Happy Thanksgiving!!

Hope all my friends and family have had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  It was just the 4 of us, be we cooked up a feast.  Not pictured is pumpkin pie and yellow cake with Almond joy frosting.  Yum!!


Ahhhh. All cleaned up! Time to relax...... :)

Happy Veteran's Day

Giving thanks to all the veterans today, especially my husband. :)

Happy Halloween!!

Lucas already had several costumes at home, so I told him to choose one. He chose to be a mail carrier.

Logan had asked to be Link from the Legend of Zelda. I had originally told him no because of the cost of the costume. Then I found some videos on how to make the shield and sword so I thought I'd give it a try. My plan was to make the shield and sword, I found a hat on Amazon and then I was going to get him a green shirt and brown belt. He could just wear a pair of jeans and it would be good enough. To me, the shield and sword were the main parts of the costume. We went to the thrift store to look for a green shirt. Logan and Shaine were with me. We came out with tan pants, tan long sleeve shirt, green shirt, belt, and boots. More time and money was put into it than my original plan, but Logan absolutely loved it!

We took the boys to the church and then did a trip around the neighborhood when we got home.

11 years old!!

I know I say the same thing every year, but time truly passes so quickly and I can't believe that Logan is already 11 years old!! We had planned on taking him into DC to do a river boat tour (that I'd already bought a voucher for), but they were canceled due to the govt. shutdown. Not sure about the reasoning behind that. Turns out, it rained all day on Wednesday (his birthday), so it all worked out in the end. He chose to eat at a new restaurant he hadn't tried for lunch, then we went to get him a new soccer ball (his exploded in the Jeep), and then we went to The Cheesecake Factory for birthday cheesecake. :) We haven't had his party yet, so I'll update his video once we do, but here is his last year! He got to see both my parents and his dad's parents in a years time and I think the last time that happened was from birth to one year old for him (he didn't get to see my step-mom, his Mimi, because she was stuck at work when my dad came)! Yes, it was a good year!

Logan, I love you very much and want you to know that you can do anything your heart desires if you put your mind and heart into it! Be your own spotlight!!

The goings on around here....

Do you have any idea how hard it is sometimes to keep from laughing when trying to decipher what your child is saying?? Tonight at dinner, Logan was complaining about how hard it is for him to tie his shoes. He can do it, but can't get them tied nice and tight. He said he can't do it with one hand. Shaine pointed out that he has two and it is possible because millions of people do it around the world. Lucas was listening to this and exclaims that he has seven hands. He then goes on to say that his hands do something and for the life of me I could NOT figure out what he was saying. Logan and Shaine weren't any help either.

Lucas: "My seven hands make ?????"
Me: "Your seven hands make what?"
He repeats what he said. I told him I had no idea what he was saying. He said it again, this time more slowly. This went back and forth a few times.
Me: saying the only thing I could even come up with, yet knew it wasn't right. "Your seven hands make sandal sex" I'm dying here.

Lucas looks at me. "NOOOOOO!!!! Souuuuuuundal sex"
Me: "OHHHHH! Sound effects??"
Lucas: Big smile. "YES!!"


The next morning he was asking me about it again, so I took a video:

Hair cut day . For the first time ever, I got to just sit on the bench while Lucas got his hair cut. Usually I am standing close to him helping reinforce what he needs to do and repeating what they ask him to do. Sometimes I am even holding his head still. Yesterday, I sat and Lucas did everything he was asked. He sat still and followed directions. We've been going to the same place for about 6.5 years. They gave Lucas his first cut, so they know him well. I'm just proud of him!

Also, we went to Olive Garden for lunch (Shaine wanted never ending pasta ). Lucas ate lunch without any prompting at all. Usually we are having to say, "Okay, now take a bite. What are you going to eat next? Lucas, eat. Take another bite." Sometimes we are even feeding him because he is kind of in his own world and can't focus enough to even pick the fork up and take a bite. He happily eats when we give him a bite, though. However, yesterday, none of that took place. He ate a whole breadstick, all of his pasta, his grapes, and his salad (deconstructed, but he ate it all....tomato, lettuce, cabbage, carrot, black olive, and crouton)!



Helping me chop the veggies for dinner.... 
Lucas picked out some new cookies at the store tonight. I think he liked them. He had cookie all the way up in his eyebrow.  They were raspberry Oreo fudge cremes. I tried one and I must say they were yummy, but I managed to keep my face clean while eating mine....LOL!
And we started soccer!!

Oldie but a goodie....

In honor of Father's Day, I'm sharing a couple of my favorite "dad" posts! Here and here.

13 down, lots more to go.....

June 4th, 2000 I married my best friend. I know that when I met him online just after I turned 17 (1996) and he was 21 no one thought we'd actually make it this far. But we have and it keeps getting better and better. I love you, Shaine, and I'm so glad we found each other! Thirteen years down, lots more to go.....
 

And for a blooper.... After noticing Shaine wasn't looking at the camera in our picture, I pointed to the little camera at the top of my laptop and said, "Look at the camera right here." This was the next picture I took. We laughed so, so hard at this! What is especially funny is that Shaine said his eyes don't even open that wide. And they don't. He can't wear contacts because he can't open his eyes wide enough to put them in. You wouldn't know that from this picture. :)

Granola bars!

I have tried several recipes trying to find an alternative to the boxed chewy granola bar at the store. "Oatmeal guys", as Lucas likes to call them. I rarely follow a recipe, so I have tweaked a few to my liking. I think I've made enough changes that it now qualifies as my own recipe. LOL! Logan doesn't typically like granola bars, but I let him try these tonight and he liked them, even asking if he can have one for breakfast. Here is the one that I mostly based mine on.

 I think next time I will double this recipe to get a full pan. Eventually I would like to order some Sun Drops to use in place of the M&Ms.

No-Bake Chewy Granola Bars
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup agave nectar
1/3 cup sucanat
1 1/4 cups quick cooking oats (not rolled oats)
1 1/2 cup Rice Krispies type cereal (I use Erewhon brown rice cereal)
1/4 cup hemp hearts
1 T milled chia seeds
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 - 1/3 cup mini M&Ms
* see notes below for substitutions

In a large bowl, stir oats, rice cereal, hemp hearts, and milled chia seeds together. Set aside. In a small pot, melt butter, agave nectar and sucanat together over medium high heat until it comes to a bubble. Reduce the heat and cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour in vanilla and stir. Pour over dry ingredients and mix well until all ingredients are moistened. After mixing well, gently fold in M&Ms. If you aren't careful you will smash them open as they get warm, so stir carefully. Pour into lightly greased small jelly roll pan and press out to be about 3/4 inch in thickness. You can press them to one side if needed. Cool on countertop for two hours or until set before cutting into bars. Wrap in plastic wrap and store at room temperature.

Notes: You can substitute honey for the agave nectar, I just don't care for the honey flavor it gives them. I guess you can likely use light Karo syrup, but I was trying to avoid it. For the sucanant, replace with equal parts brown sugar. If you leave out the hemp hearts, just increase the quick cooking oats to 1 1/2 cups (instead of the 1 1/4 cups that I used). You can leave out the milled chia seeds, too. If you want to do chocolate chips instead of the M&Ms, use about 2 Tablespoons mini chocolate chips. You press them into the top of the bars once the bars are pressed out into the jelly roll pan. I must say, they may be closer to a rice crispy treat since I upped the amount of the rice cereal. If you want them to be more oatmealy, reduce the rice cereal by 1/2 cup and add an extra 1/2 cup of oatmeal.
Update August 8: Today I doubled the recipe and learned that it is best to not take up the whole pan. You really need to be able to press from the side and top at the same time to really compress them to get them to stick and set up. I just went in to cut one to check it and it wasn't as firm as I like them to be. I removed a piece from the end and pressed from each side and the top to kind of squeeze them towards the middle of the pan to pack them down better. So, next time I will either stick to a half recipe that only fills half this pan or use a bigger pan. Just a little FYI.

JEEP!!

After a few weeks of trying to decide what we wanted to do, we decided to get rid of the Jag that was giving us trouble. There was one vehicle that my husband was particularly interested in. After looking at used prices, we decided it made more sense to just get a new one. We love it!!

Resagna

Lucas has started pretending that he is Garfield. He calls me Odie, Shaine John, and Logan Nermal. Well, Garfield likes lasagna, or "resanga" as Lucas calls it, so he decided he should try it out. Yesterday at lunch he ate a pretty large serving of it and liked it! So proud of him for trying something new!!!

Family Fun Day!

We decided to get season passes to Kings Dominion and have taken the boys a couple of times so far. Lucas LOVES the rides! Logan has fun, but gets upset that he can't ride all the things his brother can (he doesn't realize how much he is growing!!!). We try to point out that he is tall enough to ride lots of things that his brother can't, he just chooses not to (he's NOT a fan of roller coasters at all). Anyway, it has been lots of fun. Here are some pictures from our last two trips!! A friend and her daughter have passes as well, so we meet up and all go!

Don't we look scared?!?

This was Lucas's favorite ride.  He was so serious about catching ghosts!!



Poor baby couldn't figure this ride out and just sat there for most of it.  Someone finally came and pushed him around in his car.

Logan loves getting to drive the cars!

Logan before the roller coaster ride.  He refused to even look towards the camera afterwards.





I think this may be Logan's favorite ride!

Happy Easter!

It rained most of the day here, but we still managed to get out to hunt eggs!

Spring Cleaning....

I know it isn't spring yet, but I've started my spring cleaning already! Friday I cleaned out the pantry, Saturday I cleaned out the freezer and deep freezer, and today I filed, sorted and shredded the paper pile ups. While cleaning out the freezer, we also took inventory of the freezer items. This time I'm hoping to be better about planning our meals and crossing things off as we use them. I didn't inventory lunch items or what was in the freezer in the kitchen, though.

 4 steaks
1 package hamburger meat
1 package meatballs
1 package chorizo
lots and lots of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 package whole grains and veggie blend
1 package fire roasted veggie blend
1 package roasted corn
4 ears of corn
1 bag chicken tenderloins
2 packages Louisana hot sausages (Shaine is pretty much the only one that eats these, so I won't plan means with them)
1 package habanero pepper jack chicken sausages
1 package thick cut applewood smoked bacon
3 packages Trader Joe's rice medley
2 packages Trader Joe's confetti rice (lemon grass, baby corn, and ginger)
1 package Eggo waffles
9 8 packages grilled chicken breast strips
1 package meatless meatballs
2 1 package bacon mushroom swiss cheese chicken sausage
1 package fully cooked beef brisket
1 package maple breakfast sausage
1 bag eggrolls
1 package beef salami
1 package Flounder fillets
1 bag green beans
1 bag broccoli
1 package breaded cod fillets
1 ziploc turkey taco meat
1 ziploc hamburger meat with green chilis
1 ziploc cooked ham slices
1 package marinated roast (I don't recall what this is exactly, but realized we missed writing it down when I sat down to type this up)
1 box cookie dough 

Here are a couple of pictures of my pantry, too.

I still needed to put some recipe boxes back in.  I went through my cookbooks and got rid of a few, too. We can see what all we have much more easily now.  With a larger pantry, I have a bad habit of buying too much stuff to fill it with.  Then it gets hidden and goes bad!  I was also trying to clear it of some of the less healthy stuff.  I didn't get rid of everything, but a large portion.  I don't plan on buying store bought cookies once what we have is gone.  Instead, if we want cookies, we can make some homemade ones and then only bake a few at a time.
 

I cooked a lot last week, so starting the week out, we are eating up any leftovers. Monday--kale salad (we had this last week and still have plenty of veggies chopped and ready for more!) Tuesday--fried potatoes with squash, zucchini, and onion topped with sausage (leftovers) Wednesday--fried chicken and not sure what sides yet (leftover chicken from Popeyes)

My "baby" is 7!

Today my sweet, sweet boy turned 7 years old.  I truly can't believe it.  Time is going by WAY too fast!!

If you know Lucas, you know he LOVES the number 3.  So, when it comes to blowing out birthday candles, he likes to do it 3 times.  Now, you can't just light the candle and blow it out 3 times, you must sing "Happy Birthday" 3 times, too.  :)  Here is round 3!

Facebook catch up....

I often post little funnies that happen throughout the day on FB, so I thought I would add some of them to my blog, too....

February 4, 2013--  This morning Lucas and I were talking about how he will be turning 7 this month. He then asked me how old Logan is. I told him that Logan is 10. He asked if he was going to be 8 next, then 9, then 10 like Logan. I think he thought he would finally catch up to his brother's age. :) We talked about how when he turns 10, Logan won't be 10 because Logan will get older each year, too. He said, "And someday Logan will be 20?" That got him to counting from 20. He got to 29 and I asked him if he knew what came next. He said, "Twenty-ten". :) I told him it was 30 and then he started counting from 30. He's never really counted much past 10 even though I knew he knew more numbers than that. He loves numbers, it just has to be his idea to share what he knows.


January 30, 2013-- At almost 11, I think I hear Lucas. Shaine was sitting at the dining room table (closer to the stairs) and I was in the living room, so I asked him if that was Lucas. It was. He was calling for me. I go up and he asks me about his Super Mario line up (the same one that was watching him eat this morning) that was lined up on his dresser. I get him back into bed and he asks me about his birthday. Apparently he heard me saying he'd be 7 next month and he is super excited that his birthday is coming soon.....LOL! Then he started asking me about every cake he has had on his birthdays. The boy has an excellent memory, so I am in trouble. He is only 6 and already I can't remember them. Thankfully I have pictures and he has requested to see them in the morning. :)

January 30, 2013-- Lucas has an audience watching him eat. Notice the shirt he is wearing, too (Super Mario Brothers). :) Please ignore the trash bag in the back. I promise it isn't trash, but rather some stuff I need to mail to a friend.

January 22, 2013-- You know you are a daddy's girl when...... You are checking your messages and you save the one from your daddy just because. ♥

January 22, 2013-- If there is such a thing as a redneck meal, I'm pretty sure we had it tonight! Fried taters, ham steak, and corn. Certainly not a healthy meal, but it just hit the spot.

January 19, 2013-- Speaking of getting snuggles in, I'm pretty sure Shaine took our "baby" to bed with him tonight. I'd leave him in the bed and join them, but somehow Shaine still gets his half of the bed and Lucas and I share my half. Problem is, Lucas doesn't share that half equally.....LOL! Hmmm. Maybe I should just go get in Lucas's bed..... :)

January 18, 2013-- The other night, I headed upstairs to go to bed. Shaine was already in bed and I heard a noise in my room. It was Logan. He had gone in there to tell Shaine good night. I gave him a hug and told him goodnight. He said, "Can I just stay in here for a while?" When I said yes, he ran and jumped into the bed. 10 is not too old to get some snuggles in. :)

January 18, 2013-- I just remembered something that happened on Wednesday when we went ice skating and wanted to share. Lucas always makes up "games". He has to do certain things in a certain order and then he can move on. If you interrupt him during one of his "games" and not let him complete what he was doing, he gets very upset. Well, he was trying to tell us where he wanted to start his next game and we weren't sure what he was saying. He was yelling and we told him to use his words. Finally we got it. He pointed to a sign on the wall in the rink and said, "I want to start my next game at the Mason sign." Shaine and I just looked at each other. I said, "Did you tell him what that said??". He had not, but the week before Shaine said he did show him the sign on the ice that says George Mason. Yes, it isn't truly reading, but it is the start of it. I know it isn't a huge thing, but I was just surprised by it. :)

January 18, 2013-- I bought Logan a pair of size 5 soccer cleats before fall soccer season started. Tonight I bought him a new pair of soccer cleats......size 7!!! What in the world???

January 15, 2013-- I was saying in the comments of my last status that Lucas loves babies. Case in point: On Saturday we were at Logan's futsal game (similar to indoor soccer). There was a lady sitting beside me who was probably close to 50 (her boy was playing). Her mom was sitting next to her. Somehow we got to talking and they were talking to Lucas. The older mom told Lucas that the younger mom sitting next to me was her baby. Lucas gets a HUGE smile on his face and says, "I like babies!!!!!" in the most excited, cute voice you can imagine. We all got a good laugh out of that one!! :)

December 22, 2012-- We are watching Santa Claus (not sure which one) and Logan said, "Where do they get these people with pointy ears?" He had asked something similar about Lord of the Rings earlier and I told him they made them look that way that they aren't really that way. I said, "Logan! Again, they are not real." His reply: "They're real people!!!!" Oh my, how do I even keep a straight face.....LOL!

December 21, 2012-- We went out to mail some packages and Logan held out his hands and said, "Is it snowing?". I told him it wasn't, and he said, "Oh. It feels like it." I looked more closely and sure enough it was! It only lasted 10 minutes and didn't stick, but he was super excited that it snowed on the first day of winter.

December 13, 2102-- I just went up to tuck the boys in and I found Lucas in his bed standing on his head with his feet on the top bunk above him. He told me he was "dancing on the ceiling". LOL! That boy totally cracks me up!!

December 6, 2012-- I was talking to two different friends about knowing you are a mom when you use your shirt to wipe your child's nose. This happened this past weekend when we were out cleaning the neighborhood and I forgot to bring tissues along for Lucas. Last night I was in the kitchen and Lucas walked up to me and wiped his nose on my forearm. I was wearing short sleeves. Um. Yuck. Then this morning he came into my room when he woke up and was saying, "My nose. My nose." Before I could even help him, he leaned over and wiped his nose on my pillow case. I just washed my sheets yesterday. I guess I should be happy it is just the pillow case and not the sheet. It is much easier to re-wash a pillow case than it is a sheet. :)

December 3, 2012-- Tonight when Shaine got home from work, he told me he may have accidentally got something in his hair. I had no clue what he meant. He said he used the blue comb to comb his hair before leaving for work and that his hair stayed perfectly in place all day (and Shaine's hair does NOT do that). We inspected the comb and it appears that there was either hair gel (Lucas loves having his hair spiked, so we have some for that) or toothpaste. Upon inspecting the hair gel, I'm fairly certain it was tooth paste because there isn't enough hair gel missing for me to feel that was the culprit. But, Logan has toothpaste almost the same color as the hair gel and he routinely makes a big mess with that all over the sink. My guess is the comb was out and got involved in the toothpaste mess......LOL!

For PaBob...

Dad, a police officer was recently killed in the line of duty and I thought the boys might like to go watch the funeral procession.  They had asked the public to line the streets to show support.  It started near our house, but I decided to go last minute.  In order to get ahead of them, I cut out towards the land fill.  The boys and I ended up at that spot with the tractors near there.  They only had one out on that day, but I did take a picture for you.  :)

Logan wanted me to take another picture to show the tire is as big as him.


Here are the boys watching the procession.