Make a Meal Monday

Steak and Black Bean Chili

1-2 Pounds lean Stew Meat

1 medium Bell Pepper, diced

1 medium Onion, diced

2 (15 oz) cans Black Beans, drained and rinsed

1 (28 oz) can Crushed Tomatoes

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp cumin

1 (6oz) can Tomato Paste

Shredded Cheese

Sour Cream

Place stew meat in crock pot and turn on low.  Sprinkle meat with chili powder,  garlic powder, and cumin. Place peppers, onion, black beans, and crushed tomatoes on top.  Cover and cook for 8-10 hours.  Add tomato paste and mix well.  Serve with shredded cheese and sour cream.

Just for Fun Friday

I am taking a Digital Media class, in which I have used Photoshop for the first time.  So Just For Fun Friday, here are some of the projects that I was working on instead of blogging in the recent past.

 

Wordless Wednesday

{my Pumpkin Head is WALKING!!!}

It Happened

I had the radio turned up loud and I was singing along even louder.  As I pulled into the elementary school parking lot, Joey said, "Mom, can you turn that down? I don't want to be embarrassed."  It's happened already.  He's embarrassed by me.  So you know what I did?  I turned the radio up louder, sang as loud as I could, and danced in the driver's seat.  I would have rolled down the windows too if it wasn't so cold outside.

Make a Meal Monday

Easy Yummy Chicken

2 pounds chicken

1 cube butter or margarine

1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed

 

 

Preheat oven to 375.  Place chicken in a greased 9 x 13 baking pan.  Sprinkle crushed Ritz crackers on top.  Cut margarine into small cubes and place on top of and around the chicken.  Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until chicken in cooked through.

The Halloween Run Down

We had a very fun Halloween.  The fun started on Friday with school parties and the neighborhood Trunk-or-Treat.  Jacob dressed up as a Chargers fan but he left too early and I forgot to get pictures of him.  Ellie was a dead bride, Joey was an army man, Jared was Thomas, and Johnny was a pumpkin. I helped at Jared's kindergarten party.  It was so cute to see all the little kids in their costumes.  The Trunk-or-Treat had a great turn out. I dressed up like a witch and passed out candy from the back of the van and had "witch's brew" bubbling. Some of the little kids were scared and didn't want to come up to me by themselves.  The kids got a ton of candy.

On Saturday we did the traditional Trick-or-Treating.  Jacob opted out of the trick-or-treating this year and stayed home with Bryan to pass out candy and keep Chester away from the door.  I took the other kids for a little while until Jared was done and wanted to go home.  Ellie and Joey stayed out a little longer. They also changed their costumes- I am not sure what they were this time. We all had a lot of fun and we have lots of candy!

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The Scarecrow Festival

About a week and a half ago I took the kids to the Scarecrow Festival at Thanksgiving Point.  There was lots of fun stuff to do and we had a great time until the wind and rain drove us home seeking hot chocolate.

It's Someone's Birthday

 Today Jared is 6 years old! He is having his third day of celebration. On Sunday we spent the evening at Abbie and Poppy's house where we celebrated all the October birthdays, including Jacob, Johnny, and Jared.Yesterday we went train shopping and had a birthday cake.  Today Jared played hookie from Kindergarten and spent the afternoon with me and Bryan. 

And in honor of Jared's 6 fantastic years, here are 6 things about Jared:

1. He LOVES trains!  He likes to play with trains, read about trains and wants to drive trains when he grows up.
2. Jared loves kindergarten.  He had a rough start but has learned to love school.  He loves his teacher and comes home with fun stories and songs to share.

3. Jared is a great big brother to Johnny.  He watches out for him and plays with him.

4. His favorite color is blue.

5. He loves chicken nuggets, grapes, olives, and cheese pizza.

6. He loves to drink chocolate milk.  He drinks it every morning!

Make a Meal Monday

Primary Soup

3 cups water
6 small potatoes, peeled and diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 cup celery, diced

Boil veggies and water in large pot for about 10 minutes or until veggies are soft. While veggies cook, prepare white sauce:
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup flour
2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
4 cups milk

Melt margarine over med-high heat, add flour, salt and pepper.  Add milk and stir until thick.  Add white sauce to boiled undrained veggies.  Stir in 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese and several slices of bacon, cooked and cut into small pieces. Heat through and serve.

I'm old enough to remember the days of mid-week Primary.  My mom used to make this soup because it was quick to make after returning home from Primary.  Thus, Primary Soup.  It is the best dinner on a cold night!

Firsts

I have really been slacking on my blog lately. Almost every day I see something cute that my kids are doing or saying and I think, "oh what great blog fodder". But then I go on to the next thing. BUSY! I am trying to catch up this weekend. The most important thing about the last few weeks is Johnny. He grew up!

First he got his haircut! I tried to put it off as long as possible but the strands of orange were sweeping over his ears and bothering him. Bryan had been bugging me to do it for a long time. I finally gave in.

Then something really crazy happened. He turned ONE! I couldn't believe it. How did this happen? Wasn't it just yesterday that I held him for the first time? The day Johnny was born and the hubbub of the morning had died down, and I was finally left alone with my sweet baby, I held him on my chest and relished in the newness of him. I had a talk with him right then. I told him he was my surprise ending and I was so happy to have him and could he please just stay little for a long time? And what did he do? He ignored my request! He grew into my biggest baby! And now look at him! He's a little boy!

It's a good thing he is so cute!

Wordless Wednesday

Thirteen

How quickly they go from this:





 To this:





Jacob is 13 today- an official teenager!


In honor of his 13 years, here are 13 things about Jacob:
1. Jacob loves to play video games. This has been one of his favorite past times since he was three. He got Halo ODST for his birthday.
2. He loves to play basketball.
3. He loves to ride his bike.  He rides everyday to and from school and wherever else he needs to go.
4. He loves to hike and camp.
5. His favorite food is pizza with bacon.
6. Science is his favorite subject at school.
7. He wants to be a scientist or an engineer when he grows up.
8. He love dogs and wants to raise beagles when he grows up.
9. He loves to be with his friends.
10. He loves being a deacon and passing the sacrament every Sunday.
11. He is a great big brother.
12. He is sweet, kind, obedient and respectful.
13. He is an awesome kid, uh, teenager!

Happy Birthday Jacob!!

Another month

Name: Johnny
Stats: 11 Months,
27 pounds
5 Teeth
Nicknames: Bubba,
Chunky Monkey
Likes: Mom, Dad, Sibs, Baths, Chevron Cars,
Being Outside, Climbing on Furniture
Dislikes: Sleeping, Eating Baby Food

Back to School: Part 2

Jared started Kindergarten yesterday. It was rough. He was very nervous about the whole thing. I also started school yesterday. I began my college career for the third time. I am taking 4 classes on tuesdays and thursdays. During the second class Bryan sent me a text saying that Jared was really scared about going to school. The texts kept coming and Jared was getting more and more upset. I skipped the other two classes to take Jared to school. He was okay until it came time to walk into the school with the other kids and I stayed outside. He almost cried. But he was brave and followed his teacher. When I picked him up he seemed to have enjoyed his first day. He told me a little about what he did. Then I mentioned something about it being better tomorrow. He lost it. He cried and yelled, "you mean I have to go back again?!" Turns out he was just really bored. I hope today his teacher is keeping him busy.