Fireman or Baseball Player?

 Needless to say Jack dressed himself this morning!

Nothing better than jammies, Mama's Christmas socks, tennis shoes, fireman's hat and a jacket!

Cutest little boy I ever did see!

Same day, different outfit, but the fireman's hat stayed on ALL. DAY. LONG!

Thumbs Up, Daddy! 

The Wilderness

This past weekend we loaded up the truck and headed to the lake Wilderness for a little rest and relaxation!  My mom met us there on Friday, then my Memaw and Grandad came to visit for the day Saturday. 

At the entry to my parent's neighborhood there is a little pin that houses a couple of donkeys, GiGi and Willie, and everytime we go visit Jack loves to feed the donkeys and deer.

GiGi and Willie LOVE bread, apples and carrots, but I forgot to put apples and carrots on the grocery list, so hot dog buns it was!

It's funny to think back to the first time we took Jack to feed the donkeys - he was so scared and would jump everytime they would hee-haw.  But now he walks right up to them!

Jack really likes the bread too!  He'll take a bite first, then feed it to them.  Quality assurance testing, I suppose!  HA!  GiGi is hungry!

But, Jack has gotten a little stingy and doesn't like to give the donkeys the last of the bread.  When he got down to the last piece, he headed for the golf cart and was ready to go home!

Poor little deer didn't make it up to the fence in time for some bread.  Next time we'll bring you apples, litte deer!

Boy of Many Hats

Is Jack a fireman?

or a chef?

Is he Dr Seuss?

or the next NFL football player?

Nope...

For now, he's still just my sweet little boy!

First Movie Date

A few weekends ago we had some friends over to eat BBQ and watch our Rangers play in the ALCS.  I should preface this with the fact that we don't have too many friends with small kids that we see often, so I was excited when I found out Randy's friend and his wife were bringing their little girl.  We'll call her P.

Of course all of the adults were hanging out on the patio enjoying a few adult beverages and watching the game, so I decided to put Lion King on for Jack and P in the living room.  Us mamas were hoping it would keep them entertained and contained for a while! 



I popped popcorn and got them apple juice - it was like a real little movie date!  But, that little set up did not last long! HA! They went back and forth between the playroom, the movie and outside. A 2 and 3 year old's attention span is not very long!! At one point they came out of the playroom holding hands. I wish I would have gotten a picture of that. Too cute!

We can't wait for P and her parents to come over and play again! 

We had so much fun!

Happy Fall, Yall!

An impromptu trip to my parent's this past weekend led us on an unexpected trip to a pumpkin patch! Ok, maybe it was just a small Fall display in front of a small town courthouse, but it was still fun to take pictures.

I think this is such a cute picture. Jack really liked Mr. Scarecrow! Notice how he's trying to hold his hand - sweet boy!

Had I known we were going to stop to take pictures with pumpkins and scarecrows on our way to the grocery store, I certainly would have dressed Jack for the occasion! Oh well, maybe we'll make it back sometime before Thanksgiving and he can wear his new turkey shirt.

This was his Thanksgiving shirt last year. I can't believe how much he's grown in just a year! Look at that chubby little face! :)

Such a little Turkey! I was scared Jack was going to knock down the turkey or break him in some way! He ran into him and bounced off like he was in a bouncy house before he finally plopped down in front!

Happy Fall, Yall! 

A cold front is coming in tonight, so highs will be in the upper 50s/low 60s for the next few days!  I've got my chili fixin's all ready to go!  YUMMY!

In totally unrelated news - my Etsy shop has a facebook fan page!  Are you a fan?  If not, please go "like" Sunfire Creative and refer your friends!  I'm giving away ONE FREE SHIRT to the person with the most referrals today.  Contest ends at MIDNIGHT CST!

Jack Funnies

Two is a HARD, but very funny age!  For example...

The other morning I was getting ready and Jack was in the bathroom with me.  He was playing in one of the drawers and came across the dental floss.  I tried to take it away, but quickly realized that taking it away was going to lead to a full-blown tantrum, so I gave him a piece of the dental floss and he proceeded to floss his teeth and put the used floss in the toilet. 

Then, I was in my sewing room filling some orders on Saturday and I knew Jack was in there playing, but he was being awfully quite (usually he's being a crazy toddler and throwing all of my fabric off the shelves), so I turned around to see what he was up to...

YES!  Silly boy found a snowman filled with candy that I can only hope was from this past Christmas and started chowing down on it!  The look on his face when I caught him was priceless!

I guess I probably should have taken the candy away, but he was being so quiet, that I just let him finish enjoying it! 

Saturday evening our friends' daughter was going to her first homecoming dance.  We were at their house before she left getting everything ready to go to the track and Jack was so funny!  He was outside helping the guys and watching their every move!

Before we left we wanted to get a few pictures of the pretty girl with her dad and Pawpaw and Jack stood there for a little bit watching as we took pictures, then all of the sudden he just walked up and got in the picture like he should have been in every one.  It was hilarious! 

And, just in case you haven't seen this recipe floating around on Pinterest, I'm posting it here because it is sooo good!  And, you really should try it!

Southwestern Egg Rolls**

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photo credit

Ingredients

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

12oz bag frozen corn, thawed

2 cups cooked, chopped chicken

chopped jalapenos, to taste

2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese

salt & pepper

cumin

cayenne pepper

chili powder

garlic

egg roll wrappers

oil for frying

Method

1.  combine all ingredients (sorry, I don't measure spices, I just taste along the way), except egg roll wrappers and oil.  Mix well.

2.  Position egg roll wrapper so that one corner is toward you.  Put 1/4 cup mixture in center of egg roll wrapper, roll up half way starting at the corner closest to you, then fold corners pointing out over and continue rolling.  Wet last corner with a little water to seal. 

3.  Fry egg rolls in skillet until brown and crispy on all sides - about 2 minutes per side.

 I served these with Avocado Ranch and they were SOO good!  To make the ranch, I followed the directions on the Hidden Valley Ranch packet and added a whole avocado and cayenne and blended with an immersion blender.

**Recipe adapted from Annie's Eats.

Off to the Dr

I was really wanting to blog about all the awesome food Jack's been cooking up lately, but that will have to wait for another day.  We are off to the doctor because that little smiley boy is not feeling well.  He's snotty and got some YUCKY stuff coming from his eyes!  I was hoping all week that it was just a cold or allergies that came with the change in weather, but I'm afraid that isn't the case.  We shall see...

Go Cowboys! {and a recipe}

It was a great weekend in TEXAS!  My Red Raiders won, the Cowboys won (barely, but we'll take it!) and it sprinkled on Friday, rained on Saturday and finally stormed last night!  Praise the Lord!  It has been a long time since we've seen rain - I don't think I've ever loved the sound of thunder or flash of lightning as much as I did last night.  And, I'm loving the cooler temperatures - it's beginning to feel like Fall!

Jack and Uncle Scott were two very happy Cowboy fans!

The rain didn't keep Jack from tailgating!  He brought his chair in from the garage and was good to go.  Sometimes he really likes the camera and we'll get the biggest "cheesy" smiles out of him.  He'll even say "CHEEEESE" over and over.  He's too funny!

This is his "CHEEEEESE" face!  :)

Friday night we were watching "Man vs Food" and the guy was eating somewhere that had bacon wrapped tator tots, so we just had to try them.  Let me tell you, there is absolutely nothing healthy about them, but they were GOOD.  So good in fact, that we had them Saturday night and again Sunday night.

BACON-WRAPPED TATOR TOTS

Ore Ida Frozen Tots

Thick cut bacon, cut in thirds

Fresh or pickled jalapenos (we did both and prefer the fresh)

Shredded cheddar cheese

Sour Cream and Wing Sauce or Ranch for dipping

Toothpicks and a fryer

Let tots partially thaw, so you can get the toothpick through them.

Wrap tot and jalapeno in bacon, secure with toothpick.

Fry in deep fryer about 3-4 minutes or until bacon is cooked.

Top with shredded cheese and serve with Ranch or Sour Cream and Wing Sauce.

The phone picture does not do these little treats justice, so you'll just have to take my word for it that they are AWESOME and try them for yourself! 

Relaxing with Daddy after a fun Sunday filled with football, rain, good friends and good food!

Have a great week!

Friday Randoms

{one}

So I'm a little late hoping on the Pinterest bandwagon, but I'm on it and I'm hooked!  What a fantastic idea - all the cool things you see online bookmarked and organized in one place?  BRILLIANT! 

{two}

Last Wednesday I got a phone call from my BFF, Heather, letting me know she and her family would be in town for the night and wanted to see if we could go to dinner!  To say I was excited about seeing her would be an understatement!  You see, Heather is an Army wife and the Army has them stationed far, far away in Kentucky, so I haven't seen her in well over a year.  Heather, it was so great to see you, Dale and the kids!  I can't believe how much they've grown!  I hope you're having fun in Texas and next time, let's not wait so long between visits!

{three}

Jack will fall asleep anywhere, except his bed!  It is getting a little bit better, but we still have a long way to go!

{four}

My latest additions to my shop - newborn layette gowns.  I'm loving the pink and red circle monogram.  Although, I am a proud RED RAIDER, I couldn't resist the urge to make a burnt orange UT gown.  I think it turned out pretty cute!

{five}

Jack's new favorite place to eat is Chick fil A, so it's only fitting that be where he eats his first ice cream cone.  He wasn't too sure what to think about it at first, but he quickly figured out he can eat it much faster with a fork and went to town!

{six}

Trying to count the money in his piggy bank!  That little piggy needs to go to market, because he is FULL!  HA!

Happy Friday!

*sorry for the poor picture quality. Most of the pictures are from my phone.

Home Make-Over - Before & After

We started our little home improvement project at the beginning of July and FINALLY everything was finished last week.  It was a long process and for the 3rd summer in a row we have had home improvement projectss going on during the HOTTEST part of the year, but alas, we survived!  Granted there are still little things to be done here and there, but for the most part we are done... for now.

Entry Before



Entry After

This is one of those areas where work still needs to be done.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do with our old living room tables, so here they sit in our formal living/computer room.

Sewing Room Before

Sewing Room After

Randy built a wall for me and installed French doors, so I now have a space all my own!

He also painted the shelves and tables for me.  I still have quite a bit of organizing to do in here, but it's getting close.  I ordered a ribbon rack from Rylie's Crafts which I know will be the answer to all my ribbon mess!

Living Room/Kitchen Before

Living Room After

I forgot to take a picture of the kitchen, but basically it just got new tile, removed the curtains, textured and painted the wall to match the rest of the house.  Hoping for new countertops and cabinets in the near future. (fingers crossed)

Guest Room Before

Our bonus room upstairs is now our guest room.

Jack's Big Boy Room Now

At the beginning of May Jack learned to climb out of his baby bed, so we did what any concerned parents would do and made the baby bed into a toddler bed.  Well let me just tell you that I have a toddler who HATED the toddler bed and refused to sleep in it.  He would look and point at the bed and say "dada broke" because he thought Daddy had broken the bed.  Despite my efforts to get him to sleep in the toddler bed (think Elmo bedding, bedtime books, sitting next to the bed, etc) he would not sleep in the toddler bed, and has since been sleeping on the couch.  I'm happy to report he is sleeping in his new big boy bed, but it is still a fight.

Nursery Before

Jack's Playroom After

I love the pictures that were above Jack's baby bed too much to take them down, so for now I'm going to leave them.  Although I love his new big boy room and his playroom, I'm really sad we no longer have a nursery in our house.  It was always my favorite room!  But... I am loving that there are very few toys in my living room now! HA!

I hope you enjoyed the quick tour of our home!  I've made some changes in our master bed and bath, but it's not quite finished yet.  I'll post pics as soon as I'm done!

Happy Friday!