GREATGIVEAWAY

There's a great GiveAway going on HERE at The Benner Daily. Go jump in on all the fun and a chance to win some nifty Fabric :)

I'm no longer the "dishwasher"..hootie-whoo

All is right with the world again. We installed the new dishwasher Saturday. Call me lazy but I tell ya, getting all into cooking everynight at the same time your dishwasher bites the dust is SO not good. I was washing 3 loads of dishes a day. Insane. The old dishwasher was apparently a lemon. It was 4 years old. Brand new when we bought the house. That seems very short-lived but whatever.

My sink is back to empty almost All the time now. Life is Good :)

My Pass Along

 I wanted to pass along My Recipe, the one dessert-type recipe, (yes, I basically only have one) that is my "special". Not that I don't make other stuff but this one is my default. The one that no matter where I take it, I always end up having to write down the recipe for atleast 2 people. It's very tasty (and easy). It may have already "been around the block" but if you've never had it, you should bust it out at your next gathering, you won't regret it (I Promise). I am making it for work tomorrow and would take pictures to add but I know I won't feel like it at 5:30am.


Introducing:

Apple Cresent Turnovers (as I call it)

You will need:

2 Cans of Cresent rolls (I like big and fluffy)
2 Apples (whatever kind you want to use)
2 sticks of butter
1 1/2 cup of sugar
1 Tablespoon of Cinnamon
1 can of Mountain Dew

*Roll up 2 to 4 apple Slices per roll
*Line Rolls up in pan

*Combine Melted Butter with Sugar and Cinnamon.
*Pour over Rolls.
*Pour Can Mountain dew over rolls

*Bake at 350 degrees
9x11 or 9x13in Pan- 45minutes-1hr
8x8 Pan- 30-45 minutes

They are best served warm. I keep them as hot as I can when taking them to Church dinners. Also great with ice cream :)

SOO GOOD

My Husband has fallen in Love with me a little bit more ladies :)

What caused this you may wonder? I shall show you HERE.  (It's yummy)

It's not my fault ;)

travis says I have issues taking pics of carter like the one in the header making Carter look like a mini version of Hugh Hefner followed by the one below...

He said he looks like a mini version of a chip n dale's dancer...lol

which he does not! He's just standing there in all his innocence looking too cute for his shirt :)

The adventures of the "ba-keet ball"

Momma I have found me a ball in your closet and now I shall play with it!

Momma! We have a predicament!

That big ball rolled under the bed.

Are you going in or am I?

Reflection

Oh my goodness Ladies,I just saw the most pitiful thing about an hour ago. It was unfortunately- my reflection when getting into my jammies after a shower. Yep I'm getting all personal, a little more info than you'd like huh? I just have to vent about it. It was pretty traumatic. There are just days when I feel more in shape than I actually am then  there are days like today when reality sets in and  I see the weight gain or don't recognize my reflection. It's hard to fathom that I sometimes look in the mirror and don't recognize myself but I seriously go thru shock sometimes. In my mind I am seriously about 20 pounds lighter. My brain is apparently oblivious to the fact that didn't go back to the gym after having Carter. No more 3 to 5 days a week hard core workouts at USA Gym. Pure laziness when it comes to exercise. Then when I do work out 3 times a week for all of 1 to 2 weeks, that silly brain expects to look like that 20lb lighter image. Bless it.
I got out of the shower at 10:32, saw that my legs looked almost swollen and had dimples (I cringe all over having admitted that), by 10:40, I had 2 pairs of sweat pants on, 1 tank top, 1 long sleeve shirt, and one sweat shirt on and was on the treadmill out in the bonus room off of our garage with no heat on and I did not care. I ran hardcore for 30 minutes, walked for 23 minutes. I didn't last as long as I wanted to because I got dizzy. I'm surprised at myself that I haven't done a better job with living a healthy lifestyle when it comes to my diet and exercise. I think I used the cesarean as a crutch. you know, put off exercising as I should for 2 years so my stomache muscles could repair themselves...lol.
 At least now I am motivated. This is the year of health in my house. Hopefully within the next 6 months, my reflection won't literally send me running like it did tonight :)

What's for Dinner?

I've been relying on the blog world for dinner ideas the past few weeks. This week I'm hanging with sisters stuff. They have won me over with craft ideas so why not the dinner menu as well. :)

Last night I made the Taco Soup. Very Yummy :)

Tonight I made garden salads followed by the Italian Chicken and Rice. Love it!

Tomorrow night I am grilling smoked sausage with carrots and red skin potatoes. It's a favorite of Travis's.  :)

We tend to eat light on Thursdays so I'm planning to make the Chicken Caesar Wraps

Have I mentioned how much I love the internet?

Alittle Ribbon, Alittle glue.....

I'm officially addicted to making these!

Above is my post-it note holder/calendar for the office

These two (the one above and below) have magnets on the back to stick on the fridge.

This one above is for our fridge :)

I'm going to Hobby Lobby soon to get more stuff to play with!

Let's Get Crafty :)

I cannot draw or paint very well, I cannot sew beyond making pillows, barbie doll clothes, and hemming  torn pants, hole in a shirt, sewing on a button, etc...

BUT I can follow directions very well and SO...I've been having some fun with a few SIMPLE projects and I get to feel all crafty afterwards :)


I've been playing HERE at Sister's Stuff and they have Crafty projects on their side bar.

Here are the projects they lead me to this weekend. I've had so much fun And surprisingly didn't have to purchase anything other than mod podge glue. I had all the other supplies on hand. I was so excited. All those diapercakes and invitations got me stocked up on Artsy Fartsy fun stuff :)

Calendars

Post-it note Holders

Diaper Wipe Case

Sparkly Candles!


Making all those diapercakes and throwing all those baby/wedding shower(s), must have got me used to having some type of crafty project going.

We didn't do the Christmas Cards with Carter this year but I did get a Christmas Project made up for the members of our church. i forgot to post it back in December....

I LOVE The Teachers Center.  They have a different bag and box options you can cut out . These looked so festive in the little cubby mailboxes at church. I put a little tag on each one that said "Merry Christmas from Carter Rigsby". I already have my idea for what I will do next year. I may start early this year and store them (No candy involved).

Okay, now back to playing in Epson salt and mod podge glue. Good night and enjoy your week :)

Slightly Spoiled

I'm all about living simple but our dishwasher bit the dust about 5 weeks ago and I'm officially missing it. Once the snow lets up, I'm predicting a trip to Lowes and Sears. I hear a Bosch calling my name  :)

Unless God tells me to, I'm not going to say Sorry

Ever so often I get a phone call from an acquaintance wanting to talk about our children and what they are up to these days. Her family stays on her about her childs milestones and since our children are close in age she calls for comparisons, this time wanting to know how many words he knows, if he runs, looks at books, can drink from a straw, ect..I wouldn't mind it a bit if she was calling to vent about her family being so silly giving her such a hard time telling her she's not doing enough for her child but instead she IS her family when she calls, she says things like, "Are you not worried about him taking longer than mine? Are you sure you are working with him enough on talking? I don't know how you did it working full time and not staying home with him. I hope it doesn't have long term effects. I find her amusing and SAD and today I decided to "Break it down" for her. Afterward, she let me go abruptly and I believe I won't be bothered for a progress report ever again :)

I told her the following:
You know, the most interesting thing I have learned since Carter came along is how milestones just happen overnight. With rolling over, crawling, walking, talking, etc. The day before each of these milestones occurred, you would have thought he was a long way from acheiving any of them. We would work with him and work with him but he just didn't seem to want to or couldn't figure it out then boom, out of no where, he got it.  Travis would get nervous  that we were doing something wrong at first especially when he would see a younger baby doing something that Carter couldn't do yet but it never bothered me because with things like that, I just have to give it to God. I can't control it and I know I can't but I know that God does and that he will. It's just surreal though because it just all of a sudden "clicks".
I'm not concerned with having him "keep up" with anyone else's child seeing as how he is his own precious person with his very own little soul, heart, mind, and body.  He need not be compared. No baby should be compared to any other baby. God made all of us different on our own timelines. I think it gets hard for adults who are constantly comparing themselves to others to get out of that warped way of thinking when it comes to their children and it's a shame. I can only hope and pray that those adult's children won't grow up feeling that they are in competition with the world just as their parents presume to be. Hopefully, that pitiful cycle can be broken.

~ Yep, I inadvertently called her family, as well as herself pitiful which wasn't nice of me. I said it all in a compassionate tone in an effort to not come across mean but it more than likely came across condescending. I didn't feel I had to defend my child or justify him in any way. The phone calls never make me self-concious, it just makes me very aware of how many people in this world have lost perspective of why we were Blessed Enough to be in this Existance and i decided to tell her about it. I wonder if  i'll find myself needing to call and apoplogize for it later. I'm sure God will let me know if I have to.

*I also want to tell my readers that I am sorry for doing yet another post about *Comparisons and *Competition. It seems that the BIGGEST ISSUE most people find themselves up against and the #1 REASON people DO NOT GET ALONG is this topic and it just bothers me that people waste the time that God blessed them with on such pettiness.

YOUR MORNING ROUTINE

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!

We woke up to birds singing and only a faint sight of grass covered by snow. I have really enjoyed this past week. I worked at the office Monday and Wednesday and worked from the home office Tuesday and Thursday during Carter's naptime and after he has went to sleep each night. Patient's have called throughout the days at home but it hasn't been hard to take care of everything from the house and I absolutely love being at home with Carter. He has been so entertaining this week, more so than usual. He is into EVERYTHING.

I thought it would be fun for us all to post a blog about our morning routine. No matter how mundane you feel yours may be, it gives your readers a window into your world :)

My Monday mornings run a little different then the rest because it is surgery day at the office which means I'm up by 6am and Carter and I are out the door by 7:30. The rest of the week however, goes like this:

I wake up at 7am and make the bed then nature usually calls :)

Carter is up stirring usually between 7:15 and 7:30

He goes potty while I brush my teeth

Then he sits on the potty lid while I brush his teeth-then he brushes his teeth (otherwise his good mood turns into a whiny one)

By this time Travis gets home from work and he and Carter "wrestle". I like to give them time alone so I use this time to figure out what I'm wearing and pick out Carter's outfit for the day and get a cup of coffee brewing. Then I join in the morning madness and carter jumps on Travis's head while he tells me about his night at work.

Once Travis is out of the shower and in bed,

Carter then sits on the couch and watches Mickey Mouse on DVR while I get his sippy cup and myself that cup of coffee.

I check my email and drink my coffee while he drinks his milk watching Mickey

 ( I call this our morning leisure time)

Once Mickey goes off, he informs me that it did go off & then plays with his toys.

While he is playing, I fix breakfast which is either blueberry or peaches and cream oatmeal, an egg sandwich, french toast, or muffins usually. He likes watermelon, cantaloupe, and grapes on the side.

Next, I wash my hair while he watches

 (I have to take a bath after he goes to sleep at night and wash my hair in the mornings because i don't want to use my hair dryer without him in the room with me. I'm afraid he will wake up and I won't hear him)

After I wash my hair, Carter takes a bath.

Once he is clean, I let him play with his bath toys while I dry my hair.

Then I get him dressed and myself dressed.

And there ya have it!

.............I am way too detailed.

Your turn  ;)

OFF TO A GREAT START

I haven't drank a carbonated drink in over a month- and more importantly, I have no desire too!  I had it in my head for a long time that I had to have a mtn dew at least once a day but now I want water or green tea. I have started drinking a cup or two of coffee every 2 days but studies say (supposedly) that a cup of coffee is actually good for you and way better than anything carbonated so hopefully I'm not trading one bad habit for another.
I have also hit the treadmill the past 3 days. The first night for only 30 minutes but then last night I lasted 47 minutes and today I made it an hour and 10 minutes. I think I would do better running in the mornings but don't have that option. I am working on starting out a low(er) calorie diet. It's not that I even eat "junk" food. I just eat too big of portions because I skip meals SO I am now eating 3 small meals a day and 1 healthy snack. Hoping to up my metabolism and lower my calories. The drinking water has been awesome. I feel so much better. My body was dehydrated and I didn't realize it until after correcting the problem. No wonder I felt like a slug. My body was running off of...well, nothing good.
I'm going to get healthier this year, get myself into shape and hopefully tone my body and lose some weight in the process. I'm really excited!

Home Sweet Home

My #1 plan for tomorrow is to not leave the house. I shall stay inside and attempt to do office work in the company of my almost 2 year old. (It's going to be a fun challenge).....It was SO cold today. By the time I got from my vehicle to inside the office, shaving my legs this morning was a complete waste of time.

By the way, scrubs are way too thin. Someone needs to make winter scrubs.

I'm not much on sleeping for long periods of time, not since I was pregnant anyway, but this week I think I could stay in bed and sleep all day. My body has went through a lot of changes since I've had Carter. Mentally and physically I have went from the energizer battery bunny to a slug. It's ironic too because now that I have a toddler I really need it to be the other way around. 

Coffee doesn't seem to effect me like it used to either. I have went to drinking only water and green tea. After 3 weeks, I started drinking Coffee and it has no effect on me other than it goes straight through me so there's more bathroom breaks. No surge of energy. No shock on the caffeine-free body causing a nifty little boost of adrenaline that makes washing dishes just almost seem fun.

So disappointing.

My #2 plan for tomorrow evening is that I am hitting the treadmill wide open.  I'm excited. I'm gonna run until my legs feel like jelly. Then I'm gonna run some more and then about 2 days later I am probably going to post a blog whining about how sore I am :)


Well, my child just came wandering down the hall waving and saying "hi". Apparently our 1st attempt for bed had a slight malfunction so onto attempt #2.

Everyone has a Happy Tuesday!

Oh- and remember in your prayers not to forget to pray for God to prepare you this week for whatever his will has in store for you and also to pray throughout the week for the message your preacher will bring you on Sunday.

Prepare your dinners this week.
Prepare for going back to school.
Prepare your shopping list.
Prepare for your workday.
But most importantly prepare your soul so that you can fulfill the Lord's will in your life. Don't be unprepared.