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!  

2... Already?

photo taken by Jennifer

Sweet Baby Jack!  How in the world are you 2 already?  Where did the time go?  Your birthday was July 19th and we celebrated with an Elmo themed party at Grammy and Papa's lake house.  We only did a small family party this year and I think you loved every minute of it!

Family Picture - don't mind the fact that we all look like a hot mess!  That's what 100+ degree Texas heat and humidity will do to you! 

Cake from Delicious Designs Cakes and More

You weren't quite sure what to think about everyone singing Happy Birthday to you, but you tried your hardest to blow out the candles.

You received lots of gifts including books, colors, puzzles, clothes, tricycle, bean bag, 4-wheeler, swimming pool, ball pit, and lots of balls! 

You are growing up way too quickly and becoming more and more of a little boy and less of a baby everyday.  Daddy and I think you are pretty smart!  You can sing your ABC's, you know most of your colors, you are trying to count, you know exactly what you want to eat and don't want to eat and you are becoming more and more strong willed everyday!  You favorite foods are still oatmeal, nutrigrain bars, pinto beans, enchiladas and rice, but we've added lots of new foods to your diet as well.  You LOVE Chick-fil-A and ask for "ickin' and fench fies" almost daily.  You really like pork chops and have tried steelhead trout and really liked it too.  I'm so happy you will at least try new things even if you don't really care for them.  You don't have much of a sweet tooth, but you would eat any entire bag of chips, if I'd let you! HA!

You love playing outside, but were not a fan of the heat this summer.  You took swimming lessons and I found out how much you really LOVE the water.  You are not afraid of water at all and it makes mommy extremely nervous.  You like to jump off the side of the pool, but have not quite figured out how to jump out and not just straight up.  You often jump before someone is ready to catch you!  You are a master at blowing bubbles in the water and love blowing bubbles during bath time.  You are not scared at all if you go underwater unexpectedly.  This scares mommy too!

 I am so proud of the little boy you are growing up to be.  You are so sweet and lovey and give lots of hugs and kisses, but you are 100% ALL BOY too!  If I ask you to play "sweet baby" you will lay your head on my shoulder and snuggle, but only for a second!  You LOVE, LOVE, LOVE sports and watch some sort of sport every night before bed.  You've learned to tackle by watching football on TV and I am almost certain you will grow up to be a pretty good football or baseball player.  You do not like soccer though.  Just this week you started a little sports class at school, so I'm excited to see how much you learn over the next few months.

At your 2-year check-up you weighed 32 pounds and were 36 inches tall. 

You are a healthy, happy, thriving, crazy toddler and I am so happy to be your mommy! 

I love you sweet boy!