Trial

So, The Baby has had VERY bad eczema since November.  We are leaning more towards the very dry winter we are having, but I am going to do a trial.  For the next few weeks, I am taking a break from cooking my way through The Pioneer Woman Cooks.  Instead, I am eliminating ALL dairy in my diet.  I have been searching the web for recipes and ways to substitute ingredients.  If you have any yummy recipes that do not include dairy, please pass them on.  I hope this will help my little guy.  He is just covered and it breaks my heart to see him that way.  I will keep you posted on how this all turns out.  I know it takes a few weeks for the results to get to him.  So...here we go!!!

Flashback Friday

I kept seeing this title on my friends pages, so I investigated and decided I too would "flashback"

This was from our honeymoon in the Bahamas.

Beer Bread

Could there be a bread more delicious than Beer Bread?  Could there be a bread as simple as this?  I think not.  Unless, of course, you are making Tastefully Simple Beer Bread where all you do is open the bag and add Beer...but I think this is just as easy.  So here is my recipe for Beer Bread.  It also makes great toast with lots of butter.  YUM!  Enjoy!! 

3 1/2 c self-rising flour

1/3 c sugar
1 egg (I have not used the egg before and it turns out the same)
12 ounces of the beer of your choice

Mix together and bake at 350 for 1 hour. 

Options:  2 1/2 c cheddar cheese mixed in   
                              or  
               2/3 dried herbs mixed in

Mom's Chocolate Chip Cookies

My brother and I grew up eating these cookies.  Mom made them once a week.  My biggest memory is coming home to the smell of these delicious cookies baking and sitting on the counter was a cup of cookie dough.  One for me and one for my brother.  We would indulge ourselves with the uncooked dough and then continue our indulgence with the cookies.  I hope you try them out and enjoy them as much as we do.  Every time I make them, I am taken back to childhood.  Just the smell of them is home.


1 c shortening
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1 t vanilla

Mix these together.  Then add...

2 eggs

Mix.  Add...

1 c flour
1 t soda
1 t salt
3 c oatmeal

Mix this all together then add..

1 package chocolate chips
Pecans (if desired)

Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

Rib-Eye Steak

Tonight we had yet another delicious meal...Rib-Eye Steak with Whiskey Cream Sauce and Onion Strings.   Boy was it good.  Again, I am not a fan of onions, but there was very little in the sauce and the whiskey added a whole new level.  It was delicious.  The Onion Strings were also very good for someone who doesn't like onions.  I just sliced them VERY thin and let 'em fry!  What's better than that!!!  The Hubby was very pleased with this meal. 

Tomato Soup Game Night

Last night was game night with some of my girlfriends.  These nights are always a blast.  We talk about the most random things and laugh so hard.  I was sure we were going to wake the boys, but it would have been worth it.  For game night, I made Tomato Soup, Beer Bread, Chocolate Chip Cookies, and a friend made Artichoke Dip.  It was all soooo good.  I ate way to much...and laughed way to hard.  We didn't even get to games we were too busy chatting. 
Anyways, the soup was delicious and super easy to put together.  You literally dump it all in and bring to a boil.  You can't mess this up.  I promise!  Try it and you will love it.  (The other dishes can be found under Recipes)  Enjoy!!!

Husbands

Our street is still covered in ice from all the snow we have had.  There has been so much thawing and freezing, there's just no way to get aruond all the ice.  So, on our way to church tonight, the Hubby thought it would be fun to play around with the car and ice.  As we take the turn and swerve here and there, the Boy says, "Whoa!!  What's wrong with the car?"  The hubby then decides it is probably not the best time to test out what would happen if the car and ice met.  However, it was funny listening to the Boy scold his daddy on how to drive.

MM Sandwich

Tonight's dinner was MM Favorite Sandwich.  It was very tasty and I am not a fan of onions.  I took the big strings out of my sandwich and it was still very yummy.  The Hubby loved it because it had meat and onions.  I was waiting for him to say, "You know what would make this perfect...mushrooms." YUCK!  I do not cook with mushroom much, unless I can easily take them out.  I served these sandwiches with Twice Baked Potatoes.  I have never made those before and they were surprisingly easily and delicious!  Again, I was so ready to eat I forgot to get a picture of our sandwich, but I did get one of the potatoes.  Tomorrow, leftover potatoes and Tomato Soup.  Sounds great for these cold days.

Fuzzibunz

Kely Wels is giving away 2 Fuzzibunz.  Check it out!

Target Gift Card

Want to win a $300 gift card to Target... check out Coffee on the Patio to enter!  Ends Monday.

Bible Verse Cards

Today in my MOPS group, we made Bible Verse Cards for our kids.  I am really excited about this becuase I have been trying to come up with a fun way to get The Boy to memorize some verses.  What you can do is write your favorite, or any, verse on a 3 x 5 card and use a hole punch on the top left corner.  We glued some pictures that went along with the verse on the card as well.  We then used contact paper to make them more stable and put all the finished cards on a ring.  That way, we can easily  add and remove the cards.  Again, I'm excited about this and hope The Boy finds it useful as well.

This one is my favorite. The Boy hears this alot!

Picture Board

To get started on my Craft section, I thought I would share the picture board I made for The Baby's room. 

Materials:
1 yard fabric
about 2 feet x 18 in cardboard and padding
ribbon
stray pins with balls on top (sorry, don't know if there is a correct term for those :) )
hot glue gun (you know it's going to be a great craft if the hot glue gun is involved. LOVE it!!)

Instructions:
1. Cut the fabric in half. 
2. Glue padding to cardboard
3. Center fabric over padding and glue edges around the back
4. cut ribbon to desired lengths and glue ends in place on back
5. Insert stray pins where ribbon crosses and bend to secure pins on back
6. Put 2 small loops on top to hang board and glue
7. Turn edge in on other half of fabric and glue to back covering all previous gluing. 

Hope this makes so sense.  If you try to make this, I would love to see your outcome. :)

Enjoy!

The Hubby

I haven't posted  anything about the Hubs yet.  So here it is...
He is a nurse working very long hours.  There are times I feel like a single mom, but that is part of our jobs.  It makes our time together so much more valuable.  He is a wonderful father and husband.  I just love to watch him interact and play with our boys.  What he enjoys most is wrestling with The Boy and getting the biggest smiles from The Baby. 
Tonight he came home and while wearing his undershirt asked me how this shirt was in his undershirt collection?  I turned to see him standing in one of MY white shirts.  Then, taking a closer look, it was a maternity shirt!!  I told him it was not my doing, he did the laundry last.  I tell ya, that man was starting a new fashion statement for all you men out there.  I should have taken a picture of it, but the camera was MIA at the moment.  He requested that this story be his first in my blogging adventure.  You are all probably very lucky to not see him in the maternity shirt.  :0

Calzone

Tonight I made Calzone's!!!  Boy were they yummy!!!  All I did was make some pizza crust, brown some hamburger and sausage, add some tomatoes and cheese and bake at 450 for 15 minutes.  I also drizzled EVOO on top before baking along with some Parmesan cheese.  They were SO good.  The only problem I ran into was letting the dough rise.  My thermostat has decided to not communicate with the heater so I had a cold kitchen, and house.  It's hard to let dough rise in a cold house.  If that should happen to you, turn the over to 200 then turn off when temp is reached and place dough in there for an hour or two. 
To go along with the Calzone, I served a side of marinara sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.  It made about 8 big Calzone's so we have enough for tomorrow.  I love meals that mean I don't have to cook the next night.  Makes life a little easier.

Spicy Pulled Pork

Last night we had a delicious Spicy Pulled Pork, from Pioneer Women, drizzled in the sauce it roasted in, along with limes squeezed on top and warm tortillas.  I was floating around the house all day as the pork roasted away in my oven.  Then when it was time to eat, the pork just melted in my mouth.  It was so juicy and tender and the sauce was amazing.  My husband, of course, can't eat anything without BBQ sauce.  So, he added that to his tortilla.  In my opinion, it was perfect without any extras.  This would be great with a pitcher of Frozen Margarita's. :)

Meatball Subs

Tonight we had a comfort dinner in our house...meatball subs.  Except tonight, I used the Pioneer Woman's recipe for meatballs.  I am cooking my way through her cookbook The Pioneer Woman and I am almost done.  So far, we have been VERY pleased with her meals.  I think she and I would be such great friends.  We both have ranching in our families, both in Oklahoma, and we love to cook.  She will be in my state next month and I hope to meet her. 
Anyways, I made her meatballs and then sliced some deli rolls and stuffed them with 5-6 meatballs.  I then topped with mozzarella and cheddar cheese, only because I ran out of mozzarella, and broiled them until the cheese melted.  They were outstanding!  (Sorry no picture...I was too hungry and dug right in.  Next time I will post one.  Here is a picture of the Pioneer Woman's.  Just imagine them in a deli roll with melted cheese all on top.  YUM!!!)

Giveaway!!

My friend is having her first giveaway on her blog.  Here is what she is offering. A spoonula from Giada De Laurentiis. 

This spoonula is part of Giada De Laurentiis line at Target.  I have been using her Bamboo Spoons, Spoonula, and Spatula for over a week now.  My favorites are the Spoonula and Spatula for the following reasons - light weight, long handles (so your hands are not in the direct heat/steam of the pot), made of silicone so nothing sticks (so far), and they are very affordable.

Check it out at Come What May.  You have 3 chances to win.  Ends Wednesday.

The Baby

So you have hear about some of the adventures of The Boy, now lets hear a little about The Baby.  He just turned 4 months about a week ago.  The poor little guy has had a rough 2 months with his skin.  He had what looked like scabs on his head so we took him in to find he has very bad cradle cap and eczema.  After applying a pound of Aquafor on his little round head, the cradle cap finally cleared up.  However, the eczema is still bad.  We put Cortizone on him 2 times a day, for 2 weeks and then a week off.  This eczema is all over his tiny 16 lb body and it's so red.  He kept scratching at it on his head so now he wears sock practically 24/7.  On the good side, it seems to be getting better.  We just can't figure out why it is so bad.  Is it something I am eating, the weather, or what?! 
Besides that, he has such a personality.  He loves to have songs sung to him, which leads The Boy to say, "No mommy...no singing."  I don't know if he is trying to tell me my singing is bad or he just doesn't want it.  :)  He grows so much everyday and we thank God for giving us 2 wonderful little boys.

The Boy's 3rd Birthday

Yesterday was The Boy's 3rd Birthday!!!  Where has the time gone?!  The other night he got to open up a couple of gifts and each on he opened he said, "WOW!!  A shirt!"  None of them were shirts.  However, he did have two in his stack of gifts for yesterday that he loved.  At least he loved them because they were shirts. :)  
He was lucky to make it through his birthday.  All morning he was on thin ice, but I kept letting it slide since it was his day.  By the time 1:00 rolled around...it was another story.  I was folding laundry and he was very quiet.  I asked what he was up to, "Um...drawing on the walls."  WHAT!!!!  I walked into our bedroom, and sure enough, red crayon all over our walls.  After sending him to his room and trying to put the baby down for a nap, I find, yet again, red crayon all over his walls.  Oh My!!  He stayed in his room for awhile after that.  3 magic erasers later, the crayon was gone. 

The Cake

The Boy

We celebrated his big day by having a few friends over for Baked Spaghetti and Chocolate Cake and ice cream.  All in all, it was a good day...minus the red crayon which is now sitting on my craft shelf far, far away from little hands.

Giveaway!

Chubby Cherubs Cloth Diaper Naturals

To celebrate our second year in business, we want to do our biggest giveaway yet! Last year we did a $500 Dream Deluxe Package Giveaway, but this year we are raising the winnings! When we hit 5000 fans, we will be giving one lucky person a $1000 Gift Certificate SHOPPING SPREE to our online store, www.chubbycherubsclothdiapernaturals.com!


http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chubby-Cherubs-Cloth-Diaper-Naturals/336981221948?v=app_2373072738&ref=ts#!/pages/Chubby-Cherubs-Cloth-Diaper-Naturals/336981221948

Giveaway!!

Grand PrizeA $50 gift certificate to the AppleCheeks™ Online Store

Awesomesauce-y Prize
A Little Bundle in your choice of size and colour AND a size 1 Storage Sac

Let's Help You Sleep Prize (Two of these available to two different winners)
A super soaking 3-layer rayon from bamboo insert

To Keep You Dry Prize (Two of these available to two different winners)
A size 1 Storage Sac in your choice of Chocolate or St-Lucia

http://networkedblogs.com/dgnci

What a Poopy Mess!!!

We have our oldest about 95% potty trained.  He goes when he needs to and wears his "Big Boy" pants, but he will not go poop in the potty.  When he does have to go, he runs to another room until he is done.  Today, he took awhile to come back into the living room.  I ask what he was up to and he showed me a heart.  Taking a closer look, I realized it was poop.  I then asked if it WAS indeed his poop..."Yes!"  I then directed him to the bathroom to flush the poop and wash his hands.  He was SOO  proud of his heart that he made out of his poop, but it was so disgusting.  Then when we were eating lunch, he stuck his leg out and shook it.  More poop fell out!!   I know you are thinking, what kind of mother lets her son walk around with poop in his pants.  Believe me, I had no idea or this would not be happening.  I am still in shock at the amount of poop this boy produced today and the fact that he carried it around in his pant leg for awhile.  Yuck!!  Oh the adventures of boys!

Here we go!!!

Hello Blogging World!  I have finally joined this blogging society after many requests from friends.  I'm not sure how exciting this will be, but I am up for the challange.  I am married to the best guy in the world.  He IS the love of my life and understands me completely.  We are the proud parents of two little boys, hence my world of blue title.  I am surrounded by boys day and night.  My only female companion is the cat, who is the most anti-social cat you could own.  I hope to share stories of raising my boys; i.e. potty training, introducing food to our youngest, meal plans, recipes, crafts, and our everyday life adventures.  Hope you enjoy reading about myself and my house full of boys!