Weekly Rewind: October 13-19

Last week was filled with Autumn Goodness! Here's what we were up to:

{SUNDAY}

 

The boys and I made some of these yummy pumpkin treats! Wanna make them? Just grab some candy corn pumpkins, Hershey's hugs, and butter snap pretzels. Super easy to make - promise! (For some direction - go here)

 

 Of course, you can't have Halloween treats without some Halloween movie/show! I took back old school and put in my Bugs Bunny Halloween dvd. The boys laughed at it quite a bit which made this mama super happy! It is one of the best things to be able to share something I did as a little kid with them AND they enjoy it just as much! 

 Later that day, we ran out of dishwasher detergent. Bummer. But, I had this little pin tucked away and thought I'd try it out. Yep, I made some dishwasher detergent. And, let me just say that the dishes really are cleaner than with the store bought stuff. Plus, that LemiShine makes my dishwasher smell pretty fabulous, too. If you want to make this or read more about it, click here to check out this recipe and more.

Of course, finding these ingredients took a couple of trips into a couple of stores. See, I was trying to avoid WalMart at all costs. And, well, they were the only ones with the Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda. I hated that I had to go in there... I have not physically been into WalMart - no joke -  in 4 years.  WalMart is always so gross when I go...it's never clean, the customers are "interesting" and not in a good way, there are a thousand checkout lane but only 2 are actually open, it is just....ew. I hate it. Not going back. So, I got myself a prize for not wanting to scream in the store. Seriously. I know, I know...some of you like it. And, more power to ya. But, nope. I'm sending Jason next time (if I have to...). Otherwise, I'm going through Amazon... Besides, WalMart is NOT the cheapest. We are Aldi/Farmers Market shoppers :)

{MONDAY}

 Monday is cleaning day at the house. Where I go all out and get the whole place in order for the week so I don't have a ton to do later. Apparently the boys wanted to clean their kitchen up, too. What cuties.

 After I was pretty much done, they wanted to make another fort with their chairs and blankets. 

 Good times!

 And, of course, since the weather was amazing, we headed outside for some snack and some reading! Gotta love some spooky fun!!

{TUESDAY}

 

 Speaking of spooky fun, check out their lunches for this day! HA! Awesome. 

{WEDNESDAY}

 These two are going to make the BEST big brothers!! They kept some of the baby bottle party favors from the diaper shindig last Saturday for their babies. Andrew told Alex that he needed to teach him how to feed the baby because he fed him a bottle when he was a baby. Super cute!! Andrew is one amazing helper and big brother trainer!!

 We were the "cool parents" Wednesday night and let the boys stay up a bit later than bedtime so they could watch a new Halloween show on TV. Toy Story of Terror!! It was so cute and pretty funny. We were all giggling at it, even Jason. Did y'all watch it?? 

{THURSDAY}

 Our little tree is finally ready for Autumn!!

We had another Halloween movie checked out from the library that was super cute!! Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie. We are big Winnie the Pooh fans. Such a cute little movie!!

{FRIDAY}

 Super awesome helpers!!! These boys crack. me. up. 

Austin really wont be able to use this until he is 4 months old, so I was just going to keep it in the box until it was time. But, Andrew insisted that we put it together right now. He said, "that way it will be ready for him when it is time, mommy/" Such a smarty... Ok... So, we opened it up, busted out the directions, and got to work. The 2 pics on the right of the collage is where there are "testing it out" to make sure that all the toys work properly. LOL So funny. I am telling you...these boys are going to be AMAZING big brothers! I can't wait!

 Pizza-Popcorn-Movie Night!! Tonight's feature: "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown"

And, just like the Bug Bunny show pictured on Sunday, the boys LOVED this show. They loved it so much that 1) I really have to buy it now because this is the library's copy and 2) they watched it every day since Friday to yesterday...at least twice a day! The uncontrollable giggles were the greatest thing to hear. Want to know which part they were laughing so hard at??

Snoopy vs. the Red Baron - they LOVE this part!!

(if you are viewing this in an email or on your mobile phone - please click through and view via the actual website to see the video)

{SATURDAY}

YUMMMM.... I made a lasagna in the crock pot and it was awesome!!! If you have never made a lasagna in the crock pot, you have to try it. Here's the recipe I used --> click here!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, that is that! It was a great week! See you back here soon for a new post (some top 10 humor and things) and our menu!

Have a great day!

 

Menu Plan

Check it out! Found a fun menu! Would you like one, too? Click here for the original post.

Menu Plan

Menu Plan

This week I am bringing out the slow cooker! Also, since we are in the season of Lent, our pizza/movie nights are moved to Saturday as we are meat-free on Fridays. Happy cooking!

Do you want a fabulous menu plan freebie, too? Check out this and more of Kelley's creations over at The Grant Life!

Christmas Eve!!

Yay! Pictures from Christmas Eve!! Who is ready for the extravaganza to begin? Let's start here with the finishing up of a few Advent calendars/countdowns.

Last Christmas, after everything was on crazy clearance, I snatched this up. This is the Fisher-Price Imaginext Advent Calendar and it is so cute! Each day was some guy, a tool, something that person used, etc. Very cute! We ended up getting a fireman, construction guy, policeman and all of their equipment and such. Well, silly me, I only bought ONE. Hello...? I have TWO boys... Luckily, I had a few of these Imaginext guys that I had saved for "prizes" and some other guys from a Bat Cave that Rachel gave us. They boys - all the boys - loved playing Batman!

I know, I know. It doesn't really "scream" Christmas, but we did get to that. It wasn't left out. Remember we were working though this book. After breakfast/dinner we would ready the stories and have a little talk about the things that were going on and the previous stories. The boys really loved learning about Baby Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Which, ok, again I say...teaching the boys about Joseph is difficult. Yes, he's a kind of dad, but not his real dad...but his real dad is father to everyone and Joseph is a helper dad... It was confusing to Andy. Alex knew who everyone in the manger was, but Andy was the one with questions. Maybe he can help explain it to Alex next season. Anyway, by Christmas Eve they BOTH had the story down and knew exactly what went one that night in Bethlehem :)

 Later that morning, they boys were telling me their favorite ornaments from the tree. I LOVE that Andy calls the glitter balls "sprinkle ornaments" - it is so adorable!! Alex loved the football one...and tried to throw it. I'm glad I caught it. That guy has quite the arm!

Of course, for the 800th time... The Polar Express was showing. I couldn't you if it was on TV or if was the DVD he was watching. He LOVES that movie. I downloaded some of the music and had it playing in the car. As soon as they heard the first 3 seconds of the title song, they would squeal and giggle and both would shout, "Polar Ta Pess!!!!!"

While everyone was occupied with the movie, I got to work on getting the roast all fancied up. And, yes, I called it our "roast beast" LOL Gotta love Dr. Seuss, right?

The mail came, too! And my present to myself showed up at the door : ) YAY!! You may see me link to Catholic Mom here, on Facebook, or on Twitter, right? Well the creator of Catholic Mom wrote this book. I can't wait to get her other one, too! I think that one will be my birthday gift to myself. Anyway, she is fabulous and I can't wait to really start reading it... I'm a bit behind on things, can you tell?

We headed to Mass after a quick nap. I wish I had taken pictures of our Altar decorated for Christmas, but I feel that's a bit on the rude side snapping pictures while people are trying to pray. So, when someone updates the website and add those pictures, I'll link to it. It is so beautiful!

One our way home, the boys were getting hungry and jumpy and all kinds of excited for the ringing of Santa's bells. 

 So before bed after reading the story of Baby Jesus from Luke's Gospel and The Polar Express, we made sure we set out cookies for Santa. Andy is making that face because he thought for sure that Santa would share one right now with him... He forgot he already had 4...and brushed his teeth... LOL Silly boy...  Don't you just love his pajamas?!

Time for sleep, boys! They were so excited and tired, but they went right to bed :) They definitely wanted to make sure that they were quiet enough to hear the reindeer and the bells. I wonder what he is going to bring......

Menu Plan

I did a TON of freezer cooking Sunday afternoon so this is why you will see many crock pot recipes (and some repeats) this month. Below you will find the source for the crock pot recipes. Have a great week!

The crock pot recipes for this week can be found here. And, I totally agree - freezer crock pot meals is QUITE amazing. I'm pretty sure I am hooked on having everything prepared BEFORE making dinner from now on!

Slow Cookin Goodness

Crock pot week is coming to an end. I almost want to do it every day from now on! It was so nice to not rush to get dinner ready during the witching hour. Here are the recipes since I had a few people ask for them :)


Sunday - Big Easy Meatloaf and Potato Wedges
We all liked it alright, but the potato wedges were a big hit - I am going to make a huge batch of these for the freezer since they were that good.

Monday - Fiesta Chicken (recipe was shared on Monday - click here)

Tuesday - Ham with Cherry Sauce

I did NOT follow this recipe at all. I don't have "five spice" and I don't really know what it is. But, if you are interested, the recipe is on page 44 of Creative Slow Cooker Recipes (it is out on display until February; found at Publix). So here is what I did:

5-6 pound ham
1 tbsp whole cloves
1 jar peach preserves (mine was a 10 ounce jar)
1 package dried cherries (6-8 ounce)
1/2 cup pineapple juice (I couldn't find just a container of the juice, so I grabbed a can of pineapple chunks in juice. I used the juice for cooking and Andy had some pineapple chunks for a snack)
1 tsp ground mustard

1. Press cloves into the ham on all sides then place in slow cooker.
2. In a bowl mix up the remaining ingredients and pour over ham.
3. Set on low and cook for 8-9 hours.

This was a huge hit! And, of course, it was a huge ham. I diced up some for breakfasts/lunches and sliced the rest for another dinner. YUM!

Wednesday - Mixed-Berry Pudding Cake
Recipe found on page 134 of Creative Slow Cooker Recipes (it is out on display until February; found at Publix). I changed up this recipe, too.

1 8oz package frozen blueberries
1 8oz package frozen raspberries
1 8oz package craisins
1 cup AP flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp butter, melted
3/4 cup boiling water
1/3 cup sugar

1. Combine berries in slow cooker.
2. In a bowl, combine flour, 2/3 cup sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in milk, butter, and vanilla. Spoon over batter evenly.
3. In a small bowl dissolve the 1/3 cup sugar in the boiling water. Pour over mixture in slow cooker.
4. Cook on high for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

Andy LOVED this! It was super yummy and I will have to make this one again for sure!

Thursday - I meant to change this on my menu plan. Tonight was Jason's Office Christmas party :) It was so much fun! 

Friday - Sloppy Joes (what I planned for Thursday)
Just use your favorite Sloppy Joe recipe and put it in the slow cooker on low. Serve when you are ready!

Saturday - White Chicken Chili (cooking away right now!)

Time to work on next week's menu - and it is going to be all kinds of Christmas-y!!

My House Smells Like a Mexican Restaurant

And I LOVE it! I have my Fiesta Chicken cooking away in my crock pot. YUM. The recipe is from The Best Slow Cooker Book Ever, but I changed it up a bit.

Fiesta Chicken

1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 cans Campbell's Fiesta Nacho Soup

1/2 can water

1 can Glory brand low-sodium black beans

Mix up the ingredients.

Toss in the chicken. 

Set crock pot on low for 6-7 hours.

Enjoy the smell of your kitchen!

Easy peasy! Now if finding the perfect slow cooker were this easy... I have a 6 quart one, I think. Whatever it is...it is too small. But, I am so dang picky that every one that I have found is not right in some way. Ugh.

Anyhoo! Time to get the laundry out of the dryer and enjoy this quiet house for another hour while the boys sleep :)

Crock Pot Week!

I had asked on Facebook a few weeks ago for suggestions on posts. Recipes was the big winner. The two areas were desserts/treats and crock pot recipes. I had posted around Thanksgiving my treat menu. And, now it is time for...

CROCK POT WEEK! 

And, I must say, I am excited that I won't have to really cook dinner this whole week! YAY! All of the main dishes (except breakfasts and lunches) are done in the crock pot. Even the Mixed-Berry Pudding Cake on Wednesday. 

Here are the links to this week's menu plan. The ones I could not find online, I will share with you later this week.

Sunday - Big Easy Meatloaf w/ Potato Wedges

Friday - White Chicken Chili 

Other resources used for this week's menu:

The Best Slow Cooker Cookbook Ever (it was my mom's!)

Creative Slow Cooker Recipes (a Better Homes and Garden magazine)

Do you have a menu plan?  

Wondering where I got my nifty chalkboard graphic? Shabby Blogs!

Menu Plan

Yes - the pot roast was THAT good that we will be having it again! YUM! The recipe can be found in Paula Deen's new cookbook on page 125.

There are a few recipes that I am doing this week from Disney's Family Fun Cooking with Kids booklet, a gift from the fabulous Kelly!

Get ready for next week:

Crock Pot Week!!

 A whole week filled with dinners and goodies from the fabulous crock pot. Yay! If you want to join in, meet us back here on Saturday the 10th. 

Warning: Your house is going to smell so good, you may want to eat it. Maybe we should do a gingerbread house day for that reason. :)