ABC's of Thankfulness

As posted earlier today, I'm in charge of desserts for Thanksgiving tomorrow. I decided to make these yummy pumpkin cheesecake bars that I saw on Pinterest which means I needed to bake it tonight so it could chill in the fridge overnight. I didn't get home from work until 7:30 and of course I had to have my play time with Reag and then put her to bed time so by the time I started baking it was 8:45... All this to say that the reason I'm writing a blog post right now is because I'm waiting for the cheesecake to finish baking. : )

I read over on the Pioneer Woman's blog today an ABC of thankfulness and I thought it was a fun idea. So in an effort to kill time and focus my heart for tomorrow, here are my ABC's of thankfulness.

Adams - I have 2 Adam's in my life. My brother and my brother in law. Each keep things interesting in our family in different ways. God love them. Reaghan loves her uncle Adam.

Brooklyn my smart, sweet niece! She is so much fun to be around and is at 1 year of age has the vocabulary of a 3 year old. Its adorable but also sort of ridiculous. 

Church - Sometimes we are tempted to sleep in on Sunday mornings but how can we when gathering with the church costs us an easy 20 minute drive to a climate controlled building with no risk to our well being? Brothers and sisters across the world risk much more to gather with their local church.

Dad - he is a hard worker, always ready to lend a helping hand and a loving Pop-Pop to Reaghan.

Erin - my older sister who demonstrates unwavering faith amidst her trials, has a huge heart that loves children as her own, cares for Reaghan for me while I'm at work, and is always there to help me out with all my fashion, house decorating or crafting needs. She's also the best selfie taker I know.

Faith - belief in the one true God. Being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we can't see - thankful that I was raised up into Faith and that I didn't have to find it at the end of a hard road. 

Grandmas - My grandma Ricucci just underwent a very serious and delicate surgery but she is recovering beautifully. She is strong and determined and passionate about what she believes in. She's passed down her strong heart to her daughters and her granddaughters and even to the 4th generation - I can see the strong heart in Reaghan already. ; )

Heaven - because sometimes the hurt and pain of this world is too much, and if it weren't for the Hope of Heaven I would probably look for solace in sketchy places.

Ice cream - I definitely stole this one from Ree, but I sure do love me some ice cream. It comforted me through my recent wisdom tooth extraction. (I never wrote about that did I?! If you're curious - all went well except for the tiny fact that the right side of my tongue and lower gums are still numb almost 3 weeks later....I have a follow up next week to check for nerve damage if it doesn't improve.)

Jogging - I don't get to do it as often as I want anymore, and sometimes I don't want to make myself get out the door, but I'm always grateful after a nice run. It releases my pent up energy and clears my head.

Kisses - the soft, spontaneous, lingering ones. It's good stuff.

Labradors - my sweet Piper pup who loves to go on walks and runs, play fetch in the backyard and who is desperately afraid of the vacuum. (and also the broom?!). She is always sweet to Reaghan - except for when she accidentally knocks her down because she doesn't see her or when her tail whacks her in the face.

Mark - 11 years of friendship, 3 years of marriage and so much more ahead of us.

Noah - my 17 year old little bro. I can't get over the fact that he's 17 and driving and likes girls and all that other teenage boy stuff. I still see him crawling around the house with a pacifier in his mouth, beating his chest and pretending to be Kerjack, the gorilla from Tarzan. ;)

Ocean - give me some salty air, sunshine and crashing waves - I just wish I could find a way to leave the sand at the beach.
Pinterest - single handedly helping me plan my meals, my home decor, my outfits for every occasion, my fitness plans, my holiday crafts and so much more!
Qdoba - my favorite mexican fast food place. Way better than Chipotle in my humble opinion.
Reaghan - my first born. My baby. My sunshine. A reason for a new sense of purpose each day.

Sisters - My 2 younger sisters Mallory and Sara who both love volleyball, the beach, and rose gold. ;)

Therapy - as in physical therapy. Without it, I wouldn't have a job. A great job that helps people take back their lives after an injury or make the best of what they were born with. Also I work with fun people.

Underwear - yep. you heard me. Some people love going commando. I'm a firm believer in underwear. All day every day.
Video cameras - to capture all of the moments I want to remember of my children's growing up years.
White chocolate mocha's - I never thought I'd see the day that I enjoyed a cup of coffee.
Xercise (see what I did there?) - this is also good for you. I should also do more of it.
Yogurt - of the greek variety. Its currently Reaghan's favorite thing to eat and I'm grateful that its tasty and packed with calcium and protein so my picky little eater can get some nutrients!
Zzzzz's - As in sleep. Even though Reaghan has been sleeping through the night for months now, I still feel as though I will never sleep through the night again. Always thankful for sleep!

That was harder than I thought it would be, but there ya have it. My ABC's of thankfulness.

Feel free to share what you're thankful for!

Thanksgiving Eve {2015}

I woke up today feeling pretty excited about this Thanksgiving weekend.

Nothing makes my heart sing like knowing we get to spend time with our families. We are so blessed to be able to see them regularly - but theres always something special about gathering around a holiday table, right?

Reaghan and I have been working hard this morning to get the laundry done, the house cleaned, and our outfits laid out for a busy day of visiting family tomorrow.

We are in charge of desserts so we have cookies to bake, a pumpkin cheesecake to prepare and, okay, I'll be honest, I bought a frozen apple pie so that just needs to stay in the freezer until its ready to be baked tomorrow. ; )

Now that our busy morning is done, Reaghan is down for a nap and I'm going to go burn a few calories - you know, as a pre-emptive strike for all of the deliciousness I'll be consuming tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!

A Little Pink Elephant

I completely forgot to share about our time at the harvest festival that we went to on Halloween! A ranch about 15 minutes from us put on a fun family night with hay rides, pony rides, hamburgers and hotdogs, and a chance for kids to dress up and do some trick or treating.

I have to be honest... I haven't completely decided about where I fall on the whole "should Christians participate in Halloween?" thing. I go back and forth. Do I want to participate in evil and darkness and fear? No. Do I want to decorate or dress up with witches, ghosts, goblins and monsters? Not at all. Do I want to take my kids down the neighborhood and up to houses that have spider webs draped over their bushes and gravestones dotting their lawns? Nope. But... Do I think its harmless to dress up in fun costumes and have a little fun partying at "fall festivals"? Yes. Is it possible to find a middle ground in this? Maybe.  So... thats kind of where I'm at currently. This may change as I grow in maturity in the Lord. I want holiness without legalism, but I don't want to use avoiding legalism as an excuse to be lukewarm. *sigh* first world Christian problems? Probably. Just sharing some honest, inner struggles.

Whatever camp I end up being in, we did go to a fall festival this year with our 1 year old dressed up in a pretty pink elephant costume! And... we had a lot of fun!

Mark's family came over and we had dinner here at the house and got the girls dressed up for a fun time at the ranch. Here's Reaghan in her outfit - almost complete! I couldn't believe my luck when I was searching around in her closet for some shoes that would fit over this costume that had footies on it. Her pink crocs worked perfect!!! They had been a little too big for her all summer long so I had totally forgotten about them. But man, did that work out perfectly!

Here she is with her completed outfit. I was surprised at how well she kept the head piece on. She fussed a little with the initial process but once it was in place, that thing stayed on her head for another 2 hours. Ha! It was actually a win win because it kept her ears and head warm as the sun went down and it got a little chilly.

Cousin Brooklyn dressed up as an itsy bitsy spider.

Cousins that snack together, stay together.

The girls loved the glow bracelets that some people were handing out instead of candy.

We ran in to lots of friends there. My sister Erin was there too, walking around with a friend and her 6 (out of 8) kiddos.  : )

This may be one of my favorite pictures from the night... 

I love the way they walk together... the way she holds his fingers... the way he leans down and walks with small steps to match hers. <3

Someone was dressed up as Olaf and was, as you can imagine, the hit of the night with all the little kids. Reaghan hasn't seen Frozen yet, so she wasn't really sure what to think. Her face in this picture makes me laugh every time. She didn't cry, I think she was just really confused.

They had a small reptile hut open and this iguana out for petting. Sometimes this girl can be fearful, but other times she sticks her hands right in to a pool of rays or pet an iguana's tail without any hesitation.

I had to pull back her giant, floppy ears because I couldn't see her reaction!

Reaghan also went on her very first pony ride that night! I wasn't sure how she would do because she was a little bashful when we first walked out to the horse. (I guess a horse is more frightening than an iguana?!) but after she saw me pet the sweet pony she was more than happy to sit up on that saddle while I held on to her and we walked around the ring. I was so proud of her. haha

The quality is poor, but I love how tiny she is on top of this princess pony in this video.

We then waited in line over 45 minutes for a 5 minute hay ride. Probably not our best decision of the night, but the girls had fun running around in the little field where we were waiting and eating more snacks and didn't have any melt downs so, I'd say it ended up being fine  fun!

I couldn't get enough of her in this outfit. After looking through these pictures again to post them here, I'm seriously considering dressing her up one more time just for the fun of it. And maybe get a picture of her actually smiling ; )

Prayers for Paris

What a tragic and scary time happening in Paris right now.

I have to be honest, it overwhelms my heart every time I hear of another terrorist attack. It seems they are happening more and more frequently. Sometimes it feels as if it's only a matter of time before it will happen somewhere that either myself or people I love happen to be. I know these things are beyond my control and I have no plans to live in fear, but we now live in a time where terrorist attacks are a reality. And yes, its scary.  

A very sad and scary time.

Parisians are dealing with something they probably never dreamed of encountering. 

My prayers are with them.

My prayers are with the people of Paris tonight.

Those who have lost loved ones.

Those who have been injured.

Those are who treating the wounded.

Those are escaped the frightful night physically unharmed but emotionally and mentally scarred.

Those who are cleaning up the sites of disaster.

Those protecting and those who need protected.

Those who may need to make tough decisions in the coming days.

Even though it is overwhelming to see and hear of the tragedies in this world, as a christian, I do have hope. I do have something to hold on to. I can have confidence in one victory.

Do you need something to hold on to during crazy times like these? 

Thank you Lord!

Something to hold on to as I head to bed tonight that will bring peace to this soul.

I hope it will bring peace to yours as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

#prayforparis

Crockpot Recipe Round Up

A few nights ago Mark made a special request for a dinner - homemade macaroni and cheese made in the crockpot. It was something that we hadn't had in a while and bonus! something easy I could make for one of the nights I worked because it's made in the crockpot. I was more than willing to oblige him.

I couldn't find the recipe in the kitchen anywhere but I remembered posting about it here on the blog so I looked it up. It was funny to read the post because I talked about how Mark was not a fan of the crockpot and how the mac n cheese was the first thing he ever really liked that came out of one. He's come a long way since then - probably because I've come a long way since then in my ability to cook halfway decent meals the majority of the time. (I'm definitely still a work in progress!)

So with that being said I thought it'd be fun to round up my most commonly used slow cooker recipes that are winners here in our house and their original source. Because I'm pretty sure you're dying to know what I cook in my crockpot.

1.) Mac N Cheese - the original version that I posted here. I have upped the ante a little bit and now I add about 1tsp of ground mustard and 1 tsp of garlic powder to kick up the flavor just a tad.

2.) Homemade Chili - we just leave out the beans because, well, beans are eww and lots of times I'll leave out the sugar as well. There just isn't a need for it. I like this recipe because it doesn't use any pre-packaged chili mix so no processed mess. In all honestly, we usually eat "dirty" foods ha, most of the rest of these recipes have processed stuff in them. But it feels good when something can be easy and "clean."

3.) Chicken N Dumplin's - okay, so 1st - the best way to make chicken n dumplins is they way my grandma does it with all homemade ingredients and broth that simmers and thickens with homemade mashed potatoes. But sometimes I don't have time for that so this quick version actually turns out great in the crockpot! 2nd - I know I just talked about how it feels good when I don't eat processed foods and this recipe has a few no-no's in it if you're looking to eat clean. But again - its the quick weeknight, moms gotta work until 7 version.

4.) Shredded BBQ Chicken - Have you seen where you can use a hand mixer to shred chicken?! It's a game changer when it comes to recipes like this. Google it. Pinterest it. I usually just buy some Hawaiian sweet rolls to make some of these sandwiches and serve with a side of sweet potato fries.

5.) Cheesy Potato Soup - this is one is super easy, rich and delicious. Love it! Perfect for winter nights.

6.) BBQ Pork Baby Back Ribs - I only made this once because purchasing baby back ribs isn't a luxury we usually allow into our grocery budget, but Oh My Soul - these turned out way better than expected. If your grocery store has ribs on sale (which was the case this particular time) and you don't have the hours upon hours that you're supposed to have to slow cook these babies on a grill - then try this recipe. You won't be disappointed.

7.) Italian Chicken - This recipe has the chicken diced up and served over rice or some other grain, but I've usually just cooked the chicken breast whole and served with a side of veggies or something and it tastes great that way too. I'll also make chicken with different seasonings this way too! I just have to be careful about cook time so it doesn't get too dry.

8.) Spaghetti Squash - I found this cooking tip out while doing the clean eating challenge in September. After the squash is cooked you can season it just like you would regular spaghetti, even add meatballs if you want! Or you can keep it simpler with just olive oil, garlic powder and salt. Any recipe you look up that uses spaghetti squash, cooking it in the crockpot is the way to go!

9.) Sweet Potatoes - this one is kind of like the squash - its more of a technique than a recipe but its great way to cook up potatoes! We love sweet potatoes and when we have them for dinner it is usually the main course. 1 sweet potato each is enough to fill us up : )

10.) Meatballs - we don't usually have these but I made them for Reaghan's birthday party and they were a huge hit! Super easy appetizer to take to a gathering or make for a Christmas party. (Also I was wracking my brain to think of just ONE MORE recipe that I've made in the crockpot to round this number off to 10 and meatballs were the only thing left that I could think of!)

SO there you have it! My top 10 Crockpot Successes. I've had quite the long list of failures too... like chicken broccoli and rice casserole {too mushy} and crockpot lasagna {crispy noodles}... and I've tried TWICE now to make a decent pot roast and it always turns out way to dry. Basically inedible. So I don't have plans to revisit pot roast any time soon - because it basically sucks to buy an expensive piece of meat that you hoped to use for at least 2 meals go to waste because it's way overcooked....

....Which brings me to my last thoughts on my crockpot meals. My slow cooker is basically an incinerator when its on high. I always cook things on low for a set amount of time and then allow it to go to the warm setting to slowly finish cooking. Otherwise consider the dish ruined.


What are your favorite crockpot meals?! Now that I'm working 3 nights a week, the crockpot has been in pretty constant rotation - seeing the countertop at least once a week. I could use some good ideas!

Happy November!

 I just can't wrap my head around how fast October flew by!

We have a few new things going this month...

Mark will start taking a hybrid class on Tuesdays nights through TCC. His work is partnering with the college so classes will be held right at his work. This should open up doors in the future for him for promotions or management and the like.

I will be getting my wisdom teeth out this Thursday! Yikes! I've only been putting this off for the last 6 years or so. I'm nervous. I hate the thought of being put under anesthesia and I'm not looking forward to being groggy and feeling yucky after the fact while also performing mom duties too. haha Thankfully Mark will be taking off work.

Other than that, November should be our regular busy schedules with hopefully some time to slow down and start preparing for the holidays!