Random Friday

-Chris's first week at the internship went really well. With his long days this week went fast for him and S L O W for me. He has already learned so much, like he can't be their friend he has to follow the rules and it keeps his evenings exciting.

-While Chris was gone till midnight two nights I discovered a cool mini-series on Netflix called The Pillars of the Earth. It's pretty entertaining for me and it's based off a book.

-I have a crazy infected big toe. Gross I know but I was going for random information.

-Since Chris and I were going to read Mockingjay together I started a book called People of the Book. I'm about 5 chapters in and waiting for it to get exciting. It's interesting though. I also started the book club back up if anyone is interested. There's no way between school and sleep for us to read together so I'm going to download the audio book and listen to it. I can't wait!

-Asher growing up.

-Jocelyn went to a birthday party last weekend and came home with this crown. I like to put it on Fiona at least once a day because it makes me smile. Princess Fiona.

-There really hasn't been too much going on this week. Not even random stuff. So I present to you Cecily's photo booth videos and pictures. While looking through a lot of these movies I was busting up. I think every home should have a video set up that kids could record themselves whenever they want to. It's good stuff!

(MOVIE)

halfway done

Sunday, while sitting together as a family on a blanket in the yard, we discussed what our names would be if we were a different gender.

Chris = Christina

Jocelyn = Joe

Cecily = Cecil

Asher = Ashley

Fiona = Finn

All very obvious counterparts. Oh, what's my boy name you ask? Karl. Yep, Karl with a K. That means I would be extra crazy, cause we all know someone named Karl and we all know he's one crazy guy! Is there any other boy name that could be Katie-ish?

Anyway, on my walk today Fiona was extra fussy. I asked Asher to give her her pacifair. Look at what a good big brother she has.

ps: Cecily's computer twin Scarlett is back so I'm going to be editing another Cecily video montage.

You want to know what this past week's menu was? Here we go...

Monday - Black Bean and Chicken Burritos I added corn and this was very tasty and made A LOT.
Ingredients:
1 taco/fajita seasoning packet
2 cans black beans, drained
2-3 chicken breasts
1 can green enchilada sauce

Place chicken breasts in bottom of the crockpot and then add remaining ingredients. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Shred chicken before serving and serve in tortillas. We add cheese, sour cream, etc. to the tortillas. We sometimes add rice (cooked rice to the mixture once we're ready to serve, not in the crockpot!). This is also really good if you use beef instead of the chicken!
Tuesday - Leftovers
Wednesday - Plain ol' french toast and eggs
Thursday -Meatloaf on a bed of Potatoes
2 T olive oil
3 large russets, cut into 1 to 1-1/2” chunks
2 lb ground sirloin (I use ground turkey all of the time when I make this)
2 large eggs, beaten
3/4 cup crushed saltine crackers
3/4 cup ketchup
2 T dehydrated onions (optional)
1 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Topping
3/4 cup ketchup
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp Dijon mustard

Combine oil and potatoes in crock pot, toss to coat. Spread in an even layer on the bottom of the crock.

In a large bowl, combine beef, eggs, crumbs, ketchup, onion, salt and pepper. Mix gently, do not compact. Shape into oval or round, place on top of potatoes. Spread with topping.

Cover and cook on High for 1 hour. Reduce heat to Low and continue to cook for 6-7 hours, or until a meat thermometer reads 160º to 165ºF.
Sandy’s notes: I used plain ketchup for the topping since that is my family’s preference. To make the meatloaf easier to remove: Take two long pieces of foil and fold them into two strips. Place them across each other over the potatoes and set the meatloaf on top. Use as handles to remove when the meatloaf is done.
Friday - Wings
Saturday - Ward Picnic
Sunday - Chicken Cordon Bleu (sooooooo yummy! I keep forgetting to get the ingrediaents for the sauce so we just make country gravy- I know we're real classy - and it tastes awesome. We also use theighs instead of breast.)

AND for dessert Blueberry Snack Cake. It's like a giant blueberry muffin and I scarfed it up all by myself cause everyone wanted the chocolate cupcakes Chris made instead. 

repeat

Chris and I had so much fun last weekend we decided to do everything the exact same. Wings. Movie. No school. Ice cream. Every time we finish a class we get ice cream or some treat to celebrate. We didn't want to drive all the way to the smoothie store to get my pnut butter smoothie I like so I just grabbed some ben and jerrys. I felt like trying something new so I got Banana Split (just ok) and Boston Cream Pie (no good!) At least the kids will like them. We watched Diary of a Whimy Kid and I actually enjoyed it. But what's not to enjoy about a chubby kid saying "oowwweee mommy!" (at least that's what I think he said). At 9:30pm we headed up to read Mockingjay. I know, we're boring.

Saturday was a typical boring nothing to do day. But we love being together.

But it was also our ward picnic. I have been looking forward to this for weeks! A chance to hang out with our ward members (seriously awesome/funny people) and enjoy some good weather (overcast 85 degrees) The park was clean and big with a large stream. Asher didn't get a nap and for some reason when little boys are tired they aren't cranky just insanely crazy. There was no controlling the kid and we eventually left early cause we both couldn't visit without having to run after him.

We put him to bed when we got home and hung out with the girls. And then moved the TV upstairs again to watch a pirated The Other Guys. (SOOOOO Funny!) Then we fell asleep. Nothing too exciting but just nice to be together before we start our first VERY busy week of school, work and internship. I'm going to brave going to the library with all 4 kids without Chris and maybe a couple other places too.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

Random post

-FIONA IS 3 MONTHS TODAY! I can't believe how fast time is going. She's rolling over from her belly to her back and laughing. For most days she's sleeping 8+ hours but sometimes she still wakes up for that 5/6am feeding which I am just fine with. She's a people person, she doesn't like to be left alone. She needs to be right by you and to be talked to. The other day I decided my favorite is putting babies in the fleece pajamas because they are so cuddly and cute!

-I got an A- in my Human Resource Management class. I barely scrapped by with that grade too. It was 90.65 Woot Woot! 7 classes to go!

-Chris and I started Mockingjay on Tuesday. We're reading a little bit every night 10 - 11pm so it's only a chapter or two at a time but it's really fun to read it together. I just finished Actor and the Housewife (sobbed almost as much as the first time) and I'm taking suggestions for my next audio book. Ready. Set. GO!

-Wednesday Jocelyn wanted to lay out in the yard so we brought out tons of pillows and blankets. It was 2:30pm in the afternoon and I was laying in the sun with a parasol and it felt amazing. I'm not telling you this to rub it in anyone's face it's just so surreal to think it's August and not a million degrees outside. Every time I'm about to walk outside I brace myself for the heat to hit me in the face and when it doesn't, I sigh and remember where I live. Anyway, we turned the sprinklers on and that means naked time for Asher.

Fiona got a little confused.

-Walking to pick up Cecily from school the other day the sun was in Asher's eyes so he closed them and before I knew it he was asleep. It was so cute that I took a picture but then I realized this meant no "mommy time" while he took a nap at home.

-Chris got accepted into an internship helping troubled youth. He'll be working in the boy home 2 days a week equaling 15 hours. Plus he will still have his late day so 3 nights a week I'll be a single mom. It shouldn't be too bad and it's only for 15 weeks. He's the one who still has to work the day job, do 2 school classes and this internship. The guys amazing I tell you!

-I let Cecily take pictures with my camera the other day. I get a lot of stuff like this....

But then I also get gems like these...

-(back story) We don't have keys for any of the doors in the house and Asher kept locking himself in random rooms and to get him out we would have to take the door knob off. He kept locking himself in my bathroom so Chris switched it around so the lock was on the outside of the bathroom. So this morning I was going to the bathroom and Asher opens the doors and tries to come in. I tell him to go out and he shuts the door. So when I'm done brushing my teeth I go to open the door and realize it's locked! Fiona is crying on the bed and Asher is no where. I started pounding on the door and yelling for Jocelyn to rescue me. Asher comes back and I ask him to go get Jocelyn. After probably 5 minutes of yelling and pounding Jocelyn comes up and lets me out. Thank goodness he didn't do it in the middle of the day when both girls are at school. I don't know what I would have done!

Random photos of the week in celebration of Fiona turning 3 months here are the other kids at 3 months.

mid-week presents

The past couple weeks were full of little presents in the mail for us. Bethany sent me this awesome carseat cover to protect Fiona from the Wal-mart germies. (She's a creative genious folks! Look at that Velcro idea!) Thanks Bethany for thinking of the welfare of my little one.

Nana Richards sent the kids a back to school package with socks and letters. They were so excited and immediately opened the socks and started dancing and sliding around in them. Thanks Nana! (ps: after taking this photo Jocelyn had a melt down that she missed both her nanas very much)

Then Chelsea sent Asher a cool car hat to wear. He wanted nothing to do with it when we first opened it but we eventually got him to wear it. And I must say I want to eat my son, he's so cute in it! Thanks Chelsea!!!!

Then Molly sent us a super awesome package of her homemade shirts for the kids. Aren't they awesome?! I can't wait for her etsy shop grand opening... The girls couldn't wait to wear them to school! THANKS MOLLY!

This is something I have been wanting to do but instead of starting ANOTHER blog I'm just going to add it to my Wednesday blog post. It's the menu I used from the previous week. I've been trying new recipes and following other blogs that give reviews and menu suggestions. I've been finding a lot of crock pot meals that I LOVE because they are so easy and I get them done in the morning before I realize it's 4pm and I have to start thinking about what to make for dinner.

Monday- Cream Cheese Chicken (slow cooker) We liked this recipe. We did it with rice but I don't know if I just didn't add enough cream of chicken soup or what but the ranch powder is really dominate. I think next time I try it I'm only using one packet.

Ingredients:
2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper (to taste)
2 pkg. dry Ranch or Italian dressing mix (we usually only use one)
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 oz. cream cheese – cut into cubes (I use the 1/3 less fat kind)
½ c. chicken broth

Directions: Brush chicken with butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in crock pot and sprinkle 1 pkg. dry mix over all. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours. About 45 minutes before serving, add soup, second packet of dry dressing mix, cream cheese, and chicken broth. Cook until smooth.
Serve over rice or pasta.

Dessert- I made THESE COOKIES for FHE but for some reason they turned out.. not so good. I'm thinking maybe I should have used real butter? Who knows, but they look awesome.

Tuesday- Chili dogs. I combine Hormel chili with diced tomatos and put the hot dogs on a piece of bread, top with the chili and cheese and bake til cheese melts.

Wednesday- Stuffed French Toast So easy to make and if you are a breakfast lover you will LOVE this! I don't even use strawberries I just use cream cheese. But lately I've been buying a bag of frozen mixed berries and thawing them out and eating it with this and it's to die for! (At least for Me, Joc and Ash)

1 loaf french bread, cut into 1 inch slices.
Whipped cream cheese

Spread cream cheese between two slices of bread, place sandwiched slices in a glass pan sprayed with cooking spray.

Mix together:
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Pour over bread and let sit for five minutes, turn bread over and cover pan with saran wrap. Refrigerate overnight. Drizzle melted butter over the top and bake at 400 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.

Thursday- Homemade Pizza. I just buy the frozen bread and let it thaw out and we put whatever toppings we want. Chris did his BBQ chicken pizza with pineapple. I really liked it but for some reason he didn't. We made justa  cheese pizza without the sauce for the kids.

Friday- Homemade wings. Soooo good. Chris cut up the wings and rolled them in flour and deep fried them. Then mixed them with sauce from a bottle. So yummy! I made potato skins. You boil the potatos, scoop out the middle, fry them and then put cheese, bacon and green onions on them and then bake them.

Saturday- Nachos. Chris fried his own corn chips (good but oily) and we put meat, beans, nacho cheese, and some yummy pico.

Sunday- Beef Tips (slow cooker) I really liked this, it was really easy. I've burned Chris out of pot roast so he didn't totally dig it. It's pot roast meets stroganoff. It made a lot.

Ingredients:
1 beef top sirloin steak (1 pound), cut into 1-inch cubes
2 to 3 medium carrots, chopped
1 to 1-1/2 cups chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed golden mushroom soup, undiluted
1/2 to 1 cup white wine or beef broth
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
Hot cooked egg noodles

Directions:
In a 3-qt. slow cooker, combine the beef, carrots, celery, onion, soup and wine or broth. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours or until meat is tender.

Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; gradually stir into cooking juices. Cover and cook on high for 15 minutes or until thickened. Serve with noodles. Yield: 4 servings.

A Native kind of weekend

Since Chris and I can't go on a date every weekend we've adopted the practice of putting kids to bed early and doing our own date at home. Last weekend we were reminiscing about when we were first married (a little over 2 weeks to be exact) we got Native New Yorker (best wings in Arizona), watched A Knight's Tale, and had a grand ol' time. Not that we have been looking but we haven't found a wing place up here yet so Chris said "let's make our own wings!" Then proceeded to tell me all the new exciting things he wants to do to them. I started to get a little nervous but what I'm learning with Chris is that 99.9% of the time his scary to listen to culinary experiments turn out awesome. So we made buffalo and sweet hot wings with a ranch/blue cheese dipping sauce and potato skins. Sooooooooooooo Good! I mean it's not Native but since I can't get those here Chris's are the next best thing. He's so cute he even cut up celery and carrots like Native does.

We set up our little picnic in our family room and watched A Knight's Tale.

My family has a rule where you aren't allowed to lick your fingers till you are done eating so I get nice and nasty messy eating wings. But Chris is OCD and won't play along. (Which I think he owes my family royalties for introducing him to the blessed love of wings! What say you?)

The kids are really funny about me and Chris. They get bummed when they can't join our stay at home dates. One time we made brownies after the kids went to bed and the next morning Jocelyn told us she could smell them while in bed and was hoping she could have some when she woke up. Yep, it was so dang cute she had them for breakfast. When we're eating dinner they will beg us to kiss and then say "ewwwwww...!" Or tell us to kiss and cover up. It's so fun. Well, Saturday morning before we got up Jocelyn drew a picture of us on our date. It's the back of our heads watching love I guess but I love it! (And I love that I always know who I am in the pictures because of the curly hair).

Saturday morning my landlord sent a handy man over to fix some little things. Asher would not leave the guy alone. It was so dang cute I loved watching him but I could tell the guy was getting frustrated while trying to fix the oven and Asher kept opening it for him. The guy ruined my picture by turning around.

I did a little thrifting with a friend and our brood and then Chris and I moved the TV upstairs after the kids were in bed and watched a pirated Knight and Day (which was a really entertaining movie. But Chris and I love Tom Cruise) and ate the rest of our yummy yummy wings.

While working on school Sunday afternoon Fiona got fussy and Jocelyn needed something to do so we passed the pad off to them to watch. It was too cute not to take a photo.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!