New scrapbook pages

I went on my scrapbook retreat 17 days ago and since I've been back I have been working hard to get caught up--12 spreads so far!  I have been over a year behind for a long time now......but as of this post I am about 6.5 months behind.  ;)  Plus I have two scrap evenings/days set up in the next few weeks to get even more done!  So these pictures aren't great since they are with my phone but you get the idea. :)

Random early summer pics--hard to see the right page but it looks really cool up close--9 pics on the right side alone

Last day of school and Sweet Frog treat

Travis' bday at my parents house

Evan's surprise 40th bday--I didn't take nearly enough pics :(

Random late spring pics

The boys love playing golf behind Grammy and Poppy's house!

Great Grandma Margaret turns 95!

We flew into Chicago this past weekend to help her celebrate.  We have gone every year for her birthday for years now.  It's great to see everyone and catch up--even if it is a long haul to get there.  The "snow" storm that we had on Friday slowed things down at the airport and it took us about 2 hours after getting on the plane to take off--waiting for de-icing at Dulles takes forever!  About 5 minutes before taking off Brody calmly says "I get out".  Yeah that was popular--oh and those 2 hours waiting were with all electronic devices TURNED OFF!  Lord help me......lol.  Meanwhile Travis was up in business class getting pampered and watching TV.  (a perk of Daddy getting upgraded and giving the seat to him)

Lucky boy in business class.....

Brody back in coach with us......he was allowed to have his paci because of the air pressure/ear thing and he loved every minute of it.  (it was a little dry on the plane--look at his hair!  lol)

The flight was uneventful other than it being very delayed.  Once we got the rental car (which took forever for some reason) it was around 9pm CST.  We still needed to find dinner--Evan and Travis wanted White Castle--shocker--so I started looking up the closest ones to where we were.  I got us to the 1st one only to find out it was now a bank--crap.  Now I felt like I was in the movie "Harold and Kumar go to White Castle".  Then we proclaimed the next one would be the last--thankfully we found it though it wasn't quite where the map said it was.  We were off to Indiana full of burgers for them and chicken for me (it's almost a 90 minute drive).  Soon after this stop I looked in the back seat to find this:

This is what happens to kids apparently at 10pm CST--lol.

Thankfully we got to the hotel without incident and got the kids to bed easily--after waking them up to get out of the car.  ;)  The next morning we got in the car and headed to Uncle Eldon's for the party!  We got there at around 10am and the next pictures tell the story of how we spent our time......

Brody is borrowing Gavin's train....

Brody and Gavin--Gavin is Evan's cousin's son so I guess that makes him a cousin twice removed?  I have never understood that stuff.

Uncle Eldon challenged Travis to a game of golf--though I don't recall who won.

Brody liked watching Wii Golf just as much as he likes to watch real golf!

Lining up his shot

Great Grandma Margaret and her cake---it was YUMMY

Brody playing some type of game with Aunt Pauline

Travis and Carlos playing the Wii---Carlos is Evan's uncle's son---I have no clue what that makes him to us.  He's Evan's cousin so we just call him "cousin Carlos".  He looks like a young Drew Carey with those glasses.  :)

Brody fell asleep on the floor at around 8pm CST--he was DONE!  :)

I didn't get any pictures on the trip last year so I tried harder this year.  Though I failed to get any pictures of Evan, myself, Jamey, Al, Rob, Aunt Pauline, Uncle Tom or Aunt Claudia.  GRRRRR!  Oh well.......at least I tried right?  ;)  We had a great time regardless of my lack of pictures and it was great to see great grandma Margaret for her birthday.  Somehow we beat the ice storm home and didn't have any delays on the wait out of Chicago--originally they thought the ice would start at 11am on Sunday and our flight was at 1pm--which made me nervous.  ;)  All was well in the end.

"I can't believe it"

Brody got his "report card" today and the notes at the bottom of goal #5 cracked me up.  I have never heard him say "I can't believe it" but I have heard "oh no" on more than one occasion.  Too funny that it's on his report card!

Broccoli cheese soup--WW recipe

I found this recipe though Pinterest and it is linked here.  The recipe says it's 2 points per cup but when I did the math through my WW app it seems that it's really 3 points per cup.  Regardless of whether it was 2 or 3 it was REALLY GOOD!  It was super easy to make and tasted really good considering the small amount of cheese in it (8oz total--1/2 of the reduced fat block of Velveeta).  I did add some red pepper flakes as the comments suggested but I added too much--it was really hot.  We all ate it but our noses were running like crazy--lol.  So next time I will cut down the red pepper and maybe add more broccoli and onion too.  Oh and I got the broccoli florets instead of the regular broccoli--I hate the stalk ends of broccoli--the "tree" part is the best and I have no issue with paying .50 more to just get "trees".  :)  This recipe is too easy and very yummy.  As long as you have the Velveeta on hand you can probably make this tonight--the other ingredients a lot of people have in their house right now!

Menu Jan 28- Feb 1

Here is our menu for Monday-Friday of this week.  We have some things going on this weekend with friends so I am not planning a menu for those days.  ;)

Monday-  Weight Watchers Broccoli Cheese Soup
Tuesday-  Hungry Girl Buffalo Wing Mac and Cheese
Wednesday-  Make your own taco night
Thursday-  Hungry Girl Pepperoni Spaghetti Squash
Friday-  Hungry Girl Chicken and Sausage Gumbo- crock pot

The recipes on Monday and Thursday are new so I will be reviewing them sometime this week......

I found a recipe I DON'T recommend......

On Wednesday I made the crock pot Cranberry and Apple Chicken from Hungry Girl. This premise behind this recipe sounds so good and early on when it was cooking it smelled FABULOUS!  I think it just cooked too long to taste like it should......I put the timer on for 7 hours on low like it said and after just 5 hours it was nasty looking and tasted burnt.  :(  I ate it but didn't subject anyone else to it.......I have however made two other similar dishes from her before and liked them. You can see the reviews for those here and here.  Maybe I will try this dish again and cut the cooking time WAY back......maybe.  ;)

Yay! Snow! Oh wait it's only about an inch of snow....

Yesterday there was a small amount of snow on the ground when we got up.......enough snow to delay school for two hours.  ;)  Brody isn't a fan of being cold and wouldn't "play" in the snow but when we were at the bus stop he was more than happy to let Travis throw snowballs at the car while we were warm and toasty  inside!

SPLAT!

Yep he got us again!

Very happy boy

He was loving it.....but Brody's bus came right after this picture was taken

And then after school and a doctor's appointment they decided to take a sled out for a spin.  Keep in mind Brody refused gloves and wasn't wearing his winter coat.  He fell down about 5 minutes later and came right in to warm up.  ;)

You must hear Brody's new laugh--VIDEO

Ignore what he is listening to though.  ;)

I never thought in a million year that I would say this......

but I loved the meatloaf I made on Tuesday night!  Ok I grew up HATING meatloaf and of course it was/is my Dad's favorite dish so we had it a lot when I was a kid.  I don't remember if it was a taste issue or a texture issue but I do remember hating it.  ;)  So I was a little hesitant the other day to try Hungry Girl's Crazy Good Taco Meatloaf.  But oh my goodness I am a believer now!  The real recipe isn't linked anywhere online but the link above sends you to what is super close to the recipe I had.  The only difference is the one in the cookbook adds 1/4 cup egg substitute and 1/4 cup oats.  My friend Michelle made it without those ingredients and said it turned out just fine.  :)  I used turkey that was 85/15 not the 99/1 that the recipe calls for.  I think 99/1 is too dry--and Wegmans was out of the 93/7 the day I was getting groceries.....I also used 2% shredded cheese since the fat free stuff is yucky (to me).  The original recipe has 3 points + and my changes made it 6 points + and MOST of that was due to the change in the fat content in the turkey.  We all loved this meal and it will definitely be made again!!!!

This picture isn't the best but you can see the inside of the meatloaf.  Don't knock it until you have tried it!  :)

Travis went where???

I got a postcard in the mail the other day from Travis......from his trip to Rome?!?!?!  It was a cute way to do a class assignment it seems......

Skinny Sour Cream Enchiladas

I made these a few weeks ago and forgot to tell you all about it.  Oops!  You can find the recipe here.  These were pretty tasty on day one and even better as leftovers on day two.  The only thing I would do differently the next time is cut the sour cream in 1/2, use light sour cream and red enchilada with it.  I think it was because it was the fat free sour cream but it was odd---I think using the reduced fat (and half of it) with the red sauce would make a better combo and be very similar in calories etc.  Otherwise this was a good recipe--I did add the black olives as you can see since we all like them.  Even Travis liked these!  Score one for me!

During......looks really yummy doesn't it?

After......mmmmm

Menu Jan 21-24

Our menu this week is shorter than usual since we will be leaving around 5pm on Friday to visit Evan's grandmother in Indiana (though we fly into Chicago) for her 96th birthday.  So here is our menu for Monday-Thursday:

Monday-  Frozen stuffed chicken breasts--by Barber Foods--very tasty with some potatoes and green beans
Tuesday- Hungry Girl's Crazy Good Turkey Taco Meatloaf--I couldn't find the exact recipe anywhere but the one listed here is very close.  The copy I have adds 1/4 cup egg substitute and 1/4 cup quick cook oats.
Wednesday- Hungry Girl's Cranberry Apple Chicken-crock pot
Thursday- Hungry Girl's Sloppy Joe's stir fly slaw

The meals on Tuesday and Wednesday are new so I hope to write about them sometime this week.  :)

70% off!!!!

Target has officially marked most of their after Christmas toy clearance to 70% off.  Trust me when I say it won't last long---go now if you want to stock up for birthdays, next Christmas and/or Toys for Tots.  The Target by the gym had a ton of stuff but a lot of people looking and the one closer to my house had not as much stuff.  Just a few highlights from my trip(s) this morning:

This was marked down to $7---from $30.  This will be a family gift from Santa this year.  It's currently reduced on amazon as well--down to $10

As you can see this HUGE play set was in the Target Christmas book this year.  It's a fold up play set that has 18 cars with it.  Normally $40 and marked to $12.  Brody will find this under the tree this year and he will be thrilled.  He has a similar pirate set that was Travis' that he loves so I know this will be popular.  :)

Little boys can never have too many cars---lol. This set was $10 and was marked to $3 which is a fabulous price for 5 character cars!  Brody will get this for a birthday or Christmas gift.

Spaghetti squash is my menu for this week-lol

Since Evan is gone this week I make things for dinner that he doesn't like.  ;)  Doesn't everyone do this?  lol  All week my dinners are revolving around spaghetti squash.  Never had one before?  They are easy to prepare and are a decent pasta substitute.  It has very little natural taste to it so if you can get past the almost crunchy texture it's a great addition to your menus!  Here is how you can cook the squash and a few variations I use.......

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Cut open the spaghetti squash and scoop out the seeds.  Place both halves face down on a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  You can season it before this if you want but I generally don't.  Cook it for 20-30 minutes depending on the size of the squash.  The ones I buy take about 24 minutes to cook.  Once completely cooled scrape the inside of the squash with a fork--t will "spaghetti" when doing this and looks just like it!  I usually put it in a large bowl and put it into the fridge to use for dinner for multiple days.  Here are some of my favorite ways to eat it.  :)

1.  A bowl of spaghetti squash (for one person), 2 wedges of Laughing Cow swiss cheese and garlic salt.  Microwave for 2 minutes and stir---tastes like fettuccine alfredo!

2.  A bowl of spaghetti squash, marinara, turkey meatballs.  This I would make almost like a stir fry on the stove but you can microwave it as well---just make sure your turkey meatballs are cooked thoroughly.

3.  A bowl of spaghetti squash, 2 tablespoons of light olive oil type dressing (50 calories per 2 tablespoons s the one I use), 4 artichoke hearts and parmesan cheese.  Cut the artichoke hearts and combine everything in a bowl and microwave for 2 minutes.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Try some spaghetti squash today!

Scrapbooking weekend recap

Starting at around noon on Thursday until around 1pm on Sunday I was working on my scrapbook with a bunch of friends at a local hotel.  It's a great get away and lots of time to work on our pages.  The person that organizes it makes sure we all have our space in the conference room, snacks, breakfast, lunches and ice cream for dessert too!  We stayed up very late at night (330am etc) but it was all worth it in the end.  I love getting stuff done and catching up with the girls.......I went last year and got so much done that I couldn't wait to go this year!  I got over 60 pages done and completed September 2011-early April 2012.  Here are a few pictures and a link to all of the pictures of my hard work!  :)

Click here for access to all of the pages

What do you think this is?

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Any guesses?  If you guessed cookies and cream ice cream.....you are WRONG!  This bowl of deliciousness is none other than cookies and cream YONANAS!  There was a "recipe" in the Yonanas book for it......one banana, one cookie, one banana and then one cookie---that's it!  I split it with Travis so I had one banana and one cookie for dessert.  IT WAS SO GOOD!  I kept forgetting that I was eating Yonanas!  My dessert clocked in at ONE WWPP/155 calories and there was so much in the bowl!  Mmmmmmmm........

Video from the skating lesson

This is Brody "marching" on the ice towards Daddy and you can see Annabelle in the background attempting to get up after falling down.

Rite Aid has their Christmas stuff at 75% off!

I just stumbled on this!  From what I gathered from the manager they just marked everything to 75% off today so you may want to head over there ASAP if you think they have anything you will want.  They also had a lot of the gift items and toys marked to 75% as well.  I scored 4 great gifts (no pic though so I don't spoil the surprise) for about $8.  My main reason for looking at the items though was to look for Christmas stuff.  The large snowman tree in the picture was marked down to $14 and stands almost 3 feet tall!  The other large snowman in the picture is ceramic and was marked down to $7.  The little wooden decoration was just .99.  Happy shopping!

Skating lessons for Brody and Annabelle

They started "Mommy and me" skating lessons this past Sunday.  The lessons are 30 minutes long and Brody lasted about 24 minutes before he got tired but Annabelle hung in there for the full 30 minutes!  They both did very well for their 1st time.  Annabelle was brave and let go of Mandy's hand and did the things the teachers said to do and Brody.....well he was being Brody.  He refused to let go of my hand and only 1/2 listened and followed their directions.  I wasn't surprised.  He was out there on mini hockey skates and I was told right before we got on the ice that it's much harder for kids to learn the 1st time on hockey skates because the blades are different (curved instead of flat like figure skates), no toe pick etc BUT if they learn on hockey skates they don't have to make the transition from one to the other which apparently can be hard. He had only been on the ice one other time for Travis' birthday and that time we were holding almost all of his weight and he barely touched the ice.......this time he held onto one finger and "marched" on the ice like he was told to.

Here is just a small sample of the pictures I took.

Checking out the hockey game

We are READY!

She was soooo excited!

Annabelle is getting the hang of it

He fell down but notice the big smile on his face

Cheese!

Working hard

Marching on the ice--Annabelle fell down

I was trying to get him to skate alone--he also refused to wear gloves so when he fell he refused to get up since the ice was cold!  lol

Concentrating

Boom

Way to go Annabelle!

Marching back for the end of the class