The Belle and the Man

I have to say, I just love my little Southern Belle! She is beginning to speak with an occasional Southern draw. My husband and I do not speak with a Southern accent, so this is strictly from our living in this particular neck of the woods. Doesn't she look so precious. This was taken at PawPaw and Mimi's house.

My son is athletic, but he loves to sing and play a tune or two too! As you can see from his wet hair, this was taken after playing outside and getting all sweaty. I love it that he is tough. He plays tough, he talks tough but he is also my sweet little man! He is gentle too. He is just tough enough.

Word Filled Wednesday

Today is a day of celebration. The creator of Word Filled Wednesdays just had her baby boy. Congrats to you and your family!!

Wednesday Hero

This Weeks Soldier Was Suggested By Kathy

Ahmed Qusai al-Taayie
41 years old from Ann-Arbor, Michigan


Specialist Ahmed Qusai al-Taayie is a Iraqi American U.S. Army linguist soldier, from Ann-Arbor, Michigan who was kidnapped on October 23, 2006 in Baghdad and has not been seen since.al-Taayie joined the Army in 2004 to help not only his country, the United States, but also his birthplace of Iraq and was deployed in 2005. On October 23, 2006 he was visiting his wife in the Karrada Shiite neighborhood in central Baghdad when he and his cousin were kidnapped by a group calling themselves Ahel al-Beit Brigades. His cousin was released shortly after. On November 2, 2006 al-Taayie's uncle received a ransom demand of $250,000 for his return. Along with the ransom came a grainy video that showed a man beaten up who was identified as al-Taayie. No more has been heard from al-Taayie or his captures.For more information on Ahmed Qusai al-Taayie you can go here These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived
This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. To find out more about Wednesday Hero, you can go here.

Wordless Wednesday

WHOA!!! For more Wordless Wednesday, click here.

Our Weekend Recap

We had a fun-filled weekend. Part of the weekend was packed full while Monday was real relaxing. We began our weekend with a trip to the bank on Friday. We took some birthday money for both of our kids and opened a savings account for them. We have been meaning to do this but finally we did it! Afterwards we went to the park for swinging, sliding and hitting the baseball. A fun day. HC said her favorite event was going to the "Money Bank". Gotta love that!

On Saturday we started off with a trip to get pizza at a local pizza joint for lunch. We made a trip to the mall, and at the mall, we splurged on these giant lollipops. We originally stopped at the kiosk in the mall for jelly beans but once HC saw these babies, she was focused on that great big lollipop!! Finally we were off to a different park for walking in the creek, playing soccer, and of course sliding and climbing (the park pics below are from another trip - but we did all these things this time too).

By Sunday we were spent. After church we made a one hour trek to see my cousin play in his college band and to have a family picnic. He just graduated from high school and has been touring with this band throughout his senior year. He did great! I forgot my camera, so no pics of that! We drove home and the kids were past tired. So on Monday we stayed home and enjoyed a relaxing day together.

Tackle it Tuesday

I am going to tackle the area around my sewing machine. I have bags of new material and bags of leftover material from sewing projects. It has recently become a catch all for clothes and things without a home.

Another thing I would like to tackle is finishing a book I started earlier this year. It is a parenting book that I mainly find time to read while waiting to have my hair cut. I would like to finish reading this book by the end of the week. I always find helpful tools after reading a chapter. Our schedules have been so busy that I can only find a minute to read while completely alone. Wish me luck on this one! haha

In the future I will try to have a before and after photo. I am new to this game. :o)

For more Tackle it Tuesday, click here.

Menu Plan Monday

Click this picture if you are interested in joining the fun with Menu Plan Monday.

I trust all of you will have a great time visiting with your friends and family today! I pray those who've lost their loved ones, to a life of Military Service, will be comforted this day! I also pray for those of you with family serving our Military now - I pray God will watch over your loved ones and bring them home safe!!

I am glad I started this new meme (?) last week. It really has kept me ahead of my meals. Plus it leaves me wanting to find new recipes, some of you ladies have awesome recipes. My menu is not as vast as many of yours. This is my second Menu Plan Monday, so here goes:

Monday - Hubby will cook on the grill!!

Tuesday - Spaghetti - leftover from last week.

Wednesday - Ravioli Florentine

Thursday - Tacos

Friday - Leftovers from above meals.

Ravioli Florentine Recipe:

• Puree' one medium sized yellow onion with 10 slices of smoked bacon in a food processor.
• Add one tablespoon of fresh garlic to onions.
• Sautee' in pan, when onions brown, add 2qts. of chicken stock, 1 tablespoon black pepper, and two quart of heavy whipping cream. Bring to a roll then turn to simmer.
• Whisk in one cup of grated parmesan cheese.
• Add one cup blonde roux until desired consistency.
• Serve sauce over cooked cheese ravioli and fresh baby spinach!

There will be plenty of sauce leftover for another meal, maybe two depending on the size of your family! This sauce does freeze well.

As my kids like to say 'Ta-da'. Mission Completion!! Bon Apetite!

In Honor of Memorial Day

A special thanks to Greta and Silke of Hooah Wife for their help.To every man and woman who has served and is serving in the United States military, thank you for everything that you do and have done. And every man and woman who's given their life for the cause of freedom will never be forgotten.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.

We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived.

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. To find out more about Wednesday Hero, you can go here.

Contest, Contest, Another Contest!

If you are interested in winning a Dooney & Bourke handbag and a bottle of Heavenly Eau de Parfum by Victoria's Secret, then you should stop by Pinks & Blues Blog.

What a great contest!! I hope I win!!!! They have a fun blog and I hope you will give them a visit whether you play along or not!

Another great contest, on Stephanie's blog, is for these cute earrings by Cheeky Jewelry (or a $25 gift certificate to Cheeky Jewelry). Visit her site to sign up - she is a fun blogging Mama!!

Meatball Steak

Eating. This has been a not-so-fun adventure in our home recently. Our kids were not picky eaters and now they are. Phooey! We have discovered that they will eat almost anything if we simply add the word steak. I do not know why steak works but it does! I think Chicken is the only thing we do not call Steak.

Earlier this week we were eating Meatloaf and mashed potatoes. They were gagging before they sat at the table. Then a few nights later I offered them Meatball Steak and they gobbled it up and asked for 2nds!! Meatball steak is (you guessed it) leftover Meatloaf! Steak is also code word for ground meat, cut up burgers, and of course steak is steak. They do not have steak unless it is on our plate, which I am thinking I haven't had in awhile. Sounds yummy!!

Do you have any tricks that provoke your kids to eat?

FYI: The picture is one I found on the good ole' world wide web, it isn't a picture of our meal!

Tommy, this is for you!

Hi there! I hear you are not sure how to leave a comment. Well, click on the deep thoughts link, type your comment. Select Other, type your name in the box labeled name, type in the code for code verification and click publish your comment!

I hope you and Sarah are doing well, kiss the kids for us!!

Many blessings!

Take a walk down Memory Lane

So Bee has a fun idea, and I tried it. She found this website that tells you what the #1 song was on days gone by. Here are mine:

The day hubby was born - Get Off of My Cloud by the Rolling Stones
The day I was born - Me and Mrs. Jones by Billy Paul
High School Graduation - Vogue by Madonna (I completely know this was true. I have countless pics of me and friends Vogueing.) Gotta love high school!
My husband and I met - Macarena by Los Del Rio (This song drives me crazy.)
Day I was married - I'll be Missing You by Puff Daddy & Faith Evans (Back in the day when he was Puffy!) Gotta love that! ha
Day HC was born - Crazy in Love by Beyonce` featuring JayZ (I sure fell Crazy in Love with HC)
Day JB was born - Let Me Love You by Mario (I guess I was out of touch by this point because I don't even think I know who Mario is nor do I remember this song.) JB always lets me love him!

I think this was kind of fun. A little stroll down memory lane and some I just don't know. The Vogueing makes me laugh. Tell me if you choose to see what was #1 on special days for you so I can come visit your walk down memory lane (or just leave your results in my comment section).
Thanks and Be blessed!!

Bedtime Fun

I wanted to share a little added fun we are having at bedtime now. Click here if you want the previous scoop. By the way, we do start off with everyone sitting during storytime but then one moves in and the other can't see and then they are both standing. I guess this is a good sign that they enjoy storytime.

So now, after story time and rocking and singing to one lullaby each, we hear pitter patter, pitter patter the length of our second floor. Over the last few months my son has fought a stuffy nose and even though he is well now, he is using every little idea he has to manage a few more moments of freedom. So we venture upstairs to find this in his sweet little grubby paws:

To you this means nothing. To us this is... the NOSE bag.

It includes all the normal torture devices. But the favorite is this one:

You say Vicks, we say nose. My daughter has a knack for renaming common household items and it just sticks. So needless to say, we put a touch of vicks, aka 'Nose', on his lip below his nose and all was well. I know you are supposed to put it on the chest but we always put it on the upper lip area when noses are really stuffy. Now we have to slowly lessen the dots until he realizes he is now able to breath again.

Wednesday Hero

Pfc. Joseph Allen Jeffries21 years old from Beaverton, OregonArmy Reserve’s 320th Psychological Operations CompanyMay 29, 2004

Below is all the information that could be found on Pfc. Joseph Jeffries.Pfc. Jeffries was killed with two fellow soldiers, Capt. Daniel W. Eggers and Sgt. 1st Class Robert J. Mogensen, and an unnamed sailor, when their vehicle drove over an IED in Kandahar, Afghanistan. All four service members were attached to the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force – Afghanistan. He is survived by his wife, Betsy, and his parents Mark and Linda Jeffries.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.

We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived.

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. To find out more about Wednesay Hero, you can go here.

WordFilled Wednesday

I needed this one today! Be blessed!! Click the Scripture above if you would like to add WordFilled Wednesday to your blog!

Food I miss!

As some of you know, we just returned home from a trip to Houston. On our way there and home we passed through our former home town and we had to stop and grab some favorites. On our way to Houston, we stopped at De'Angelo's Pizzeria (in Baton Rouge) but my blog was far from my mind. I have no photo. :o( Anyway, they have the best caesar salad, cheese bread WITH marinara and super great pizza or calzones!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am hungry for it now as I type this!! This was a frequent stop for us when we were in BR!

On our way home we stopped at the Mall of Louisiana for lunch. A great fit since we were on the road for so long and needed to stretch, as well as eat without concern for the kids running around. I did manage to get a picture of those eateries. I thought of taking pictures of the grub, after said grub was gone! I am still new to the blog world and so you will have to forgive me. Next time I will do better!! We ate at Arzi's (I prefer Albasha though) and the kids ate Caine's. Caine's is great chicken fingers quickly (you know, the way fast food is supposed to be - FAST) and the BEST crushed ice Coke ever ever ever!!!!!!!!!!!! Arzi's or Albasha - we get Chicken Schwarma. I used to eat that at least once a week. Yummy!! We felt like we did great things by eating 3 of our many favorites and we didn't even stay in BR on our adventure!

Wordless Wednesday

Click here for more Wordless Wednesday. If you have a minute, I would also like you to leave a comment on this post too. I want to hear what you find funny!

I think this is funny!

Don't you just love that Subway commercial where the girl orders 'badonkadonk butt'? I think that is so funny! I just thought I would share a commercial I enjoy.

Do you have a favorite commercial? It can be recent or commercials from back in the day! Or, to use the word of the day, what commercial brings you delectation (see sidebar)? I just realized tomorrow the word will change so, the definition is great pleasure; delight, enjoyment. FYI!

Tackle it Tuesday

Ruth has contests going and the blog topics do challenge me to be more organized. I have wanted to try Tackle it Tuesday for a while but I have not for one reason or another.

My task today is to sort through those magazines that pile up before you know it! I have a pile I keep stacking up and it is time to purge!! Sounds simple enough but I am a shredder of mail. Maybe I do not have to shred the labels displaying our name and address, but I do! Call me paranoid!?! My husband does! haha

I also want to get the drawers in our bedside tables cleaned out. They tend to catch the 'I don't know what to do with this now" stuff. So, it is due a purging as well.

Thanks Ruth for having a contest so that I will actually do the Tackle it Tuesday challenge. To my friends, I promise I will not make my blog a meme filled, contest announcement page now. This was just for today! Have a blessed day!!

For those who do not know: Meme is pronounced meem and is a repeated idea or information pattern.

Menu Plan Monday

Ok, I need this! This will keep me from the inevitable 'I don't know what I want to eat tonight' exhaustion. We have two toddlers and we are trying to get them interested in what Mommy and Daddy are eating. Yesterday I told my daughter that Mommy chooses our meals not her. We had Spaghetti and she wanted a sandwich. I have let this slide but now that she is 3.5 I feel like she should eat what we eat. My son will follow suit. She used to eat whatever we did and then I don't know how we lost control. Anyway, I digress. Here is my Menu Plan for the week! I am participating in a contest by Ruth. I just ran across her site via another site, etc. This seemed to be a good fit to help me in this new endeavor! Focus!! You also must visit Laura. She has a very welcoming blog as well - she is the creator of Menu Plan Monday. So here is our menu:

1. Spaghetti

2. Jambalaya

3. Meatloaf

4. Smothered Chicken

5. Pizza

6. Chili

7. Our Sunday meal out!

Now that wasn't so hard! Please join in if you are interested! By the way, I realize today is Tuesday - I just found this today! :o)

Mason & Matisse Giveaway

Another contest!! Stephanie over at Adventures in Babywearing is having another fun contest! It seems she keeps finding these great gifts and likes to share the love!! Gotta love that! Anyway, visit Steph at her blog by clicking the link above if you would like to join in and compete for the great prizes. Please feel free to visit Mason and Matisse for yourself after visiting Steph. She has a code for 20% off if you would like to make a purchase from them!
The list below includes the items up for grabs in the contest!!
-Skip Hop Pronto in Black or Red
- Skip Hop Toolbox Diaper Caddy in White with Mint Accents
- Skip Hop Splash in White
- Skip Hop Chow in White

Good luck and have fun!!

What color blue are you?

You are Ocean Blue

You're both warm and practical. You're very driven, but you're also very well rounded.You tend to see both sides to every issue, and people consider you a natural diplomat.

What Color Blue Are You?

Ok Melissa, since I flopped on the last quiz I took, how does this sound? Did I do better this time? :o) Please let me know if I am off the cough syrup or not! haha

Try this quiz and let me know what you find!

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Normally 'Monkey See' is my daughter. Not this time!
JB said, "Hey Mom, Wook a' Me" and HC had to find her glasses so she could do the same!

Monkey Do! "CHEEEEESE" It is hard to tell but her glasses are upside down too!

I see a Monkey just like YOU!

Mother's Day

I know I am a little late! I just wanted to say I had a great Mother's Day this year. My kids are not old enough to express their appreciation yet but I hope they will appreciate me when the time comes. We spent Mother's Day in Houston visiting my Grandmother. It was neat to have my Grandparents interacting with my kids. To see them cause each other to smile or laugh. To know there is so much history between the generation gap. To see my Grandmother needing help from me in ways she used to care for us and yet she is still able to care for my kids. It is a unique dynamic. There is an innocence in my Grandparents and my kids. So much difference and so much similarity.

To hear my Grandmother giggle like a little girl when my daughter said, 'WOW Mother, you look so cute.' Mother was dressed in her Astros gear and ready for a baseball game - still enjoying every moment of life. To see Grandmother cover her mouth trying not to laugh after JB tiptoed into the hall one more time. He was supposed to be in bed sleeping. To see Godfather take the kids fishing and hear the silly stories he likes to tell. He tries to be ornery but he is a big teddy bear! To know Godfather was able to see JB and play with him, the last time we were down for a visit Godfather was in the hospital and JB was a year younger.

I want to drink in all the lessons from my Grandparents but there are so many questions to ask. I pray I will continue the heritage they are leaving me. I pray my children will one day look back and feel I left them the family jewels - our faith. My childhood was full of seeing my Grandparents praying for us and others. Watching them lend a helping hand to a person or family in need. Knowing they were there for us when we needed them. I am so thankful for the few days we had with them. Knowing my kids shared memories with them, like I did! What a blessing!! I pray we will have more time with them and my kids will grow to know and love them as much as I do.

Until our next visit, I want to say 'Grandfather and Grandmother, I love you both dearly and I pray, God willing, we will see you again soon!'.

(I was playing around with some of my Grandparents old pics while we visited and took a picture of a few pictures. This picture is of them when my mom was a child! It may just be the 'good ole' days to them!)

Road Trips

We've been away, for 4 or 5 days , visiting my Grandparents. We had a blast. It was exactly what we needed! My husband's work load finally lightened up and we had time to get away. Now he starts traveling for work trips. We had to squeeze in a little family fun before that begins. We are home now!

Many people say you can tell the health of your family relationships by taking road trips. We recently met some friends with 5 older kids and they were telling us about their 16 hour road trips. They told us how they use a movie as the last resort. They talk, read, enjoy one another and then during the last few hours they all watch a video together. Wow! I want my kids to love each other like that. I want a road trip to be an adventure.

So how is our family's relationship? My husband and I came home feeling we were super healthy. I must admit, in the past, we have had a few yucky trips. This one was different. Maybe we both needed the break and the 'Grands' were just that - a refreshing break! Or, maybe we both hit the road with a bigger goal in mind and we did what we teach our kids to do, WE used self-control when we were frustrated. We really didn't feel frustrated at all on this trip!

So videos in the van. Ok, on our trip to Houston I tried to delay video time but that didn't work at all. We had a 10 hour drive and a 3.5 year old and a 2 year old. They are used to videos straight away when we pack up the van. Long trips = videos! So, 30 minutes later we had a video on and they watched videos most of the trip. I failed! On the ride home, they went 1.5 hours with talking and playing together (in their carseats) and they didn't ask for a video. Unfortunately, my son began to whine and aggravate his sister and so I buckled trying to keep the peace. Pretty good huh? They went an hour longer than the first time. Still not what I wanted but I didn't have many distracting toys or ideas to keep them from fighting. In fact, the distracting toys I brought caused whining. What is up with that? I brought a small Aqua Doodle for my son to use and dry erase markers for my daughter to practice her ABC's. Two activities that involve writing but my son immediately began crying for the markers and my daughter wanted the Aqua Doodle. My son doesn't fully understand the markers must remain on the book. I felt overwhelmed. They were completely uninterested in the other toys I brought.

What toys or activities do you plan for road trips? My kids are too young for finding ABC's on the road. We keep books in the van and so a book isn't a treat. They always have books. We have a basket of toys for each of them. Are they too young to do anything other than watch videos? We have another road trip coming soon. We are going with my husband on a work trip and I could use a few ideas! I want to use videos as a last resort but I don't have any other ideas. Help a Mommy out! Do you have any ideas or tricks?

We only do DVD's via a portable player on trips over 3 hours away. This is a special treat.

Last Adventure in Houston

San Jacinto Museum.

A nice man took our family picture for us!

We also saw the Battleship, did I mention it was a ZILLION degrees at 10am? Texas is hot!

The reports are accurate, it is raining in Texas. LOUD thunder!

Our last night in Texas. Ready to go home!

Love you Mother and Godfather! Thanks for such a fun visit! We love you and miss you tons already!! Much love! HC, JB, Mommy and Daddy.

Wednesday Hero

This Weeks Soldier Was Suggested By Cindy

Lance Cpl. Steven Chavez
20 years old from Hondo, New Mexico
2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force
March 14, 2007


Tears ran down cheeks and strong men choked back emotion as the city of Hondo, NM payed tribute to fallen Marine, Steven Chavez. LCpl. Chavez lost his life on March 14, 2007 in a non-combat incident in which he was accidentally shot.Chavez enlisted in the Marine Cops. right after he graduated in 2005. "You pray and you pray that the day never comes, and then it does," said Novelda Chavez, Chavez's mother. "Your emotions are mixed — it’s not true, it’s a bad dream, a bad dream you never wake up from."In a letter Chavez wrote before he was sent to Iraq, he wrote:"First of all I would like to thank everyone for your support. When I'm home on leave and when I'm away. That is so important to me. Thank you for your kind, supporting words in your letters and for the packages I've received. Those are awesome.I've been through some pretty hard times, in the short time I've been in the Marine Corp. None harder then what I'm about to face. Yes I'm scared; nothing is scarier than the uncertainty of what your future holds for you. I'm prepared to face whatever lies ahead.I put my life in the hands of the Lord. And pray that He guides my fellow soldiers and I down a safe path, that He will calm our fears, and give us the strength to do the job we have been trained to do, and to do that job well.There are many lonely nights, when you're lying in your bunk thinking of family and friends, wondering what they are doing at that very moment. Wondering what mom is cooking for supper. I can almost taste the tortillas on the griddle.I want to say to all of you tonight, I wouldn't change one thing about my life.I've never been more proud of the choices I made in my life than the day I graduated from basic drill instructor placed that Anchor, Globe and Eagle Pin in my hand I knew then I was a UNITED STATES MARINE!I'm Proud to protect and serve My CountryI'm Proud to protect and serve My CommunityI'm Proud to protect and serve youThank you so much for your Support. Keep those letters coming. Mail is a precious commodity when you're so far from Home.

YOUR U.S. MARINE

LANCE CORPORAL STEVE CHAVEZ"

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. To find out more about Wednesay Hero, you can go here.