Reflections of a Mom's Life

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Monster Truck Jam






this truck was Harrison's favorite

and this was Anthony's favorite



The boys got to go on a date with their Daddy on Saturday. Anthony bought tickets for the three of them to go to the Monster Truck Jam. They had a blast! Anthony used to go with his dad to these types of events when he was a little boy so he was very excited when he realized there was one here for the weekend. A very boy thing to do! :) Addison and I got to stay home and take a nap. :)

They said it was very loud and they loved seeing the trucks crush the other cars. Of course they did, what boy wouldn't??? :) Daddy spoiled them rotten with cotton candy and popcorn and they loved every minute of it. I love the times when Anthony and I can spend quality time with these precious kids! We are making memories!!!

After the show, they headed over to Anthony's office so he could drop something off. They have so much fun checking out the place and he said they were on a mission to find any candy that was easily accessible. :) They probably think Anthony's office just eats candy all day!

It was a wonderful day spent with their daddy and I'm so glad that Anthony sees the importance of doing things with his boys...just the guys! I can't wait for him to be able to take Addison on little dates. How precious will that be??? :)

Friday, January 23, 2009

Meal Swap at Chili's


My 10 Bags of Tamale Pie - I set them on the counter and dumped all the ingredients in the bags. Pretty easy! The "hardest" part was browning the 10 pounds of beef! AHHHH! That's a lot of beef! :)

I bagged the pie mixture and then bagged the cheese in a snack baggie. I put the pie and cheese into another bag with the recipe facing up so they could see what meal it was.

Here is my cooler, ready to go. They each needed to grab one bag from the cooler and one box of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix.

So I've been doing this kind of cooking for a few years now, batch cooking and then freezing it. We've tried to cook as a ladies event with our small group from church every so often and it's been fun but this time we decided we would make 10 meals of the same recipe and then we would meet at Chili's for dinner and swap meals before we left. It was GREAT and so fun! We must have looked a sight laying out our meals on the curb at Chili's! ha ha!!! I can't believe that NO ONE in our group had their camera! The picture would have been priceless! I loved assembling the meals at home, I loved getting to go out to eat with some great friends, and most of all...I LOVED coming home with 9 different meals that we will be able to enjoy this month (left my meal I made for our family at home in my freezer).

If you haven't tried cooking ahead like this you really must try it...just once!!! It is a life saver as a mom. That 4-6pm time frame for most families with kids can be a little scary and if you haven't thought about dinner until then you are probably going to end up ordering pizza or eating something not so homemade or delicious! You've been there, I know! :) Try it, you'll be hooked and you won't want to go back to the old way! :)
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Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Snow Day #2!!!


Checking out Taylor's snowman

As soon as the boys saw Taylor's we had to make one of our own.

You had to sort of pile the snow up. It wouldn't roll into a ball, too fluffy. We made it work.

gathering snow

running and making sure all of the snow had footprints... hee hee!


Here he is...our very own Fireman Snowman! You like the hose? Harrison's idea and I think it was the perfect finishing touch!


Riding bikes...by this point most of the roads were clear and the sidewalks were starting to clear up a bit.

We tried to make the most of our snow...we knew it wouldn't last long and I will let you know that it's supposed to get up to 60 today so I'm sure what little bit of snow is left will surely be gone by tomorrow! That's OK...we're ready for these mild winters we love so much! :)

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Snow Day!!!


is it not the BEST feeling in the world to wake up to beautiful, beautiful, wonderful snow...after you've gone to bed with no snow!!! well, if you live in a snowy climate then maybe not but for us Southerners, it is the BEST! i know this picture is dark but I love it! i love seeing their little bodies checking out the winter wonderland outside! i can still remember Harrison seeing his first snow that he could remember at 2 when we were in VA and we told him to look out the window and he peeked out the blind and paused, then said..."Gah"! ha ha ha!!! you think he picked that up from his daddy or Mimi??? he picks up a lot of what he says from his Mimi for sure! :) it was so cute!



it snowed all day, until about 2pm. we got around 4 inches and had a ball in it!

poor daddy! had to go to work! :( we sure wish he could have played with us! i know he doesn't miss shoveling driveways...that was a BIG chore in MI! :)

by daddy! be careful!

Mommy and Jackson

Harrison

Making a snow angel

tubing down the hill on Aidan's froggy pool float. hey, whatever works, right??? :)

oh I could just eat them up!!! aren't they sweet!


look at this little snow bunny! she was only out for about 10 minutes. I had to get pictures of her in her FIRST snow! we were able to play during her naps which made it easier for mommy. :)

snow ball fights with the neighbors

this boy, I thought he was gonna hate the snow the first time we were out. He has SERIOUS issues with being dirty or uncomfortable so he was FREAKING out about the wetness and the "dirty" party of playing in the snow. is playing in the snow dirty??? this is news to me! :) he was a basket case for most of the time and I was pretty annoyed that our snow day was turning out to be no so fun! We went in for some hot chocolate and the boys were asking to go out again within 1o minutes. I said NO, we need a break and we're not going out until I know you're not gonna cry like maniacs! :)

so, when it was time for Addison to go back down for her 2nd nap, we got ready. I was able to put Anthony's socks over Jackson's gloves and then put his coat on so his arm were covered and no snow could get up into his sleeves. after that, he was good to go! he has a blast...we all did...and I'm SO glad! i was worried at first. :)



isn't it just beautiful!

Mommy's turn on the float! it was really fun! made me want to go back to Tahoe and go tubing!

Jackson's snow angel




Daddy finally got home around 4:30 and was able to go out with us for our third time to play. He enjoyed floating down the hill as well! :) he even took Addison for a ride!

Monday, January 19, 2009

HELP????!!!!

Is there anyone out there who can't see what I write on my blog...only the pictures???

My mother-in-law has only been able to see pictures for the last week. No one else has complained and I'm still getting comments.

Let me know if you are having this problem OR if you know what is wrong on her end.

I'd REALLY like to get this fixed!

I guess if I don't hear from anyone, I'll know you can't read this. :)

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Basketball is back!


Coach Deon talking to the team

Coach Anthony watching the players to give them directions and Harrison trying to catch the rebound!

Harrison guarding his man!

Here are the cheerleaders! We had a few extra this game so that was special. Chris and Joe were already and the GA Tech Game so they weren't with us but Cody and Jackson had fun hanging out at the game.

The proud brother...this little guy loves his big brother Harrison SO much! You may be wondering why he is still in his coat? I do believe this picture was taken towards the end of the game. He didn't want to. He loves to have his coat on and will leave it on for a very long time if you'll let him. We went over to a his friend Jack's house last week and he took of inside. About 10 minutes later, he comes running downstairs with Jack and I realized he still had on his shoes and his coat. He was fine to leave it on. I convinced him he'd be more comfortable without it. He keeps me laughing. :)

Donovan

My big boy! Doesn't he look handsome in his uniform! :)

This year Anthony is helping coach Harrison's basketball team with Harrison's friend Donovan's dad Mr. Deon. We're having a lot of fun going to the games and cheering for our boy! Jackson has grown up a lot this year concerning the games. He actually likes to sit and watch. Last year Anthony and I took turns walking him around because he couldn't sit still and threatened to run out on the court during the games. :) We LOVE the Upward Basketball program and are so glad we get to participate in it again this year! GO HARRISON!!! WOO HOO!!!