I Scream, You Scream

We all scream for ice cream!

We had a house showing at 1:30 p.m. this afternoon. Yep, right in the middle of naptime, but I'm not complaining!

The kids and I headed to McDonald's for some ice cream and the indoor playground. Walker was so excited that as soon as we got into the McDonald's he ran up to one of the workers cleaning the tables and told her that he was having ice cream today! Did I mention that he's alot like his mother:) Always ready for something sweet!!



Of course his daddy has a huge sweet tooth too! Want proof??? I made a cinnamon pound cake Sunday evening for breakfast and snacking on Memorial Day, and Matt single handedly ate 3/4 of the cake:)

Here's the yummy and EASY recipe, if you are interested...

1 (18 1/2 ) ounce box butter cake mix
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs

Cinnamon Sugar Mix:
3 T sugar
1/2 t cinnamon

Combine cake mix, oil, sour cream, sugar, and eggs. Pour half of batter into a greased and floured bundt pan. Sprinkle 1/2 cinnamon sugar mixture on top. Add remaining batter and cover wtih remaining cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake 1 hour at 325 degrees.

This recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks, Land of Cotton.

A Memorable Weekend

This orangutan perfectly captures our weekend as we have spent everyday since Saturday dodging the rain. Just when we would think about pulling the grill out to cook, it would start raining. Or just when I would get the kids all excited to swim in the kiddy pool, a thunder storm would come.


We did manage a trip to Dunkin Donuts Saturday morning, and even though it started sprinkling as we were walking out with our donuts and coffee, we trekked on to the zoo. Fortunately, we only had a short rain shower while there, and we actually enjoyed looking at some of the indoor animals (like all the snakes, turtles, alligators and lizards at the herpetarium) that we normally do not take the time to see.

We even stopped off at the playground...

And then it was on to the new Birds & Bees exhibit. Look at my two buzzing bees:)

The kiddos had fun watching the birds land on their feeding sticks.

I think the birds enjoyed it too!

Sunday afternoon, we avoided the rain showers by visiting the indoor pool at the gym. Sorry, no pictures of this. It's all hands, eyes, bodies on deck when you have two toddlers around a pool. Walker and Kathryn loved it. Matt and I loved that it wore the children out (On a side note, I thought two was hard, but three years old just may wear us out! It seems like our kids have just all of a sudden reached this point where they have to be ran, swam, or walked to get out all of their energy. Playing inside the house just doesn't cut it! Oh, my, are we in for a fun, energy-packed summer!), but we didn't love the fact that we both woke up sore from lifting kids in and out of the pool for almost an hour!

After the swim, we came home, ate some watermelon, pulled out the hamburger meat and grill, and watched a huge thunder shower break forth. That didn't stop us, though. Determined to do some Memorial Day grilling, Matt backed the car out of the garage and fired up the grill! The hamburgers were delicious!

As I type, it's Monday morning and believe it or not, the whole house slept in to 8:00 a.m.!!! I really cannot remember the last time this happened! Three cheers for the rainy weather. It keeps the house dark and keeps toddlers sleeping soundly well past their normal wake up time! The sun keeps peeking around the clouds, so who knows what today will hold! Perhaps a trip to the park or, if the rain clouds persist, lunch at Chik fil A or McDonalds (or anywhere with indoor play facilities)!

Happy Memorial Day!

Hello, Summer!

Today was Kathryn and Walker's last day of school. Mommy is usually sad when this day rolls around because it means no more free days for shopping or lunch with friends. But I have to admit, I'm a bit more sad today because it means saying a final farewell to the sweet little boys and girls that have been such a special part of our lives the last two years. It also means saying good bye to some awesome teachers who have not only taught my growing boy and girl so many practical things, but who have also faithfully taught then about Jesus.

I feel especially blessed that the Lord has used their school is such a special way the last two years. I pray, as we move to a new school and a different city this year and the following, that we will be equally blessed!

On a bit more cheerful note:), here are a few of the things Walker and Kathryn learned this school year...

• How to use the potty! PTL!!!
• How to drink out of a "big" cup
• Lots of fabulous songs (hand motions included)
• How to play/share with friends (still working on this one, but the classroom gave them lots of practice)
• Numbers, letters and shapes

And according to the measurements taken at the beginning of the year, Walker has grown 2 inches and Kathryn has grown an inch!

Now Mommy just needs to keep the learning ball rolling this summer! Any ideas for fun learning activities or just activities in general would be appreciated!!

Here are some pictures from this past year....

First day of school

Fun with classmates

Naptime

Look how much I've grown

A final picture with their teacher, Ms. Darla

Backyard Picnic

It was a beautiful day for a picnic!

And some watermelon (our first of the season)!

Just a little messy!

In case you didn't hear...

There's a new American Idol!!!

Team "Joint" Effort

Today, Matt competed in a triatholon relay. We were so proud of all of the training he put into today's events. And his efforts, along with those of his teammates, sure paid off. They came in 3rd among all the male relay teams! Go, Daddy! And Go, Team Joint Effort!

Here's Matt and two of his three biggest fans before the race (that began at 7:15 a.m. in a yucky lake in 60 degree weather!)

Waiting and watching for Daddy's exit out of the water.

Having fun playing around after the big race!

And, here's the rest of the team. They're trying to figure out how they finished in this picture (It took a bit of time before they posted the results. There were multiple races staggered throughout their race, so there were always people in different categories crossing the finish line.)

And here they are again after taking third place! The guys are looking forward to racing again next year!

Going for the gold!

Today was Field Day at Kathryn and Walker's school. Look at all the "olympians" parading out to the field.

Kathryn in action!

The big slide. Definitely a favorite!

Popsicles...an even bigger favorite!

Bounce, bounce, bounce....A sight every parent loves to see--toddlers completely wearing themselves out!

And finally...a picnic! All Walker wanted to do was drink!

We are so thankful the weather held out for today's events. Last year's field day was rained out, and this morning it looked a bit "iffy." But, fortunately, Mr. Sun broke through right in time for all of the games to begin! And the kids had a blast!

A Great Day!

Mommy's love tank was most certainly filled up this weekend! We actually had a house showing last night which required an impromptu three hour long family outing. For this quality time girl, I was in heaven!

An hour at Target, another hour for dinner at Chik Fil A and a bit more time spent riding around town! Hey, I was with my three favorite people, so I wasn't complaining!

Today proved just as enjoyable! Matt had to go into work this morning, so me and the kids had some extra time lounging around, eating breakfast, and watching cartoons! Just what I was hoping for!

We made "cini minis" for breakfast. They are yummy, so easy and an absolute favorite of my kiddos. I found the recipe here (my most favorite place for great ideas and fun reading), and also spotted it in one of my favorite cookbooks.

And look what Kathryn and Walker brought home from church! The perfect present! Of course, they don't really understand that it's for me. I basically had to pry them out of their hands for the picture!


And my sweet hubby bought this for me! I admit, I'm addicted. It literally only took me seeing one show, and I was hooked. Unfortunately, that first show was this season (number 7). Now, I only have six seasons to catch up on:)

This was the best picture I could get at lunch. My sweet trio took me to Jim 'N Nicks for Mother's Day lunch. I love their cheese biscuits and pig in the garden salad, but the best part was the lemon pie I brought home for dessert:) Unfortunately, getting the kids to sit still and eat is challenge enough without requiring photographs!

Too top it all off, Uncle Brad and Aunt Mak sent me a CD with tons of American Idol songs from this season. Thank you! I love it!!

As a side note, I've been reading Taking Care of the Me in Mommy by Lisa Whelchel this week, and it is an easy and very enjoyable read. I definitely recommend it to all of you mommies this Mother's Day!

It's that time of year again...

for FUN in the SUN! Oh, to be a kid again!

And don't you just love the Lightning McQueen and Princess swimsuits (and matching sunglasses). Very classy:)

In a perfect world, Kathryn might have one of these adorable swimsuits (one piece preferably) and Walker would have a pair of these. But those days may be over!

Because if it were a perfect world, Mommy would be wearing one of these numbers. But, for all practical purposes, what's really on my list is this swimsuit! Either way, I can always use one of these numbers for the best part of any swimwear ensemble (especially post kids)--the cover up!!

Cinco de Mayo!

Here are two of my new favorite food finds...

So, you could imagine my delight when I found a recipe in which I could use them both! Well, I did improvise a little, but here goes...

Campbell's Easy Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup salsa

2 tsp. chili powder

2 cups chopped, cooked chicken

1/2 cup shredded cheese

6 flour tortillas

Stir the soup, sour cream, chili powder and salsa in a medium bowl.

Stir 1 cup salsa mixture, chicken and cheese in large bowl.

Divide chicken mixture among the tortillas. Roll up the tortillas and place seam side down in a greased baking dish.

Pour the remaining salsa mixture over tortillas. Cover the baking dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Or Lauren's version...

Instead of the salsa, I used 1/2 cup Salsa Verde and 1/2 Black Bean & Corn Salsa (from WalMart). I also omitted the chili powder (because I didn't have any!!), and sprinkled a little cumin, garlic salt and pepper on the chopped chicken before adding it to the mixture.

And instead of the tortillas, I used the light flatout bread. After baking for 40 minutes, I took the foil off the dish and added approximately another 1/2 cup of cheese to the top and let it bake an additional 10 minutes.

I thought they were delicious. Granted, I will eat just about anything that resembles Mexican food! But I was pleasantly surprised!

If I hadn't gobbled them all up, I would have taken picture. You'll just have to try them for yourselves!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!