Wordless Wednesday: Working with Dad

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I did NOT learn a very important rule about my new moon roof and rain last weekend. I did NOT get a second shower for the day before learning that very important rule. I do NOT now know that you should never open the moon roof after it rains and then go down a very steep hill!

I did NOT get a major laugh thanks to Grant while we were getting ready for church Sunday morning. I did NOT laugh at my child and try{he refused} to take a picture of him while he was wearing Eli's church clothes by mistake. I did NOT think it was hilarious to see a four year old wearing 12 month clothes!

I did NOT stay up way too late a few nights this week. I did NOT spend that time on the internet or watching t.v. just to procrastinate going to bed because Jason was out of town and I hate going to bed alone.

The Aftermath

...of Eli's destruction dinner!

{Sometimes I wonder if he actually gets any of his food in his mouth!}

Things That Make Me Happy...

Mini Muffins

Mad Men

Mod Podge

Magazines

What M things make you happy?

Wordless Wednesday: Year After Year

Grant, Emma, and Henry 2007

2008

2009

The {GREAT} Outdoors

This past weekend Jason and I loaded up the boys and headed about three hours north to attend our {my mom's side} family reunion. We spend the third weekend of every September at a State Park....playing games, eating, and socializing with close and distant family. The boys get to enjoy the great outdoors and play with all of their cousins, while the adults catch up on what is new with family they haven't seen since last year's reunion.

The boys love to fish {and feed bread to the fish} off the dock that is by our cabin and they also love to play on the playground. This year Henry and Grant were old enough to go on their first nature walk around the park. Jason took them down a few of the nature trails...and they even saw a wild turkey! We had a great time at the Wilkinson Family Reunion, and we can't wait until we get to go back again next year!

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

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I do NOT not remember half of what happened this week. I do NOT think that my mommy brain has completely taken over...and left no room for my normal brain to think!

I did NOT allow Eli to "clean up" under his highchair. He did NOT feast on old Cheerios, some {yummy-looking} dried up corn, and cracker crumbs. I did NOT think what a big help he was being by eating off the floor because I didn't have to get out the vacuum to clean up his mess. I would NEVER let my child eat off the floor!

I was NOT just a little excited when soccer practice got cancelled this week. I am a SUPER devoted soccer mom who would NEVER be happy that she didn't have to go sit at the soccer fields in the rain.....with a squirmy toddler who loves to play in the mud!

This week, I did NOT threaten to make my children get out of my car if they didn't stop playing the "he's touching/looking at/breathing on me" game. They did NOT {almost} drive me crazy in the ten minutes that it takes to drive from the elementary school to our house! I am NOT SUPER thankful for the DVD player in my new car...it is NOT the only way we will be able to survive long trips!

Playing in the Rain!

I'm singing playing in the rain
Just singing playing in the rain
What a glorious feelin'
I'm happy again!

Wordless Wednesday: Just a Little Tired

An Apple a Day

I find myself with uneaten and {almost} too old to eat apples again. I do this every few weeks. I go to the store and insist on buying a few apples so that I will have a healthy snack to grab instead of going for cookies or ice cream. Well, suprise suprise....the apples sit in our fruit bowl and slowly get softer and older...and I only like nice crisp apples!

After a few weeks of walking past the fruit bowl, I decide I really should make something with the apples and not waste them completely. I search allrecipes.com {my favorite website for recipes} and find the best apple recipe to make with whatever ingredients I happen to have on hand.

This weeks apple adventure is Warm Apple Pockets.

3 sweet apples -- peeled, cored and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons flour
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon apple pie spice
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 (15 ounce) package prepared, unbaked pie crust, thawed
milk
1 egg, beaten

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a bowl, toss apple slices together with sugar, flour, salt, apple pie spice, and vanilla extract until evenly coated.
3. Lay pie dough flat on a lightly greased baking sheet. Pile apples on one side of dough, leaving a 1 inch border. Brush border and opposite half side of dough with milk. Fold dough over apples, being careful not to over-stuff or the dough will tear. Fold over edges and pinch together to seal. Cut several small slits in the top of the pocket with a sharp knife, then brush top with beaten egg.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until flakey and golden brown. Serve warm, or at room temperature.

I just happened to have a pie crust in the fridge....and I always have the other ingredients on hand...except maybe the eggs {which can be left out without changing the taste too much}. I followed the recipe with the exception of adding a little bit of brown sugar and using cinammon instead of apple pie spice.

Topped with a {generous} dollop of whipped topping, and you have a SUPER yummy dessert {and no wasted uneaten apples}!

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

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I have NOT been in a big time funk for the past few weeks. The stress of all our activities {sadly church activities are the most stressful right now...but that is a whole post in itself!} has NOT been getting to me...and I do NOT feel like I need a huge vacation from reality right now! I would NOT love to be going out of town with Jason next week....just so I could get a little break from the daily routine!

Despite the funk....I did NOT have a great time Friday night with my GIRLS! I do NOT love Girl's Night Out, and it did NOT make me feel just a little a whole lot better! I also did NOT have a great time shopping on Saturday with my friend Mandy! I am NOT completely thankful that my hubby watched all three boys all night Friday and most of the day Saturday so I could have some girl time!

We did NOT spend the entire weekend listening to it rain and rain and rain and rain and rain {I think you get the point}! It is NOT raining as I am typing this either! Because it did NOT rain all weekend, Henry and Grant did NOT play their first soccer game of the season in the rain and they did NOT get soaking wet! I did NOT get soaking wet too while watching the game....because I would have been smart enough to just stay home with Eli!

I am NOT loving my new car and I have NOT already put over 500 miles on it in less than two weeks. I do NOT run the roads way too much. I did NOT have to go into town four times this week {twice for doctor appointments and twice shopping} which is probably why I do NOT already have so many miles on my new car!

I did NOT tell myself at least three times this week that I was going to start back on Weight Watchers so that I can try and get rid of this extra weight! I did NOT decide it was time to get serious because my doctor is finally letting me decrease my steroids...hopefully meaning that I won't be starving all the time! After deciding to get serious about my diet, I did NOT go and buy ice cream twice this week {because stress overrides serious dieting for me all the time}!

What's For Dinner?

BURRITOS!

We LOVE Mexican food at our house....tacos, burritos, enchiladas, nachos....my boys will eat any and all of it!
I made burritos for dinner earlier this week and changed up a few things from our normal recipe to make them SUPER yummy.
I started with 3/4 lbs of 93% lean ground beef, and I added one taco seasoning package, one can of fat free refried beans, and one can of black beans {I almost added in a can of corn too...but I didn't want to change too much too fast}. I stirred it all together with a little water and let it cook for about 20 minutes. Then all you have to do is warm up your tortillas and add whatever toppings you like!
YUMMY!

BURRITOS!

Preschool & One Year Old Checkup

Grant started preschool on Tuesday, and he is already having a great time. We really like his teacher, Ms. Tracy, and we can't wait to see what all he learns this year!

Grant ready for his first day of preschool!

After Grant's first day of preschool, we headed to town for lunch with my mom and then to Eli's one year old check up. Eli weighed 26 pounds and he was 32 inches long: both put him in the 90% for his age! Eli is a lot bigger than Henry and Grant were at their one year old check ups {Henry weighed 22 pounds and was 30 inches Grant weighed 22.5 pounds and was 31 inches}! I think Eli is going to be a big boy...his big brothers better watch out!