20 Months

One year ago, at 8 months.
Two years ago this month while on vacation, we were telling Bri and Colton they were going to have a new baby. It was a trip we will never forget.

First Week of School

Every year since Bri started school, I have taken a picture on the first day.

Bri starting 8th grade! Yikes! 2 more years till she starts learning to drive, & 5 more years till she starts college.
Colton starting 2nd grade. He wasn't even 1 yet when we first moved here. Time?!?!
T.V. break after school with bubba.

After I dropped Colton off last, Rance watched him climb out as we said our "love you's" and "have a good day", he said, "Coco gone." As I drove off, I replied tearily, "yeah, Coco's gone, it's just you and me." (OK, tearily isn't a word, but it sounds good)

Fortunatley, I got a call Wednesday from a new friend, Jennifer, to go walking with our little ones. I enjoyed talking and getting to know her. Hope she isn't as sore as I was. :) Guess I need to do some more walking.

And to round off the first week, Rance is sick. I went to get him up Thursday morning to take the kids to school and he had thrown up in his crib. He had fever and was shaky. Thankfully I have such good friends to rely on in time of need. I called D'Ann and she had Gary come by and pick the kids up for school. So....I spent part of the day sitting with Rance, watching Sesame Street, Curious George, and so on and playing cars. I hate it when they get sick, but I love the snuggle time we get when all he wants to do is have mommy sit and hold him.

Hope every ones week was a good one.

Emeril's Chicken Stir-Fry with Green Beans

One of my favorites!

6 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breasts, very thinly sliced 1/8-inch thick
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3/4 teaspoon Asian spice blend
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 pound green beans, stem ends trimmed, cut into 3-inch lengths
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 cup roughly chopped cashews
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon lightly toasted white sesame seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons roasted garlic-red pepper sauce (recommended: Sriracha)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Chopped green onions, for garnish

In a bowl, combine the chicken, 4 1/2 teaspoons of the soy sauce, and Asian spice blend. Toss to coat and let sit for 10 minutes.

In a large wok or saute pan, heat the oil over high heat. Add the chicken and stirring constantly, cook until brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the beans and stir-fry until wrinkled, stirring, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 10 seconds. Add the cashews, hoisin, remaining 3 teaspoons of soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds, red pepper sauce and red pepper flakes. Stir to coat, and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and serve immediately, over white or basmati rice. Garnish with green onions.

If using frozen beans, thaw and drain before adding to chicken.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

This is a fairly simple dish to make. To get the chicken thin enough, be sure and let it thaw slightly when slicing, just not completely thawed. Also, hoisin is a thicker teriyaki sauce but can be substituted.

Colton's acting debut

Semi-homemade Chicken Pot Pie

Here ya go Kasey!

This is one of Bri's favorite dishes.

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1-16 oz. bag frozen mixed vegetables

1 box of pre-made pie dough (found in the refrigerated biscuit/rolls section)

1 lb. cooked chicken breast cut into bite size pieces (your own or precooked)

your preferred seasoning (we use Tony Chachere's original)

Preheat oven to 375. Season the chicken and grill on stove top on medium to medium high, till no longer pink, cut up. While the chicken is cooking, heat up the frozen vegetables in the microwave per instructions on bag, then drain. Add the soup and chicken and mix together. Pour into a 9 inch pie dish lined with one roll of the box dough, spread evenly. Cover with second roll of dough and pinch edges together. Cut four small slits in top of dough.
Bake for approximately 30 minutes or till crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool about 5 minutes before slicing.

About 4-6 servings.

Connersvine

I heard this song tonight and it has really stuck with me. I was able to find out who sings it with a little Yahoo searching. Two guys make up the band Connersvine, Chris Wilson and Hunter Smith. Turns out Hunter Smith is also a punter for the Colts. They recently played in Dallas at Celebrate Freedom. None of the bands' songs are available on playlist, but I was able to find them on youtube. Let me know what ya think! Just remember to pause my playlist.

...finding Townsend one October afternoon behind the door they built. Townsend yelled "Surprise!" when they turned on the lights.

I read this clip on Yahoo about a couple who was not happy with the fact that a mall was being built in their neighborhood, so they decided to live in it. (link) The couple who lived in a mall It started out as a one week stay and ended up being 4 years. They even furnished the place like an apartment with a couch, table, TV and so on. When asked how long they were planning on staying they replied, "forever," till the guy was caught. I can't imagine how they pulled it off for so long without getting caught sooner.

Fiesta Chicken Enchiladas

Prep Time:15 min
Total Time:35 min
Makes:4 servings, two enchiladas each

1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
4 cooked small chicken breasts (about 1 lb.), shredded
1 cup TACO BELL Thick 'N Chunky Salsa, divided
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) Cream Cheese, cubed
1 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 cup Shredded Cheddar & Monterey Jack Cheese, divided
8 Flour Tortillas

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Heat large skillet spayed with cooking spray on medium heat. Add onions and garlic; cook and stir 2 min. Add chicken, 1/4 cup of the salsa, cream cheese, cilantro and cumin; mix well. Cook until heated through, stirring occasionally. Add 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese; mix well.
SPOON about 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture onto each tortilla; roll up. Place, seam-side down, in 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray; top with remaining 3/4 cup salsa and remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese.
BAKE 15 to 20 min. or until heated through.

This is what we had tonight. I got the recipe from Kraftfoods.com. I did alter the ingredients a little though. I used garlic powder instead of minced, parsley instead of cilantro. Why? B/c I didn't have cilantro and parsley flakes seemed like the closest thing to it and it was green. Next, instead of Taco Bell salsa I would have used Van De Walle Farms salsa (very good) but the store was out or they stopped carrying it. I don't care for Taco Bell, or Pace. I opted to try a new brand, Voo Doo Bayou Backwoods Magic mild salsa. Yes, it's made in Louisiana. It is a little sweeter than I prefer but not bad. Overall, everyone liked it. I would recommend reducing the bake time to 10 minutes. At 15, the tortillas were a little tough on the bottom.

Lots a pictures! Lots a fun!

This past week, the kids and I were in Waco visiting my parents. While we were there, Flo (link) and Grace were babysitting/house sitting for her sister. (Thank you for your sweet post!) We met one morning at the Mayborn Museum (link)across from Baylor. This is a really great place for kids 18m to 12 years. They all had a blast.

Rance looking at the bunny.
Sweet little Emerie! The iguana was clawing at the glass and she got right up close.
Colton in front of the green screen broadcasting the weather on TV.
Rance didn't care too much for the tornado.
But he liked the tunnel.
Emerie didn't want anyone touching her "monies."
In the transportation room.(below)




Grace and Colton standing behind the people of the world.

The pioneer room.

Water and Bubbles room.


A little piece of family history. This is the cabin my (wait a second while I count on my fingers how many greats) great, great, great grandmother Stacy Ann Marlin was in when she and some others were attacked by Indians. She survived but with scars on her head.

Rance wasn't sure about walking on the plexiglass floor that is over the cast mammoth exhibit.
Outside is a historic village complete with a church, school, saloon, and other buildings. Including the outhouse Colton was waiting in front of.
The next evening, we met at Lions Park so the kids could play at Kiddie Land. The weather was perfect thanks to Eduardo. Grace and Colton made sure Bitty, no Abby, ?, is safely seated before taking off on the Zooms.
A collage of the carousel ride.
Wait,what? Is it for real? Grace is riding a Baylor horse!! Don't anyone tell Boog!

Briana won't like this, but, there was a kid there named Caleb. He apparently caught notice of Miss Bri. While he was walking by, he waved at her. Later, he came down to ask if she, I mean we, wanted to ride the train out front. He was holding it for us. I told her that in order to drive the train you had to be at least 16 with a drivers license. She didn't seem too impressed. OK, the kid is really cute and Kathy, the lady up front said he was a good kid. He goes to Midway, is in the Texas choir, referees kids soccer, and so on. He tried to talk to her and offered another train ride, for FREE! I snuck a picture while they were talking, well, while he was talking.

Now why didn't I think of that?!

I was thinking the other day why not take some pictures of "interesting" sights on my travels? There really is so much good material out there. I have passed by this spot numerous times on my way to Waco so this is where I will begin. Do you recognize this place Flo?

Yes, these are toilet planters.

I will have to remember that when we replace the toilet in Colton's bathroom.

18 Month Portraits

I picked up Rance's pics today from the Walmart studio. They turned out really good. I took pictures of the pictures with my camera since I don't have a scanner. The quality isn't great but you can still see the shots well enough.

These two are my favorites.
In this one, the lady was trying to get him to pose differently but instead he laid his head down and it was just long enough for her to snap the picture.

It's sweltering

There is very little air circulation.

The kids are complaining of the heat and

Trevor is sweating while just sitting there.

What in the world could be going on?

Heat wave, maybe?

Bri walks down the the hall and informs

us that the temperature is 86.

How could that be?

Sure enough, I look at the temperature

and now it says 87.

Doesn't seem too hot, compared to the 100's

forecast for the entire week.

It's just that the temperature is for the inside,

not outside.

Whew!

Trevor took the cover off on the outside unit

and the compressor isn't running.

Thankfully, he was able to find the problem

and we will soon have cool air again.

One other thing, it's never this simple for us.

I'm pretty sure we will have to have some

major fix on our hands before too long.

It's just a matter of time.