she said "mama, it's jus-a ack-sa-deeent" (in her best southern girl accent), and then she split...
but she did leave her calling card.
good news, however, after all the mess, this is what came out of the oven..
~~ where everyday is a new adventure ~~
she said "mama, it's jus-a ack-sa-deeent" (in her best southern girl accent), and then she split...
but she did leave her calling card.
good news, however, after all the mess, this is what came out of the oven..
they associated entries with the your child, so cale and lily were thrilled to be handed trophies! cale kept talking about how great "his" chili was!
pretty sure lily was excited just cause it was all sparkly. oh, and cause mrs. dougherty gave it to her!
we hunted for the perfect pumpkin.
then, there were pumpkin races.
it was so fun for them to be up against each other. even lily got in on some of the racing action!
ok, before we move on, let's discuss one of the trials of mommyhood. it rears its' ugly head every time our family is in the general vicinity of a camera. yep, you guessed it...
picture-taking time.
you know what i mean. when it's one of those "special" times when all you want is a good picture. just one. i'd settle for that. is it too much to ask that for 15 seconds, all participants actually participate? i think not, but i'm just the mom. i mean really, just a little cooperation would go a long way here. but no, just leave it to the little one...
leave it to her. that's kind of her m.o. these days. guess that'll make for an interesting christmas card.
daddy caught this one in a box in the front yard for the kiddos to see. cale screamed like a little girl who'd just found a tiny field mouse in her bedroom (that, by the way, is an entirely different story). then, he and daddy had the following conversation...
cale: "i don't like those!"
daddy: "why not?"
cale: "cause they move!!!"
the spider then scurried towards cale. which was funny... in an it-shouldn't-be-so-funny kind of way. really funny.
and apparently, tarantulas can climb trees. i know, seems obvious. however, it's a little different watching that big 'ol spider scamper up the trunk.
hello, creepy.
brown the hamburger, drain any excess fat... yummy. add onions and bell peppers, saute until soft. add mushrooms and tomatoes. let it simmer for 10 minutes... or until you're ready to get busy.
cook your pasta, but make sure it's not mush. i usually start the water before i start browning the hamburger.
once the meat mixture has simmered and the pasta has been cooked, get ready... it's time for layering! in a 9x13 pan layer pasta, meat, part of the cheese, pasta meat, rest of the cheese. ok, stop. empty the cream of mushroom in a bowl. gradually add milk or water to thin the cream. don't add so much that it gets runny. you just want it to spread easily over the top and seep into the layers. oooohhhhh... it's making me hungry! so, whatcha waiting for? pour it on top. sprinkle parmesan over the cream.
viola! this is what it looks like before you bake it at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until it gets all bubbly and gooey.
oh, my heavens... yummy, yummy, YUMMY!!!
a lot of times when i make this recipe, i'll put it in 2 loaf pans and freeze one. get it all ready up to the baking point, then freeze it. just make sure you set it out in enough time that it has ample time to thaw... trust me. thawing in the oven takes way longer than you'd ever think!
enjoy the recipe... you'll thank me later.
start with hamburger in bowl. chop green peppers and onions.
just throw it all in and mix it up.
dump it in the pan and make it loaf-like.
bake it at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, covered. then take that cover off, add the topping and bake for at least 30 minutes more... or until you freak because you just remembered the timer went off a little bit ago, but you were in the middle of something and didn't stop to take the meatloaf out of the oven...
put that yumminess on a plate and get busy!
this recipe freezes well, and is easily doubled.
anyone recognize that lip?
oh, he was so ca-yute!
still cute...
we have an ongoing argument about that being my dog... he appears to be winning.
this continues to be an amazing journey. cale has the sweetest spirit, the heart of a giver, and he sure can keep a mean beat. he is fun, full of life, amazingly sensitive, brilliant, and quick-witted. he is all boy and loud... all the time. most of all, he is an infinate blessing.
i am so glad i am his mama. happy birthday, my sweet boy.
cale is in the 4 year old program and lily in the 2 year old class.
he has his own desk with his name on it!
mama's baby boy. ok, so he isn't really a baby anymore... he's in preschool!!!!!
now, i know you're looking for pictures of lily, but there really aren't any from this morning. her teacher was trying to distract her with toys and i didn't want to interrupt and cause her to have a meltdown (which she didn't have, by the way). she got a tad panicky when her teacher picked her up, but then they were off to discover the new toys. lily's teacher said she had a great first day... that makes her mama happy.
just a little note for those of you who had the pleasure of dealing with me thursday and friday (and you know who you are, but i wouldn't blame you if you denied it)... first, thank you. i mean it, really. thank you. thank you for just letting me cry. thank you for listening. thank you for your kind words. mostly, thank you for your prayers. second, i did it all last week, so there was only one tiny tear this morning. this was a huge change, most of all for me.
now i know this is good, really good... it's going to be lots of fun... and cale and lily are going to be great!