Fun giveaway!

Well, I'm not giving anything away...yet, maybe I will another day!

But, I came across a blog doing a giveaway of something I'd really like to win! :) I wanted to share it with you, hoping that if I don't win...one of my friends might be a lucky winner!

Check it out at http://www.thenotsoblog.com/2009/07/spunky-monkeys-review-and-giveaway/ . She's giving away a really cute swim suit cover-up!!

To the best mom in the world!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! I love you so much! Taylor says I'm her best friend now...though, I'm sure we'll have a few bumps and rough times as she gets older. But, I hope that I can still be her best friend like you are mine. I wouldn't know what to do without you.

Things on my mind...

Oh, it's been so long since I've blogged. I guess I've lost the motivation to do so lately. Everything has been going well. I have been staying busy with work, and just haven't taken the time to type up a post after the girls go to bed like I used to.

We had a great weekend--spending time with my family. My sister came to town and her best friend, Becky, was visiting. It was great to see both of them. Becky had not seen Tay since she was 3 weeks old at Ashley's wedding! Ash brought her 2 foster boys with her. This was our first time to meet her newest boy. He's another cute little boy & Ashley is so good with him...she is with both of the boys. I was just thinking in church yesterday (as Ash was tapping him on the head to get him to quit playing with his bulletin like it was a paper airplane!), that when they grow up, I bet they will look back and be so grateful for the great parents that Ash & Seth are to them.

Church has been just AWESOME the past few months. To quote Bro. Fred, I left the Sunday service this week thinking ..."woo! WOO!" :) Powerful, powerful stuff from God's Word. This week he spoke from Luke 13:6-7...a parable about producing fruit. God expects that from us if we are His children. One thing he said was that as a part of the church...it doesn't matter if your the eye, ear, nose, pinky finger, toe, or belly button (well, I added that last one!)...you are to do your part in the body of Christ. It's interesting because earlier this week, one of my "friends" on Facebook wrote this as her status: "

One of the greatest sins in the church is we have made it ok to sit & do nothing and call yourself a Christ-follower."

That's another "WOOO!" statement! I'm still processing that...it's a strong statement, wouldn't you agree?

Anyhow, we have a new youth/college pastor at our church, and this Sunday I made the statement that I'd like to be a part of working with that ministry. I'm super excited for what God has in store. He's been showing up in a big way lately, and I'm confident He'll do great things in the coming years to build up young people in the church. We need strong young people now more than ever. I've found from experience that if you don't have a circle of Christian friends to hold you accountable, you'll fall for anything the world hands you.

Well, that's about it for tonight. I'll try to post more about the girls later in the week. (Ella turns 6 months old on Sunday...I think I may just cry...why does time fly by so quickly.) I love my girls so much and just want to keep them small.

I hope everyone has a great week!

Recipe to share

Here's a great recipe I tried last week. I've been given lots of fresh blueberries. So, I've found several recipes I'd like to try and will be posting more this week. This one is a Cooking Light recipe from my friend & coworker, Tessie. Thanks, Tessie!

Blueberry Streusel Cake

1 1/2 cups blueberries
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup vanilla wafer crumbs (about 8 cookies)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 TB margarine, melted
1 teaspoon hot water
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
3 TB vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 large egg white
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine blueberries and 1/4 cup sugar in a bowl; gently mash with a potato masher until blueberries are crushed. Let stand 5 minutes. Set aside.

Combine wafer crumbs, brown sugar, margarine, and hot water; stir until well-blended. Set aside.

Combine flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Combine yogurt, oil, vanilla, egg, and egg white; stir well with a whisk. Add to flour mixture, stirring until well blended. Fold in the blueberry mixture. Pour batter into a 9" round cake pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Sprinkle brown sugar mixture over the cake; bake an additional 10 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack.

**Notes: Taylor really enjoyed helping to mash the blueberries with the sugar! :) Also, I used a pie plate since I don't own a cake pan! And, I had to sub applesauce for the 3 T vegetable oil that it calls for. I wouldn't recommend that. I don't think it affected the taste too much, but the texture would have been a bit better if I had vegetable oil.

I hope you'll try this and let me know what you think! We served it while it was still warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Kiddo update

Oh, I get so behind on blogging!

An update on the girls...
They are both doing good. Taylor had a cold about a week and a half ago, and then we all had it! It went from Tay to me and we quickly got better, but Ella and Scott are still fighting it. As much as we begged Tay to "keep your hands off your sister!!", it just didn't work! Tay just loves her too much! :)

Ella went in for her 4 month check up a couple of weeks ago & Tay had her 3 year check up. Tay is so funny because she loves to go to the doctor. She's always telling her baby dolls they have to go to the doctor. And, if she gets the tiniest scrape...you guessed it, she "needs to go to the doctor"!

So, the funniest part of the doctor visit was the weigh-in...generally, not a "funny" part of my doctor visits! But, Taylor weighed in a 26 lb. 6 oz. and my sweet Ella...15 lb. 13 oz.! Taylor is in the 5th percentile for weight and less than 5th percentile for height. Ella, on the other hand, is in the 90th percentile for height AND weight! What a contrast these two are! I get a kick out of Scott folding clothes and holding a shirt up and saying "Is this Taylor's or Ella's?!?". Truly, it's hard to tell sometimes! :) I took Ella to the doctor again last Friday because of her stuffy nose & she was already up to 16 lb. 3 or 6 oz....the girl gains fast! It had just been 9 days since she was weighed in previously.

We've gotten down the exersaucer from the attic for Ella and she LOVES playing in it. I'll have to post a picture this week. She sits up really well, with assistance of course, but she still hasn't rolled over! She's just not happy laying on her play mat for more than a few minutes.

I took Taylor to Cottage Hill Baptist last week to sign up for Mom's Day Out. I think she'll enjoy it, but it will take her going a few times before she feels comfortable. She enjoyed playing in the play area while I filled out paperwork and then we went to see her "classroom". The 2 teachers seemed great, but the kids in the class were so much bigger than Taylor. Really, they were a lot bigger & the teacher even mentioned something about Taylor being so petite! She'll be going to MDO on Thursdays from 10-2 and Meredith will be taking her there & I'll pick her up after work. Another concern of mine is that Tay typically goes down for a nap between 12-1...I'm just hoping Tay can hang out 'til 2 and then take a nap when we get home.

That's about it, for now. I think about blogging all the time, but just don't get around to doing it. But, some of the things that come out of Taylor's mouth just crack me up and I think "I need to put that in the blog!". But, now as I sit here typing, I just can't think of anything in particular! One thing she did do last week...She's always saying, "Watch, Mama. WATCH!" So, I look up and she's dancing (shaking her behind!) and I ask "Where did you learn those moves?!?" and she quickly replies, "I learned it in SUNDAY SCHOOL!!" Hmm...I don't think so!

Have a great week y'all!!

Menu Monday 07.06

Hi guys! Here is what we have on the menu for the next week or so.

Monday--Cheesy Chicken & Rice Bake, Peas & Carrots
Tuesday--Jambalaya, salad, garlic bread
Wednesday--Chicken Marsala, mashed potatoes, broccoli
Thursday--We'll be eating at mom & dad's house. :)
Friday--scrambled eggs, sausage, biscuits
Saturday--ribs, corn on the cob, potato salad
Sunday--hot dogs, pasta salad, baby carrots & ranch dip
Monday--chicken spaghetti, green beans, garlic bread
Tuesday--Tater tot casserole, Sweet Peas

Here's a great recipe that we've tried before & I'm happy to pass along--
Pioneer Woman's Chicken Spaghetti
Ingredients:
2 cups cooked chicken (I've used just breasts before, too)
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup finely diced green bell pepper
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1 (4 oz.) jar diced pimentos, drained
3 cups dry spaghetti, broken into 2 inch pieces
2 cups reserved chicken broth from the pot
1 teaspoon Lawry's seasoned salt
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt & pepper to taste
1 additional cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

Cook 1 cut up fryer and pick out the meat to make 2 cups. Cook spaghetti in same broth until al dente. Do not overcook. When spaghetti is cooked, combine with remaining ingredients, except additional 1 cup grated cheese.

Place mixture in casserole pan and top with remaining sharp cheddar. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until bubbly. (If the cheese on top starts to get too cooked, cover with foil.)

Enjoy!

Because you won't come back to my blog if I never post anything...!

Ok, so I have a dozen (or more!) other things I need to be doing right now...but, it's been so long since I posted anything here! The month of June just had us going here & there...and staying "busy"!

I came across this on someone else's blog & thought I'd copy it! Because I know you want to know all of these things about me...and you have nothing better to do for the next 15 minutes! Haha! I know better than that, so if you stick with me...I promise to post something more interesting next time!! ...and I'll even post a couple of pictures of the girls! (Why do my pictures always appear at the beginning of my blog. Can anyone help me with this?!?)

FOOD-OLOGY
What is your salad dressing of choice? honey mustard
What is your favorite sit-down restaurant? It's a toss up between San Miguel & Macaroni Grill
What food could you eat for 2 weeks straight and not get sick of it? Mexican
What are your pizza toppings of choice? Ham & Pineapple..or just plain ole pepperoni
What do you like to put on your toast? I prefer a bagel with cream cheese, but on toast it's just butter & jelly

TECHNOLOGY
How many televisions are in your house? 3
What color cell phone do you have? crimson
What does the first text message in your inbox say and who sent it? "thanks" from my friend, Laura
Who was the last person to call you? A lady calling me back with her Southern Living at Home order :)

BIOLOGY
Are you right-handed or left-handed? right
Have you ever had anything removed from your body? adenoids, wisdom teeth & 2 babies! Ha!
What is the last heavy item you lifted? Ella in her carseat! Seriously, have you held her...she's a load!

CRAP-OLOGY
If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die? absolutely not.
If you could change your name, what would you change it to? Nope, I like my name (thanks Mom & Dad).
Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000? Um...only if my children were starving & I needed the money that badly!

DUMB-OLOGY
How many pairs of flip flops do you own? I wear flip-flops more than anything else...so probably 5 or 6 pair.
Last time you had a run-in with the cops? Never
Last person you talked to in person ? Scott
Favorite Month? October...just all the months during Fall, actually...cooler weather, football season, the start of the holiday season, my anniversary ( 6 yrs. this October!), etc.

CURRENT-OLOGY
Missing someone? Yes...I'd love to live much closer to some good friends from college
Mood? relaxed
What are you listening to? Scott playing NCAA Football on xbox
Watching? The computer screen as I type
Worrying about? nothing really at the moment

RANDOM-OLOGY
What’s the last movie you watched? Curious Case of Benjamin Button...a very interesting movie
Do you smile often? Yes.
Do you always answer your phone? embarrassingly...not often. Either I can't get to it in time because I'm feeding someone, changing someone's diaper, giving someone a bath...well, you get the idea. But, I do try to return all my missed calls!
It’s four in the morning and you get a text message, who is it? I don't know anyone who would text me at 4 in the AM and if they did I wouldn't hear it anyways.
If you could change your eye color what would it be? I like my brown eyes.
What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic? cherry
Do you own a digital camera? yes, we got one when Taylor was born.
Have you ever had a pet fish? yes, goldfish when I was a child & I had a beta fish in college
Favorite Christmas song? hmm...there's so many. I like "Mary, did you know"...is that the title?
What’s on your wish list for your birthday? I usually ask for money & then end up spending it on anything but myself. But, I'd really like a pedicure & could use some new clothes. There's some books & CDs I'd really like, too.
Can you do push-ups? I think so.
Can you do a chin up? No way!
Does the future make you more nervous or excited? Excited!
Do you have any saved texts? nope
Ever been in a car wreck? no
Do you have an accent? I don't think so.
What is the last song to make you cry? In Christ Alone by Travis Cottrell
Plans tonight? not much! we had tacos for dinner, I straightened up the house, but the girls to bed...I know...it's EXCITING around here!
Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom? I've had my moments
Name 2 things you bought yesterday. nothing! But, I went to Target the day before & bought plenty!
You ever been given roses? Yes
Current hate right now? Ooh...tough one...truly, I can't think of anything I "hate" at the moment....I hate black olives, does that count?
Met someone who changed your life? yes, most importantly...Jesus
What song represents you? Like I said...I really love "In Christ Alone" right now.
What were you doing 12 AM last night? just falling asleep
What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? Why won't Ella sleep?!?!

Oh, wow...that was really long. I doubt anybody read this all the way through! :)

I hope everyone has a great 4th of July! God bless America!