Wordless Wednesday

Christmas Pictures 2011

Super Stalker Sunday - Featured Blogger

Ive been following the Super Stalker Sunday weekly and Ive found so many wonderful blogs through these lovely ladies- so imagine my happy dance when I saw that I was to be this week's featured blogger!! Thanks ladies for making my Tuesday :)

Welcome to this week’s Super Stalker Sunday hop!

<a href="http://naptimeismytime.com/category/super-stalker-sunday"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5146/5655930681_c5ee43502a.jpg" width="125" height="125" /></a>

What is Super Stalker Sunday? Glad you asked! Super Stalker Sunday is a weekly blog hop hosted by

April of Mama on a Green Mission

Emily of Nap Time is My Time

and Mariah of Formula Mom

Kortney of Kortney's Krazy Life

As you know, blogs hops are a great way to meet other bloggers, socialize and gain more followers. We created this hop as away for you to connect with other bloggers via RSS Feed, Google Friend Connect, Email Subscribers, Facebook Fans, Twitter Followers, and the new Google+! How to Super Stalk Follow each host at least one way. Remember to leave a comment, as hostesses we’re committed to returning the follows. But please be patient as we are busy mamas and it may take us a few days to return the visit and follow. You will only have to link up on one of the host sites and your link will appear on all as we use the same linky. After you follow the hosts and the featured blogger, follow at least the four blogs listed above you on the linky. If your time permits, follow as many other blogs are you are willing! If you're already follow somebody via GFC, consider following them in another way as well! Remember: You will only get as much as you give. The more blogs you can visit, the more visits you will gain in return. We are all here to socialize and greet, not visit only your blog. While we encourage sharing our button and hop with as many as possible, it is not required. The more you spread the word though, the more we socialize and all gain followers! This week's featured blog is
Bethany stalks blogs using Google Friend Connect. She enjoys reading other blogs through her Google Reader. If you would like to be a featured blogger, being shared with more than 32,000 combined followers between the hosts of this hop, please link up! At the end of each week we will select a blog via Random.Org to be the featured blog for the following week. The featured blogger will be emailed by Tuesday morning. Please be sure to check your spam folders! This linky will remain open until 3:00PM EST on Monday! Go ahead, stalk up a storm!  

Oh Christmas Tree!

Goodness lovelies- Ive been busy. 

Trying to decorate the house for Christmas is hard enough, but throw in a baby and two working parents and you get sheer chaos. Normally we put up five Christmas trees (one real, the others all artificial), but this year I've cut that number down to two. I blame the bean, his stuff is now taking over the areas that used to be reserved for Christmas decorations.

One thing we wouldn't budge on was our tradition of how we get our Christmas tree.

It's a family tradition- we have breakfast, then trek off to a tree farm and cut down the biggest tree we can find and drag it back to the house and decorate it all up.

This year our normal breakfast place was closed due to a fire, but we found a replacement quick and headed out to Grupp's in the 45 degree sunshine.  Last year it was 23 and snowing, so Id say that was a vast improvement!

 My little bear in the woods

Which tree to pick...hmmm... (ps- it only took us 45 minutes to find 'the tree')

Grayson looking at his Auntie Ashley as if to say "You people are insane."  

We found it- our first family Christmas tree

Thumbs up from the bean for the tree :)

 Dragging them back to the barn- trying to avoid the mud

We have exactly one inch between the tree and the ceiling- not too shabby!

It is a little wonky- it looks like it belongs in Who-Ville- but I like it cause its got some charicter! Its pretty tough to judge when youre standing on a hillside.

Finished pictures to come :)

DIY Christmas Card Holder

I don't know about you, but I hate taping Christmas cards to my walls. So after spending a few minutes of nap time searching Pinterest (yes, just a few minutes...not the whole hour long nap...no, I never spend THAT much time sucked into the wonderful world that is that website!) I got inspired.

Ta-Dah!

One 11 x 14 canvas ($1.99 at Pat Catans), one 25 pack of clothes pins ($1.79), and some paint and ribbon and I think it turned out quite alright!

I painted the canvas with light green, then painted the one side of the clothes pins with holiday green and holiday red (no lie, that's the name on the colors I bought for $0.50 each today)

Dip the back of the paint brush into the paint and you have an instant dot painter...but stripes would look equally cute. I was home with Mr. Man alone today so he wasn't really feeling me taking too much time away from making silly faces and playing peek-a-boo to do stripes on mine.

Then once everything is dry hot glue the clothes pins on, using the metal piece as a guide so theyre all even and thats pretty much it!

At a total cost of around $5 it sure beats the $50 one that I saw on etsy! Plus, while it was drying I got to stick my kid in his stocking and take his picture :)

Gah, those eyes...just like his daddy!

Cheesy Chicken Dorito Casserole

I'm not going to sugar coat it lovelies- this is nothing more that fabulously unhealthy delish trash food. The kind that offers calories, fat, and cheese- otherwise known as the kind of food we all need after a horrible, no-good, very bad, cold day.

I found this recipe on Pinterest, and stuck it in the back of my mind for one of those days when I just didn't give a hoo about what I ate. Well, Thursday when I woke up to a cold and rainy day where I got caught half way between my car and the door at work (a trek and a half my loves, no lie, like a 3 minute walk) in a downpour with no umbrella I decided it was a good day to try something new.

This recipe came from the blog Jam Hands- which is chocked full of fancy dishes that make me drool.  I adapted it a little to suit my taste,  

Mexican Dorito Casserole
Serves 4-6

2 c. shredded cooked chicken (I poached it in chicken stock with garlic-mmm)
1 c. shredded cheese (I used more, about 1 1/2 cups, it was one of THOSE days)

1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1 can Ro-tel tomatoes (canned tomatoes with jalepenos- I used the original for a bit of heat, but you could do mild)
1/2 packet taco seasoning (or more- to taste)
Bag of  Nacho Cheese Doritos

1. Pre-heat oven to 350-f degrees.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except Doritos.

3. In a greased 2 qt baking dish, put a layer of crushed Doritos (about 2 cups), then a layer of the chicken mixture. Repeat once more, ending with a layer of chicken mixture. Top with more shredded cheese, cover, and bake for 30-35 minutes, till bubbling hot.

The chips stay crunchy, and some get soft- its a perfect combination. For leftovers, just add some fresh crushed chips to get that crunch and its sheer perfection. I took this for lunch on Friday and ended up sharing with everyone in the teachers lounge :)

The hubs is also obsessed, and insists it tastes just like the nachos you get at stadiums. I don't know if I agree with that, but it sure is tasty!


Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Raisin Cookies. Also known as de-lishous.

Ok lovelies, you know I don't bake. Well today, I figured Id give it a whirl. Only burned two trays, so I'm considering it a success!

My grandma used to make these when I was little, and I never really appreciated them.  Probably because she used to put walnuts in them, and I didn't (and still don't) like nuts in my cookies. So I substituted the walnuts with chocolate chips and they are amazing.

Ingredents:

2 Ripe Bananas

1 Cup Soft Butter

1 Cup Sugar

2 Cups Flour

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

2 Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

1 Cup Peanut Butter Chips

1 Cup Raisins

1 Cup Chopped Walnuts or Chocolate Chips- your choice

Preheat oven to 350. Put bananas into a blender until smooth. In a large bowl combine butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add in bananas, eggs, and vanilla. In a small bowl combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Gradually add the two mixtures together. Stir in peanut butter chips, raisins, and either chocolate chips or walnuts. Drop by teaspoonfuls two inches apart onto greased cookie sheet. Bake for 9 minutes or until golden brown.

They seriously taste like banana bread cookies. The hubs even liked them, and he hates raisins- so these are a winner at our house!

Our Baby Butterball- First Thanksgiving

I'm one of those Mommy's.  One who dresses her kid up in outfits and hats for holidays.

I figure I only really have a year until he learns to say "No Momma!", so I'm taking full advantage now.

Its crazy to think that last year on Thanksgiving, the hubs and I woke up on our honeymoon in Mexico. We didn't have an alarm clock, and had no where to be. It was 85, sunny, beautiful and perfect.

This year, Grayson yelled for us at 7am. He ate, then we played until we had to get dressed to run to the first of three Thanksgiving stops for the day.

It was 50, rainy and gloomy. And yet, still perfect.

I can honestly say I couldn't have dreamed a more perfect day. (Except for searing my arm on the rack in my Mom's oven...that's one way to get me to put a few quarters in the swear jar!) Here are just a few of the pictures from that day...and you tell me that hat isn't amazing.



Too much turkey = double chin. Oops!

We're truly blessed.

Now, bring on the fat man in red- Momma is ready for Christmas!