happenings...

1. this was taken a few weeks ago on our way to school. i used the waterlouge app to make it look like a water color.

2. i wish we still had a magnolia tree. they smell so good and they're so pretty.  maybe i should get a mini one...

3. well, saturday we decided to get out of the house and took the kids to an astro vs. white sox game.

4. we had a great time eating and the game was pretty close. 

5. of course the db behind us was annoying. another white sox fan was cheering when the wife said, "she's going to get beat up if she doesn't be quiet."  her intelligent husband said, "well i hope she does."

6. kaylee heard the whole thing and it only made her cheer louder for our beloved white sox.  we ended up losing by 1.

7. i went and spent my birthday money [for the 100th time] on monday and got an iPad mini. i LOVE it!  its the perfect size for when i don't want to be on the computer.

8. meryl davis won dancing with the stars- whoop whoop!  kaylee and i cheered and cheered like it was the super bowl or something!

9. seriously, i could watch her and max dance till forever, its just beautiful.

10. still getting stuff around for the big garage sale this weekend. i'm in shock that it could actually happen.

i wish my kids would stop growing

1. i found these photos in my box of negatives given to me by the photographer. (she moved to florida and closed her business)

 2. i'm thinking these are outtakes or the ones i decided not to get.

 3. even though i totally love these. look at kaylee's sweet smile and ham's so handsome.

4. i think she was cracking herself up here. my kids are so sweet, i can't stand it!

5. this week went by pretty fast and i got some things done like ham's "apartment" got a good scrubbing. [he's got his bedroom, a hallway, bathroom and a spare bedroom all behind a closed door so we call it his apartment]

6. and i'm getting shit stuff around for a garage sale that hopefully will happen next weekend. [we want the garage cleaned out by vacation so we can park mike's car in there when we leave for vacation]

7. and i made some new meals found on pinterest that mike liked but not so much the kids.

8. all week, ham's been asking for chiptole so instead of going to the grocery store then coming home to make it, i decided it would be chiptole night.

9. but ham ended up being the only one to eat it. he even had to go and get it. the 3 of us went up to the woodlands to eat outside along the river. it was a gorgeous evening.

10. and i've been jogging/walking.  mike's catching up to me with our steps challenge and i can't let him beat me. 

ham saves mother's day

1. my surprise weekend for kaylee ended up in many, many, many tears.  i wanted to take her to elkhart for the weekend so we could surprise her bff for her slumber/birthday party but things just didn't work out.

2. stand-by tickets through my sister were kinda pricy [$250 for the both of us] and i'm guessing my sister didn't want to drive to chicago to come and pick us up and i didn't want to spend any money for a rental car since it was a quick getaway to elkhart.

3. we did sit for an hour on saturday at a talent agency only to have them tell us that we can come back for a final interview on monday at 2:30pm because of kaylee's looks.

4. i canceled that appointment. no need for kaylee to miss any more school since we're so close to being done. plus, i would like to find a talent agency closer to the home.

5. i got to taste my first hawaiian mule. [it was pineapple flavored of course] it was pretty good, a little heavy on the ginger side.

6. and this is my hair right before bed. it always looks nice before bed, never during the day. humpf!

i also think its the longest its ever been.

7. i was sad on mother's day. people on Facebook posting pics of them with their moms and it made me miss my birth mom. i have no idea what she looks like, what she sounds like, was she happy? type of things.

8. and i was pretty bummed that my family didn't have anything planned for me like breakfast in bed, or a day out walking along the beach or grilling out.  yes, mike asked if i wanted to do these things but it would of been nice if he would of just planned it.

9. we ended up going out to dinner at the last minute- it was already close to 7pm before we left the house.


10. thankfully, ham's sense of humor put me in a good mood on the drive there so i was able to enjoy my dinner.

the radest punch bowl, a girl crush and showing my weirdness

tommy bahama

1. because i signed up to receive tommy bahama emails, they sent me another $50 gift certificate to spend on a $100 purchase for mother's day. [the first one was for my birthday]

2. i had a shirt in the cart till i saw this awesome punch bowl. [i also got a cool aloha sign to add up to $100.]

3. i'm going to keep it on my counter with fruit when its not being used as a punch bowl.

4. i decided to be adventurous and doing a girls trip this weekend. [kaylee and i]

5. so ham and mike will be left to fend for themselves. hee hee

6. ham is finished with school and it sounds like he didn't do so well in on his finals. which stinks because he did well in his a+m classes. [blinn classes were harder or as he would say the teachers sucked more]

7. i decided to step down from being school store chair person and from school store for the following school year.

8. i'm needing a change of scenery and would love to help a teacher or maybe do lunch duty.

9. i've been craving marshmallow chocolate peeps lately and today i found these.  i haven't been able to find them till today. the last time i had one was back in indiana.

10. i also have a girl crush. i LOVE her bathroom and if we stay in our current house, i want to do ham's bathroom the exact same way. or would that be too weird? too late- i've already started to copy some of her stuff. 

the weekend

still able to do her signature pose while trying to balance

1. mike and i had a late dinner friday night. tried a new mexican seafood place. [he went out with the guys to twin peaks after work]

2. the kids had already eaten because ham wanted something quick once he got home so i picked them up zaxby's.

3. saturday i got my tan on while reading a book till a certain 21 year old mentioned throwing me in the pool. kids!

4. after pf changs for dinner, the kids went swimming. mike had turned on the heater for them.

5. ham mentioned he wanted to go hiking on sunday but we ended up staying home instead.

6. my legs are hurting plus i would of liked to have been better prepared. we had no food to pack.

7. and ham needs hiking/walking shoes. 

8. mike brought out the old surf board. it use to be my older brother's from the days we lived in california. i'm guessing its about 30 years old.

9. and see that chair laying on its side? mike sat on it and broke it. i'm going to see if my mr. fix it neighbor can fix it.

10. i'm about taking kaylee on a surprise weekend get away if my sister comes through for me. she's got the airline connections i'm needing. [meaning stand-by tickets = a cheap get away. she works on united]

[bites] cheesy enchilada casserole- my version

monday i wanted to make taco's and a beef enchiladas but realized i didn't have any sauce and i didn't feel like making any homemade. i found this recipe but tweaked it with what i already had. turned out delicious! my changes are in in red. enjoy!

cheesy enchilada casserole via totally recipes

1 lb ground chuck
1 large onion, chopped  [1 decent size shallot]
2 1/2 cups salsa           [1 jar newmans black bean and corn salsa + 1 jar newsman's medium salsa]
1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup Italian salad dressing
2 tablespoons taco seasoning [homemade]
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
6 to 8 flour tortillas (8 to 10 inches)
1 can corn, drained
3/4 cup sour cream
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Mexican cheese blend
1 cup lettuce, shredded
1 tomato, chopped
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro

In a large skillet, cook the ground chuck and onion over medium heat until the beef is no longer pink. Remove from heat and drain the beef. Add in the salsa, beans, dressing, sour cream, corn, taco seasoning, and cumin. Stir and mix well.

Place a layer of this beef mixture on the bottom of a two quart baking dish. Next, add a layer of grated cheese. Place a layer of flour or corn tortillas on top of grated cheese layer, then layer with the beef mixture again – then another cheese layer – then another layer of flour or corn tortillas. Repeat as many layers as you like or have room for. The top layer should be a nice amount of grated cheese.

Cover with foil and bake at 350° for 25 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. To prevent the cheese from sticking to the foil, it helps to spray the inside of the foil with spray oil (like Pam) first.

Let stand for 5 minutes before topping with lettuce, tomato and cilantro. Makes 8 servings.

catching up wednesday

sarge bearington hitching an easter egg hunt ride

1. she named her bear after austin's bear on austin and ally. [ham got her that bear when she was born]

2. friday kaylee spent the night over at friends house and got to ride the only bus our school has. [everyone else either gets dropped off or walks]

3. after 5 or so outfit changes, we went to drop off kaylee's sleeping bag and overnight bag to her friends house. 

4. she wanted to see us before we headed down to mike's friends house for our own sleep over.

5. we went to a mexican place for dinner then to see the spazmatics- an 80's cover band.

6. the boys drank too much. [his friend's wife was the designate driver since she had a mud run the next morning]

7. the next morning we actually made it down to galveston to watch her and her team run.

8. after eating a late mexican breakfast, mike and i decided to see what houses were for sale in the village of tiki island. [its right before you hit galveston]

9. we even got to go through an open house.

10. depending on mike's next move with his company, we are considering moving closer to galveston. while our house will be smaller we're hoping the outside living space, boat and jet skis make up for it.