Monday, February 21, 2011

Yum!

Squash Enchiladas

2 lb yellow summer squash chopped
1/2 c chopped onions
1 jalapeno seeded and finely chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 c Ranch dressing (divided)
1 1/2 c milk
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 c sour cream
corn tortillas
2 c shredded colby jack cheese

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Coat a rectangular baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large microwave safe bowl combine squash, onion, half jalapeno, salt, and pepper.  Cover with wax paper.  Microwave on HI for 6-8 minutes or until squash is tender stirring once.  Stir in 1/4 c of dressing and set aside.

In a medium saucepan combine milk, soups, sour cream, remaining dressing, and remaining jalapeno.  Cook and stir over medium heat until heated through.

Spoon squash mixture onto tortillas.  Sprinkle with 1 1/2 c of cheese.  Roll up.  Place, seam side down, in dish.  Pour soup mixture on top.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Bake, uncovered, 25 minutes or until heated through.

It was amazing!  So delicious!!!  Jonny and I enjoyed it.  Alyssa said she didn't like it, but who knows that may change tomorrow.  We are going to try it with zucchini, bell peppers, carrots or other veggies one day :)  We had it with black beans and rice and avocado slices.




Also, the other day my girl and I made super easy peanut butter cookies.

Peanut Butter Cookies

1 c of peanut butter
1/2 c of brown sugar
1/2 c of white sugar
1 egg

Mix all ingredients in a bowl.  Roll into balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 for 6-8 minutes until golden brown.  Let cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes then cool completely on wire rack.



This is the face I get when I tell her to smile :)


Tuesday, February 15, 2011

I Love Us

I read an article or saw some news story or something like that (I really should pay more attention to these things, but my babies ate my brain!) about relationships that really inspired me.  It was about your relationship with your spouse.  The main idea was for me to love Jonny and myself as one unit.  Not only do I love him, but I love who we are together.  I love us.

One of the best life lessons you can teach your children is how you treat your spouse.  They will see firsthand how they should treat their mates and how their mates should treat them.  I've always said that I want to raise boys who are truly chivalrous and girls who are strong enough to open doors on their own, but smart enough to find a man who'll do it for them.

Also, I have these little beings that totally depend on me to live.  Jonny doesn't need me to survive.  Sure, I make it easier for him to survive and much more fun, but he doesn't need me.  It'd be really easy for me to put our relationship on the back burner.

I love Jonny.  I love the family we have made together.  I love the person I am because of him.  I love us.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Valentine's Day

...is so much fun with kids!!!

Alyssa and I made a heart mobile.




Even lunch gets a fun twist!  A heart shaped pb&j.


James waiting to open his Valentines.



Alyssa got a bear (Bruno) and candy.  James got a bath book and shirt.

Monday, February 7, 2011

The Kindness of Strangers

My baby brother, Drew,  graduated from Texas Tech in May.  He decided to stay in Lubbock, TX and at his current job until he figures out what he'd like to do.  I imagine it is hard to live in a college town and not be a college student.  Frankly, he was feeling a little down.  So, he does what any normal 24 year old would do...volunteers at the hospital and visits sick kids!

Drew is so kind and truly wants to make people happy.  His glass is always half full.  Drew visits kids and reads to them, makes balloon animals or just sits and talks.  He feels like he's not doing enough.  I'm here to say that sometimes the simplest things can make all the difference especially to kids.  When Alyssa had her tonsils removed she had to stay the night.  We had a few volunteers come into her room.  One lady brought her animal crackers and magazines for me and the other ones brought in therapy dogs.  She loved loved loved the doggies.

Anyway, it got me to thinking...what can I do?  What can I do to help Drew help kids?  So, I'm going to collect things:  coloring books, DVDs, books, toys, puzzles, etc. to send to Drew to take to the kiddos in the hospital.  Do you have anything to donate?  I'll gladly gather things to send to Drew.  Or you could volunteer at a hospital near you.  Whatever you do try to do something completely selfless to help someone else.  Leave it to my youngest brother to inspire me!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

What I Learned in Elementary School...

...was NOT executed well today.  You know, Stop, Drop and Roll, feel the door to check if it's hot, crawl so you don't inhale smoke, all those things they tell you to do if the smoke alarm goes off.

Here's a little background:  We had rolling blackouts today to conserve energy.  Apparently, Texas is not equipped to handle the icy tundra the Arctic storm brought.   Anytime we loose power for longer than a minute or so our smoke detectors go off.  It's loud and annoying and they won't quit until the power comes back!!!!  Today, they went off for about 45 minutes every few hours.

The first blackout happened around 6:30 am.  I heard the babies' monitors shut off and the sound of the power going out.  We were having such strong wind I thought nothing of it really.  Then, the detectors went crazy waking up two peacefully sleeping babes. 

I jumped out of bed and ran to their rooms.  With a baby on each hip, I frantically searched the house to see if there really was a fire, Daisy following close behind.  I'd like to say in the back of my mind I knew it had to do with the power outage, but I probably would've reacted the exact same way if it really was a fire. 

Eh...what can I say, mama bear has to protect her babies!