Wordless Wednesday!!!!

I thought I would share this, after I saw this on pintrest I had to post it here. Everyone needs to laugh around the stress of the holidays coming up... Hope that it makes you laugh as well. 

Tempt my tummy Tuesday! :) Pork Chops!

                 TEMPT MY TUMMY TUESDAY!!!
                  PORK CHOPS 

This is the best pork chop recipe that I have ever tried to cook.   The littles loved it and it was amazing fast and easy!!! When the littles eat something without throwing it on the floor right now, I have done something right! :) Enjoy and please tell me if you liked it! 

2 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 bone-in pork chops, ½-inch thick (about 1-½ pounds)
1 can (10-¾ ounces) Campbell's Condensed Golden Mushroom                    Soup    DO NOT USE ANY OTHER BRAND!!
¼ cup water
2       tablespoons curry powder.
1       tablespoons dill. 

Directions

                    
1
Heat the oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the pork and cook until well browned on both sides.

2
Stir the soup and water in the skillet and heat to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low.  Cover and cook for 10 minutes 

3
Then take the chops out and put them in a 8x8 top the porkchop's with sauce in frying pan, then add some curry to the top of it. put it in oven for 10-15 minutes.  

Prep: 5 min.
Cook: 35 min.
Serves 4 

Our Pirate Mickey Mouse Party!!

Part of the reason I wanted kids was to throw amazing parties. My goal is to wow all my friends and family and do it on a budget. This means that I have to start shopping and planning for their next birthday party in January. 

Having a good idea of the theme, place, date and time of the following

October/November party. 

It also means to make sure that we stay on point with the cash. My budget is usually $125 for each of the littles. You would normally pay that for one baby so doing one party together that makes my place budget for their party. We live in a small cute little cottage so right now we can't do it at our home. Outside in our yard wont work because you just never know what you are dealing with when it comes to the PNW weather. So this year we did it at this great place in Tacoma. Called the Frog and Kiwi cafe. 

It is the best place for toddlers to go and play. We also have made a ton of twin friends so we needed a place that all of the two year olds could play and be age appropriate and still fun with the parents. 

We Started with the invites. I found them on Etsy with 

Cute Pirate Mickey Mouse invites. 

We then made treat bags that I got at the local dollar store and used 

The Cricut cartridge Mickey. 

I added the Pirate headbands on them to go further with the theme.

 

We got all the party favor things at Hobby Lobby, 

and we got the best eye patches at Target. 

We got our cakes from the Bridgeport Albertson's. 

They did amazing and we even got the boys their

 own cupcake Mickey Mouse mini cakes.

They Enjoyed it so very much!!

                                                                                
                          
                                                                

                                                                                                            

We got our matching shirts from our friend April

                         Mommy and Daddy had a lot of fun as well. 

Until next year!!! 

XOXO

Thankful Thursday!!

We are so thankful for our babies! When we look back to how far they have come.  The boys have made great strides from being only a little above 2 pounds and having the health issues that comes with being Micro Preemies. 

As I write this the memories come flashing back to me. There are small moments where I wish I could go back and get those small moments alone with each one of them.  That time will always be bittersweet, always be the feeling of being sad I didn't get to bring these little ones home when they were first born but a month and three months old. 

Look how far they have come!! 

& 

                                              

Wordless Wednesday!!!

The Strongest little man I know. 

My Son...

My little man. 

First Sleep Study to figure out his seizures and 

why he is having them so often. 

It was a long night and him and Daddy didn't sleep well at all. 

We will have to do a few more of theses the next few months. 

Over these few months we will get to know

all the answers. 

We are relying on God to make him better. 

He has already made such a big difference

 in all he has

done to help B 

become better then 

we could ever imagine. 

Blessed by God we are! 

Tempt my Tummy Tuesday!

I love quick and easy recipes. As a mom with twin almost two year olds. A husband that works full time and is a full time student in collage. I have to do things that are fresh, fast, and taste good..not to mention a little healthy. This dish is perfect!!! Enjoy and when you try it please do me a favor and leave me a comment. We used a yummy thick focaccia bread with some olive oil and vinegar. 

BLT Kettle Chip Casserole! 

• 10 eggs
• ¾ cup whole milk
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. Paprika 
• ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
• 4 cups kettle-cooked potato chips (3 oz.)
• 3 cups fresh arugula, shredded
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 15 strips bacon, coarsely chopped and crisp-cooked
• ¼ cup fresh basil, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 2-quart baking dish; set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl whisk together eggs and milk. Add salt and cayenne. Gently fold in the potato chips until completely covered by egg mixture.
3. Stir in shredded arugula, cheddar cheese, cherry tomatoes, bacon, and basil. Transfer to prepared baking dish.
4. Bake 60 minutes or until golden brown and a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 10 to 15 minutes.
5. Top with arugula and cherry tomatoes before serving.

Meet Me Monday...

1. Whats your favorite horror movie?

This is a tough one to pick just one!  My parents didn't like scary movies, so I would watch them at friends houses. I became really into them when I started dating my husband. He is a October 31st babies....so he totally introduced me to the Horror movies. 

I've gotta say...The Shining really creeped me out. Really, well, actually, they all did! And I'm still a horror flick movie lover to this day. 

Ooooh, I just remembered...did you ever see, 31 Ghosts? We watched it on our first over night trip to Portland! AMAZING it was scary so badly there... not so much now. 

2. Bath tub or Hot tub?

Bath tub...without a doubt, a bath tub! But it's gotta be a deep, with some burn your butt hot water! I can stay in there for hours and hours just keep adding hot water... Man I miss the days with out the cute babies. :) Nah I don't. 

3. Do you prefer to watch a movie at the theater or at home?

At a nice theater.....with no kids, popcorn, big ice tea. rocking seats in the 21 or over theater in Gig harbor... they call it the VIP theater

4. If you could chose a maid, cook or chauffeur, which one would you choose?

A cook! I would love to have all my meals made for me every day all day. 

No just any cook  but a cook that is trained by my Nana. Yup I would ask for a cook right away!! 

5. Electric Slide, Boot Scootin' Boogie, or the Macarena?

Boot Scootin' Boogie, A friend I had in school and we would go on Friday nights and go dance with my Great Auntie Lila, and my two sets of Grandparents. My Nana and Auntie, Shawna and I would do the boot scootin boggie so I have a lot of wonderful memories dancing to that song! 

let's organize our little lives... Family Filing system

 

A family file helps keep the paper clutter at bay.  Usually clutter is a result of items that don’t have a place – a family file provides this much needed place.  It’s important to keep the file, weed it out frequently (about once a week), and get in the habit of using it.  Please note that the Family File should only keep papers that you need to use or reference all the time.  Papers that do not need to be referd  frequently, such as contracts you have signed or your mortgage paperwork, should be kept in a Safe File System or better yet a safety deposit box.

Here’s a list of the files that I have in my Family File and would suggest including in yours.  You’ll probably have more that are not listed here – do what works best for you. I also have binders for each member of the family in a binder. It has everything that we need for any Doctors visit or family emergency that might come up. 

Files to Keep

• To Do, Urgent: this should be the first file in the folder – I go through this file daily so nothing falls through the cracks; examples are bills to be paid, cards to be written, and items of mail that require a response – you can even write “to do list” notes to yourself and keep them in this file
• To Do, Less Urgent: examples will vary widely of what is included in this file and usually includes notes to myself of to do items and less urgent mail
• File for Each Family Member: includes papers for activities in which they participate, and school or work papers
• One File for Each Month: I keep a list in each month’s file of all the birthdays and anniversaries for each month so I know which cards and gifts I’ll need to send; I also keep a list of any annual responsibilities that need to be taken care of that month, and items I will be using at some point during that month (such as concert tickets)
• Crafts or Activities: This file contains magazine articles, print outs of web pages, or written down ideas of activities I’d like to complete in my free time such as scrapbooking ideas, patterns for knitting, or crafts I’d like to do with my kids
• Group Coupons Purchased: This file includes printed coupons that have been purchased through a service such as Groupon or LivingSocial.  Because these coupons expire after a few months, you don’t want them to go to waste – it’s good to keep them accessible.
  

Thankful for their story....

This is a story about a Strong mommy! 

One that loves both her children with everything she has! 

This is coming right in the nick of time.

Make sure that you take the time and swing by for this event! 

Music and fun at Majestic Mountain Coffee in Kingston to celebrate their 20th anniversary. There will be hot dogs and hamburgers and coffee with all profits donated to a local boy's medical fund to help. And a band!

Where: 11229 Hwy 104 NE Kingston

When: 4:00 PM

Who: Everyone

How: Stop by!

Enjoy their story as much as I have. 

We will touch base with this amazing mommy and her story often.

so please stay tuned. 

Our story begins four years ago when our son Isaac was 6. He had a fever that just wouldn’t quit and eventually led to him being hospitalized for 2 weeks. He had encephalitis caused by the cold sore virus. You would never think that something so simple, so small, something like the cold sore virus, could kill you or your child but it can, it is rare (1 in 500,000) but it is possible. When the cold sore virus attacks your brain your chances of surviving are miniscule. We were lucky in Isaac’s case because despite the doctors thinking he wouldn’t live, he did. Isaac woke up after 2 weeks in the hospital and he didn’t know who we were and he could no longer walk, but he was alive. Luckily, after lots of rehab those things came back to him and he became your average kid again except with one major difference, he now has epilepsy.

Being the parent of a child with epilepsy is tough. Four years of living with this disorder terrorizing our family has never gotten easier. There have been the times that Isaac has had seizure freedom and while the lack of seizures is a blessing, the constantly wondering and worrying about when they will strike again tear at your heart on a daily basis…the nightmares and fear of them returning is almost as stressful as the seizures themselves. You can be relatively sure that they will one day return but you just don’t know when or where. Will they come back while he is swimming? While he is walking down some stairs? Or will they wait until we think they are gone for good and we let our guards down, wait until he turns into a 16 year old boy with his drivers’ license and is behind the wheel of a car?

Then there are the times when he has daily seizures, when they get so out of control that we become ridden with thoughts of them never going away or of them one day taking our son from us completely.  Most people don’t realize this, but epilepsy is very dangerous. To put it into perspective, epilepsy takes more lives every year then breast cancer does. Shocking right? We had no idea it was so serious before it started affecting our son. Isaac’s worst point was December of 2012 when he had 96 seizures in that one month. It getting so bad led us to Seattle Children’s and phase one monitoring for a temporal lobectomy. 

Brain surgery offers Isaac a chance at a cure, a chance to have a normal life, but it is an unknown. Any surgery is risky and even contemplating brain surgery is anxiety inducing. With surgery comes the risk of stroke or even death which is no worse than the risks associated with uncontrolled seizures but is still somehow scarier. Isaac was approved as a candidate for surgery and given about a 60% chance of being cured but right around the time he was approved, his seizures stopped. It is easy to say yes to surgery when your child is having up to 5 seizures a day but now that he is 4 months seizure free, the hope that the medicine will continue to work forever clouds the decision.  Why take such an enormous risk when it might not be necessary? We made a family decision along with Isaac’s team of doctors to delay surgery until he stops responding to his current medication which can be tomorrow, or never.

You would think that with all the blood draws, ambulance rides, tests, doctor appointments and hospital stays that Isaac would be a depressed kid but he is exactly the opposite. His brave smile and ability to turn any situation into a positive one never ceases to amaze us. Most kids cry during blood draws, Isaac laughs and jokes about it. Most kids are bored and miserable during hospital stays, Isaac makes the most of it by playing games and enjoying our family time. Isaac gives us hope and keeps our spirits high, if he can remain positive and happy through all of this, what right do we have to be miserable? It affects him more than any of us and if he can smile, so can we. We all have our moments when gets to be too much and we break down, but we let ourselves grieve and move on, taking it one day at a time. 

Wordless Wednesday!

                   I love Mary Poppin's and I love this! It is so fitting!!! 
                                    & I do feel like this ALOT!!! 

Tempt my tummy Tuesday....

I borrowed my Nana's food Dehydrator to make some yummy food. I am going to be drying pears, apples, pineapples and so much more. I am pretty excited! I have a list of things I want to do to save for the fall and winter!! 

Pears are one of the best fruits for drying. Dried pears are a delicious snack, and they are also wonderful sprinkled on salads and added to compotes. Here's how to dry pears so that you end up with the tastiest result possible as well as safely preserving them for long-term storage at room temperature.

The gritty texture that pears sometimes have comes from tough cells called scleroids. Most of the scleroids are under the skin, so peeling the pears before dehydrating them results in a better texture.Peel whole pears with a vegetable peeler. Cut into quarters and slice out the cores and stems. Cut into 1/2-inch slices.

As you slice the peeled pears, drop the pieces into acidulated water (1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice per quart of water). This step minimizes browning while the pears dry. Drain the pear slices in a colander.

Arrange the drained pear slices in a single layer on dehydrator trays. Be sure to leave space for air circulation between the pear slices (none of the slices should be touching).

Place the trays of pears into the dehydrator. Dry between 130F to 140F (54C to 60C) until the pears are leathery with no moist spots (usually 8 - 10 hours). Turn off the dehydrator and allow the pears to cool at room temperature for 10 minutes.

Store dried pears in tightly sealed glass jars away from direct light or heat.Place the trays of pears into the dehydrator. Dry between 130F to 140F (54C to 60C) until the pears are leathery with no moist spots (usually 8 - 10 hours).

Turn off the dehydrator and allow the pears to cool at room temperature for 10 minutes.

Store dried pears in tightly sealed glass jars away from direct light or heat.

Meet Me Monday

1. What do you enjoy doing the most with your spouse?

Um. Folks,  We can't talk about things like that. ;) Kidding. Well, not really, but you know.

I love talking with him. Hashing out the world's problems and concluding that the only thing that is right in this world is ME!!! 

Being married is really one of the most wonderful and difficult things in the whole world. Spending everyday with your best friend, the person who knows you best, the one with whom you can totally and completely be yourself...it's amazing.

I guess, really, what I love most is just being with him. Spending time in silence or talking, just being. I love it. Sometime I forget that. I need to try and sit and remember just why and how much I love him. I would be completely lost with out him by my side.  Most important are four things. 1) he is an amazing daddy! 2) he is loved by my parents so much. 3) My Nana and Poppie love him so much too. 4) he is an amazing husband. 

2. How do you eat your taco? From the top or from the side?

from the inside of a Frito's bag.... Mostly My favorite way to eat a taco is as a salad. SO this is a WIN WIN for me.... With yummy ranch dressing and thousand too! :) And fritos!  Now I want a taco salad.

3. Have you ever shut off the basement light and ran like a fool because you knew someone was down there and would get you?

Heck yes, I do!! Seriously, that serial killer is just biding his time, waiting to grab your ankle and make you his next victim if you don't move too quickly.

What's even worse? Shutting off the light and then getting to bed because HELLO!! That serial killer is now UNDER your bed, just waiting to grab your leg as you leap (oh, come on...you're telling me you don't LEAP into bed when it's dark? Liar.) into bed.

So, yes. Always I run like a fool. And look?! I'm still alive.

4. If you could change one thing about you what would it be and why?

I would get a tummy tuck. Even when I was the thinest I have ever been I have had a tummy. So if I could change anything about me it would be that! Oh and my arms... I would change my fat bingo arms in a second too! Man, I wish I was a real housewife so I could go to Beverly Hills and have a top Doctor of the stars fix me all up! 

                                  

5. What age do you think is appropriate to have the "bird and the bees" talk with your children?

When my parents told me, is when I asked! I was about 5 and they told me. In a very direct way. I will tell my boys when they ask. I will tell them where babies come from and how that happens.  I will use real terms Like "PEE PEE" and "WHO WHO" Something fun..... I am not looking forward to it.... AT ALL!