All in a days work...

Swinging...

Falling...

Biting...

Sliding and pouting...

And just being CUTE

It is what is in a days work for this kid. Last Saturday we took advantage of this beautiful Florida weather we are having and spent most of the day at the park. We picked up a Publix sub and enjoyed it under the shade of a big tree then Makayla ran around and got her desire to climb filled by playing on the playground.

She is getting so big so fast...Her 18 month Dr. Appt went GREAT, She is 22.6 lbs and 34 inches tall. The Dr. Said she will be passing her mom in height in NO TIME! She is extremely healthy and smart. I guess we are doing something right. She is really talking these days and is able to tell us what she wants and when she wants it. She is also starting the "I will only eat what I want too" phase. Which is NOT fun, but I am hoping it won't last long. Thanks for checking in. We are all good just trying to get through the rest of the "winter" and "cold and flu" season healthy. Hope you do the same.

Stolen...

This girl stole my heart.....

.....how awesome is that!

Food for thought!

I was walking out of target the other day and I heard a Mom yell say to her 2 girls, " You know what? We are not going to say MOMMY anymore today! GOT IT?" and they both sadly looked up at her and shook there heads...

This almost brought tears to my eyes. I am so thankful for everyday that I get to hear the word Mama! There are so many people who can't have children or have lost a child and would give anything to hear those words just one more time. The world is suffering right now with all its loss, but I know I have my family and that makes me smile no matter how tough times might be. I am so grateful to have Makayla to love and laugh at and to just be part of my life..it wouldn't be complete without her.

Don't get me wrong we have our bad days, but good or bad I wouldn't trade them for the world. So just remember on those bad days when you want to pull your hair out or just scream, think about how grateful you are to hear the word Mama or Daddy everyday, and be thankful!

tickle Your Taste Buds Tuesday

This weeks recipes come from my Real Simple meals made easy cookbook. I really like this one I have made many things from it and they are all simple and nun have been bad thus far.

Last week I had chicken cutlets on the menu and Melissa asked how I did them so I though I would share with all since they were so good. I also made Soy Asparagus for the side and they were delish... I will be making them again for sure!

Parmesan Crusted Chicken Cutlets

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard

2 1/4 cups finely grated Parmesan

1 cup bread crumbs (I used panko because that is what I had)

Salt and pepper

1-1 1/2 lbs chicken cutlets

olive oil

whisk together eggs and mustard.

in a separate bowl mix the bread crumbs and cheese season with salt and pepper

Rinse the chicken and pat dry

Dip cutlets into the eggs mixture and then into the bread crumbs

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil over med. high heat.

cook the cutlets 5-8 minutes on each side only turning once until they are golden brown and crispy.

That's IT. Easy and good

Asparagus with Soy Dressing

We always just roast our asparagus in the oven with a little salt but this dressing sounded really good so I though I would change it up a bit and add it to our asparagus this week. I will be making this a lot it was really good and added a nice change to a veggie we eat all the time.

Salt

1 large bunch of asparagus trimmed

1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

2 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1 garlic clove thinly sliced

Trim the asparagus and lay evenly on a baking pan or stone, drizzle with a little sesame oil and sprinkle with a tiny bit of salt and roast in the over for about 15 minutes at 375. They should still be crisp but soft.

in the mean time, in a sauce pan heat on medium heat, bring all of the remaining ingredients plus 2 tablespoons of water to a simmer and stir until the sugar dissolves.

I let my sauce boil and reduce a little....

Then put the asparagus on the serving dish and spoon some of the sauce over them..you should have some sauce left over which I saved and served over green beans a few nights later..

Again super easy, and really tasty...

I hope you enjoy these recipes and that you give them a try. Let me know if you have any suggestions or ideas I would love to hear them. Leave a comment below and let me know if you tried them or what changes you made to make it your own.

Happy cooking!!!

Whats for dinner?

This weeks menu was hard. When I made it I was not hungry for anything or in the mood to cook but I powered through and got a little creative. Here is what is on the menu for this week!

(We went out to dinner twice last week so a few nights from last week got carried over to this week.)

Saturday: Steaks with mushrooms and green beans

Sunday: Ham and cheese in puff pastry with Tomato soup (food network)

Monday: Goat cheese stuffed Chicken breast wrapped in prosuitto with garlic butter rice and salad (my head)

Tuesday: Spicy Thai shrimp soup (PC Cookbook 29 min. to dinner)

Wednesday: Meat loaf with mashed potatoes and salad (my mom's head)

Thursday: Chicken noodle stir fry (PC cookbook It's good for you)

Friday: Breakfast for dinner with Eggs and biscuits and gravy (my head)

Ohh and as a side note I will NOT be eating the meat loaf just a salad that night but Steve loves meatloaf and I think Makayla will too, and since I work late on Wednesday my Mom offered to make it for them since she will be here anyway.

I have already gone to the store for the week and spent only $100 on our weekly grocery's. This menu planning really is saving us A LOT and is so much less stressful at night when it is time to decide "whats for dinner?"

What is on the menu this week in your house?

Happy Cooking!

18 month Dr. appointment

Guess who turned 18 months old this month?

Guess who is not happy about getting shots on Friday?

We go for Makayla's 18 month Dr. appointment this Friday! Any guesses on her height and weight? Leave it in the comments below!

Our baby has become a full on toddler and she is crazier the even. She takes after her dad in the jokester department. She hides and jumps out and scares us. She climbs on EVERYTHING and one of her favorite things to do is jump off the couch. I am telling you this kid is CRAZY but so much fun. Now if her eye teeth would just break through she would be even better! Thanks for checking in! I will let you know how the appointment goes.

Safety First

You can never be too safe....or to cute!

OverJoyed.

Disney really can make dreams come true!

Our Holiday season....

I just realized I never shared our holiday season with you... that is because we were very busy. So I am going to do a quick recap so that we can all be caught up, I wouldn't want you to miss any pictures..LOL

We did a Toys for Tots Ride with Steve's work.

On the Ride

Dropping off ALL the toys

We took Makayla to her First Bucs game.. She made it through the first half and had a great time. We will be taking her back for sure.

We had to fight to keep her away from the tree ALOT!

We celebrated Christmas Eve at my Mom's annual Christmas eve party with lots of family and friends.

Makayla ate alot of crackers.

She had a great time playing with her cousin Shea

This is her Christmas Morning... seeing all her gift from Santa. She was overjoyed

Look how happy she is..it makes it all worth it.

Steve got a snuggie for Christmas!

Makayla had such a great day she didn't make it through dinner. This is the first time she has fallen asleep at the table. It had to be one of the funniest things I have ever seen.

We rang in the New Year with Great friends and celebrated a friends 30th Birthday.

We hope everyone's New Year is off to a great start!

We also went to alot of playgroups and even hosted one..I however never had my camera around. Makayla got to spend a lot of time with her friends and family. She also celebrated her 18 month birthday. She has changed so much in the last few weeks but all her updates will need there own post! Hope all is well with everyone! Thanks for checking in.

Tickle Your Taste Buds Tuesday

IT'S BACK.....

one thing I want to do in the new year is spend more time on my blog so I am going to try really hard to post my Tickle your taste buds Tuesday EVERY Tuesday

We have stopped most of the "extras" in an attempt to cut back but the one thing I still do for myself is my Rachel Ray Magazine. There is always really good recipes and they normally don't cost that much and since she is the queen of the "30 minute meal" they are normally quick fixes!

This weeks recipe came from the February 2010 issue.

Broccoli chicken beef Bowls

We eat chicken all the time so I wanted something different and Sirloins were on sale so that is the beef I used.

1 1/2 cups brown rice cooked

3 garlic cloves thinly sliced

3 tablespoons of soy sauce

2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons of corn starch

Salt and Pepper

1 1/2 - 2 lbs of sirloin steaks (i used 2 good size steaks) Sliced THIN

EVOO (I used toasted sesame oil instead)

1 bunch of broccoli cut up the stems and stalks (i would use fresh because you want crispy broccoli and sometimes frozen can get soggy)

2 green onions -sliced

Cook rice----I use rice in a bag that takes 8 minutes.

Whisk have of the garlic, the soy sauce, sugar and 1/2 tablespoon of cornstarch season with salt and pepper. Add the beef and toss to coat and let sit 20 minutes

In another bowl whisk together 1/2 cup water and 1 tablespoon cornstarch.

Heat the oil in the skillet and add the garlic, cook on med until tender then add the broccoli stalks, cook for 1-2 minutes then add 1/4 cup of water and the rest of the broccoli cover and let steam for 3-4 minutes until its tender but still crisp. Transfer to a bowl.

In the same pan heat a little more evoo. add the beef mixture and whites of the green onions cook until the beef is cooked through but not over cooked maybe 5 minutes (your beef should be sliced pretty thin)

Stir the broccoli back in season with S&P then add the water/cornstarch mixture. Cook until the liquid thickens about 1 minute.

Turn off heat and stir in the greens of the green onions and serve over the brown rice!

Thats it super easy, super quick and super YUMMY!

Let me know if you try it or if you have recipe you want to share. I would love to hear from you! HAPPY COOKING!

I Love Planning...

Menu planning is going so well for me lately. I am saving more and more at the store by having a list and knowing just what I need. It is saving close to $100 a week and I don't have to stress about whats for dinner or even think about it.

Every Sunday I sit down with my cookbooks, cooking magazines, Rachel Ray Magazines and a few other sources and plan our menu for the week. Last week was such a good menu I wanted to share it will you.

Monday: Skinny Chicken Stroganoff (PC cookbook "It's good for you")

Tuesday: Beef and Broccoli with Brown rice (RR MAG.)

Wednesday: Corn and Poblano Chowder (PC cookbook "29 minutes to dinner")

Thursday: Chicken cutlets and asparagus with Soy Dressing (Real Simple cookbook)

Friday: 30 minute chicken with Green beans and Mashed Potatoes (My Head)

My favorite was the beef and Broccoli with Brown rice so that will be tomorrows Tickle your Taste buds Tuesday! Stay tuned for the recipe it is super easy and really yummy.

This week I want to do a pantry/freezer clean out so I am planning the menu with stuff we already have at the house. (I will have to go buy a few veggies and fruit but everything else will come from the pantry or freezer. This should be the cheapest week ever. LOL

Monday: Hotdogs and fruit (total slacker dinner I know I know)

Tuesday: Cheese quesadillas with White bean chili and lime and cilantro sour cream

Wednesday: Chicken veggie bake

Thursday: Steaks and mushrooms with butternut squash raviolis

Friday: Spicy Thai Shrimp soup (PC cookbook "it's good for you")

Hope you all have a good week and HAPPY COOKING!

One hot mess!

I know I am a little behind with blogging so I will play catch up in the next post but we had to much fun on our detour to not post it.

On the way home from St. Augustine we (the girls) decided since Disney was on the way home and none of us had to work the next day that we would stay the night at a hotel in Disney and let the guys take the RV home. We stayed in the Disney All Star Movie Hotel. It was great. Makayla is totally into Toy Story and Woody and Buzz. We got to stay in the Toy Story area and even our room was decorated Toy Story themed. Makayla had sooo much fun!

Our room Toy Story Themed

Look at the cute flowers they set up in the window of our room.

Makayla looking at the giant Woody and Buzz

She was over whelmed and so excited.

Giant Woody

Giant Buzz

After we played around the Toy Story area we went to Hollywood Studios (MGM)for the night. They have a new Toy Story area with a ride and you get to meet Woody and Buzz.

Waiting in line to see Buzz and Woody

It was a very long line so we took lots of pictures.

We finally got to meet them. Makayla liked Woody but she was a little unsure about Buzz. To be honest he kinda freaked me out. LOL

Then we headed over to the Magic Kingdom for a few rides. It was getting pretty late but Makayla is a party girl and doesn't want to miss a thing. Give her a few snacks and she is ready to go again.

Makayla on the tea cups!

Jenn in front of the castle.

Makayla finally fell asleep but I didn't want her not to have her picture in front of the castle.

Me in front of the castle

My mom in front of the castle

We got back to the hotel around 12:00, grabbed a snack and was ready for bed. Makayla on the other hand had different plans. Because she had gotten in a nap she was ready to play. She was up until 2:00am spinning in circles and running around the room with excitement over being surrounded by Woody and Buzz.

The next day we woke up and went back to Hollywood Studios to ride the NEW toy Story ride.

Us on the bus in the morning.

Makayla getting ready to watch Play House Disney.

Makayla did not have her best day that day. She was tired from being on vacation and staying up so late the night before. She spent most of the day NOT in the stroller because she was just not having it. She screamed and complained most of the day but after a snack and a nap she was ok, though she became ONE HOT MESS by the end of the night. She had pulled her hair out and broke her rubber bands so I had to make due with what I had.

The crazy hair was just beginning.

Getting on the bus to go back to the car at the end of the night.

By the time we got back to the car her hair was out and CRAZY! She truly was ONE HOT MESS!

Makayla loves Disney so much that for christmas instead of buying gifts for each other we all bought annual passes to Disney. We are going to try to go at least every other month if not more. We already have our first trip planned for next weekend I can't wait and neither can Makayla! Hope you all had a great holiday season and a very Happy new Year!!!!

I am hoping this year is full of fun and happy times! And that is brings a lot of new and good changes for our family!