Weekend Wrap-Up

We had a mostly fun weekend around our house.

 

FRIDAY

I got a chance to go to Jessica Parks's house for a Pampered Chef Party. The consultant was fun & the group of ladies Jessica had show up were fun too. I hate I didn't get an updated picture of Jessica & me (it's been TOO long). But I DID get a picture of a sign she has put up in her house. I LOVE it (given my middle name & all).

When I posted the picture on Facebook, I said that Jessica thought of me every time she looked at her TV (hehe)...I really do like the saying though.

 

While I was at Jessica's house, Daddy & the girls had a fun evening together! While we were at The American Royal, we told the girls if they were good for Nonnie (my Mom) we would get them a surprise. Well, of course they were so we got them a new movie.

 

 

And they watched it with Daddy while I was gone. They also baked cookies....

 

 

...peanut butter cookies with strawberry icing.

 

SATURDAY

The girls & I met Jessica & her Mom (Tammy Parks) at Ames Plantation for the Heritage Festival. It was a REALLY interesting festival & the girls (& I) enjoyed learning about how things worked "back in the day". I've already posted all the pictures on Facebook so I won't repost them all here; but I will hit some of the highlights.

Excited about their 1st bus ride from the parking lot to the Festival!

 

Kayla milking the goat

Jamie milked the goat....but wouldn't get close without a little help from Mommy

They LOVED this bird dog puppy! And it loved them too. I think they would have spent their whole day there if I would have let them.

Jamie checking out her leaf pounding artwork

Kayla showing off her leaf pounding artwork

 

Watching the man make a broom

We spent A LOT of time at the pottery display.....they liked it too!

Checking out the alpacs were fun too! They were SOFT!

 

SUNDAY

Here's when the not so fun happened. Jamie started a cough that sounded like she is hacking up a lung, literally. She would cough every 15 minutes. She started crying around 3:30am cause her throat was hurting so bad. I rocked her till about 4:15.

This is what her monitor looked like every 15 minutes every time she was in her bed. I felt SO BAD for her!

I learned on Pinterest that marshmellows were originally developed to help sooth a sore throat....so Jamie got to have them for snack on Sunday. I don't know if it TRULY helped or not cause when you're 2, you'll say anything feels good if it tastes good. I will put this to the true test next time I have a sore throat.

In a few of her moments when she would get up & not just lay around, she helped me with the never-ending laundry that happens in a house with 2 adults & 2 preschoolers.

But we spent MOST of our day in our jammie~jams (with an added dress-up costume) watching movies....

...until it was time for the football games that the adults wanted to watch. Then the girls got to move to the big bed to watch TV. This is not something that happens every day so they feel special when they get to do it.

 

It WAS a fun weekend with activities AND some needed R & R.



Small Crowd CrockPot Spaghetti & Bacon Bacon Cheddar Bread

In my attempt to have a healthier lifestyle, I have discovered that I don't eat dinner on Wednesday nights & that is a BAD thing! I have decided that as long as a the girls & I are within an hour of Somerville & no one is sick, we will be at First Baptist Somerville on Sundays & Wednesdays. On Wednesday, I get off at 5 & our activities start at 6. The church does provide a meal on Wednesday evenings that starts at 5:30...but I have 2 girls who REALLY like to take their time & enjoy their time at the dinner table & I don't like to rush them. When activities started up, I started having my mother-in-law (who keeps the girls when they aren't at preschool & while we're at work) feed them something easy for dinner (sandwich or hot dog) before I get home. But I would end up not eating & just eat some junk before I went to bed...again, not good for a healthier lifestyle.

 

So I decided to start putting something in the CrockPot Wednesday mornings, doing all my prep work Tuesday evening. That way the girls are getting a good meal (starting a little before I get home to ensure they have plenty of time) without my mother-in-law having to cook for them (she already does ABOVE & BEYOND when she keeps the girls) AND there is a warm meal for me & anyone else that happens to decide to want one. This Wednesday was Small Crowd CrockPot Spaghetti & Bacon Bacon Cheddar Bread. I have a slightly different recipe for CrockPot Spaghetti if feeding a larger crowd or taking to a Pot Luck. BTW, the Small Crowd recipe fed the girls & I on Wednesday & then Greg & his parents on Thursday evening (while the girls & I had Mommy Bible Study/Kid Play Date at our house with another CrockPot recipe....another blog posting to come).

 

Here are the recipes & steps I used, along with some of my favorite products, indicated by **. I use some of these favorite products just for quickness or cause it's what I already have in the house or I just REALLY LOVE the product. If you want these products & don't know or have a consultant, I can share the info of the onese I use.

 

Small Crowd CrockPot Spaghetti

Ingredients

 

List of Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

2 Tbsp miced onion (I used Tastefully Simple Onion Onion**)

1 tsp garlic

1/2 tsp garlic (I used Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic**)

8 oz tomato sauce

1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning (I use Pampered Chef Italian Seasoning**)

3 cups tomato juice

Big can of diced tomatoes

1 small package of spaghetti

 

Bacon Bacon Cheddar Bread

Ingredients

 

List of Ingredients:

Bountiful Bread Mix (Tastefully Simple & Pampered Chef BOTH offer these**)

12 oz of carbonated beverage (Sprite Zero, Beer, Mountain Dew, Coke...whatever you have in your house)

2 Tbsp Bacon Bacon (Tastefully Simple product**)

1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

3 Tbsp melted butter (I used 4 Tbsp divided so I could use the whole half stick)

 

My Prep & Steps:

1.  Preheat the oven to 375 & grease 9x5 loaf pan. Featured products: Tastefully Simple loaf pan & Pampered Chef Kitchen Spritzer (healther than spray out of the aerosol can)

 

2. Add bread mix & beveral in a bowl; quickly & firmly stir together 20-30 seconds. Add Bacon Bacon, cheese, & 3 Tbsp of melted butter.

 

3. Spread mixture into loaf pan.

 

4. Spread remaining 1 Tbsp of melted butter on top.

 

5. Bake for 50-55 minutes until golden brown & pulls away from sides.

 

6. While the bread is baking, I browned the ground beef. Featured Product: Pampered Chef Mix & Chop**

 

7. Once the ground beef is brown, I drained it & put it in the fridge till I was ready for it on Wednesday Morning.

 

8. Once the time went off & it looked like this, I pulled the bread out of the oven. You let it set in the pan for 5 minutes.

 

9. Remove from pan & let it cool on a rack (Pampered Chef product**) for 30 minutes. At this point you can slice it, but I put it back in the loaf pan & covered it till we were ready for it.

 

9. Wednesday morning, I got up & put all spaghetti ingredients EXCEPT THE NOODLES into the CrockPot on Low (it can cook at this setting for 6-8 hours).

 

Then I went to work.

 

10. Turn the CrockPot on High the last 45 minutes to hour & add the spaghetti noodles.

 

11. I wanted the bread to seem fresh (warm & just out of the oven); so I sliced what I needed for the girls & myself, spread butter on 1 side, & broiled the slices for 5 minutes.

 

12. ENJOY!

PSA

I'm offering a PSA (Public Service Announcement) as a friendly reminder more for myself than everyone else.

Many fire departments recommend when you change your clocks for Daylight Savings Time (which happens to be right around the corner: Nov. 4), you should change the batteries in your smoke detectors. I want to also recommend you change the batteries in your carbon monoxide detector (if you have one). We have one because we have a gas log fireplace. I don't know that I've ever changed the batteries in ours & they decided to die, at 2:30 this morning....and that is one ANNOYING sound.

After finding it & finally getting the batteries out, I had a HARD time falling asleep. I just want to save all my friends from an interrupted nights sleep. Have a great day!

Let's Get It Started....Again

Well, as I've mentioned (see Weighing-In) I am working on weight loss. Well, it has hit the point where I could really be okay with the number on the scale, if I just toned up. So let's get the toning started....again. I WAS doing it to start with, but did some rearranging of my schedule & haven't gotten my workout groove back. Last night, while I was multitasking (bread cooking in oven AND prep work done for CrockPot Spaghetti), I had some time & sat on the couch....for about 5 minutes. Then it was like God whacked me up side the head & said: there's no time to start like the present. So I got my lazy tail up, changed & worked with my Ab Workout app & boy am I feeling the muscles I worked. I REALLY like this app cause the little coach cheers you on (saying things like come on, you can do it & almost done) AND in between sets, he tells me to relax OR chillax (which just makes me giggle). So, please pray for my perseverance to stick with it & take advantage of the little moments I have to tuck in some exercise other than walking.

Multi-tasking Momma

So, I've ALWAYS been a multi-tasker....you know, doing multiple things at once or killing two birds with one stone. But I'm noticing I do it A LOT as a Mom. My latest display was tonight. I needed to go get some groceries & the girls needed to eat AND I needed everyone in bed t a decent time (work/school night); I needed the girls to be contained & I needed to take the groceries in the house. So I pulled through McDonalds, got the girls their request, & we headed across the street to Kroger. The girls ate while I shopped (I didn't think to take a picture but will the next time....cause yes, I do this OFTEN). Plus, my cleanup was as we were walking out the door (just drop it all in the trash can). And before some of you ask: YES, if they drop food, I pick it up.

To cover the second multi-tasking of the night: the girls were jamming out to one of their FAV CDs in my SUV while I took groceries in (see pic I QUICKLY snapped).

Another example is happening now...both girls need a quiet/calm down time & Jamie prefers a bath while Kayla prefers a shower. So Jamie is getting her bath while Kayla watches TV. When I get Jamie out, she'll have her TV/calm down time while Kayla has her shower. Then we'll do bedtimes. Usually Daddy takes care of the shower while I do the bath, but he has to help with post-cook camper clean-up; so this is what I do when I'm flying solo.

American Royal Week/Weekend

As many of you know (from following me on Facebook), the Ghost River Smoke-A-Holics competed in TWO BBQ Competitions this past week/weekend. We left Wednesday, October 3, & came home Monday, October 8.

That's what the Reeves' hook-up looked like.

Two of our non-Reeves team memebers (Phil & Janie Grady) joined up with us on the journey, but I forgot to get a picture of their hook-up....blame it on my brain freeze from the cold temperatures (more on that later).

 

 Just pulling up was SO exciting!

 

Anyone who KNOWS me knows I like to get my t-shirts from places & activities we go to. This is the front of the shirt I got. It looks MUCH better than the one from 2 years ago when we competed in the American Royal.....that shirt had some scary looking man's face on it & they were GIVING (not selling) them away cause NO ONE wanted to buy them. I do not wear that shirt out in public unless we've been working outside.

This is the back of the shirt. ALL 545 teams that competed have their names on it. Our name (Ghost River Smoke-A-Holics) is on the bottom, third row up, far right.

 

We took some Cruzin Coolers with us to use & sell.

The girls HAD to try out one of them before we ever left. They LOVED it & Kayla has ALREADY asked if they can ride it again (she even had her Daddy write it on her calendar).

Phil & Janie took the Cruzin Coolers for a spin.

This was the one & ONLY time I actually drove one. This picture was taken about 10 minutes before I FLIPPED that cooler. I was going fast TRYING to catch up with someone & the wheel wobbled. Instead of coming off the gas, I kept it going & flipped right over the handlebars & cooler flipped on top of me. I rode on a pull-along the rest of the time.

 

Like I said, there were TWO competitions....the Invitational-Only on Saturday & the Open on Sunday. In the Invitational-Only, our best results were 23rd out of 154 teams....but that's 154 of THE BEST Kansas City Style Barbecue Cooking Teams around the United States. You HAVE to have won a Grand Championship at a local contest in order to be invited. In the Open, we placed 198 out of 545 Teams.....folks, do NOT be upset or think that we are because that is within the TOP 36-37%; which I think is AWESOME for a team that only competes in 4-6 contests in an entire year!

Here are some of us at the Awards! Pictured left to right: Greg Reeves, Gary & Sharon Shoop (our friends/hunting buddies from MO came to help us Friday & Saturday), Phil & Janie Grady, & Ricky & Debbie Reeves.

 

Like I said, we had some COLD temperatures while we were there. My favorite seasons are spring & summer, but I do NOT mind cooler weather....it means football, bonfires, & hunting. HOWEVER, I like to have an adjustment period to ease my body/system into it. We went from 75-80 degree temps to 32-50. My system was SHOCKED!

Here I am ALL bundled up! For all of you who do follow me; sorry for ANY complaining I did! Sunday was MUCH better because the sun came out, giving me some MUCH needed vitamin D & a little warmer temps!

 

As I mentioned, we competed in TWO competitions...which results in a few sleepless nights, leading to being tired.

Greg decided parking straight within the lines was a little over-rated on the last night we were there.

 

Overall, it was a good trip & we had fun! It was great to see some friends we had not seen in a while (buddies from Optometry School with their families & hunting buddies with their families & friends who have moved away) PLUS we met some really great new friends while we were there.

This Time Around

It's that time of life again....you know, potty training.

We are OFFICIALLY there with Jamie. But I'm doing it SO MUCH differently this time around. You see, Kayla spoke & understood at such an early age, that I thought we could potty train early. But boy was I ever wrong. We went to pull-ups around 18 months (the minute she started showing any interest); & stayed there for about a year. She just was NOT truly ready.

So I decided early on....like while I was pregnant (for those of you who don't know or don't remember, I was on bed rest for 7 weeks due to preterm labor; & THEN Jamie stalled for 3 weeks till I had to be induced. So I had A LOT of time to think)....for Jamie we were truly going to follow the advice: don't rush her, she'll do it when she's ready. When she has shown interest, I've asked if she wanted to go; but have NOT pushed like I did with Kayla.

Over the last 2 weeks, she has shown a little more interest; but I still haven't pushed the issue. Well within the last 48 hours, SHE has become a VERY determined little monkey. She has EVEN asked to go at preschool AND while we've been out in public (something Kayla would FLIP OUT about). You see, she wants to wear big girl panties like Kayla & she's been told she can't till she's potty trained. AND, candy (which isn't consumed much in our house) is the immediate reward. Jamie has discovered that she REALLY likes to get 2 Skittles or Reece's Pieces or M&Ms for something that she has control over.

When I left the house at lunch, she still had the same dry slip-on diaper (WAY more for your money than pull-ups) that she put on this morning. You may hear her refer to them as her Tigger cause that's who is on them.

Now, I KNOW we will have accidents & that we are not COMPLETELY trained; but it is starting off WAY better this time around. Just pray that I will still have patience with her & let her do this at HER pace. If you're around us & we keep having to excuse ourselves, PLEASE don't think we're trying to be rude; we're just in that season of life.