Be Mine

 I hope you had a Happy Valentine's Day!

We started our day with chocolate chip pancakes, and ended it with a night at home and a yummy dinner of grilled steak and potatoes in front of the t.v.  It was the perfect way to kick the weekend off early after a crazy past few days!

For some reason I waited until Wednesday night to get Eli's valentines ready for his class.  I swear, I didn't used to be a procrastinator, but working and having a toddler will do that for ya!  I also decided to do a little Pinterest project with Eli for his teachers.  It was such a perfect project for my little man who loves to help out in the kitchen, and his teachers all raved about their yummy treats!

These things are dangerously addicting...we've already made a second batch!

Doing a little quality control!

Mommy's Little Valentine

Showing off his Valentine's present from Mommy and Daddy - a new pair of Chucks!

Does he not look like a little heart-breaker, or what?!

My little Valentine's ar-teest!

Thanksgiving 2012

Thanksgiving was so wonderful this year.  I think all 3 of us needed a break from work, school, and soccer, and just some time for us to get some quality family time.

We did our usual split of family time between both sides.

Thursday was so wonderful.  We were outside ALL DAY.  It was so nice to be in the warm sunshine, and away from technology, Elmo, and Mickey!

There were lots of cousins to run, scream, and play in the dirt with!

And, what's a day outside without some good ole sidewalk chalk.

We feasted this year with the cotton fields as our backdrop, and I couldn't resist getting some pictures in the cotton fields.  I've been dying to go pick cotton all fall...no joke.

 The Taffs, Thanksgiving 2012

Eli and Aunt Katie

Ginny and Eli

Pops and Eli played sotter in the yard.

After Thanksgiving in Elba, we loaded up the car and made the trek to Pansey for Round 2.  Sadly, I got no pictures with Eli and my family, but we had just as much fun!

 

I think this year I finally reached fat kid status.  I ate so much on Thursday I threw up Thursday night at my parents house (really I think it was just something that didn't agree with me).  It wasn't all food and stretchy pants though; over Thanksgiving Break I ran just shy of 12 miles.  I'm quite proud of that accomplishment!  I've got a goal to run 40 miles in between Thanksgiving and New Years-40 miles in 40 days.  I'll let you know how that goes! : )

 

I'm grateful that we have an extra week in between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year.  I'm loving Eli's age and am glad we have a little extra time to soak up the holidays this year!

Eli's 1st Birthday Party!

Eli's first birthday bash was a success!  Since he was born about 10 days before football season, we decided to have a tailgating themed birthday party...what else do you really do for a one year old?!  : )

My pictures were taken just before everything was "party-ready".  We were cutting it close Saturday morning to being ready for the 10am party.  I don't think I would have made it without my parents.  They helped Wesley and I out so much that morning, and my mom helped me a lot Friday night too.  Thanks Nana & Puddin'!!!

One of the food tables.  We had pigs in blankets, sausage balls, chocolate covered strawberries, buffalo chicken dip & fritos, apples & toffee dip, and fiesta ranch dip and chips - all tailgating foods!

My friend Ashley made me the banners to use at the party.  They couldn't make it because Emily Ann is due to arrive any day now.  The banners looked great and got so many compliments.  I also hung up Eli's monthly pictures (check out all of his monthly blog posts to see those pictures).

More food!

The drink table.  It did look a little prettier than this when we got started.  We had sweet tea, water with lemon slices, and cherry limeade punch, plus a few water bottles.  I got to use all of my Magnolia Lane Auburn china for this party.  I was so excited!  I keep it out in the Auburn room all year, but this was the first time I've actually gotten to display it.

I hung tissue paper pom poms from the ceiling of the carport.  My friend Sarah helped me the week before the party!

Eli and the cornhole game that Wesley made, and I made the bean bags to go with it.  It was a rush job, I still intend to spruce them up a bit, but I'm not committed to a particular idea just yet.  I'm thinking of putting "Auburn" on one and "Tigers" on the other, or an interlocking AU on one and the Tiger Eyes on the other...something like that!

This tent was a gift from Ginny & Pops to Wesley one year.  We used it at our tailgate themed rehearsal dinner!

Aunt Pam on the left, and Eli and I talking to our sweet friends Stewart, Kari and Levi (due in Nov), and Mallory.

Eli and I with my grandparents.  I love how Eli is looking at Grandmama, haha!

We love the Blains!

Eli & Puddin' playing with sidewalk chalk!

Eli had THREE of his girlfriends to come to the party.  This is Eli and Brentley!  We work with her Mommy and she and Eli are in the same class at school.  They are just a few weeks apart and are big buddies!

Eli's older woman, Kherington, and her Daddy!  Kherington loves the Broncos!  : )  Her 1st birthday party last year was Eli's first party.  Kherington is getting ready to be a big sister and we can't wait to meet little sis, Kinzley!

Another of Eli's girlfriends, Abigail!  Her only flaw is that she was wearing the wrong colors, but she was rockin the tutu!  : )

The birthday boy wandered off...

 After about an hour and a half of redneck golf, corn hole, horseshoes, ping pong, and lots of food and friends, it was time for cake!

I put my cake decorating skills to good use and made Eli's smash cake.

I didn't dedicate a whole lot of time to the decor on top because I knew it would be smashed BUT I must say, this was probably my best tasting cake and icing yet.  I didn't make it for others to eat, but somehow several people ended up trying it and it got several compliments...including from my husband who has tasted all of my other cakes too!

The cake we got for everyone else to eat was from my favorite bakery in Dothan.  Mom picked it up for me!

Eli was very mild mannered in his smashing.  He didn't tear into it, but certainly enjoyed the icing! 

One of my favorite moments from the entire party....Eli fed his Daddy some cake too!  I think I will remember this forever.

After cake smashing fun we opened presents!  Eli raked in the loot.  We're still trying to find a place for it all!

We had a great time!  The only downpoint of the day was when a table fell over on my foot.  As soon as everyone was gone I was popping some Tylenol and icing my foot.  Right now it's a little bit bruised and swollen and I'm hoping that's all that it will be.

The party was about 50 strong (but Eli really missed his aunt, uncles, and cousin....looking forward to seeing them in October though!), and Eli really racked up in the present department...in fact we're still trying to find a place for them all!  : )

Thanks to all those who came and celebrated with us!  I still can't believe my baby is a year old....he'll always be my baby boy though!  : )

New Recipes and a Book

I'm slowly getting caught up on blog posts. This past weekend was a really good one for us - we had no plans and it was so nice to sleep in, get caught up on housework (although you can't tell it now...how does that happen so quickly?), and just laze around the house. Sunday afternoon I made a batch of chicken salad to eat on for lunch all week. I'm incredibly picky about my chicken salad. I've never found one that I like to make.

Chicken Salad in the Food Processor:

1 lb cooked chicken (chop in food processor)

3 stalks chopped celery (chop in food processor)

1/2 c. roasted pecans or almonds (chop in food processor)-i used pecans

1/4 c. honey

3/4 c. mayo

1 tsp. salt (I left this out altogether)

1/4 c. cranberries, or chopped grapes (didn't have any so I left it out)

This was sooo good. It was even better after it had sat overnight!

I also made red beans & rice with spicy sausage. This was so easy and made a yummy dinner. I just cooked some white rice. In a separate skillet I browned some pecan crusted, jalepeno sausage. Once that looked good, I partially drained a can of red beans and added those to the skillet, along with some cajun seasoning. Once that's done, just mix it all together! Wesley really enjoyed this. The sausage wasn't too spicy at all, not like I expected and intended it to be, but it made for good flavor.

This weekend I also got some reading done!

I had intended to save this book for Spring Break reading, but I picked it up and then couldn't put it down. Heaven is for Real was a very good book! Whether it is completely true, I'm not entirely sure, but I don't think it's for me to judge. I will tell you this though. There has been a lot of sadness lately. Not in my immediate, personal life, but just in general it seems like. This post by a friend pretty much sums up all that's been in my head lately. After reading this book, I just long for heaven even more. I highly recommend it for you to read also!

Cake Class 2

Cookies the first week and a cake the second week! Our 'homework' was to make a double batch of buttercream icing and bake a single layer cake and bring it to class in order to decorate there.

I came away with this:

Not too bad for my first time. What got me in trouble was I spent so much time trying to smooth out my icing. The perfectionist in me wanted it...well, perfect! So I then had to spend the last 25 minutes of class trying to decorate the cake. I think it would have looked better had I taken my time to decorate it. But it sure did taste good!

This weekend our homework is to make cupcakes and make another batch of icing to decorate our cupcakes with. I'm excited about cupcakes! Wesley is loving this class. We have lots of sweet treats in our house!

Valentine's Day Weekend

Saturday was kind of a lazy day. Wesley had some girl's soccer stuff that took up the entire morning, so Eli and slept in, dropped by to see Wesley, went to Michael's to get stuff so I could do my cake homework for class on Monday, went to Tar-jay, and then to Wally.

I spent the afternoon making homemade peppermint patties. It was part of Wesley's Valentine's gift (we decided to keep it low key this year). If you know me at all, you know I despise anything minty (I usually use a fruit flavored toothpaste), so this was an act of love.

Ok, not quite that dramatic....but still.....

I used this recipe. I made a few changes. I used melting chocolate for candy making instead of chocolate chips, and I used a candy mold. It seemed less messy to me that way. I suppose they turned out a success. They looked good and my husband highly approves! : )

That night Eli and I got all dressed up and began dropping hints.

Thankfully, Wesley is a smart guy and picked up on those hints! : )

We went (sans baby) to the Peppermill Grill and had such a good time. Valentine's fell on a school night (and cake night) this year, so we got our time in the weekend before. We kept it pretty low key this year, no gifts, but I did come home Monday night to a cooked meal and these!

I have found the one whom my soul loves.

Song of Solomon 3:4

Night School

So Monday night I started taking classes at night...cake decorating classes that is! I'm taking them at Michael's with one of my oldest friends (since 8th grade), Sarah, and her sister.

There's 10 people in the class, ranging from high schoolers to retired people, with everything in between. One of the first things we did was go around and introduce ourselves.

"Hi, I'm Rebecca. I do basic cooking and baking. I love my kitchen aide stand mixer and use it at least three times a week. I'm taking this class because Sarah wanted to and asked me if I would too."

*Flashback*

I was on the flag line/color guard in high school and college all because Sarah wanted to try out when we were in 8th grade. I didn't even have any idea what I was getting myself in to, but I ended up LOVING it!

So check out my cake.

haha, ok, not really. That's the one the teacher made.

We decorated sugar cookies and just practiced working with different tips. These are the cookies I did.

I have homework this weekend: to make a 'naked, one layer cake and a double batch of homemade buttercream icing! Next week we will be decorating cakes. I can't wait! Thanks for showing me one more thing I didn't know I loved to do, Sarah!

Comfort Foods

It's been cold here lately, and we've had some yummy comfort foods.

Ham and Egg Pie

A Petty family fav! We usually had this after Christmas and Easter-when there was a lot of leftover ham.

2-3 c. cooked ham, cubed

1 can cream of chicken soup

about a soup can of water (I do between half and 3/4...I don't like it real soupy)

3 eggs, hard-boiled and sliced

1/2 c. margarine

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 8-count can crescent rolls

Mix first six ingredients. Pour mixture into baking dish (I can't remember what size I use. It's the size smaller than 9 x 13, but not quite a square.)

Top with crescent rolls (you can also make up a batch of Bisquick biscuit dough and pour on top if you prefer a biscuit top - we like it both ways).

Bake at 450 until golden brown.

Chicken & Dumplin's ... from the Crock Pot

I love chicken & dumplins...I've always wanted to make them, but it somewhat intimidates me. This was sooo easy and delicious!

8 oz. chicken broth

8 oz. water

2 T butter

2 cans cream of chicken soup

poultry seasoning

salt & peppahhh

1/2 onion, finely chopped

4 chicken breasts

2 cans biscuits

Mix first seven ingredients and pour in crock pot. Add chicken breasts and cook on high - 3 1/2 hours. Take chicken out, shred, and return to crock pot.

Cut biscuits into pieces (I used 2 cans of Crescent rounds...because that's what I had. It turned out delicious and was super easy. They're already in strips; all I had to do was tear them into small pieces). Put pieces into crock pot and make sure covered with liquid. Cook for 90 minutes.

This was sooo easy and delicious. I started it this morning. If I were going to be gone all day, I think I would cook the chicken on low, and then turn on high when I add the biscuits when I got home. Also, this was done and I just turned on to the warm setting. The perfect comfort food. My husband gave the seal of approval and said this one was a keeper! : )

B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

Last night we decided to give Eli is first taste of fruit! And none of that "food from a jar" stuff either (only because I didn't have any, and we had plenty of the real thing). I pureed a banana and we mixed about half of it in with his rice cereal.

Eli was not so sure what we were putting in his mouth. But, he eventually got the hang of it and really seemed to enjoy it. The kid ate for almost 25 minutes! I was surprised that he was so neat with it, but I think it's because he was going very slowly trying to figure it all out.

Whatcha Got Cookin?

The weather lately has been perfect: warm during the day and cool at night, which has put me in a comfort food kind of mood, I guess. Supper Thursday night was a BUST, I don't know what happened, we ended up eating McDonalds in the bed at 9:30. But, I did have some successful nights in the kitchen. We love soups and stews this time of year. Both of the following recipes are simple yet delicious!

Camp Stew

(My grandmother's recipe)

1 lb ground beef, browned and drained

1 can BBQ pork (I found this on the aisle with the canned meat)

2 small cans chicken

1 can whole kernel corn

1 can English peas

2 cans stewed tomatoes (I did break mine up a little bit, some were kind of big)

1 bottle Heinz HOT ketchup

chopped onion (your preference, however much onion you like)

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

S & P to taste

*Mix all ingredients in the crock pot. Cook on low 8-10 hours.

(We just threw everything in the crock pot on high and cooked until it was bubbly. It didn't take too much longer than an hour. I used Jiffy cornbread mix and made some corn muffins with this and it was FANTASTIC! It makes a lot too. The leftovers keep really well, and it freezes well too.)

Cheesy Potato Soup

(Ashley's recipe)

potatoes (I used three)

2 cans chicken broth

2 cans cream of potato

1/2 c. chopped onion

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

3 carrots, finely chopped

1/2 stick margarine

1 pound Velveeta

8 oz. sour cream

*Chop potatoes and boil until soft.

*Saute onion, carrot, celery in margarine.

*Add vegetables to chicken broth and let simmer.

*Stir in cream of potato.

*Stir in Velveeta.

*Add sour cream.

(We had a little bit of shredded cheese and crumbled bacon pieces to the top of ours. It was delicious!)

The Last Weekend...

without Eli (we hope!). I'm a little disappointed, I really thought he was going to come this weekend, but nothing. Yesterday was actually the day that Wesley had picked. Good thing we're not bettin' folks! : )

Our last weekend sans a little one was a good one. My mom came up Friday and brought us lunch at school, and stayed to eat with me and my class. Then, she graciously cleaned a few of those 'hard to do while pregnant' things around the house for me (sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, etc.). Friday night Momma, Wesley, and I had dinner at the new Loco's here (one of our favorites). Later that night Mom and I went and bought birthday plates and napkins. I though I had some already, but I just had plastic forks and spoons. Wesley thinks it's crazy, but I want Eli to have a birthday cake ON his birthday (the only true birthDAY you get to have)! Not that he'll be eating it, but hey, if I'm going through labor, I want cake when I'm done (and Publix cake at that - white cake, white icing)! : )

Saturday morning we slept in and had Chick-fil-A chicken biscuits, mmm! Then, Mom and I went and got pre-labor pedicures and I got my eyebrows waxed and made a trip to Tar-Jay and Fresh Market.

Other than that, we've been pretty lazy. Correction, I've been pretty lazy. I've slept half the weekend, literally, between naps and going to bed around 9:30 and sleeping 11 hours, I've slept half the weekend. Could be the last sleep-filled weekend for awhile, but that's ok, I'd rather have Eli.

I've been in the mood to cook too. I made these cinnamon sugar muffins - delicious! And am wanting to try this recipe. I've been all about some easy, yet still delicious recipes here lately. My sister has been showing me up on her blog - perfecting her own homemade salsa recipe. Maybe she'll make it for us when she comes to spend the week with us (really looking forward to that...the visit that is)! : )

Not that I don't love my job, because I really love my job, but I was REALLY hoping I wouldn't be going back tomorrow. But, we go back to the doctor tomorrow afternoon, so at least I have something to look forward to all day, and hopefully we'll have some good news when we leave!

First Day Back & Lemon Squares

Today was our first day back at school (with kids - which is what really counts). The first days of school are so exhausting without being 9+ months pregnant, but overall I was pleased with how I did today. (Don't get me wrong though, I am WHOOPED and headed to bed as soon as this is typed!) I think it will be a good year. Right now I have a small class - literally, like half the size of last year's class. I kept looking for more kids; things seemed too good to be true! : )

I have such a wonderful, sweet husband who takes such good care of Eli and I. He cooked dinner tonight (brats on the grill) and cleaned up the kitchen afterwards, all the while letting me to just sit on the couch for a few minutes! While he was doing all of this I got to thinking about how my mom always bought us a special "after school snack" on the first day of school (my favorites were the years we got sno cones). So, after dinner I decided to get off my lazy tail and make Wesley a special after school (or dinner in this case) snack.

He loves lemon squares, and this is one recipe I've been meaning to make for awhile. So, without further adieu: easy lemon squares!

Easy Lemon Squares

*Preheat oven to 350 & grease a 9x13 baking dish.

Bottom layer:

1 box of lemon cake mix

1 stick of butter, melted

1 egg

*Mix well and pour in bottom of dish.

Top layer:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

16 oz. tub of lemon frosting

2 eggs

*Blend well and pour on top of cake layer.

***Bake for 35-40 minutes.

(The recipe didn't call for this, but I lightly dusted the top with confectioner's sugar.)

OMG-sooooo delish! And, they certainly lived up to their name: easy! It was the perfect "First Day of School" treat!

Last Day of Summer

Today is our LAST day of summer. : (

(But at least if I have to go back to work, it's to a job I love!)

I had planned on waking up early (so tomorrow would be a little easier), but who was I kidding, I slept in. I think I pushed my limit yesterday. After our usual Sunday lunch with Wesley's grandmother, we did some mega grocery shopping. I told Wesley I really felt like a parent on this one. Between being gone most of July, going back to school, and wanting to stock up on some things that would freeze for when Eli gets here, we had a full buggy! I told Wesley we were not spending anymore money on food this month.

After that we headed to Home Depot to get a few things to re-do the bricks around the fireplace and the mantle. It hasn't been a difficult project, just a lot more time consuming than we anticipated. Hopefully it will be done tonight and I can post some pictures of the room completed.

While Wesley worked on the living room, I chopped and froze some vegetables (something I usually do, but we were out of) for easy use later and prepared/froze a couple of casseroles (Husband's Delight casserole and Poppyseed Chicken casserole). I figure it will make things easy for us when we come home from teaching or after Eli's born. I also made a back-to-school breakfast casserole for us to eat on all week, made an apple pie ring (omg...sooooo good), and prepared the fajita meat/veggie mixture for dinner tonight. By the time I finished all of that, I was exhausted! I slept well last night (well for me these days anyway) and have laid on our new couches watching our new television all morning. : )

This afternoon I've got to spend some time in my classroom doing a few last minute things and then we plan to have a lazy afternoon around the house soaking up our last hours of summer. It's been a GREAT (and hot!) summer, and so nice that Wesley and I have been able to enjoy it together, but it's back to the real world bright and early tomorrow morning!

Hot Dogs

Recently, hot dogs have been a topic of discussion in our family. I was fixing my hot dog on Memorial Day when someone mentioned that Uncle Brian (or maybe just Bryanne, since she's the Chicago native and he was raised in the South) would not approve.

This is how I like my hot dog.

(Ketchup only, and plenty of it!)

And, this is how my hot dog looked in Chicago.

(Notice, no ketchup whatsoever.)

Later that same day, we were watching The Travel Channel, I think, and they were doing a Memorial Day special on the best places in the country to get hot dogs.

They featured places like Nathan's in NY and Pink's in CA. But, the guy in NY said that only unsophisticated people eat their hot dogs with ketchup on them!!!

SO, how do you eat your hot dog?