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Thursday, March 27, 2014

Five




Cora is five today. That seems impossible somehow. I can't remember so much of the time that she was little-little. The days are going by so quickly. She has always been an independent little thing, and even more so now..and so passionate.  She loves everything she sees (as far as toys are concerned.) She can quote her favorite characters with scary accuracy and cut a rug on the fly like nobody's business. She knows her letters and sounds and will be reading before we know it. She loves to pretend to talk on the phone (which could be anything from a piece of paper to a calculator) and she even does voice texting, complete with the spoken punctuation. I have to be so careful what comes out of my mouth and tone I use, because even the not-so-proud moments could be instantly replayed out of her mouth, i.e. "hel-looo people, let's go!" She loves her friends and wants to be with them every.single.day. I am envious of her energy--she might bust out in a full blown run around the house at any second or bounce around like Tigger for long stretches of time. She has a ginormous sweet tooth. She lives to play and swim and color and paint and all the wonderful things that come with being 5. She has a hard time understanding why she won't change classes today since she's not four anymore. She's becoming a good little gymnast but would also like to do ballet, tap, soccer, and karate. She is a spunky little chick, and we are so proud of her. 








We love you, sweet girl! Can't wait to see what's in store for you at 5!

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

On the Table Tuesday

Well, I'm back with our menu for this week! We have been eating all this time. I just haven't taken the time to post. Without further ado, here it is...



Monday- Meatloaf Muffins (wow, I didn't even mean to use all of that alliteration!) per Carleigh's request. I have to say, they were a big hit with the entire gang! Kelvin raved about them, and Cora gobbled them down like a champ. They will definitely be added to the tried and true list. Click on the title for the recipe from Sarah Carey at Martha Stewart. I've said it before, but she is such a doll...love her and her easy recipes! I accidentally forgot to add the garlic, and I bet it would have made it even better! I left out the onion, because I didn't have time to sauté it first, and I hate crunchy onion in my meatloaf. I eye-balled the seasonings, and know I didn't have enough ground mustard, but it was still good. Don't be afraid to improvise. :) The secret ingredient is goooood! (Just remembered, I didn't have any whole dill pickles, so I used dill relish. It was great! Guess I just gave away the secret.) I also forgot to add the ketchup on the top, but I put it on the table and let everyone add it if they wanted it. Kelvin chose A-1 instead, as did Luke. They thought it was the bees knees...I'll take their word for it.

Tuesday- Tonight we're having Fish Tacos...one of my favorite things in the world. I'll probably try to remember to open a can of black beans to go alongside these delightful things.

Wednesday- Chicken, rice and broccoli casserole I'm using leftover rotisserie chicken for this one. I will probably hop on Pinterest and use one of the handy dandy tutorials for making your own cream of chicken soup. That can stuff kind of gives me the creeps (as Carleigh would say.) Is there anything more comforting than a creamy chicken casserole? Well, beside a snuggly blanket in front of a good fire with a hot cup of coffee? No, not really. ;)

Thursday- Stew in the crock pot YUM!

Friday- YOYO (I forgot to put the first Y on my menu board! haha) Something simple...leftovers, cereal or quesadillas or something.

Saturday- Surf n Turf with some friends. I am so looking forward to this! Let me know if you have an awesome appetizer I should try out.

Sunday- Chicken Enchilada Soup I miss soup! I didn't make near enough of it this winter. I think the weather is supposed to be yucky again over the weekend, so soup will be perfect! This one is a crockpot recipe, so it will be even more perfect since I have to be at church at the crack of dawn for praise team.

So, what's on your table this week? Share a link to your favorite recipe in the comments below. Have a great week! Stay tuned for some exciting before and after photos of our house. I should be painting as I type this. I'm headed there right now! I can't wait for the difference it's going to make. (insert squeal!)

Toodles!

Monday, March 17, 2014

Happy St. Patrick's Day

 
 

May I be more like St. Patrick.
Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Friday Favorites on Saturday

I sure have missed this little piece of blog land. I thought I would post today about a few of my favorite things. Of course, I started this post of Friday and finished it on Saturday.

I'm like a kid in a candy store when I receive new editions of  Southern Living and Coastal Living magazines in my mailbox. My kids laugh at me. I'm okay with that. What's your favorite way to read a magazine? In the Southern Living I like reading the story at the very back by Rick Braggs first. His stories always make me smile! Sometimes I read the story at the back of Coastal Living first, but mostly, I just love thumbing through the pages and dreaming about having another beach house. It's fun to imagine having fun at the beaches or lakes featured on the pages of the magazine.

I love sitting in the living room or on the back porch with Kelvin and drinking a cup of coffee. My favorite everyday coffee is Target's Kona blend. It's very reasonably priced and has a smooth flavor. I never thought I would drink it black, but I've gone to the dark side. ;) I find now that I prefer my java without anything in it.

I'm lovin' my new make-up and skin care, Neal's Yard Remedies. I'm all about natural and organic, and this stuff is great! I feel like I'm in a natural spa somewhere when I use the products.

We found a new little Cajun specialty foods shop in town before Emma's Bayou Bash. They cooked jambalaya for our gumbo cooking team the night before the Bash, and we are their new #1 fans! Our kids are huge fans too. If you're local, you must try UG-LEE's in Baytown on Hwy. 146. They have all sorts of wonderful things to offer. We stopped in today and bought some jambalaya and cream cheese and jalapeño stuffed chicken wrapped in bacon. Kelvin popped in on the grill with a couple of links of boudin this afternoon while we played washers, and we all wondered what the poor folks were eatin', because we were eatin' like kings and queens, y'all! It was SO good.

Speaking of washers, that's another one of my favorite things. It's always a good time to toss some washers or play a round of corn hole.

The last favorite thing for today is sleep. I like it a LOT! I went to bed the past two nights before 9 p.m...pure bliss! Lately, I can't get enough of it. We're not going to worry about resetting our clocks tonight. I'm so glad the kids are off for spring break next week so we can recover from losing an hour.

Sorry for the lack of photos. I finally got a new phone last month, (which I should have included in my favorites list) but I can't figure out how to post pictures from it to my posts. Maybe I'll figure it out soon. I know I need to get out my good camera, but I just don't always have it with me. Anyway, photos to come later. Ta-ta for now.
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