Wordless Wednesday

Lions and tigers and bears! Oh My!

Sunday evening after church my boss' generous wife called and offered me the afternoon off Monday since school was out for 'Teachers Planning Day'. Ofcourse I took her up on it! I got off at 12:00, rushed home to eat lunch, pack lunch for the boys, grab Rocco & head to Callahan to pick up Roman & Dallon @ Daddy's work, West Nassau High School. From there we were off to the zoo! It has been a long time since my last visit but I bought a family pass during the summer hoping that Gammy would take Rocco from time to time. A lot has changed and we were pleased! Here are a few of my favorite pics.

"You got sumpin else for me?"

Notice the fruit punch stained upper lip..

After a very busy day Rocco & I sat down & shared a strawberry poptart. A few minutes afterwards he walk up to me as cute as can be & asked, "You got sumpin else for me?" I quickly decided to take full advantage of this oppurtunity and said, "As a matter of fact I do." I motioned for him to come closer, then I pulled him up to my lap. I said, "Close your eyes." Which he did, but he always covers them with his hands too, so I said, "Move your hands." He knew exactly what I was up to and said, "No! No kissing, I want sumpin else!" His smile & sweetness overwhelmed me! This boy knows his mommy well enough to know what my next move was. Well, I did get my kisses.. Then I went to the store and got him the sumpin else he wound up clarifying for me.. A chicken leg.. I love this kid that you have put in my life Lord Jesus!! Thank you!!

Today in the car Rocco was singing a song that Dallon had prompted.. It went like this.. Roman & Raven sittin in the bacon chair, first come kissin, this is where Rocco erupted in to laughter.. We all know that's not how it goes but that's what he heard Dallon singing.

I am fully convinced that the age three is my absolute favorite age. Each age is special but there is something about the age three, when they can now communicate in their innocent, precious way. . This is usually the time when I have another baby but we are now complete. I will soak these boys up and enjoy them as gifts on loan from God. I know they will grow faster than I can imagine...

Where? The Fair!

Yesterday I met about 20 friends at Cracker Barrel for breakfast before heading to the Southern Women's Show. This served as October's Girls Day Out. Deanna rode with Mom & I, I think it's tradition now. We enjoyed walking around the show together. I won tickets a few days ago on The Lighthouse 89.3fm so all we had to pay for was parking. I didn't buy anything this year. I think it was smaller than usual too because we usually stay ALL day and we were gone by 1pm!?! Weird, and kind of disappointing. Anyway, I wish I had some pics of breakfast but I didn't take my camera.. I'll add later if one of the girls posts some pics!

It was a beautiful day so I called Nick on the way home and asked him about us taking advantage of this gorgeous cool weather by taking the boys to the fair! Where? The fair ofcourse! It arrived Thursday and would be here for a few weeks. But if you are from around here you know it usually brings rain so we didn't hesitate! Our family looks forward to the Callahan fair every October! We love the kiddie rides, the animals, sausage w/peppers & onions, funnel cakes, blooming onions (didn't see any this year??), the boiled peanuts, I could go on and on and on.. We just love the fair!

Rock-N-Roll was SOOO happy!

Dallon wanted to get a picture on the horse with the rifle.

Roman took fire in his fighter jet.

Look at that smile! I like this pic because it captured two of my babies.

My boys were rocking out together on the stage.

I think this is my favorite of all the fair pictures! Speaks for itself.. At the end Rocco looked up and yelled, "That was fun!" I knew he'd love it!!

My boys and their guns..

Nick said it's amazing that a ride that would be so annoying to us (because of the bumps & jerks) would be so pleasing to the boys..

Roman is such a great big brother! Rocco got up smiling.

Gotta love that Dal!

Small

Medium

Large

Roman was too big for these so I had him at the big bumper boats when Nicky caught this great shot.

And this one..

Truckin it

Rocco & Daddy

And we'll finish off with Roman in the ferris wheel. He rode with two girls... heehee

On our way home we stopped by the Redbox and picked up this fantastic family movie!

Menu Plan Sunday 10/18

Good Sunday Afternoon! Let me start by saying Praise the Lord for our recent weather! This cooler, yet sunny, weather does something for my soul! Thank you Jesus!!



Let's recap the week.. Everything was great this week. Here are some before & after pics of the new homemade croutons I tried. They turned out great! Also, doesn't that chicken look delish?! Then finally the end result. And yes, those are blue cheese crumbles!! MMmmmmmmmm

Saturday's Cracker Barrel breakfast w/the girls was fun & yummy. We had a good time at the Southern Women's show but were surprisingly done by 1pm so we headed home. Then Nicky & I took the boys to the fair. (Post to come.) SOOooo we had fair food for dinner. YUM-E

This week:

Sunday: Lunch, Leftovers (didn't get the chili ready & we needed to eat up some leftovers) Dinner, Grilled hotdogs

Monday: No cooking..

Tuesday: Cincinnati Chili (didn't get to this one yet and it's the perfect weather for it!!) Serve your favorite chili on pasta, then topped with shredded or cubed cheese & chopped onions


Wednesday: Opting out of the Chicken Pot Pie @ church tonight because I was the only one that liked it last time.. So, I think I'll do breakfast for dinner w/the boys! Since it will just be the three boys & I we won't make a big one, maybe even cereal or strudels.. ??That's TWO nights without cooking?? Shhh..don't tell anyone..

Thursday: Creamy Poppyseed Chicken over rice served w/salad


Friday: It's been too long!!! Crock Pot Lasagna Makes you smile doesn't it? I know, me too.

Saturday: Wings-N-Things @ Jon & Jenn's

Happy Cooking!!!

Front Page News

Roman made the local paper last week!
We were at the Hilliard Elementary Fall Festival.

Wordless Wednesday

Menu Plan Sunday 10/11

Recap: The Chicken Enchiladas w/Refried beans topped w/cheese was really good! It's like a crock pot full of open chicken enchiladas. It would be great for a pot luck or football party, you could serve w/tortilla chips. It's a 'do again'.We postponed the Cincinnati Chili until it's cooler outside. I just can't bring myself to cook chili when it's close to 100 degrees outside. We got a little mixed up this week & never made it to our grilled ham slice. But we did do cheeseburgers Saturday night. The kids always love when we grill burgers. I buy the big box of frozen burgers at Sam's so we will always have them on hand.

I found a recipe in one of Mom's magazines (Family Circle) I want to try when we get our oven. But you don't have to wait on me! Here it is: Smoky Philly Cheesesteak Pizza

Doesn't that look good?! Let me know if any of you try it!!

This week:
Sunday: Nick's Spaghetti for lunch (I had leftover chicken enchiladas)
For dinner we're having grilled cheese again! Why? Because we love them & their quick-n-easy for a hectic Sunday night.


Monday: I usually don't 'cook' on Mondays because Nick's at school. But I overbought english muffins and don't want them to go bad. So we're making individual pizzas in the toaster oven tonight!! Th boys will be thrilled because they get to make their own. If you've never done this with your kids, it's easy & fun. Usually a big hit! These are the toppings we will be using on our Thomas 100 calorie English Muffins: Pizza sauce, Shredded Mozarella Cheese, & Sliced Pepperoni
I'll try to remember to take pics..

Tuesday: Grilled Chicken Salad w/all the fixings! I'll marinade 5 chicken breasts in Italian dressing, grill them then serve on Italian salad mix w/cheese, raisins, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers & homemade croutons, which I will make in my toaster oven, using leftover hamburger buns.

Wednesday: Undecided...Supposed to eat baked spaghetti at church but I refuse to live last Wednesday's experience (with my 3 children) over again. I really don't blame any of you for not wanting to sit with us. (Nick's at school so I have the boys on my own.)

Thursday: Ground Beed Tacos! This is one of our favorites!! Nick likes these double deckers:
Friday: Grilled Ham Slice, Mac-n-cheese, green beans, pears w/dollop of mayo shredded sharp cheddar & cherry on top!

Saturday: Leftovers because this is Girls Day Out!! I'll be meeting local friends at Cracker Barrel for breakfast then we'll be spending the day at The Southern Women's Show. I can't wait!!!

Sunday: I'm being optimistic about the weather..... Cincinnati Chili w/saladIf you have never had Cincinnati Chili you are missing out! What makes chili "Cincinnati style" is serving it on pasta, topped with cheese & raw onions. YUMMY! I don't have my chili recipe online so I provided this similar one I found, click on the Chili hyperlink. I'll be trying it too. If it's no good I'll post my ole' faithful chili recipe. This is a picture I found online but I usually use shells or ziti.

Happy Cooking!!

Speaking of dinner..

Rocco does not like to try new things. As you know (if you've been following my blog) we have been trying new things and I have to be creative right now since my oven isn't working. (Hoping to order my new one in time for Thanksgiving dinner.) Thursday night we were supposed to have chili but it was just too hot so we had chicken/apple sausage instead. Rocco's not allowed to get up until he has finished his food, unless he wants to go to bed instead. Well, this is what happened Thursday night..

And you know I love these sandy little piggy toes...

That's my baby..

Wordless Wednesday

Menu Plan Sunday 10/4

Recap: If you love chili dogs you have to try these! Crock Pot Coney Dogs YUM-O! The leftovers are even better!!

Kabobs are always great! We did teriyaki steak & chicken. **TIP** If you enjoy them buy some metal skewers so you can reuse over & over. If you opt for the wooden kind soak them in water to avoid burning. I cook all meat on skewers together & all veggies or fruit on skewers together since the cooking times vary from meat to veggies/fruit. Mushrooms are YUMMY grilled on skewers! We use canned potatoes since they're cooked already. This is such a healthy meal!!

Breakfast was great!! I think we'll be revisiting very soon!!! Probably using our waffle maker next time!

Instead of pizza Nick picked up sanwiches from Dominos, they were yummy! My 3 sons & I wound up enjoying a pizza at Sam's Saturday. If you haven't discovered their food area, it's a great place to eat lunch! The hotdogs are good too! They have a great berry sundae, if you have room.

My childcare fell through for Lindsey & Paul's wedding so Nick had to go alone. I spent the day with my boys, running some errands. Nick & Mom cooked Saturday night, Steak & grilled veggies! YUMMY!!! Mom bought a special platter to grill small things on the grill. Everything was delicious!!

This week:

Sunday Lunch - Leftovers..cleaning up the kitchen
Sunday Dinner - Maybe Wendy's..

Monday - Chicken Fried Rice (you can buy it in the frozen section @ Sam's)

Tuesday - Chicken Enchiladas w/Refried beans topped w/cheese (Buy your favorite refried beans and heat in microwavable bowl, add green chilis to taste & top with a sharp cheddar cheese)

Wednesday - Pork @ church

Thursday - Cincinnati Chili w/salad
If you have never had Cincinnati Chili you are missing out! What makes chili "Cincinnati style" is serving it on pasta, topped with cheese & raw onions. YUMMY! I don't have my chili recipe online so I provided this similar one I found, click on the Chili hyperlink. I'll be trying it too. If it's no good I'll post my ole' faithful chili recipe.

Friday - Cheeseburgers w/potato wedges

Saturday - Grilled Ham Slice, Mac-n-cheese, green beans, pears w/dollop of mayo shredded sharp cheddar & cherry on top!

Happy Cooking!!