What to eat for dinner.

Being a stay at home mom has a ton of advantages but there are some pitfalls too. I just got onto a facebook page that had about 3 nagging folks being miserable about planning dinners so I'm going to do a little experiment. I'm going to post what I'm cooking for the next 3 days and I'm encouraging you commenters to do the same. Just something quick people can throw together for dinner.

Tonight- I found some ham in my freezer, I opened up 2 cans of potatoes, and 2 cans of green beans and put it all in the crock pot. I'll pair it up with a batch of Jiffy corn muffins and POOF- Dinner!

Tomorrow- Pizza- I can post the recipe for my friend Katie's home made crust if there's a demand for it, but I'm kicking it up mexican with fajita mix in the hamburger, black olives, and pepper jack cheese.

Friday- Stuffed green peppers- I cut this all up and bake it like a casserole. Wash and chop peppers into 1 inch pieces, add rice and cooked burger and mix all together with a jar of spaghetti sauce. Then bake until the peppers are tender.

You can make rice in the microwave (1C rice, 2C water, add a bullion cube, cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high for 5 min, then without opening the microwave, another 15 min at 50% power).

I hope this helps some of you stumped followers. I'm also open to suggestions!

Kick'in It Up Old School

Milk? Check. Lip gloss? Check. Sun bonnet? Check. Let's hit the road and go to church!
This was my outfit when I was a little girl. We were getting ready for church this morning and I came across this little dress that has been hanging in Isa's closet since before she was born. My mom wrapped up the outfit and put a picture of me wearing this dress on the front. I have to admit it was almost as cute on me as it is on her. I think she makes the dress look fantastic.

This photo is NOT old school, it's from Kathy. Along with a batch of clothes was this adorable outfit. As soon as Miguel saw her in it, he decided a picture MUST be taken. I was inside making blueberry pancakes while the photo shoot was going on. Awesome Saturday morning if you ask me.

Pretty Baby!

Church has summer hours, these hours for the month of August put us exactly 1 hour late for church this past Sunday. Yes, we got there in just enough time to see everyone going downstairs for donuts and coffee. I felt too guilty to actually go down there and eat donuts without attending church so we headed off to the park and will definitely be on time next week.

This dress is brought to us by Kathy and the pictures are courtesy of Miguel. I was the one holding the stuffed kitten and the sippy cup of milk. I also go to clean all the grass off the baby and change her wet socks and shoes upon coming home. I am in love with this dress though!

Isa in the house!

Word to all you Isa fans. A special shout out to Doug and Jami who gifted us with all the baby junk they no longer wanted/needed/felt like moving. Along came this clubhouse that Isa adores! She's particular about shutting the door and yelling at the dog from the windows. Needless to say, it's a good time to be had by all.

Random Pics

Exactly 1 year ago at the 4th of July parade by our house. What a difference a year makes!

Isa on the morning of the 4th. She's very grown up with her headband. When I caught the headband on the dog we switched to 2 pigtails, the staple hairdo.




Another reason to love Miguel, I love these shots of her. She's a lot better for the camera when I'm taking the dog for a walk each evening.

I love the sunlight and how it illuminates her hair in this one. Even Zorro looks good in this one!
That's it fan club! Just 1 cheezy parting shot!!

Happy 4th of July!

What a great 4th of July! Our little town of Webster Groves throws a carnival with rides and games and stuff and has a parade too but the BEST part of here is that we are within short walking distance to a wonderful fireworks display. This year it was on the 3rd and 4th so we decided to take Isa down on the 3rd as a trial run to see how the 4th would go. She was amazing! I was fully expecting to have to leave but she was fascinated and sat on Miguel's lap the entire time and oohed and ahhed and squealed at each one.

We usually have a party on the 4th at our house and this year was no different, just a little smaller than previous years. These pictures are of Isa at the fireworks on the 4th. Yes, she's in her jammies, she went to bed and woke her up, backpacked her down to the fairground, and she was STILL good!

Turned around at the loud noises.


Facing daddy and exercising her right as an American to ham it up big time for Stefano's camera.

Sorry, ok? But there are pictures to make up for it!

When I was so sick and needed to sleep one Saturday morning, Miguel and his parents took Isa to the Botanical gardens. This was my favorite picture from that adventure. She had such a great time, I could tell by how worn out she was by the time she came home.


Sam on the train! Thank goodness for Mike. Sam took to him so well and had so much fun.

Isa riding on the carousel. She got a little freaked out after it started to move so she had to switch from the puffin she was riding to the stationary giraffe you see in the background.
All 3 kiddos by the giraffes. They're Caroline's favorites. We made sure to see everyone's favorite animal, but this was the only picture we got of all 3 looking at the camera.
Every kid in the metro area who has visited the zoo has a picture with Phil the gorilla. Isa and Caroline being true STL girls are no exception. That's Sam's head at the bottom of the picture, he was running away screaming.



Between sharing a case of strep throat and bringing Sam back on 5 days a week we've had a pretty hoppin house around here. Last Friday Mike, Sarah, and I took Sam, Isa, and Caroline to the zoo. FUN! I love the zoo, as I've stated before, but I love it more now that I have my baby to share it with it brings everything into a new light! Everything that I thought was so mundane all of a sudden comes to life when Isa gets to experience it for the first time. It is one of the biggest rewards of parenthood.