She had a good day

Precious Pretty #2 told me she had a good day at "school" today, but I didn't know it was THAT good of a day! We weren't even home seven minutes & I couldn't hear her. I went to look for her & she passed out while climbing her way into bed.









Like the darling gray & yellow ensemble I found a Target? It's not very often that we find City Concrete colored clothing!

I hope you have just as good of a day that PP#2 did!

xoxo
sbf

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Dinner is done!

I think the Crockpot has to be one of the greatest inventions ever.  For reals.  I want to find that blogger that cooked with a crockpot every day for a year because I am seriously considering it.  I LOVE putting together dinner in the Crockpot at breakfast because I know in about 8-9 hours dinner will ready, and I won't have to do anything but have the pretties set the table for dinner.  And maybe open up a salad in a bag for extra veggies.  Dinner is done & mamasita can take it easy.

A sweet friend of mine has been cooking with a lot of Weight Watcher friendly recipes, and this one caught my eye.  I love easy chicken recipes.  I LOVE easy chicken recipes that have the word Crockpot in them even more.  So, thanks Kathleen!

The first time I made this my pretties thought it was too spicy.  They ate it, but they sure let me know how spicy it was between bites.  Bottom line is they ate it!  :)

So this time around I cut down on the cayenne pepper and cumin, and added a little extra garlic.  You can never have too much garlic, right?

Ruba dub-dub, Enjoy the grub!!  

Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken 

Servings: 8 servings • Size: 1 cup • Prep Time: 5 minutes • Points: 3 ww points

Calories: 171.9 • Fat: 1.6g • Fiber: 3.8g 

24 oz (1 1/2) lbs chicken breast

14.4 oz can diced tomatoes with mild green chilies

15 oz can black beans

8 oz frozen corn

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

14.4 oz can fat free chicken broth

3 scallions, chopped

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp cayenne pepper (to taste)

salt to taste

Combine chicken broth, beans, corn, tomatoes, cilantro, scallions, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, cayenne pepper and salt in the crock pot. Season chicken breast with salt and lay on top. Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in. Adjust salt and seasoning. Serve over rice (extra pts). 

Time, Love & Gratefulness

As I was running errands all morning, I realized that I kind of know my way around Sherman now. We've been here almost 6 months, and the time has just flown by. Partially because we have gone out of town every weekend since the beginning of November. Mainly though, we were so busy with school, dance, gymnastics, soccer, and let's not forget A&M football, that it hasn't felt that long of a time period. We are really starting to like it here.

One thing I REALLY love about Sherman is the wonderful community of parents, teachers, and staff at St. Mary's Catholic School. They missed putting Kate's name on the marquee in front of the school for her birthday, which was understandable because there was a lot going on at the school with Thanksgiving break, Supper with Santa, Christmas program, etc. When we returned back to school, this was up in front of the school. Kate was elated, and looked for it every morning this week. It's still up!


Another thing I'm grateful for is the wonderful team of parents that make up the Casino Night Committee. Casino Night is the school's biggest fundraiser, and the principal asked me to chair it. I was a little nervous at first, and honestly I still am (a little bit). I am really excited about the direction CN is going, and I owe it all to this supportive committee! All of you ROCK!



xoxo
sbf

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Three's Company

I had the pleasure to watch a handsome, little, red-headed two year old for five days, and boy was he cute! He was quite the "Ladies Man" already at the ripe ol' age of two, as the pretties vied for his attention. This toddler-I mean, little man-knew he had it in the bag with my two girls within hours of staying with us!




Boys are way different than girls. I thought my pretties were fast, but he made their speed look like turtle pace. He told me he was hungry, so I asked him to go to the kitchen with me. I blinked & he was gone. I walked into the kitchen & blinked again, and he was already picking out his snack.


He doesn't play around! He was all boy & I loved every minute of it.



Everyone asked me if having three kids in the house changed my mind about wanting to have another baby. Absolutely
not! I feel as though our family will be complete once another bambino arrives. When--I don't know. But praying that is part of God's plan for us.

Have a terrific Thursday!

xoxo
sbf

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Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

This morning we woke up to snow!  It was so pretty!  Nothing like we experienced last Christmas in Wichita Falls, but that didn't matter.  We were just elated to have snow again!  The meteorologist estimated that Sherman got between 4-5 inches of snow today.  Perfect Chili Dinner weather!

BTW, I am actually watching George this weekend while his family is vacationing in Mexico.  They may be enjoying the sand and water, but we are enjoying the snow!  At least for a little bit.  

Precious Pretty #2 has to taste everything.

Pretty precious pretty.

She refused to keep gloves on.

Precious pretty #1!

 She couldn't wait to make snow angels!

I know, but it's the only extra hat I had.  

There's my happy girl!

He was ssssoooo over the snow.  Or maybe it's the hat.

We had to lasso her in this morning.  She was so excited!

Hope there is some snow left for more play time tomorrow!  Stay warm, everyone!

xoxo,

sf

New things for the New year

I started off the new year with some new things to decorate my kitchen.  My sweet mother-in-law bought me a Mackenzie-Childs Courtly Check Tea Kettle for Christmas.  I love it!  It somehow brings a slight breeze of nostalgia to my kitchen, even though I haven't had it for very long.  Maybe it's just the classic black and white design.  Or maybe the fact that I got it from her, and it reminds me of her, my SILS & my friends in Wichita Falls who have M-C throughout their house.

I really can't pinpoint what happened next, but I just remembering pondering over the fact that you just can't have one Mackenzie-Childs piece.  It's kind of like Pringles - you just can't stop at one.  The next thing I know I have bought the Courtly Check Clock.

And Butter Dish.

And then I decided to branch out and mix it with a piece of the Mackenzie Childs Flower Market Blue Cookie Jar.

And then I came to my senses, and had buyer's remorse.  Not really because I used a gift card, but I could have used that gift card towards other things that we need in our house.  Not things that I want.  

None the less they are in my kitchen now, and I have never been more inspired to redecorate/remodel my kitchen so that it compliments my new pieces.  Or maybe I should rephrase that and say I want to remodel my kitchen so that my new pieces compliment my kitchen......  And I am sporadically searching for the pieces that will eventually be a part of my kitchen collection.  Please notice the key word that is italicized & in bold font.

I made a list on NYE, on things I wanted to do to our new (to us) house this year.  Since I stay home now I'll be adding another job description to my resume which will be the All-Around-Do-It-Yourself-Scraper/Sander/Painter.  Because I'll be doing D. all of the above.  

Another thing new I want for 2011, and no doubt the most important - is a new me.  Rather than letting my past struggles influence my decisions and remind me of where I once was, (as I often would allow them to) I want to finally realize who I am now.  Who I am NOW in Christ as Child of God.  Who I am now as a wife and mother.  As a daughter & sister.  As a friend and volunteer.  I am very blessed with the life I have, and I don't ever want to take it for granted.  No one should.

xoxo,

sf

December

Ok. Is it really 1/2/11? I mean really. We moved to Sherman the first weekend in August. Five months ago. Five months that feels like five weeks. So with that being said, I resolve this year to slow down, and savor every flavor of life that God blesses me with. The sweet, delectable tastes, and also the sour and bitter ones for they all are giving me the spiritual nutrition I need to be stronger in my walk with Him. I resolve to live my life like the Nike slogan and "Just Do It." Just be more patient with my precious pretties & my husband. Just stay in touch with my family & friends more. Just spread love more. Just be more mindful. Just pray more. Just lose more weight. Just train for a marathon (more info on that last subject coming in a different post.). Just Do It. Plain & simple. What do you resolve to do?

Here are some pictures of our crazy month of December!

We had Supper with Santa at St. Mary's.


Decorated cookies with friends at Supper with Santa.


Got to watch the Rider Raiders play football in December.



Saw the most gorgeous Christmas tree at the Crescent Hotel during my
Annual Christmas Shopping Extravaganza with Sarah.


Got to watch my precious nieces decorate my Christmas tree with my precious pretties.


Kate & Amelia at their
Christmas dance recital.


Made a lot of cake balls.


Kate got her first American Girl doll.


Kate & her class dressed up like angels for the Christmas program.


Had a Bindel Christmas & the pretties had lots of fun with their cousins.


Mary Clare got lots of story time with Aunt Patsy from El Paso. (my mom's big sister)


& Mary Clare got her first haircut on Christmas Eve.



I hope your Advent and Christmas was as blessed as ours. Wishing you a new year filled with love, patience, health & peace. And don't forget to Just Do It.

xoxo
sbf

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