it is all done.








Oh you can also add onion if you want just add it when you add the sauce or you can saute it with the beef either way. I add it on occasion but I hate cutting them so not often lol. And if you want to get some extra veggies into your little ones you can add some early peas and they would not even notice! So this is what works for us. I think it tastes so much yummier than cooking it seperately but you might think I am nuts! Seriously though you should try it! Don't stir to often when it is cooking but don't let it stick. If you want more great tips go to Rocks in my Dryer!

Wordless Wednesday

My beautiful daughter when she was a few months old!

Me when I was a few months old!

So after reading on Works for Me Wednesday about something called Angel Food Ministries I decided to try it out. So I will pick up my order on Saturday between 12 and 2! I am very excited I can't believe the price that you pay for so much food. My tackle today though is to create a menu for the next few weeks using the items we will receive so that I know what to buy at the grocery store. I am appealing to you creative ladies for help because my menu creating skills are sorely laking. My creativity in the kitchen is pretty much non-existant! So if you have any creative dishes that you would like to share with me please do so either through an email or in my comments! I would really appreciate it and my hubby would probably love you forever lol. You can only eat the same dishes so many times before they are not so appealing anymore!

®
J U L Y 2 0 0 7 M E N U

(1) 4 lb. I.Q.F. Chicken Thighs

(1) 16 oz. Gourmet Bean Soup
(1) 12 in. Supreme Pizza

(1) 24 oz. Home-style Hash browns
(1) 2 lb. Banquet Lasagna Dinner

(2) 7 oz. Healthy Steamed and Seasoned Vegetables
(1) 1 lb. Chicken Breast Fajitas
(1) 12 oz. Philly Steak Portions

(1) 7.5 oz. Mac & Cheese
(1) 2 lb. Popcorn Chicken

(1) 16 oz. Frozen Baby Carrots
(1) 16 oz. Smoked Sausage

(1) 16 oz. California Blend Veggies
(1) 2 lb. Breaded Frying Chicken

(1) 10 ct. Flour Tortillas
(1) 2 lb. Fresh Yellow Onions

(1) Each, Dessert
(1) Each, Dozen Fresh Eggs


ALL THIS FOR THE LOW COST OF JUST……..…..…..$25.00


JULY SPECIAL #3

8 lb. Lean Beef Home-Style
Hamburger Box $18.00
16 8-oz. Patties

I will play around with a menu and post back on here later. Maybe by then I will have some wonderful ideas from you fabulously creative ladies and/or gentlemen! Happy Tackle it Tuesday! If you would like to read more Tackles go to 5 Minutes for Moms! I am posting a little early so you won't see more until the morning.

Independence Day Weekend

We have had a very busy week/weekend! Anna and I came to my in-laws to spend from the 4th to the 8th. We have been going non-stop. Anna thinks her feet are broken because her Yia Yia and Pop carry her anywhere she wants to go. She thinks Mommy is being naughty whenever she laughs a little to loud lol. (which happens often!) She has been a real trooper about having her schedule jumbled up and her routines changed. The first few nights she cried for Yia Yia to "save" her when it came time to go to bed. I stuck to my guns and Yia Yia resisted the urge to fix it and now the last night there wasn't a peep out of her. She went to sleep about like she does at home. I will admit that I have enjoyed not doing laundry, cooking or much cleaning! I have enjoyed having someone to watch Anna so that I could chill out or rest or whatever. BUT I am SOOOO ready to go home! I miss my bed! my husband! my food! my puppies! Tomorrow we are going home!!!

The highlights of my trip? Well, lets see there were the sparklers which Anna loved. They brought back many fun memories for me as well. Although the best 4th story I have is about my brother. He was probably 10 or something and shooting off Roman Candles with my uncle. He counted out how many came out like he was told but he was missing one. The goof ball that he was tilted it down to look in it to see where it was or something and boom here it comes. He got it away from his face but it shot his shirt and stomach. His shirt looked like he had been shot with a gun! He was totally fine though. This is where I should put the disclaimer don't try this at home!

Thursday we just kind of hung out and goofed off. Friday my sister-in-law the best sister-in-law/Aunt in the world took me to get a pedicure. Not the kind where you wonder what exactly these people are saying about you because they are speaking in a foreign tongue, but the kind where you go to a "spa" type setting and you relax to ocean sounds and have an American woman do it for you while you converse and have lovely conversations! It was the best as is she!!! Our girls name was Leisa she was so funny and entertaining 2 hours passed very quickly. Yes you read that right 2 hours - one hour for me and one for my sil! How great is that!!! After that we hooked back up with my in-laws and Anna and went for ice cream where my mother-in-law who is like Julia Sugerbaker and NEVER makes a mess. Spilled some of her milk shake on her blouse. (It leaked out of the cup:) Anna derived so much pleasure out of informing everyone in the mall that Yia Yia made a mess! It was very comical. Anna is obsessed with messes and cleanliness (passed down by Yia Yia through the gene pool I am sure).

Today was the best day yet though. We went to this place called Edventure Children's Museum. It was just us girls; Pop decided to head off to the golf course. So we had a blast. Anna LOVED everything about this place. Check out the link for pictures of Anna showing off the highlights of the museum. I got to try my hand at composing music and being a news anchor although I think I will stick with being a bloggy Mommy!!! It was a ton of fun and I can't wait to take my hubby because I know he will LOVE it as much as Anna did.

Tomorrow we will go home and I will have to start the process of unspoiling Anna. Not a task I am looking forward to but one that is necessary all the same. If you have any good tips on how to save my sanity through it please pass them on. I hope I can survive and be the victor at the end of this but I am scared very scared lol. Thanks for making it this far this turned into quite a long post but I had a lot to catch up on! I would love to get some comments on what you all have been doing or leave a link and I will come check out your blog to see for myself! Have a good night.

Tackle it Tuesday - my blog

I have been unhappy with the look of my blog for a while so I am determined to get it to a point that I can live with it if not love it. So far I can live with it but there are a few tweaks that I want to make. Tell me what you think so far or if you see something that I can do to improve it - give it to me. I am up to constructive criticism! Just be gentle lol!!!

I have changed Anna's too so if you have a minute to swing by there tell me what you think of hers too! Thanks for dropping in and if you would like to see more projects go to 5 Minutes for Moms!