It's Been A Long Time....

I love how Sam is resting her head on her hand. She is watching Kung Fu Panda... One of her top 2 favorite movies. I like the movie because it reminds me of Brad. I don't know why but Jack Black Humor always reminded me of Brad. Sam loves it because there is a lot of "Hiii YA!" She thinks Poe is very funny and entertaining. Sorry it's been so long. We had a week of the Flu, and I flew off to Houston, Texas to help open a Surgery Center for Medicaid patients. I've been very tired.
This is when Sam had the flu. She was the first to get it. It was so sad to wake up to a pukey crib. Poor thing was shaking and sleepy eyed. One night she cried for 2 hours. Thank Goodness Jesus was looking out for her and she fell fast asleep after that. All I could keep asking was.... Lord, give me strength to not start crying. Lord, give her peace.... Scott was having a very hard time and wanted to take Sam to the hospital... Such a silly dad. The Lord did give me strength and helped keep Scott calm. She just was pukey and tired. She recovered well!


In case you were wondering - Sam is eating a banana. It has turned into morning tradition. Milk and a banana that she can walk around with... she usually eats the whole thing. After Sam had recovered, I started to feel the effects of the flu in Houston. Riding in a bumpy airplane with your boss while you have the runs is not my cup of tea. He was nice enough to offer to buy my Imodium... Lol - that might go on my top ten most embarrassing moments list. I got home, and went straight to bed. I lost 9 lbs and I guess that is not good? My doctor told me to go to the ER to get an IV bag. I must admit, I felt rather silly sitting in the ER with an IV bag hooked to my arm and I only had the flu. My brother in law was very nice and brought me to the ER. I guess - no matter how irritated I get with the in-laws... they are all very nice people. Chad even called me two days later to see how I was feeling. I guess I hit the jack pot for in laws, huh? Why didn't Scott bring me? HE GOT A JOB! He had his first week this week, and is loving it. He will be working four days a week and hopefully have three days off with Sam and I! I guess, everything happens for a reason.

Yes, yes we purchased a swing set. Have we given this a second thought? Yes - see, the problem with the swing set is...well, she NEVER wants to stop. When I take the straps off and bring the harness down... She yells NO!! and tries to use her feet to kick it back up into position. She could seriously swing for hours. Do you see her snazzy new shoes? They are Garanimals! I have to admit the Velcro makes me giggle a little bit. She clomps around like a old man.

Sam and I met Kristen and the baby she nannies at the park. Sam was very excited to have a new friend. So excited that she decided to feed her new friend. Sam would take a bite out of every french fry and than hand it off to Quincy. Such a nice friend... for now. Tomorrow is Easter, and I am sad because I was really excited about Sam's Basket about a month ago. I got sick when we went shopping for Easter - so I just grabbed what I could and ran out the door. Poor Sam - she is getting a crappy basket this year. Hopefully I make up for it next year. I am feeling much better now. I had to work today - so I am just very tired. I should go get some sleep for all the big festivities tomorrow. Happy Easter if I fail at blogging for a couple of weeks again!
XoXo
JRC

A Blissful Weekend

Sam was cold so she decided it might be nice to share her daddy's shirt while she enjoyed a little Monsters Inc. This week has been blissful. We started on Thursday with Enchiladas and visiting my parents for dinner. It's always nice to see Granny, Gramps, and Uncle Jo. Sam putted around the backyard with Lina and enjoyed the beautiful, sunny evening. On Friday - we made our wal mart stop... saving money always makes me happy! We got a pretty red quilt - that I will photograph sometime later - am too lazy to go do it now. Sam was such a good little bug at Wal-mart! So good - that we bought her a set of plastic golf clubs so she can practice her swing ;). Poor beans got hit in the eye with a toy golf ball - she was not pleased with me... Scott let her sleep on the bed, so I don't think she has any memory of the tragic accident anymore. Yesterday - we went to the nursery and looked at all the pretty flowers and trees. We strolled along southlands and enjoyed the sun. We stopped by home depot and found trees for much cheaper than at the nursery. We picked out the White Pine... I liked them the most because their needles were so soft and not so pokey! Scott and I spend Sam's nap time digging big holes. I got sunburned and spent the night itching. Today- Scott's brother came over and helped Scott plant the trees just in time for the rain and snow. Did you hear the wind last night?? It woke me up last night - and I was wondering if I needed to wake Sam and Scott up and go down to the basement for cover. I was very tired today, and needed a nap.
Isn't Sam cute? She likes to enjoy her breakfast while looking out the back window at the traffic. We trimmed her bangs this weekend - so she doesn't look so hobo-ish. I guess I'm ready to go back to work. I have a lot to do so hopefully it goes by quickly.
Bye Bye

Bye Bye Weekend

A relaxing weekend is coming to an end... It depends on the week if I am looking forward to work. This week, I would rather not go in. No specific reason... just want another four days off. Scott should be hearing from Dish very soon.... I really hope he gets this job. It'll be nice to have some days off alone with Sam. Not that I don't love having him home... I just miss the girl time. I am very spoiled right now though. Scott does a lot of work around the house which makes me job around here so much easier. This weekend was relatively nice. Although, there are a lot of fires in CO... we got to enjoy running around the backyard fire free. Sam likes to run down by the fence and to a pile of rocks... the two place I don't want her to be.

Sam has started to count! Usually - I will count to three when I am about the do something like push her on her scooter or throw a blanket over her head. So, when I say one.... Sam says, "Doooo!" (two).... " Shreeeeeeeee" (three). It is very cute, but Scott was trying to use the counting as a discipline method when Sam was playing with the trash can. Scott gives Sam and stern look and tells Sam No.... One.... and Sam smiles and looks up and says, "DOOOOO!" Scott had to walk away to laugh... Boy, are we in trouble with this crazy kid.


What you are looking at is a Fried Jalapeno! They turned out alright, I guess. Next time I will used pickled jalapenos. Can you tell that a lot of my nights have been spent on the couch watching Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives? I get some fun ideas from that show BUT it's never fun to make an unpleasant meal. Although - I have been craving my Chocolate Chip Cookies lately... Yummmm. While making these spicy little poppers - I forgot to turn the fan on again, and smoked up the whole house. Scott was a little irritated... probably because he reminded me to turn it on before I started chipping the jalapeno vines off.

Lately I've been watching the TV show called The Nanny. No body understands why I like it so much, but it's one of those shows that you can laugh at I guess. Scott finds it funny because his mother watches it... I guess I am an old lady. Okay - off to catch some sleep for a long week ahead of me.
Xoxo
JRC

Giddie Up

Have you ever checked out the Campbell's Soups Recipe Website?? If not - I highly recommend it. It will provide many delicious meals for you and your family. What you are seeing up top is French Onion Pork Burgers. I substituted the pork for beef because it's what we had on hand. I have to say the beef probably would have tasted better. All I did was chop up some white onion and mix it in with the shredded pork, made them in to some plump patties, cook them in a frying pan til' they are almost done, pour the french onion soup into the pan, place a lid on it, and wait until they are completely cooked. They were pretty satisfying I must say! The other day I was telling my boss how delicious my Enchiladas were and he asked if I was really hungry when I ate them?? He said that when you are really hungry things taste a lot better... Thanks, I guess?? Dork.

Look at Sam's cute pony. Although... it doesn't stay in for very long. The rubber band is no match for Sam's sticky little fingers. She was fresh out of the bath - and too tired to fight me. I got my picture... I guess that's all that matters. Today I went over to see my co-worker/friend Traci. Poor thing - looked pretty beat up. I hope she feels better tomorrow. Her Mama is with her, and I'm sure that really helps. It's probably one of those moments where you want to curl up on the floor and cry for your mommy.
Look at her go! She can now get on and off all by herself. Look at Lina waiting for her turn so patiently. Scott had a pretty good interview with Dish the other day. Now - we wait for the final call. Pray, pray, pray he gets this job. It'll be nice to have that second income back!
XoXo
JRC

A Joyful Breakfast & a Distructive Child

This morning I woke up with quite a bit of energy. I let Scott sleep in, and took Sam downstairs... changed her diaper and gave her a delicious sippy cup full of warm milk. As she watched her morning dose of Mickey Mouse Club House, I decided to make breakfast. I made Sam a small (one egg) omelet, and I think she may have gotten one bite out of it. I started to boil two eggs for myself, and made Scott a sausage and cheese omelet. I toasted some bread and cooked up a piece of turkey bacon for myself. I also made some Orange Juice from the can. It was a pretty fulfilling breakfast. Scott was pretty pleased to come downstairs to a hot breakfast.

Oh, how I love my Thursdays... Such a relief to come home on Wednesday nights and think, "I get to stay home tomorrow and relax!" Work has been stressful as always... So much drama always going around. I'm glad I get a whole four days off from it. I will not answer my phone for anyone at work. Although, Traci is in surgery as we speak getting her Thyroid and some Lymph Nodes out. I will call her husband to make sure she did well. I know that if I had surgery though - I would want to rest a lot and be with my family.
Sam has been playing with her Learning Cookie Jar that her Grannie Maston bought for her when she was about 6 months old. She loves to throw the blocks in it and hear the Cookie Jar sing. Yesterday, Sam decided to throw one of out dining room chairs down the stairs, and now it is one big butt away from crumbling to pieces. Scott and I have to go to Furniture Row today and look at chairs due to only having two anyways.

Scott has an interview tomorrow with some more Dish people - hopefully he gets the hire soon, so we can start moving along with our plans to make the house look a little nicer. All the Dish people seem to really want him, just need him to go through the looong process of getting hired.

Well - off I go to relax and to furniture shopping due to my violent child.
XoXo
JRC

A Peasant Meal

I never really liked the thought of cabbage... Not because I had ever tasted it - but just the word sounds so icky... Cabbage? Well, one day a girl from work had it cooked and bathed it black pepper, and it was good! So - while we were doing our wal-mart grocery run - I picked up a head of "red" (it looks purple to me) cabbage. While I was searching the internet for a good way to cook cabbage - it mentioned somewhere that it is considered a "peasant food". The internet commends either boiling the veggie or frying it in some oil. I decided to use my oven though. I cut up some cabbage, sliced up some white onion, chopped up a medium sized carrot, and for giggles - put a couple pieces of broccoli in there too. I drizzled the veggies with some canola oil and sprinkled them with some black pepper. The oven was preheated to 375 degrees and the veggies were cooked for 20 minutes with the occasional stir. It was very delicious for a vegetable lover. Scott even was picking at it. Not bad for a healthy snack of light lunch?? When I think of Cabbage - I think of the New Charlie and The Chocolate Factory... Charlie's mama always was making Cabbage Soup.... Hmmm, I wonder how one would make cabbage soup?
Sam and Scott were watching some Tinkerbell. I love all the new movies. I really enjoy Fairy Mary. She's a sweet ol' chubby lady that says funny things like, "Teetering Teapots!" Scott seems to be getting a little tired of all the Mickey Mouse Characters. The other day he commented on how much Minnie and Daisy bothered him. Honestly - I like all the shows now.. They are always happy and have so little drama. Scott's more of a real action type of fellow. Today I was laying down upstairs, and little Sam came truckin' up the stairs, next thing I knew Sam was heading my way with her Lambie, Baby, and Blankie... I thought she might be coming to join me, but she handed them to me and made the sleeping sounds to me. I smiled and than she went back into her room, and came back with all her blankies - handed them to me.... One more trip was made and she was tugging her pink boppy behind her. Such a sweet little lamb trying to make her mama comfortable, I guess?

--Well off I go to Grannie and Grampie's house. Sam looks forward to seeing her grandparents... she is very lucky to have two full sets full of hugs and kisses.
XOXO
JRC

Cookies, Broken Dishwasher, and Happy Taxes?

About three days ago - our dishwasher started to give off a funny yet unpleasant scent. The verdict you ask??? No - not a burnt Sam spoon or a burnt Sam cup.... some gizmo or other burnt up inside the old machine. So - Scott and I went off to Sears and bought a new dishwasher. The Sales Guy was a little too excited for my taste. I don't think he realized that usually when people are coming to get a new appliance, it's because they're old was broke. Rarely is it a happy day to get a new ExPeNsIvE kitchen thing. Anyways - I kept looking at this elderly gentleman's wedding ring - and thinking, "How does this woman not smother this man in his sleep???" Thank goodness Scott was there - I was able to dilly-dally into the stoves and refrigerator section to get a break from Mr. Excitable. We walked out 850 dollars later with a delivery date of Tuesday... Handwashing for the next couple of days... BOO!

So - after the depressing moment of spending a lot of money - we had the pleasure of going to get our taxes done by Scott's very nice Aunt Pam. We were assuming with all the talk around that we were going to owe money... We "slunk" into H&R Block, and discovered a magical, magical thing..... 3,500.00 big smack-a-roos back! I think Scott and I were skipping with joy to the car. Well - having to buy a new dishwasher turned into now such a bad thing! A side note - I am not saying Scott's aunt is very nice because she got us money back - I liked her before ;)

Scott has had three interviews with dish network - and it sounds pretty promising to us. So, we are crossing our fingers for this job. It's more money a year (5,000 more) and 3 day weekends!! I think it'll be good for Scott to get this job - that is out of retail. A nice profession to slip into. Although- they are open year round - which stinks, but I guess sooner or later - EVERYONE will be open on holidays. Bummer.

I made some delicious Pork Enchiladas last night for ourselves and the Park Pep Squad (Mii did not eat any - rude!). Than tonight - I decided that I would take a big step and do my first "from scratch" baking. The end result is up top - They are pretty darn good - not as good as grannies but they work for us at the moment! Yum yum with milk! Okay - off I go..
Xoxo
JRC