We've been Boo'ed AGAIN!!

I love being boo'ed!!

I REALLY, REALLY LOVE BEING BOO'ED!!

Who could it be??

TREATS!!

First let me say, please excuse my daughters wardrobe, when she comes home from swim practice, she gets to put on whatever non matching clothes she wants. By Thursday and the 100th practice for the week that I've taken the kids to, I'm beat down and the last thing I worry about is wardrobe.

Tonight we were boo'ed again!!

Have I told you all how much my kids (especially Hannah) loves the whole boo'ing thing?
It really is cool that someone else's family thinks enough about our family to take the time to put together special treats for us. Thank you boo'er number 1 and 2. Thank you for thinking about our family!

Hannah has a feeling this one was a really creative person, the boo bag was home made and really cute!!

HMMMM, really creative, like a mom who makes really cute flip flops or a mom who makes really cute scrapbooking pages....HMMMM.

Then she had to remind me that our boo bags were not home made and maybe next year we can start working on them earlier, like during the summer. And I told her, YEA good luck with that :):)

Have you guys been boo'ed? If so, tell us about your good treats !

But will you still love me in the morning??

Alex and I had a moment of weakness on the way home from swim practice tonight....

No it is not Organic (thanks Mel for pointing that out to me :) and yes it is just about the WORST thing you can eat at 9:30 at night but what the heck, you only live once right?? After eating an ever so YUMMY bean burrito I will be questioning how much longer I want to live!

PEPTO here we come!!

Mini Mama Mia's!!

What is it about the word MEATLOAF that gives me the creeps?

Is it that those two words, just should not every be used together, meat should not be loafing.....RIGHT?

Or is it that growing up I use to love the T.V. show Roseanne and they were always having "meatloaf", well because they were poor and apparently that's all they could afford. That's what they said anyway.


My husband is not a meatloaf person and honestly neither am I.
I think its the idea of having fillers in our meat.


I make a mean pot of Spaghetti and Meatballs, if I do say so myself and I can promise you there are no "fillers" in my balls :):)

Well this recipe is a meat loaf look alike. But it is OH SO YUMMY!

I came across this recipe in a Kraft Food and Family magazine for Marvelous Mini Meatloaves, there are 4 different ways to top them to make them REALLY YUMMY.... I've only used the BBQ one but I am listing them all. I've also changed the name to Mini Mama Mia's, now I will never again hear Roseanne Barr in my head screaming "KIDS DINNER", THANK THE LORD!

What you need:

1 pound of extra lean ground beef.....I use almost 2 pounds, my peeps are HUNGRY!
1 pack of Stove Top Stuffing Mix 6 oz. or you can put an equal amount of crushed Ritz crackers
1 cup of water

The flavor options:
BBQ-
1 tsp. garlic powder....I use 2 tsp.
3/4 cup BBQ sauce......I use 1 and a 1/2
3/4 Shredded Cheese....I use 1 and a 1/2

Mediterranean-
1 tsp. dried oregano leaves
3/4 cup chopped roasted red peppers
3/4 cup Athenos traditional crumbled Feta cheese

Fiesta-
2 tsp. chili powder
3/4 cup Thick Salsa
3/4 Mexican cheese

Italian-
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
3/4 cup spaghetti sauce
3/4 cup Mozzarella cheese

Here we go.....

Preheat oven to 375.
Mix meat, stuffing mix, water and what ever seasoning your doing from the choices above.
Spray a muffin pan with cooking spray.
Press meat mixture evenly into 12 medium muffin cups (I end up with 24 minis).
Make an indentation in the center of each with the back of a spoon.
Spoon in your toppings into the indentations.

Bake for 30 minutes or until minis are cooked through.
Top evenly with cheese (again which ever cheese your using) continue baking for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

My kids think these are just like big fat meatballs, there's no loafing going on with these babies!!
I usually make a big pot of veggie rotini pasta with some butter and Parmesan cheese. Throw in some broccoli and dinner is served!

HAPPY COOKING!

Just call me, little PEPPY TU TU!

I am my children's biggest fan, their eternally begotten cheerleader. For every "first" and every second and every hundredth, that's what I've been.Whether it was the "first" time they sat up or the tenth time they colored on the paper and not my table :):)

As they have grown I still try and use words of encouragement as often as I can, sometimes that is a little more challenging than others.

-Thank you Alex for emptying the top 2 racks of the dishwasher and forgetting to tell me you didn't empty the silverware basket, now that I have put dirty things in it.....THANKS FOR YOUR EFFORT

-Thank you Jakob for emptying the bathroom garbage cans, like I asked you to. And really thanks for emptying them into the kitchen garbage can and filling it so high that the dogs will now be pooping Q-TIPS.....THANKS FOR YOUR EFFORT

-Thank you Hannah for picking up all your clothes off your floor and putting them away, including your dirty clothes (panties and all) and wet bathing suit that I found back in your drawer (smelling really nicely I might add).....THANKS FOR YOUR EFFORT

YOU GET MY POINT.....

I feel like if we see our kids trying (really trying) even if it's not the way we would of done it. We still need to compliment the EFFORT.

And then of course at a later time bring up how we can IMPROVE on things :):)

My oldest son told me the other day, mom you would be proud of us if we ate dirt.....well actually you guys have eaten dirt before and I explained to you that we don't know if the dogs have used that same dirt for their bathroom, I don't think any of my children ever ate dirt again after that explanation.
But I was proud that they didn't talk with any of the dirt in their mouths:):)

So yes I am A PROUD MOMMA, sometimes OVERLY PROUD.
And yes I have been known to have tears in my eyes for something as simple as my child stopping to help someone tie their shoe.
But is that really wrong??
I mean in the grand scheme of things, once they leave me I want them to have manners, self confidence and know that momma will always be there, to be happy for them.

Just call me little PEPPY TU TU, I will wear the badge with honor!

We've Been BOO'ED

MOMMA SOMEONE BOO'ED US!!

This evening as Brian, Jakob and I were finishing up some yard work, Hannah ran outside and said "MOMMA WE JUST GOT BOO'ED!!

She was so excited!

Sneaky little devils, we never saw or heard anyone.

If Ms. Heidi and Ms. Lena look carefully they might recognize the bags.....HMMM.

We love to get boo'ed and have already started off our season of boo'ing. Your only suppose to get boo'ed one time but we don't follow the rules around here. Last year alone we were boo'ed 3 times and the kids love it each and every time!

Since this little item has appeared on our doorstep we might have to do a little more boo'ing.......
WHO'S NEXT????

I found this cute website if you interested in starting your own neighborhood tradition in BOO'ING !!
They have fun boo sheets for the kids to color, just another little hint Wal mart has the cutest cups, pencils and bags PERFECT for the job!!

Have fun!!

Homecoming here we come, like it or not!!

my handsome Alex
I love this one because they were both nervous and the giggles had started to set in!
Just take the picture please.....














A couple of weeks ago Alex came home and asked me if he could go to the Homecoming dance. After we talked about where the dance was and how he could not leave once he got there and all the BLAH BLAH BLAH......he then asked me if he could ask Schyler to go with him.


I have talked about her before to you all. This is his little "friend" that he has been having since February. They kept up their "friendship" (I know I should stop saying his "friend" and just say the real term but it's my blog and I can call her what ever I like!) during the summer. She is a sweet girl and I really like her mother (isn't that the most important thing?)



We allowed Alex to invite her to be his "date". She said yes after talking to her parents (see were not the only ones).



All week Alex has been a little nervous off. I've tried to talk to him and let him know that it's very natural to be a little nervous or anxious about new things. He assured me he was fine.



I asked on Thursday about her dress so I could order a corsage, he says mom she does not want a corsage. I told him son you asked her to the dance and that's what a gentlemen does and of course she wants one son, why would she not?

Did you ask her?

No, I just know she doesn't want one.



So I'm thinking he is to embarrassed to give her one. I didn't push the issue, I called her mom to ask her what she thought and she said that Schyler made a comment saying she didn't want one. Her mother (being a little skeptical as well, inquired more about it). When she talked to her more, discovered the child REALLY didn't want one.....



OK one less thing I have to buy.



So then goes the shopping for his clothes.

Of course he hates his shirt, he hates his pants, he hates that he has to tuck the shirt into the pants that he hates and don't even get me started on shoes......SERIOUSLY
I thought girls were suppose to be hard.



Saturday afternoon as his latest meltdown is about to "take off", I had to remind him that I am his mother (believe it or not I do have to remind them of this sometimes) and if his tone did not change IMMEDIATELY he wasn't going to have to worry about anything because he would be watching his brother and sister for the evening and his father and I would go and "represent" for him. The tickets were not going to waste, someone was going to Homecoming, like it or not!

He changed his tone rather quickly!



I know everything that our family is going through with a GOD HELP ME preteen is normal and I want him to be able to express him self and talk about his problems and nervousness.

But he also needs to maintain his respect and his manners when talking to us......



That's going to be battle life lesson # 781,999.

I had to remind him last night that everything that's happening to him, is also happening to his father and I.

Were on this journey with him....LORD HEAR MY PRAYERS!



He was a little frazzled on the way to the dance. Once we got there, he could see she was too, they both just kind of calmed down and realized OK, it's fine.



When I went back to pick him up, I could see he was having a really good time. (I was so happy to see that) On the way home, he told me about the dances he learned and how they slow danced to a song. He was very excited to talk about his evening (I know those days are probably few and far between, I hope not, but for last night I enjoyed his thoughts)



LET'S PAUSE FOR A QUICK KLEENEX BREAK:



He then told me he was very happy to have me to talk to, when he feels all of these crazy feelings and he was really sorry for speaking to me the way that he did....



SNIFF SNIFF





HE LIKES ME, HE REALLY REALLY LIKES ME :):)

"Slap ya mama" chicken

My friend Elizabeth over at Take A Whisk sent me a WONDERFUL website called allrecipes where she found this super YUMMY chicken recipe. I fixed it on Sunday and oh my word, let me tell you it was soooo good.
I pretty much followed the directions, the only thing I did differently was, instead of white pepper I used "Slap Ya Mama" seasoning. It is like Tony Chachere but it has white pepper in it. I also put organic chopped garlic in the chickens with the onions.
I prepared the chickens the night before and let them marinate from 9:00 pm on Saturday until 10:30 on Sunday.
We had enough food for Sunday dinner, Monday lunches (yes my kids take lunch in style!) and Monday night dinner. And it got better each time we ate it!
This will be another staple in our weekday menu.....

Elizabeth also left me a really nice post on her blog page, that of course made me a little teary eyed. (I know your SHOCKED)
I shared my Red Beans recipe with her and they loved it!!

Thanks girl for the nice words about my blog, its always nice to hear such encouraging words about something that we put our heart and soul in. In this case its my blog and my beans :):)

what you need to make

Roast Sticky Chicken-Rotisserie Style

4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 onions, quartered
2 (4 pound) whole chickens





DIRECTIONS
In a small bowl, mix together salt, paprika, onion powder, thyme, white pepper, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder.
Remove and discard giblets from chicken.
Rinse chicken cavity, and pat dry with paper towel.
Rub each chicken inside and out with spice mixture.
Place 1 onion into the cavity of each chicken.
Place chickens in a resealable bag or double wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight, or at least 4 to 6 hours.
Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
Place chickens in a roasting pan.
Bake uncovered for 5 hours, to a minimum internal temperature of 180 degrees F (85 degrees C). Let the chickens stand for 10 minutes before carving.

Happy Cooking!!