Project 366: Day 8 [February 24th]

I cleaned the house first thing in the morning. Seriously, isn't that the best feeling? There is nothing I like more than to sit down and look around and know that everything is swept, mopped, dusted, and cleaned. I love a clean bathroom. I love a clean toilet. I love clean, shiny floors. I love all my dishes washed and put away. I love my fridge cleaned out. I love beds made. and I love all of our laundry done. It just brings me great joy and honestly-- I get excited for it every single Friday. Do you find me weird? That's okay- my husband does too, even though he agrees that a clean house is a happy house. He just thinks I'm odd because I actually enjoy doing it. It's fun to me. I crank up music. Bust a few moves. It's incredible.

But after I got done cleaning, you could tell Tayler was ready for some play time, so we got down on the floor and played with blocks. Those are her favorite. Go figure, I spent like $3.00 on them for our maternity pictures. haha! :) 

She looked adorable today too. Her shirt says, "Best Friend" on it and it has a little girl with her doggie. Precious! :)

After that, I decided it was time to make some 'Appetizers!' Remember I told y'all last week that on occasion, we have an 'Appetizer Day' where I make a few of our favorites and that's our entire meal. This week it was Taco Dip (E's favorite) and Bacon Cheddar Dip (my favorite!) I'm going to show you the steps (for most of it) so you can make it! Hopefully your family enjoys it as much as mine does!!

For the Taco Dip, you are going to need: refried beans (we used black refried beans because those are Ethan's favorite), sausage (we used the Great Value), sour cream (I used Great Value, 16oz.), Con Queso Salsa (We used Tostito's Medium), a cup of shredded cheese, an onion, and a green pepper. 

First, start browning your sausage because that takes the longest out of any step. Also, while this is browning, cut up your onion and green pepper.

 (My hubby bought me that new cutting board! I LOVE it. Before, I chopped veggies on a plate, haha!)

Then, open the can of refried beans you have. After you are done browning the sausage, rinse it, then pour it into a bowl along with the refried beans. I added about half of the green pepper to this bowl along with half of the onions.

Stir all of that up really well. After that is done, get a casserole dish and spread it along the bottom of the dish.

It should look something like that! After you have done that, spread on a layer of the sour cream. Use it alllll! Don't be stingy, guys! Then, add a layer of the Con Queso Salsa. You're allowed to take a few bites of that stuff because it is freaking amazing :) It should look like this after:

Then, add a layer of the shredded cheese, the rest of the green peppers, and the onion.

And there's your final product! We served ours with the bite size tortilla chips! I love this little things! 

And the next appetizer I made was the Bacon Cheddar Dip (AKA Crack) that you see all over the internet. It really is as good as everyone makes it out to be. Shoot son, I'm having it for breakfast! ;) What you need for this is: 16oz of sour cream, one packet of Hidden Valley Ranch, 3oz of bacon bits (in the bag), and about a cup of shredded cheese.

And for some reason, I didn't take any pictures after this? I know Ethan came home, but I must have been seriously sidetracked to forget that! But basically, all you do is mix ALL of that together in a big bowl. Refrigerate for about 12 hours (if you want!) It tastes good regardless, I promise ;) We served ours with crackers.

And we decided to let Tayler have a 'big' moment yesterday and we put the dips on her plate along with some crackers and a soft tortilla. She was dipping the stuff in the dip and having a grand ol' MESSY time. We sent this picture to Gigi... she had it EVERYWHERE.. in her hair, on her shirt... yeah.

HAHA!

And I should add this: Ethan went out last night to purchase some long johns. The crazy man is playing in a ball tournament Saturday, 2/25... uhm. They're calling for SNOW. Yea, we won't be going to watch, haha! But anyways, E was worrying about freezing to death, so he went out to buy the underwear. He came home and put his whole outfit on and was modeling it. It was hysterical. He kept asking if he looked 'new' to the game or if he looked like a 'veteran.' LOL Yes, baby.. you look like you have been playing for years!

And since Tayler was so messy (and we had the little girl I baby sit) tonight.. we knew it was BATH TIME. Tayler adores bath time. She could probably play in there all day! Thank God... because when we first brought her home from the hospital, she cried until she was red in the face during bath time, haha! I was fearful that I'd have to be shoving my 12 year old into the shower, after she threw herself on the floor in rebellion. 

And after that, we all cuddled up. The girls fell asleep and Ethan and I turned on 'Sweet Home Alabama.' It's BOTH of our guilty pleasure although E won't really admit that ;)

Sweet Home Alabama: First off, Shaun B from the city tweeted me yesterday. Shout out, whaaat? Okay- anyways... I was quite shocked that Joey AND Todd went home. I hadn't pegged those two for going home quite yet. Who do I wish would leave the darn show? LANDON. He is the most judgmental person I have ever seen. He talks so bad about everyone.. and I don't understand how Paige doesn't see that terrible side of him. All of the guys of the house see it, which is why they give him a hard time. He is so paranoid.. and did you see the previews for next week? Please tell me he seriously does not propose. And if he does, PLEASE GOD ALMIGHTY, tell me Paige says no HAHA! And of course, the person I want to win is BUBBA. Such a good guy.. and seriously? Such a sweet thing he and the other guys did for country Shawn. Made my heart melt. 

And finishing up the news from today--

my husband's sister had her baby today! A sweet baby girl named Kynleigh! We were really excited to hear she was in labor! We have 4 nephews right now (HI BOYS!) soooo getting a niece was a wonderful blessing! :) I am thankful that Mommy and baby are doing well! 

Cheers Project 366!

Project 366: Day 7 [February 23rd]

We have been doing Project 366 for a week! YAY!! :)

Tayler and I had a nice, relaxing day today. I felt like this past week has just been a blur with how 'busy' we have been, so it was nice to just relax with her. Oh.. and at 10AM we got CABLE. Holla! haha! I know this probably isn't that big of a deal to other people, but when we first moved in here we wanted to see what our money situation looked like with all of our 'necessity bills' before we got 'luxury bills' added into the mix! Well, in January, we tried out Basic Cable which was channels 2-27... and we still had Netflix for Tayler's 'Yo Gabba Gabba' addiction, haha! But let me tell you--- parents can only watch the same 39 episodes over and over and over and over and over and over again.... until they are ready to get 'Mickey Mouse Clubhouse,' 'Little Einsteins,' 'Jake and the Neverland Pirates,' and 'Chuggington' back! haha! :) Bless the Lord. Plus, we got DVR. This way we don't have to be here for every show we want to watch. That was rough for the past month LOL

Such a pretty little thing! I'm so thankful for a husband that works hard so that we can have nice things like this! I just love him :)

So, once we got that set up-- it was lunch time for Tayler! She has recently been LOVING tortillas. So, I cut up a tortilla for her and threw some broccoli and carrots on there with her banana puffs and of course, Apple Juice! She must have LOVED it-- she ate it all, haha!!

Such a big girl anymore, huh?

Speaking of being a big girl... Tayler turned 47 weeks old yesterday! Yes, you read that correctly-- it has been 47 weeks since I had her!!! That does not even seem real! I remember my water breaking just like it was yesterday! And now look at her--

Over 30 inches long, over 23 pounds. She was 6lbs 3oz at birth and 20.5" long! My baby isn't my baby anymore folks! She'll be 11 months old next week. She is taking steps all on her own. She gets excited and falls down, but she is REALLY getting the hang of it. We are working on her 1st birthday decorations. It's just all going really fast!

Tayler and I went to the park again today. It felt a little colder than yesterday, but I put a toboggan and mittens on her this time! She absolutely LOVES swinging. Sometimes I wonder if I take her down there just to hear her laugh :) 

Isn't she the cutest thing ever?? You know you were thinking it ;)

And Ethan and Scott went down there for some 'ball practice.' For those that are curious, this is what 'ball practice' consists of in the 21st century:

That was hard work. Don't judge them ;) haha!

And Tayler and I just hung out for awhile! She crawled around.. and looked gorgeous, so I had to take pictures... of course!

She could be a baby model, eh?

After that, we were BOTH freezing, so we went home and relaxed for awhile! Then we all went to the mall. Ethan needs ball pants for his tournament Saturday.. and oh gosh, what a hysterical time this was. First of all, we went to Dunhams and the bathrooms there clearly state, 'No merchandise in the bathrooms.' So what do Scott and Ethan do? Take their ball pants in and try them on. Ethan comes out and his are EXTREMELY TIGHT.. and seriously folks, if you haven't seen extremely tight ball pants on an individual, you won't understand how hilarious this was.. especially considering he was a MAN ;) if you catch my drift, hahahaha! So.. him and Scott are laughing about these pants and he goes to get back into the restroom and guess what? It locked behind him :P So, I did what any good wife would do and made him find a sales associate to get back in the restroom! BAHAHAHA. It was hilarious! So, I forgot to take a picture of this moment, but I did update my Facebook Check-In at the time to remember this hilarious occasion:

Oh, life is grand.

When we got home, we were all exhausted. So Tayler got into her peejays and had a bottle. I HAD to take a picture of her because I thought her peejays last night were just the cutest thing ever.

We thought for sure she'd go to sleep after that, but nope... that only gave her MORE energy, haha! She was busy climbing up on the couch.. and back down.. and back up. Now that she knows how to do this.. she thinks she has to do it all of the time!

haha, that ruffle on her booty is adorable. and I LOVE that last picture of her. "It's been a rough day." haha! :) 

But guess what? That little rascal eventually crashed... after a screaming match of "I don't wanna go to sleep!" I know.. staying up with Mom and Dad to watch American Idol is awesome, but when you can't even open your eyes... it's time to shut them my dear :) Love cuddling with her! Rare moments, but I treasure them!

Gotta love droll marks ;) She was sleeping good!

And as for American Idol:

My favorites in the Top 24 are: Jessica Sanchez, Colton Dixon, and Deandre Brackensick (okay, can he not seriously sing? MERCY. Ethan kept saying, 'He sings baby-making music' bahaha! But he is great singer!)

And who do you think they are bringing back? I hope it's David Leather Jr. (I think that's his name!) And dear Lord, PLEASE don't let it be Rich the Cowboy. I just didn't like his attitude! What are your thoughts??

Cheers Project 366!

Weekly Meals 2/27-3/2

So, I spent most of the day scouring Pinterest (it's an addiction, k?) for some new recipes. I LOVE trying out new things! When you look at the menu for the upcoming week, you'll see a mixture of stuff I have made before... and some new items! I'm SUPER excited (as always ;)) about making these meals!

Monday- Fried Rice, Chicken, and Yum Yum Sauce. I made this a few weeks back, but the Yum Yum sauce left something to be desired. I'm pretty sure it was because I used Miracle Whip instead of real mayo! I'm fixing that this week. Lets see how it goes!

Tuesdsay- Fries, BLTs, and I am going to try my hand at making Cane's Sauce for this occasion. I found a recipe on Pinterest. I don't know how accurate it is, but it's worth a shot, right? And even if it doesn't taste good.... fries and BLTs are still lovely ;)

Wednesday- Three Cheese Beef Pasta Shells, Salads, and Garlic Bread. I've made this before too, but it was FOREVER ago! I think I was still pregnant at the time, haha!

Thursday- Nacho Dip and Mexican Rice. This is a SPIIIIICY sausage nacho dip. Be prepared. It's been done before too, but not for like 2 years.. It's time for me to bring it out of the archives, folks!

Friday- Confetti Spaghetti Salad. I'm actually stoked about this. It might be the one healthy meal we have this week, haha!

HEY-- I didn't say this would be a healthy weekly meal plan. Just a meal plan. That we enjoy... thoroughly ;)

Project 366: Day 6 [February 22nd]

So, I've been lazy this week and haven't really straightened my hair or did much to it. I find with bangs..... you can just do so much other stuff and it still looks cute, haha! Well, maybe I keep telling myself that, but really it's just pure lazyness ;) But guess what? I woke up this morning with motivation to straighten my hair and make it look nice! 

I'm seriously SO thankful I got bangs. I don't know if I can ever live without them now ;)

Today was laundry day. Our laundry room is upstairs so I have to race up the stairs to throw laundry in the washer and dryer and to take the clothes out. This usually isn't enough time for Tayler to do any damage. USUALLY. I went upstairs today quickly and came back downstairs and that little rascal climbed up on the couch and had my bowl of tomato soup flipped over licking the spoon. Fortunately there wasn't much in it, but I think it's time for Mommy to be done leaving things on the bottom end table. EEK. 

Speaking of tomato soup, that's what we had for lunch today. Tayler is a little scavenger, haha! I had grilled cheese and a bowl of soup and she comes crawling over, grabs my legs, and stands there with her mouth open until I give her some LOL 

She is hysterical, but the girrrrrrl loves her soup and bread! I've certainly trained her right. Or she just sees it too often haha! This is usually what is for lunch every single day. I'm addicted.

Then we got a super awesome surprise and Makala came over to play with Tayler! :) She snuggled with her at first because Tayler was still taking a nap, but then they got down on the floor and played with blocks and all that other cool stuff Tayler has!

How cute are they? Tayler LOVED it. She loves when other people come over.. I think she gets bored with me far too often ;) haha!

While Makala was playing with Tayler, I decided to make some Homemade Crunch Wrap Supremes. Ethan was on his way home.. and I knew he HAD to be starving and well, I was starving.. and so was Makala! 

I got the recipe here.

And I didn't do as good of a job as the lady that writes this blog. Ugh. haha! I struggled a bit, but maybe with practice they will get better. Don't get me wrong-- they tasted WONDERFUL, but their beauty was something to be desired.

Anyways, I'll explain how I did it...

First, get tortillas out and warm them up a bit. It will help with folding them.

Next, spread sour cream on the top of all of the tortillas that you are using.

While all of this is going on, brown 1 pound of hamburger and add taco seasoning to it. 1 pound of hamburger was enough for 6 crunch wraps for us, but I didn't fill them too full with it.

Add the hamburger to the sour cream and then add some crunched up nacho chips.

After this, I added Fiesta Nacho Cheese (it's from Campbells... it's MUCH cheaper than purchasing the Queso sauce in the salsa section!) I forgot to take a picture of that part :/ But after you have all of that stuffed in there, wrap it like you would a crunch wrap supreme from Taco Bell. Then you set both sides down on to your skillet and fry those for a few minutes. Press them down a bit with your spatula. Once you have done that, take them back over to your plate and add your cold items-- lettuce, tomato, and onion. Then close it back up again.. and you have something like this:

The bottom side is the kind that is folded like a crunch wrap. I realize now I should have taken a picture of that too, haha! Hey-- I'm still getting used to all of this, but hopefully you get the picture! :) They were SUPER tasty. I need to work on 'presence' but they tasted amazing! 

Then Ethan went to the ball park near our house to play pass, so Makala and I took Tayler down there to swing! She absolutely LOVED it. I took a video of her giggling super loud. It was sooo funny! Every time Makala or I said 'Weeeeee' she giggled. 

Isn't that precious? :)

Once we got home, we got Tayler in the bath tub, Ethan got ready for bed, and I was a BAAAAAAAAAAD Mommy and Wife ;) I saw on Facebook where a girl was talking about donuts and for some strange reason I started like craving them! Fortunately for me, I had biscuits in the fridge, so guess what? I made some homemade doughnuts! Yeaaa boy. I remember growing up, my mom used to make these ALL of the time. 

Now, I don't have a deep fryer (my birthday is March 6th.... wink wink) so I put oil in a pot on the stove and heated it up. It worked PERFECTLY. I decided I wanted doughnut holes as opposed to regular doughnuts, so that's what happened!

When they start getting a nice golden brown and are soft to the fork's touch, they're good to go! I sprinkled ours with a little powdered sugar (okay-- maybe a lot powdered sugar...) and heated up some chocolate chips for some dip for it! 

Not calorie free, but pretty tasty ;)

Then we curled up for some American Idol 2012.

I don't really have a lot to comment on that right now (but believe me once the competition starts, it's on, haha) But I will say-- Jessica Sanchez already has my vote to win the whole thing. We shall see! :)

Cheers to Project 366!

Project 366: Day 5 [February 21st]

Brittany, one of my good friends (and she also happens to be the woman that I baby sit for) came home from her mid-night shift and spent the night, so I spent the day with her 5 month old and my sweet Tayler! Not to mention, it was Brittany's birthday.. shout out to her! :)

And if that wasn't enough visitors...

Gigi stopped by to visit Tayler on her lunch break. Tayler was getting cranky (1PM is the limit for her being up. Any time after that, it's a screaming match LOL) So, she cuddled up with Gigi for a little bit!

I think Gigi might be a pretty big fan ;)

Once Ethan got home, we all got ready and headed to our FAVORITE Mexican restaurant for Brittany's birthday! :) They have a tradition there when it's someone's birthday, they bring out a giant sombrero and put it on their head.. and they get some yummy baked tortillas with cinnamon, sugar, and chocolate syrup... with whipped cream to dip it in! YUM RIGHT? Thank goodness Britt shared ;) But she might have been slightly embarrassed about the little birthday celebration they had, haha

Not the best quality because everyone was moving around, haha, but oh well-- you totally get the point of what was going on! :)

We had SUCH  a good time! Brittany and I got Fajita Chimichangas (my favorite!) It comes stuffed with onions, peppers, and broccoli, then it is covered in queso sauce. And it is served with rice, beans, sour cream, guacamole, and lettuce. Mmm! And Ethan got a Fajita Burrito. His ultimate favorite! :) We had such a good time!

Brittany and Tayler playing :) 

Britt even got some cupcakes from my momma (Yes, I stole one.) If you're following me on pinterest (www.pinterest.com/sweetlyssa05) ... you know I'm a HUGE cupcake lover! ;) 

Once we got home, it was relaxation time. My parents came over for a visit (and darn it, I forgot to take pictures! Still getting back into the swing of Project 366!) And then we started watching our TV shows. We still don't have 'cable' (well, we have the first 27 channels, but we don't have ABC Family or CMT!) so, we have to plug my computer into the TV and watch it from there, haha! We cuddled up and watched Pretty Little Liars, The Lying Game, and Sweet Home Alabama. 

Now. Let me discuss these shows, because almost all of them had me upset at one point in time last night.

Pretty Little Liars: Holy crap about Melissa. I forgot she was even in the show.. then they bring her back for one episode and she's the angry lady in the Allison video. Shocking. And poor Mona! I didn't see that coming. But I think it's kind of crazy that all of the parents are starting to learn about 'A.' I'm sorry, but if I were a teenager in high school, I wouldn't be dealing with that crap alone. I would have already told my parents about 'A', but that's just the type of person I was. I can't believe it has taken their parents this long to find out about 'it.' I'm anxious to see who's doing it though!

The Lying Game: Okay. The real Sutton is low! She's jealous of Emma, so she has to act like a complete two-faced bee? I seriously get angry when I watch this because of all the bull crap moves she pulls. Yea-- everyone likes Emma better. Did that come as a surprise to you? And does anyone out there think Kristen and Ted are in the process of getting a divorce? And another question-- do y'all think Rebecca already knew about Alec and she took those pictures? She said leave Alec to her.. and by golly, she did a pretty amazing job at getting him shook up. It makes me mad that he always seems so 'cool' about everything when he clearly does a lot of dirty business. Mags gets on my nerves with how she thinks he's this total saint. Get real. Where's Char? and Laurel-- starting to lie as well I see? Think Justin will come back as a psycho? haha!

Sweet Home Alabama: Alright, this will be somewhat of a rant. Landon is on my last nerve. He's acting like a paranoid 15 year old.. always pulling Paige aside to make sure he's 'in her good graces' about everything. Suck it up, dude. We know you like her, but don't be so over aggressive about it. Jeremiah was a total whiner. She told you she was falling in love with you, you don't say JACK, and then you're mad at everyone else about it? You're fault. Be a man, say your feelings. And for goodness sake, why take your aggression out on cowboy Shawn? He's so little. Pick on someone your own height (since you're kind of 'lanky' yourself.) Shaun B from the City. He said, 'I don't know what the hel* is happening to me. I was lassoing a cow tonight." I laughed. What is it about this guy that makes people like him? Paige even asks herself that. When the show first started, he got on my last nerve with how he downgraded the South. No, I'm not from the South, but I sure as heck respect them! And ever since Miami, he's been this completely different person. It's crazy! No one else really stood out to me tonight besides BUBBA. Okay-- for real-- if Paige doesn't end up with him, I'm going to be furious. Bubba is genuine and I think he'd be perfect for Paige! My husband and I were talking about who we think the final 2 are going to be. He's declared the final 2: Bubba and Shaun B from the city. I've declared the final 2 as: Bubba and Shawn from the country. But we ultimately both want BUBBA to win! :)

There you have that!

While we were watching our shows, our almost 11 month old had my Ipod out watching 'Yo Gabba Gabba' on it. Seriously? How smart are kids these days? LOL

And speaking of being a smarty pants...

Ethan and I went to the kitchen to get a bottle together. We came back out.. and this is where our monster was:

Apparently she knows how to climb up on the couch now. *sigh* haha!

We had a wonderful day today! Happy Birthday Brittany!

Cheers to Project 366!

Project 366: Day 4 [February 20th]

I woke up this morning and decided that cubed steak sounded AMAZING for dinner tonight, so I got Tayler all set up with breakfast and then got to work. I've posted the ingredients and recipe for this before, but this is the first time during my Project 366, so I thought that I would share it with you today as well :) 

Here's what you need:

French Onion Soup, Cream of Mushroom Soup, Au Jus Gravy, Brown Gravy, and Cube Steak. I got a 1/2 pound because there's just the two of us. You can adjust this as you would like. :) The soups are the Walmart off brand. They were only $1.12 and the mixes were $.54. The cubed steak was $3.12 so not too shabby on the price of this whole meal, right? :) 

You mix all of the ingredients together (the soups and mixes) and pour it over the cubed steak in the crock pot. This is the crock pot I have. I recently purchased a new one.. they were on sale at Walmart for $14.00. (See how I am a Walmart advocate? LOVE it.) 

I love it.

And here's what it looks like once it's all in there! Cook for 6-7 hours on low!

And do you know what I do when I'm cooking? Don't even laugh at me either, y'all! I turn Pandora on my phone... to the Justin Bieber station. I LOVE the music that's on that station and it's wonderful to cook to. 

There's no shame in my game ;)

After that, we had play time. Yes, we stayed in our peejays until like 1PM. I rarely do that, but it was seriously the perfect day for it, haha! No where to go. Food in the crock pot. Why not right?

And she cracked me up. I love watching her try to 'figure' things out. There was a toy she wanted slightly underneath of the TV stand and she could not figure out how to grab that thing! Then, she realized she could lay on her belly to get it. I didn't my camera out in enough time to capture that moment, but here she is SUCCESSFUL.

And again with the one sock on one sock off combination. *sigh*

Ethan eventually came home from work and we had some DINNER. :) As you know, we had cubed steak, but I made mashed potatoes to go along with it, with broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots. We also had salads and bread and butter. 

It was SUPER yummy. This is seriously one of my favorite meals. And ever since we were at the Inn at Dresden, I  have wanted to have a meal with Michael Buble music playing in the background, so Pandora came in handy once again when we had that playing during our dinner. 

Tayler thoroughly enjoyed it. She had mashed potatoes in her hair LOL! It was hysterical, but that baby girl ate EVERYTHING on that tray. I was rather impressed. She must really like this too! I put everything on her tray like an 'adult' would eat it. haha! She had a little salad with a dab of ranch dressing, mashed potatoes, pieces of meat, gravy, pieces of bread, and then she had banana puffs for a dessert. Perfect!

Does she have to get bigger? :( I really like this stage!

Then Brittany brought Miss Natalie and we had bath time before everyone got their peejays on.

Seriously? Are they not the cutest? 

Everyone got their peejays on and we sat down to watch 'The Voice.' (are there any fans out there?!) and Daddy had some play time with Tayler. He kept spinning her around and she was LOVING it haha!

Could I have a better life? :) 

Cheers to Project 366!