Deck the Halls

A little late, story of my life lately, here are some pics of our house all decorated for the season.

Elf, DJ Ginger, up to no good

Back-Up.... Getting ready for Florida

Before going on our family trip to Florida, in November, Mike wanted to rotate the tires on the van. The boys thought it would be fun to help! These are the types of moments I look forward to my boys having with their daddy. It is important to me that they learn all he knows about cars and tools. So they can be just as handy for their future spouse as he is.

"Walk a little slower, Daddy,"
said a child so small.
"I'm following in your footsteps
and I don't want to fall.

Sometimes your steps are very fast,
Sometimes they're hard to see;
So walk a little slower, Daddy,
For you are leading me.

Someday when I'm all grown up,
You're what I want to be;
Then I will have a little child
Who'll want to follow me.

And I would want to lead just right,
And know that I was true;
So, walk a little slower, Daddy,
For I must follow you." 

Meal Planning Monday

Monday- Tuna and Noodles with peas

Tuesday- Citrus Chicken and sweet potatoes in the Crock pot

Wednesday- Hamburgers, Fries and beans (missing summer already)

Thursday- Fried Rice and egg rolls

Friday- Homemade Cinnamon Rolls and Scrambled Eggs

Saturday- Carlos O'Kelly's?

Absence .... Halloween post

I need to go back in time and play catch-up. I want to document these moments. So bare with me as I get caught up from a little blog hiatus.

Halloween 2011

Our pumpkins this year consisted of 2 spongebobs, plankton,  baby with a nukie, and polka-dots. Everyone rolled their sleeves up and dug out the guts!

Trick-or-treating was short this year, Gabby and Jayden had enough after about 30-45 mins. Dexter would have loved to continue, but was out voted. This year Dexter was Dracula (which as you can see from the photos he really got into it!) Gabby was a "Funky Vampire".... no surprise this is her personality. And finally Mr. Jayden lightyear.

Thanks to Pinterest,  we had new decorations this year. The kids helped me make faces on milk jugs to put in our flower beds.

Finally, Our favorite treat on Halloweeen..... Paper Bag Carmel Corn

This carmel corn is an great mixture of sweet and salty, yet it melts in your mouth.

1/4 cup corn syrup

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup margarine

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 bag puff corn

1 brown paper grocery bag

Combine corn syrup, brown sugar, margarine, and salt in a bowl. Microwave for 2 minutes, stir, cook again for 1 minute, stir, then 1 minute more. Add baking soda and vanilla. Place puff corn in brown paper bag, pour syrup mixture over corn and shake to mix. Place bag in microwave and cook for 1 1/2 minutes, shake, cook for 45 seconds, shake again, cook 45 more seconds, shake one last time then spread onto wax paper to cool. 

Bacon Ranch Chicken

This was on the menu last week, and is the second time I have made it since I found it on Pinterest. Bacon Ranch Chicken is a great crock pot meal. I always love this type of meal, because it makes my house smell great and all I have to do is cook some pasta and supper is ready! The last time I made this I didn't have a Ranch dressing packet. So instead I used 1/2 cup of ranch dressing. I liked it this way better, because it made a "soupier" sauce for the noodles.


Bacon Ranch Slowcooker Chicken
4 Servings

2 butterball turkey bacon strips, cooked and shredded
1 tsp minced garlic
1 package ranch dressing mix
1 10.75 oz can condensed cream of chicken soup (98% fat free)
1 cup fat-free sour cream
16 oz. chicken breasts
8 oz. pasta

Combine the first five ingredients. Place chicken in slowcooker and pour sauce over the top. Cook on high for 3.5 hours. Serve over hot noodles.

Nutritional Information: 456 calories, 61 carbs, 5 fat grams and 36 protein grams.

Meal Planning Monday

Monday- Tortellini Toss (Pampered Chef Recipe)
Tuesday- Eat out... HyVee Kids Night
Wednesday- Beef and Broccoli w/ egg rolls
Thursday- Brown Sugar Chicken (crock pot meal)
Friday- Tuna and Noodles... didn't make last week
Saturday- Homemade pizza with beer crust
Sunday- Meatloaf, cheesy tatos, and corn casserole

And lastly.... I will leave you with a little halloween preview..... Dex-ula!

Wordless Wednesday

Our first family trip to the pumpkin patch...