A Fab Give-away!

Juliana at "A Blonde walks into a Blog" is having a fabulous giveaway on her blog... Head over there to enter for a new Burberry scarf! I know I did! :)

http://blondeinablog.blogspot.com/2010/01/giveawayburberry-scarf.html

Still on the Cooking Kick!

For those of you still wondering... I have continued my cooking-kick!

Let's recap the week:
Sunday: I made chicken stir fry with veggies and rice
Monday:I tried a "Taco Bake" from the Campbell's Soup Cookbook.
It was actually really good!
Tuesday: I made tacos and all the fixings...yum

Wednesday: We had grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup (I still havent kicked my cold/cough...so these sounded sooo good on my throat!)

Thursday: Nick made Mexican chicken that he used to eat growing up (yes, we were on a Mexican kick this week!)

Friday: We went out to Paradise Bakery
Another sucessful week for me in the kitchen! Who knew?

This was a busy week with my adventures in cooking, being sick. and at school. We had an important visitor at school as well as having lots of 100th day festivities.

But today was a very lazy day for me. I woke up early then went back to bed and slept till 2pm. (Still feeling lousy!) Thank goodness for Nick... super Dad! He was on daddy duty all day basically while I napped with the dogs in the bedroom. This afternoon I got up and started cleaning the house... We then decided to get out of the house for a while.. So we loaded Reagan up in his wagon and walked to the park. Reagan loves his wagon and the swings so it was a win-win.

Hope you all had a great Saturday!
Happy boy on the swing!
Mr. Cool in his wago

Are there any recipes you swear by? (easy is key people!)

I'd love to give them a try!

Wishful Wednesday

Today's question over at "The Seattle Smith's" was



'I wish' .... I could spend three

minutes in ___________ shoes!

I chose.... Kelly Ripa.

Google Images

Not only is she beautiful and hilarious... she has the best job.

I've always longed to be a talk show host... imagine getting paid to talk for a living!

Google Images

She also seems to be a very devoted wife and mother.

Happy Weds everyone!!

I have a thing for Michael Scott

ok here is the world's most random blog....

1. we've been having the office marathons at night once the baby goes to bed.... not only do i think michael scott is the most hilarious character ever ... i really have a soft spot for him... at the end of every episode i end up saying...poor michael.

2. you know ive been watching too much of the office -- i had a dream that we had a baby girl and her first words were "thats what she said"... seriously...

3. i know you are reading this- bc you mention it to me in person! so leave me a comment , let me know you are here!

4. how freaking cute is my boy? decided to mix it up a bit tonight and put him in his lego wagon and rolled him around... when i went to take this pic on my camera phone to send it to my sis (who bought him the wagon)... and he totally went in for the smooch.. love him

not to toot my own horn....

Ok, first things first...

I have turned over a new leaf (maybe).

If you know me well, you know I DO NOT cook... I love to go out to eat and be served.

But I decided that this week I was going to create a menu and schedule and stick to it. I went to the grocery store on Monday (which I havent been in like six months... Nick is kind of a control freak when it comes to that...(he doesnt like how I get sidetracked and throw random items "not on the list" in the cart) but he passed the baton to me this week). I used 10 coupons (yay me) but still spent 130 for the week...yowza! Anywho- I am so proud of myself... I actually stuck to the menu and things turned out pretty well!

Monday - I made chicken salad sandwiches from the "How to Boil Water" cookbook

Tuesday- I used the crockpot to make shredded BBQ chicken

Weds -(I was supposed to be at a girls game night...which got cancelled)- The "old" me would have heard this and ran to the nearsest pei-wei or chilis to-go... but no! I decided to "shop" in our pantry instead! Mac and Cheese from the box- but at least it was free!

Thursday-Lasagna from the freezer

Friday I had "GO OUT" written on the menu... but due to more bad weather... Nick picked up the $5 Large pizza from Hungry Howies... Cheap-o!

Let's see how long I can keep this up...

Next I week I will try to actually cook 3 meals instead of 2...

Wish me luck!

Oh, you might have noticed the mention of rainy weather.. Yes, I live in AZ. And Yes, we had INSANE weather this week. Hurricane, Tornado, and Flooding Warnings. Our school almost closed due to severe rain.. . I had 7 kiddos absent today but loved the fact I was cozy in my UGGs and sweatshirt at school.

But, its a perfect night curled up in my VS Pink sweats, reading blogs, and catching up on last night's RH of Orange County... Lynn needs to take that daughter out back and show her who the mom is! And where is this Gretchen blog? Im so curious to see what she wrote about Tamara!

Happy Hump Day!

Looks like this weekend caught up to me! I stayed home sick today and literally slept all day. I just have an icky cold, but its annoying non the less! Ive got a box of Kleenex in one hand and the bottle of sanitizer in the other. Reagan has a bit of a runny nose and cough also... poor baby.

Monday was Reagan's 9 mo. check up. It was a good report.

Reagan weighs 23.6 lbs - 88 %

Reagan is 29 inches long - 88%

and his head was in the 51st %

The doctor was impressed with his size but reassured me that Reagan was not fat. Clearly I have a complex! He also gave us a perscription for meds for his ear infection (which we had no idea he had...but good to know he wasnt sleeping for a reason!) and a perscription for his face (ezcema and baby acne)... poor guy. So hopefully his face and his ear clears up. I hate when my baby is sick! We also got Reagan the H1N1 shot at the doctor. We went to Peter Piper Pizza after the doctor (I have been craving their cardboard-crust!). Clearly, we werent alone.. I waited in line for like 20 minutes before paying.... geesh.. Luckily Reagan was a trooper. We gave him some of the pizza and he loved it... claps all around!

Ok- off to bed to try and sleep some more! Two more days of work and another weekend!

Wishing you all a great Thursday!

Weekend in Review

What a wonderful weekend we have had so far!

(And we still have the rest of today off in honor of MLK... yay!)

Saturday we got ready and headed to my parents house. Nick and I were off to celebrate the marriage of one of my sorority sisters and one of his fraternity brothers (yay- another Theta and Pike marriage!) My parents graciously offered to watch Reagan for the night so we could have a baby-free evening. We knew he was in good hands and were excited for him to have some good Mimi and Paka time! (My mom has converted a room into Reagan's room for him to stay there. She bought a high chair, has bowls, food, formula, bottles, toys etc.... everything -- so literally all we have to do is drop off the little man!) We then drove up to the wedding and had a wonderful time with friends. It was a beautiful wedding and we felt so lucky to be able to spend time catching up friends. After the wedding, Nick drove us to my sister's house, where we slept for the evening. She was a wonderful hostess! :)

Nick and I posing at my parents' house before the wedding.

A bunch of the guys at the wedding

Dancing Queens

Nick and I at the cocktail party

(Nick showing his Card pride before the wedding-- they played the Saints while we were at the wedding)

Congrats to Mercer and Tony!

Sunday we woke up (hungover..... dear Lord it had been awhile!) and got dressed. Poor Nick- it has been awhile since he had seen Meg and I get ready together- lots of dancing and singing around their house at the top of our lungs... Perfect cure for a hangover! We then all drove over to my parents house to see the family. Reagan had a great night and I think the g-parents had an even better time. We hung out a little and then went to my fave Bamboo Club for a birthday lunch. I was stuffed to the brim with crab puffs, orange chicken, and bananas foster--heaven. We then headed back to their house to open presents. I was spoiled rotten and got Juicy sunglasses from my sister and a Coach handbag from my parents. After gifts we played with Reagan, watched football, and hung out.

Ready for birthday lunch

With my fave girls and son

OK- on a sad note- it was a TERRIBLE weekend for us football wise... Our Cards lost , the Vikings won (we are die hard Packer fans-- so Farve is now a traitor in our eyes)... blah, blah, blah. Very sad! Now- we shall just focus on college hoops for a while!

Time to change the blog....

Im no longer a 27 year old.... yesterday was my 28th birthday. It was a pretty uneventful day, but perfectly lovely none the less. I had a great day at work and was surprised throughout the morning with goodies from my wonderful friends. My first graders were amazingly sweet and gave me even more hugs throughout the day than they normally do (which is a lot!) My mom came to volunteer in my class like she does every Weds and she came bearing birthday cookies for the kiddos. She then went to the babysitter's to pick up Reagan and she watched him for the night so Nick and I could go out and celebrate. It was a nice day and made me feel very loved. (Not to mention coming home to the 60 something birthday messages on facebook- talk about a heart warmer!) This weekend we have a wedding to attend and then more birthday festivities with my family. Hope you all are having a wonderful week! :)

Sunday is for Sports!

Hey everyone!

Today was a great, sports-filled day. It started with the ASU men's basketball game. My sister Meg invited Reagan and I to join her and Shaun to cheer on the Devils against Washington State. Reagan was a super-fan, as usual. He clapped and cheered, made it on the jumbo-tron multiple times, and flirted with just about everyone around us. A sweet older woman even followed us into the restroom (literally the stall) to tell us that "Although she loved watching such a great game, she loved watching him even more". She then proceeded to tell me her favorite things he did during the game... haha... where was this woman and how did I not notice her staring at us?

After the game, Meg, Reagan and I went to lunch and shopping. Always a good time!

My parents and Nick were not at this game (even though they have season tix) because they were at the slightly, bigger game -- Cardinals vs. Packers playoff game. This was going to be an exciting game being that the Green Bay Packers have always been our favorite but we also love our home team. We ended the afternoon by coming home and watching the end of the football game on tv. WHAT A GAME! Reagan wore his Cardinals jumper and his Packers hat and looked for "Dada" on tv. In overtime the Cards caused a fumble, recovered it, and ran it for a touchdown. Cardinals won and go on to play the Saints next Saturday.... it was a great game!

Nick just got home from the game and the baby is asleep.... Im ready to curl up and start a new book "Have a little Faith" by Mitch Albom. I have a busy week at school this week and Im excited for my kiddos to continue to grow... I will write about them another blog!

Oh ps-
I just awarded an awesome award from a new blogger friend-
shortsouthernmomma ! Thanks girl! So fun!

Granddaddy's Memorial

Today our family gathered for a memorial service to say good-bye to my Granddaddy. It was a nice service with a wonderful message about how our birthdates and the day we die do not matter as much as the dash in between the two (when we are actually living). The Priest also said that we need to focus on forgiveness to help make the most out of the "dash" in our lives. My cousin Trey read a Bible verse and I read from Romans 14.

After the service we all drove to Olive and Ivy at the Scottsdale Waterfront for a nice dinner to celebrate his life (92 years)! It was a wonderful time to visit with my cousins and aunt and uncle from Boston, and my cousins and aunt and uncle from Tucson. It was also special to meet relatives I had not met before (like my Great Aunt and Uncle).

The three siblings posing with a picture of Granddaddy.

Dad and Mom

Meg and Shaun

Nick, Reagan, and I

Here is a great message I saw on another blog that I follow (http://themcmommychronicles.blogspot.com) ... I think it is so wonderful and will probably print it out and hang it to read each day! Enjoy!

2010 Handbook
Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants..
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Make time to pray.
6. Play more games
7. Read more books than you did in 2009 .
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.


Personality:
11. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don't over do. Keep your limits.
14.. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness..
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.. Don't hate others..
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23.. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree...


Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything..
28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.


Life:
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change..
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come..
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

Dear Reagan,

Dear Reagan,

Today you turned 9 months old. Time is flying by and you are changing so much. This past month you have especially grown and I have grown some gray hairs as well!

In your 8th month of life you......

- started crawling

- cut your first two teeth

- discovered the telivision and cable box.... as well as everything else in that area

- learned to pull yourself up on everything

-learned to walk while you are holding onto things (ie. your walker toys or daddy's hands)

-learned to stand up in your crib

Oh, did I forget to mention that today you learned how to pull the kitchen chair over onto yourself so that you were pinned crying on the kitchen floor? Mother of the Year Award please!

Reagan's 9 month chair picture

He thinks he is so funny

By the way, this is Pre-Chair incident....

Thank goodness I took these before he got the big goose-eggs on his head!

Our Rockin' New Year

Happy New Year!
Our family rang in 2010 in style!

While there was no sequins, stilettos, there was dancing.... well, just a little bit ! :)

I should first start with the night before NYE was a rough one. I had a killer migraine but we still joined my parents for a Suns game. When we came home we put a very sleepy Reagan to bed. We went to bed ourselves but were woken up with the scariest of all screams. Reagan was screaming at the top of his lungs close to 1am. I went in there and his eyes were still closed. I rocked him and talked to him but he was still asleep, shaking like a leaf, and still crying. It was the most disturbing things I have seen! (Not to mention, the night before I had just seen the movie Paranormal Activity- so I was thoroughly spooked of things in the night). I of course burst into tears myself, not sure how to help him. Nick finally turned on the lights to help Reagan wake up and realize he was having a nightmare. I brought the baby back to our bed and held him all night. None of us got a good night's sleep that night. I had never heard of babies getting nightmares. Have you? Moms out there- is this normal?

OK , back to NYE. We decided to just order in Outback Steakhouse and watch The Office DVDs and The Hangover. (Reagan started teething this week , combined with his exhaustion from last night's bad dream made for a cranky boy!) So we were thrilled when he fell asleep at 7:30. We prayed for a full night's sleep for Reagan and for us.. I woke up at midnight to hear some of the neighbor kids shooting off fireworks...again praying that the dogs wouldn't hear it and bark to wake up Reagan. Thankfully they did not.

Nick and I were remembering the days we used to go out for New Years.... quite different from last night! ha ha

Here are some pics from the last 2 Suns games we were at. Reagan loves them!

I know Im biased, but I think he is just the cutest!

At the Suns/Celtics game

The boys at the Suns/Celtics game

The girls at the Suns/Celtics game

Reagan James

Our family wishes you a Happy 2010!