HIGH FIVE for Friday

It's Friday!  Hallelujah!  I feel like this week has been a long one.  When we do not have a regular routine of going to school, the time just seems to drag.  BUT....Friday is finally here and we are so excited about next week because...

1.  It's time for our trip to Myrtle Beach....hooray!!!!  We have waited and waited all summer for our trip to get here and it is FINALLY time!  It's been nice to have something to look forward to.  Hoping to see a little of this every day...

2.  I get to spend a whole WEEK with my family!  We are little scattered across the country right now and don't get the opportunity to spend a lot of time together so I am really looking forward to that time.  All together under one roof, with 3 kiddos.  I love my family! 

We've grown by a couple members now, but I just love this picture! 

3.  Getting to play in the sand with my babies.  It has been almost 2 years since we have been to the beach.  Braden was only 18 months old the last time and he LOVED it.  He still somehow remembers building sandcastles with Grandpa.  And this will be Cooper's very first trip to the beach and ocean!  Excited to see his reaction.

He looks so little!





4.  We get to celebrate my parents 35th wedding anniversary.  So special that they wanted to take the family to celebrate their wedding day.  We are so thankful for them and their example of marriage in our lives!

5.  Our home away from home for the next 7 days.  I can NOT wait to be there!!!  I guess I better go get started packing!

Go link up with Lauren from "From My Grey Desk" for High Five for Friday!  I've just recently discovered her blog...and it is a new fave!

Calling all Superheroes {and Super Moms}

Braden, my 3 year old, has become obsessed with superheroes and the idea of "good guys vs. bad guys".  I blame this on his Mother's Day Out school.  They did a superheroes theme for their second summer session, based on the verse "I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13.  I love it.  They were teaching them to be strong and courageous.  Braden fell in love with the whole theme.  He was so excited to go to school each day and loved showing me all of his cool super hero stuff that he colored or made when I picked him up. 

One day a few weeks ago I found a link on Pinterest, of course, for some cute super hero masks.  So, as any cool mom would do, I pinned it to my "kiddos" board, naturally.  Towards the end of this summer school session Braden just had to have everything Batman, a new shirt, jammies, etc.  We even watched a few Batman cartoon episodes (which I had to put an end to pretty quick, I had no idea how violent those shows are!  Not a good cartoon for a 3 year old to watch!  I think we will stick to Mickey and happy shows for awhile).  But he was just loving the idea of being a good guy and helping others - we will stick with that theme and maybe just hold off on the super hero shows for a little while, I mean forever!

So this week, since he has been out of school for a little break, I have been trying to find fun activities to keep him busy (which is hard to do with a 6 month old and extreme heat in Oklahoma).  I remembered that I had pinned the fun super hero masks, so to bribe encourage Braden to be good at his brothers doctors appointment, I told him we would make a Batman mask when we got home.  OH boy!  He was elated! 

Here is the link to the blog that I pinned, including the templates for all our favorite super hero masks.  AND for all those princesses out there, she has another blog post with templates for some super cute crowns!

And, now, I present to you.....dun, dun, dun.....Batman Braden....

You can all feel a little safer now....

And of course, we couldn't leave Spiderman out! 

An easy, and cheap, afternoon project made for lots of laughter and lots of fun chasing away the bad guys!  Oh, how I love my little super hero!

Chicken Garlic Pizza....a new{ish} recipe

Before Cooper was born, I had really figured out how to meal plan and grocery shop according to that meal plan.  I would do it weekly and make my grocery run on Mondays.  It had become a routine for Braden and I, and it was working out great.  We were doing much better on our finances since I was only buying items needed to make the meals.  Well, Cooper came and it all went out the window!  Finally, 6 months later, I'm getting back into the meal planning groove.  It doesn't always work out like I plan it but I'm at least starting to get a little more organized!

As I was planning our meals for the week on Sunday, I came across a recipe that my boss at my previous job gave me a long, long time ago.  It was Chicken Garlic Pizza.  I remember making it a couple of times and really liking it.  We are huge pizza lovers in my house and usually have it once a week.  This is not helping me lose those pesky last 10 pounds of baby weight!  So when I saw it, I decided we would try it again.  It seemed way more healthy than Little Caesar's!  It was delicious!  I really loved it, just how I remembered, and didn't feel quite so guilty after eating. 

So I thought I would share the recipe:

Chicken Garlic Pizza

3 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup sliced green onions (use slender white parts)

2 cloves garlic

2 Tbsp white vinegar

2 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (more or less depending on how spicy you want it)

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1/2 shredded Mozzarella cheese

Boboli pizza shell - I used the 100% whole wheat thin shell

Cut raw chicken into cubes.  Combine onion, garlic, vinegar, soy sauce, oil, and both peppers.  Mix together and add chicken.  Marinate for about 10-15 minutes.  Take chicken out and save marinade.  Cook chicken in a second tablespoon of oil for about 3 minutes.  Add the cornstarch to the marinade and pour into the pan with the chicken.  Allow the sauce to thicken (about 1-2 minutes).  Spoon marinade and chicken on shell.  Put both cheeses on top.  Bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes, with the shell directly on the rack to make it crispy.  Sprinkly additional sliced green onions on top of pizza and back for another 2 minutes.  Let it set for about 5 minutes before slicing.  Makes 6-8 slices.

DELICIOUS!!

For all you Weight Watchers peeps out there, I used their recipe builder to find out how many points each slice is and it came up with 7 per slice if you cut 8 slices.  So maybe not as healthy as I thought.  Bummer.  But still yummy!

Let me know if you try it and what you think!

a pinterest project...

With Braden's Mother's Day Out program taking a break for a couple of weeks, I have been trying to keep him entertained during these long hot days.  Since it is SOOO hot, we have been having to find most of our entertainment indoors.  I have seen a really cute idea for snacks on Pinterest, but have not found a good time to make them.  Well, today was the day!  It was our turn to bring snacks to his t-ball game tonight so I thought it would be a fun project for him to do during the day and a yummy, healthy snack for the kids to have after their game.  Luckily, I had all the supplies already in my craft closet. 

So here is what we did:

BUTTERFLY SNACKS

Materials:

-Clothes pins

-Paint

-Wiggly eyes

-Adhesive dots (or glue)

-Pipe cleaners

-Snack size baggies

-Grapes

-Goldfish (or snacks of choice)

First, I let Braden paint the clothes pins to the colors of his choice.  He picked out a paint set with blue, yellow and red.  Then, we used adhesive dots to put the eyes on the clothes pins.  Glue would have worked better but I decided the painting was a big enough mess and the dots would be quick and easy, and less mess!

Then, we got our grapes (washed, of course) and goldfish.  I took about a handful of goldfish and handful of grapes and put them in the baggies, keeping them on separate sides.  I folded the zipper down to the back side of the baggie so it wouldn't be seen and gathered the baggie in the middle.  Clip the clothes pin to the middle of the baggie.  To make the antenna of the butterfly, take the pipe cleaners and cute them in half.  Bend in the middle to make a "V" and then curl the ends.  I just clipped the antenna with the baggie.  I wish I had glued them on, though, because when the kids took the clothes pin off the antenna fell to the ground.   

Here was the final product:

Braden was so proud to pass out his "butterfly snacks" to his teammates tonight.  The kids loved them and they were super easy to make!  And they gave us a fun project to do together while little brother was napping!

4th of July....Texas Style

Happy 4th of July....a couple of days late!  We have been having a blast down here in Texas with my family.  When my sister told me a little while back they would be home for the 4th I was on a mission to find a way to come home too!  Luckily, I have an awesome hubby who understands me and my love for my family and so graciously took personal days off work so I could come home!  Hooray!  He even drove all night so we could be there for the 4th of July barbeque! 

On the morning of the 4th we decided last minute to go to the parade in the community where my parents live, Bentwater.  They decorate golf carts for the parade since the community is centered around 3 golf courses.  It was so fun to see all the creativity.

Braden totally rocked his kicky pants jammies for the parade....I said we decided last minute, no time to change!





Later that afternoon we headed over to the Lancaster's, our family friends' and my sister's in-laws, for a barbeque and pool party.  We had not told my sister that we were coming for sure and wanted to surprise her.  I missed seeing the big surprise when Braden walked in but I heard it was great!  It was such a fun afternoon!  My brother-in-law met Cooper for the first time and my parents were so proud to have all 3 grandbabies together. 

We are so thankful for all of the freedoms we get to enjoy.  We love our country and are appreciative to those who have fought to keep our country free.  God Bless America!

Happy Father's Day!

Today is a day to celebrate all the dads!  I am so thankful for my dad - someone I have looked up to in my life, someone who I can trust and respect.  I found this quote and it immediately made me think of my dad's influence in my life.  He has always encouraged my sister and I to be strong and independent, offering advice and life lessons along the way and loving us unconditionally.  Love you, Dad!

I am so proud of my husband for the father he has become.  I love watching him with our boys.  He is such a great daddy - so fun loving and a great example for our boys as they grow up.  My favorite part of the day is when my husband gets home, not only because I get a little break, but seeing my boys faces light up and Braden saying, "DADDY!!!  You're here!!"  They already share such a special bond and I can't wait to watch that bond continue to grow over the years.

And a special thanks to my father-in-law.  For without him, my husband would not be the man and father he is today.  I am so thankful for the influence he has had in my husband's life; a great example of faith, morals and family.

We are so blessed by our family!  We hope all the daddy's and grandpa's feel our love today and everyday!  Happy Father's Day!

Stuffed Peppers...a new recipe

I think I could eat Mexican food everyday.  I love a little bit of spice.  One of my favorite meals is stuffed peppers.  It's one of those all in one meals.  I don't feel like I have to make a side to go with it because it as everything you need:  meat, veggies, grain, dairy.  I love those kind of meals, makes my life so much easier!

I have been trying to find that perfect stuffed peppers recipe.  I had used one that I liked for awhile from my grandma's church cookbook.  It is really good, but not a ton of flavor.  I had tried a couple that I found on Pinterest, but there was always something missing.  Then, I saw this picture:

YUM!  At first glance, of course, I pinned it to my 'Favorite Recipes' board, but couldn't stop thinking about how yummy they must taste.  Tonight, I made these peppers and they were SO good!  I think my favorite thing about them is that the peppers are roasted first, then filled and baked.  They were the perfect texture.  And had just the right amount of spice.  But best of all, the hubs approved and Braden, my 3 year old, loved them!

Here is the link for the recipe.  I actually looked around at the blog and many of her other recipes looked really yummy too. 

Another thing I discovered with this recipe is Homemade Taco Seasoning.  I usually have 2-3 packets of taco seasoning in my pantry, but when I went to get it tonight, they were gone.  So I googled "homemade taco seasoning" and found several recipes.  Here is the one I ended up using - tastes EXACTLY like store bought. 

2 Tbsp Chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp paprika
1 Tbsp cumin
2 1/2 tsp salt (could probably reduce this amount a little)
2 tsp pepper

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.  Mix well.  Store in a tightly closed container.

I don't think I will ever buy the packets again.  It's just too easy and made up of spices I always have in my pantry and use on a regular basis.

Let me know if you try the peppers - I promise you won't regret it!