To Insanity and Beyond!!

Halloween season is just cause for any mom to claim insanity and I was trying to avoid my case of it. I actually did pretty well, but of course tonight I had to add one more thing to Tate's costume. He (obviously) is going to be Buzz Light Year, but his costume seemed a little bare.

So this is my attempt at the wings needed for his costume. I'm sure I could have bought the ones online for $25+, but you guys know me. I bought a $2 foam board, $2 in paint and some elastic and we were off! My goal is to get him from looking like this (obviously not Tate, those pictures start tomorrow):

To this:

Guess we'll see! My next ticket to mental health:

Looks innocent enough, right? We will find out. I am going to attempt to make a new bedspread for Teagan's room using this yarn and

Teagan's old blanket and a sheet I already have. My drive for a bargain might just drive me to the looney bin!!

Fall Fixins

So, I have to admit that I am pretty proud of myself. With the exception of a couple weeks this summer I have kept up well with my menu planning each week. I still have a huge binder with everything that use to clutter up my counter and I keep old and new recipes in it. We are having a few of my favorites (and a newbie) this week, so I thought I would share.
We started Sunday evening with this recipe for Bacon, Cheese & Potato Chowder found here: http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/bacon-cheese-potato-chowder-107301.aspx











I love soup in the fall. If you make this make sure to use the bacon and green onions, otherwise it can be a little bland.
While that was cooking on the stove I prepped for our Monday night supper - the new recipe. It was for crock-pot lasagna. I am always up for trying new stuff, especially if it means my meal makes itself while I am gone. Not going to lie - this was awesome!! All the same prep of regular lasagna, but you can make it ahead in your crock and keep it in the fridge overnight. Just set it on low around 12 and by 5:30 it is ready to go. Here it is: http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/slow-cooker-lasagna-114123.aspx










So, that should give me a lunch and a night of leftovers - even better! Wednesday is another crock-pot meal. Its called Sunday Chicken and I found it on a site that doesn't exist anymore, but so stinkin easy. Here it is:
4-6 frozen, boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1 cup sour cream
*put chicken in slow cooker (I always use the plastic liners, always) mix soup and onion mix and pour over chicken. Cover and cook on high 4 hours OR low 6-8 hours. One hour before serving stir in sour cream.
Easy-peasy - I always make more and use it for enchilada or this recipe later in the week.
















http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000001854027
So, there you have it. A couple of our favorite meals, with not much work and pretty cheap ingredients. Congrats to Raider volleyball on their 1st round win this evening. Now we are off to cheer on the Raider football team Wednesday night!

This and That

We have been just doing stuff around the house lately, but almost everything has been on a list so if feels good to get them done. The stuff not on the list was pumpkins, but I had to try out some of the ideas I posted about earlier.

I really, really like how they turned out. Might be a yearly decoration - an never mind the dead mums in the backround. I would like to say I am setting the mood for Halloween, but reality is that I forgot to water them.

I really do enjoy carving pumpkins, but have lost some of my enthusiasm, so I let the kids design what they wanted. Teagan's is done from a sketch and Tate just told me he wanted a ghost and a house. Easy enough.

Anybody else have WAY TOO MANY of these little guys at their house too? Don't get me wrong, I love nature as much as the next girl, but seeing these both outside and too close to inside my house has me frazzled!

So, I spent a good 20 minutes on Sunday inspecting the outside of my house like a lunitic spraying for them. The ones way up towards the top got a small dose of wasp spray (still did the trick) and the ones on the foundation got good ol' fashion spider stuff. I am not exagerating when I say I probably killed at least 30 of them on the spot - gross!!!!

I got one step closer to the Teagan finale. Her closet was purged, and so were all the drawers in her room. I covered the baskets with material from Hobby Lobby and used bins from Dollar Tree. I think I did all 4 plus little holders for about $8.

The mirror will soon be brown, but thats a rainy day project. I also covered the bulletin board with extra material and got the hamper at Dollar General.

I also got Tate's closet cleaned out and Brad even installed a shelf in our supply closet to hold extra stuff. It was a super productive weekend. My next project is ordering family pictures and figuring out where to display them in the house. I feel a Hobby Lobby trip in my future!!

Punkins!!

I was perusing the Better Homes & Gardens website over lunch today and found some great ideas for pumpkins - they aren't just for carving you know!



















How about these with thumbtacks? Bought a pack of 300 at Dollar Tree. It would be cute way to do your house number.



















Another use for chalkboard paint. Love it!! And your kids can change their mind about what they want on their pumpkin. Mine usually change it right after I have the first major cuts made-awesome!



















Metallic paint - cute with minis on your counter or tables. Or with a Thanksgiving centerpiece.

















Yes, a lot of patience, but so dang cute!!
















These might be my favorite and maybe the simplest. Draw and fill in houses with sharpies or black paint and just cut out the windows. You can make your own little Halloweentown!! Mine would include a pub though - just sayin!!

Birthday Day

Yep its true - another notch on the birthday ladder, but I took it in stride (what else are you going to do?) Anyway it was a great weekend spent with family. The kids and started with a trip to the zoo on Friday, but first a picture of the card Teagan gave me for my birthday. For anyone who knows my daughter I have definately passed on a couple of traits!!

Funny, huh? We'll talk in a couple years! Now onto the zoo.

My monkies!!

No pictures of the animals this time - plenty from our trip this summer.

The sign of a good day and mom got to just listen to the radio and drive.

Saturday night we celebrated my cousin Chris' wedding. It was a beautiful night and a good time to hang out with family.

Today after church we went to my favorite brunch spot - P.H.A.T. Daddy's in Marengo.

It didn't disappoint and was amazing. Ate WAY too much, but it was so good! We went to the park so the kids could play and run off some of their extra energy and us adults could walk off some of that food. They had a great time! And they got to spend some time with Aunt Beth!

These two are peas in a pod!!!

Do you think these 2 share a couple of the same genes?

Never a dull moment with these 3 around!

After dropping the boys off for a nap Teagan and I headed out to Rue 21 to pick up this pretty I have had my eye on. Love it, but I can wait for the weather needed to wear it.

I had a really great weekend and had the chance to take a step back to appreciate all the blessings that surround me. It makes me look forward to the next 33! Enjoy the moments!

Be Aware!

Most of you are aware that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. And some of you may have watch a NFL game yesterday and saw the support that league is giving to help raise awareness. I love the slogan: "A Crucial Catch."




Just seeing the pink on these tough, huge men gets me everytime. I know that some of them wear the pink just because, but I love the guys who have it all over. It makes me wonder what their story is and they also gain a little respect with this woman too.


















The NFL is also selling the gear that the players and coaches were wearing and donating some of the profit to research. Who knew a Bears hat could look so great?!



Awareness isn't just going on in the NFL. It is spreading to other sports as well and I love that they are male dominated sports.

So, be aware ladies and take care of yourselves. It is the most important thing thing you can do to take care of your family and those you love.

Homecoming 2010

The kids were asked to be attendants for Homecoming last night and did a great job. It was a beautiful night for a pep rally and we look forward to the game tonight.

This is pretty much what Tate's face looked like the entire time. He isn't quite into the social showings like his sister.

Here they are with Hannah and Aaron before the coronation. Thanks for the pics Sonya. For those of you who weren't there - I had to make myself sparse so that Tate would not be stuck to my leg the entire night. Once I left he did great.

He wouldn't leave his sister's side though. Saving this pic for the future when they say they don't need each other - I know that day will come!

Last picture of the night. As always, Teagan is up for it - Tate, not so much!!! Have a great weekend and GO RAIDERS and GO HAWKS!!!