One little cooking experiment.....

A few months ago, we had a freezer mishap. SOMEone (I refuse to acknowledge that it may have been ME...)left the freezer door open and most of our meat defrosted. I was going to give it away rather than throw it away when one of my FB friends reminded me that if I cooked it, I could refreeze whatever I cooked. So, I came up with several things I could make with the meat, spent all afternoon and evening cooking, and froze the results. All of a sudden, our evenings were much less rushed, and our "what do you want for dinner?" question much less open-ended. IT WAS SO NICE!! One of my friends here uses her crock pot a lot and she has several meals that she preps in advance and freezes so all she has to do is dump the contents into her crockpot, add whatever is left, and turn it on. I called her up, and we merged our plans and here is what we came up with:

Each of us comes up with four meals that can be easily doubled or quadrupled (depending on the recipe size) and makes a grocery list. *****Remember to multiply all ingredients by four!**** We shop together one morning, then spend the afternoon prepping everything to cook the next day--chopping vegetables, cutting up meat, and measuring spices--all into ziploc bags that we just need to dump into pots. We try to do some crock pot meals, some soups/stews on the stove top, and some oven meals so that we're not overloading one area. (I have been known to borrow crock pots from everyone I know on our cooking day!) The next morning, one of us picks up coffee (ahhh, Starbucks!) and we spend the next several hours cooking up yummy food and chatting. You could also cook everything separately and just do an exchange at the end, but we find it more fun to be social :-) All meals are divided into four gallon-sized Ziplocs; labeled with the date, name of the meal, number of servings, and we also put the Weight Watchers points per serving since we're both doing WW; and then put into the freezer to freeze. ***Tip: If the bags are laid flat to freeze, they defrost more quickly when you're ready to eat them.***

We each end up with 16 4-6 serving meals in our freezer as well as two days of grown-up conversation. So far, the experiment has been a rip-roaring success!! But, I do want to add that if you have bigger kids or you're not doing WW and have bigger appetites, the portions might need to be adjusted for you. I find that we usually will feed our entire family (portion for me, portion for Scott, and my kids split 1-2) for dinner and then Scott and I end up with two-thirds-1 portion each for lunch the next day.

Here is a list of some of the cookware you'll need if you're interested in doing any of our recipes:

large 12-inch covered skillet
12-quart stockpot/soup pot (minimum for the Cuban black bean soup!)
smaller stockpot--8-quart (shrimp and bean gumbo and red beans)
5-6 quart slow cooker/crock pot (works best if you have at least two of these)
large baking dishes

For resources to find recipes, we've relied on family favorites, crock pot cookbooks, and freezer-cooking websites. Anything goes, as long as it freezes well and is fairly easy to cook. We've also done a few marinades/basting sauces since those are the most time-consuming part of making dinner each evening.

These are some of the recipes we've done so far. This is the single-recipe version. I've noted whether we've doubled or quadrupled them. In general, my picky kiddos have eaten most of it and even have a few favorites of my friend's that they've requested we cook again!



1) Cuban Black Bean Soup (I quadrupled, but only used 3x the broth)

* Cooking spray
* 1/3 cup each chopped celery, onion, and bell pepper
* 2 (15 oz) cans black beans
* 1 (14.5 oz) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
* 2 cups vegetable broth
* 1/2 tsp ground cumin
* 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
* 1/8 tsp ground allspice



1. Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat; coat pan with cooking spray. Add vegetable mix to pan; saute 2 minutes. Stir in beans and next 5 ingredients. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes.

2. Mash beans slightly with a potato masher or blend with immersion blender. Stir until soup is slightly thickened. Top each serving with 1 Tbsp. sour cream and 1 Tbsp. green onions, if desired.

3. Can also serve over 1/4 cup cooked rice



YIELD: 4 servings (serving size: about 1 1/2 cups soup, 1 tbsp sour cream, and 1 tbsp green onions).


2)Slow Cooker Fiesta Chicken and Rice (quadrupled)

*4 4-oz Chicken breasts
*1 can corn, drained
*1 can black beans
*1 cup salsa
*2 tablespoons taco seasoning
*1 can cream of chicken soup (can use fat free)
*2 cups cooked rice
*cheese or other desired toppings

Cut chicken breasts into strips and place in gallon-sized ziploc bag. Add corn, black beans, salsa, and taco seasoning. Stir. Freeze. When ready to cook, defrost in fridge overnight, then add to slow cooker. Top with cream of chicken soup and stir. Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours or on high 3-4 hours. When ready to serve, stir in your cooked rice. Serve with favorite toppings and enjoy!


3)Slow Cooker Chicken Burritos (quadrupled and it makes a ton! But you can defrost only what you need since they're individually frozen)


*4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, uncooked
*8 oz can tomato sauce
*½ cup salsa
*Taco seasoning, low sodium
*2 cloves of garlic, minced
*Hot sauce to taste
*1 bag of instant rice
*2 cans low fat refried beans



1. Place tomato sauce and salsa in crock-pot. Add taco seasoning; stir.

2. Put uncooked chicken on top of sauce and cook on high 3 ½ hours.

3. When chicken is done, stir until it is finely shredded and mixed well in the sauce.

4. Cook one bag of instant rice al dente. Open bag and place rice in crock-pot about 15 minutes before it is finished; stir.

5. Take tortillas and spread beans on bottom. Place the chicken filling on top and roll up into a burrito. Use non-stick aluminum foil to wrap the burritos individually and freeze.

*Wrapping the individual burritos makes them easy to store in the freezer and use when needed.

*When ready to cook, defrost in the fridge overnight then bake at 350 degrees x 30-40 minutes. Keep in foil for more moist tortilla and unwrap to cook for crispier.

4)Easy Salsa Chicken (quadruple--will need multiple cookers)


*3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (About 16 ounces)
*2 cups tomato salsa
*1 16-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
*1 teaspoon garlic powder
*1 teaspoon ground cumin
*1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
*1 cup frozen corn
*Chopped fresh cilantro

Place chicken, salsa, beans, and spices in a 3 1/2 quart slow-cooker. Cover and cook on LOW 7 to 8 hours. Stir, turn control to HIGH and add corn. Cover and cook 15 to 20 minutes. Serve over rice and sprinkle with chopped cilantro.

5)White Bean Chili (quadrupled)

*1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
*1 tb vegetable oil
*2 med onions, chopped
*2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
*3 cups chicken broth
*1 pkg white bean chili seasoning
*1 15oz bag frozen whole kernel corn
*1 15oz bag frozen baby lima beans
*1 15oz can great northern beans, drained

Place chicken and broth in slow cooker for 4 hours on high. Shred chicken when cooked.

Once chicken is cooked, heat oil in large pan over medium heat. Cook onions and garlic in oil, stirring occasionally until onions are tender. Put this and remaining ingredients in slow cooker and cook an additional 1-2 hours, or until everything is thoroughly heated through.


6)Crockpot Jambalaya (used one recipe--it makes a ton!)

*1 pound chicken breast (strips)
*1/2 pound kilbasa
*1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
*1 bag whole okra (slice okra in circles)
*1 onion (chopped)
*1 green bellpepper (chopped)
*1 stalk celery (chopped)
*2 cups chicken broth
*1 cup cream of chicken soup
*2 tsp dried oregano
*2 tsp cajun or creole seasoning
*1 tsp hot sauce
*2 bay leaves
*1/2 tsp dried thyme
*1 tsp cayenne pepper
*2 tsp parsley

Cook in 5-6 quart crockpot on low for 7 hours or high for 3 hours. Freeze only the sauce, then defrost overnight, heat up in a stockpot on the stovetop, and serve over rice. ****I make a separate rice cooker of rice, then blend the rice and the jambalaya in an empty pot on the stove until it's the right consistency. I then let it sit for 10 minutes before we serve.

7)Red beans and rice (doubled, and I did these the day before since they need to cook a while!)

*1 pound dry red beans or dry red kidney beans
*1 pound tasso (smoked ham if you can find it) or 1 pound meaty smoked pork hocks (will be with the pork at the grocery store--ask if you can't find them)
*1 large onion, chopped
*2 stalks celery, chopped
*1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
*3 garlic cloves, minced
*2 bay leaves
*1 pound smoked sausage (if you can find andouille [ahn-doo-ee] that works best)
*salt and pepper to taste (can add crushed red pepper if you want a little spice)

Rinse beans in a colander. In a large pot, combine beans and enough water to cover them by a couple of inches. Soak 6-8 hours or overnight. Drain and rinse.

(If you don't want to do the overnight soak, or if you forget, you can put beans and water in pot and bring to a boil. Simmer x 2 minutes, remove from heat, cover and let stand for 1 hour. Drain and rinse. You'll have to cook them longer on the back end because they won't be as soft, but this has saved me a couple of times when I forget to put them on to soak the night before!)

Before returning beans to pot, saute onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic in oil or butter until tender. Add beans, bay leaves, enough water to cover beans, salt and pepper, and tasso or pork hocks. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer about 2 1/2 hours. Be sure to stir occasionally. Add water as mixture cooks down and thickens. After 2 1/2 hours, uncover beans and continue to cook. Remove meat from pot & allow to cool. Debone meat and chop coarsely. Add sausage and chopped meat to beans. Bring mixture back to a boil, then again reduce heat and simmer, uncovered. You'll need to cook until beans pretty much turn to mush and a thick gravy forms (30-60 more min). Keep adding water as mixture thickens and allow to cook down. As gravy begins to form, be careful not to add too much water and you'll want to stir more frequently to keep beans from sticking. You can pronounce them "done" when the beans are completely mushy :-) Freeze, then defrost overnight in the fridge, heat up in a stockpot on stovetop, remove bay leaves and serve over rice.

8)Shrimp and Bean Gumbo--WW recipe (quadrupled, but only used 2 jalapenos and it honestly could have used a little more spice so next time I'll try three)

*1 Tbsp canola oil
*1 medium uncooked onion(s), chopped
*1 clove(s) (medium) garlic clove(s), minced
*1 medium jalapeño pepper(s), minced (don't touch seeds with bare hands)
*1 rib(s) (medium) uncooked celery, rib, chopped
*1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
*14 1/2 oz canned diced tomatoes, undrained
*15 oz canned kidney beans, rinsed and drained
*2 cup(s) uncooked okra, frozen, sliced (do not thaw)
*1/4 tsp dried thyme, or to taste
*1/4 tsp dried oregano, or to taste
*1/2 tsp table salt, or to taste
*1/4 tsp black pepper, or to taste
*1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce, or to taste
*1 1/2 cup(s) canned chicken broth, or vegetable broth
*12 oz uncooked shrimp, large variety, peeled and deveined

Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, jalapeno and celery; cook, stirring frequently, 10 minutes. Add flour; stir constantly until flour is absorbed.


Add tomatoes with their liquid; stir constantly, scraping up any browned bits in pot. Stir in beans, okra, thyme, oregano, salt, pepper and hot pepper sauce; stir well. Add broth; bring to a boil over high heat. Simmer x 30 minutes to blend flavors, then cool and freeze. Defrost overnight in fridge, heat in a stockpot on the stovetop and bring to a boil. Add shrimp; reduce heat to low and simmer until shrimp are cooked through, about 10 minutes.

Yield: about 1 1/2 cups per serving




9)Italian Meatballs--WW recipe (doubled)

*1 1/2 tsp regular butter
*1 1/2 tsp olive oil
*1 large uncooked onion(s), minced
*1 pound(s) uncooked lean ground beef
*1 large egg(s), beaten
*1 Tbsp parsley, fresh, finely minced (or 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning)
*3/4 tsp table salt
*1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
*1/4 cup(s) canned beef broth, or chicken broth
*1/4 cup(s) white wine (can sub chicken broth)

In a large skillet, melt butter and oil over medium heat. Add onions; cook, stirring occasionally, until they start to caramelize, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove onions to a large mixing bowl and add beef, egg, parsley (or Italian seasoning), salt and red pepper flakes; mix well to combine. With damp hands, roll forty-eight 1/2-inch meatballs. (the Pampered Chef small scoop made this part very easy, but it makes them larger so you will end up with around 36 meatballs instead of 48)


Place same skillet over medium-low heat. Add meatballs, broth and wine; simmer until cooked through, gently turning meatballs once during cooking, about 20 minutes.

Yield: 4 meatballs per serving



10)Italian Slow-Cooker Stew (quadrupled--took 4 crock pots)
*1 small uncooked onion(s), chopped
*1 clove(s) (medium) garlic clove(s), minced
*1 large uncooked zucchini, diced
*16 oz uncooked lean beef round, cut into 1-inch chunks, or 1 pound
*1/2 tsp dried oregano, crushed
*14 1/2 oz canned diced tomatoes, undrained
*1 Tbsp canned tomato paste
*3/4 cup(s) dry lentils
*4 cup(s) canned beef broth
*1 tsp table salt
*1/4 tsp black pepper
*1/4 cup(s) basil, fresh, slivered

Place all ingredients, except basil, in a 5-quart or larger slow cooker; stir well. Cook on LOW setting for 6 to 7 hours.


Remove cover; stir in basil. Cover and cook on LOW setting for 5 minutes more.

Yield: about 1 1/2 cups per serving.




And, here are a couple of marinades we've done. Mandi has used the BBQ Shrimp one over chicken and said it's delicious, and I'm dying to try the Orange Marmalade over pork or Salmon!!

1) Barbecue Shrimp (I double this recipe except for the shrimp, marinate the shrimp in half and reserve the other half either to dip, or we make quinoa and mix the sauce in with the quinoa, then peel the shrimp and toss that in, too. So, I basically made this x 8 for Mandi and me, but be sure to make them separately into quart-sized ziplocs or the oil won't blend well)

If preparing this to freeze, prepare just the marinade--do not freeze the shrimp with it.

*32 unpeeled jumbo shrimp (about 1 1/2 pounds)
*2 tablespoons olive oil
*1 tablespoon brown sugar
*1 tablespoon lemon juice
*1 tablespoon ketchup
*2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
*1 teaspoon chili powder
*1 teaspoon black pepper
*1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
*1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
*1/4 teaspoon salt
*1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
*1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
*2 garlic cloves, minced

Cooking spray

1. Devein shrimp by cutting a slit along the top edge of each shrimp and removing vein; leave shell intact. Place shrimp in a large bowl.

2. Combine oil and next 12 ingredients, stirring with a whisk. **If doubling, reserve half and pour half over shrimp.** Pour marinade over shrimp, tossing to coat. Cover and let stand 30 minutes.

**If serving over quinoa, cous-cous, or rice, prepare that while the shrimp marinate.

3. If using grill, prepare grill. (I use a grill pan on the stovetop and forgo the skewers. You could also just use a large skillet)

4. Thread shrimp onto 4 (12 inch) metal skewers. Place skewers on grill rack coated with cooking spray. Cook 3 minutes on each side or until shrimp are done. Remove from skewers, and serve immediately.


2)Spicy Orange Marmalade Glaze (quadrupled and froze the first 5 ingredients into quart-sized ziploc bags)--would also be good on pork, salmon, or shrimp!

*1/2 cup orange marmalade glaze
*2 scallions, chopped
*1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
*2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
*1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
*4 (4-ounce) skinless boneless chicken breasts
*1/2 teaspoon salt



1. Sprinkle salt on chicken and place in a baking pan.
2. Whisk together first 5 ingredients and brush half of marinade onto chicken.
3. Bake at 350 x 20 minutes or until cooked through, brushing marinade over chicken 1-2 times during cooking times.

It's been a while!

It's been almost a year since I've updated! Lots has happened (which leads into my list of excuses!) so stay tuned for some major updates in the days to come. Be sure to scroll all the way back to February 2011 so you don't miss anything :-)

Ice, Sleet, and Snow!

Last night, we got a ton of rain, which froze and then turned to sleet. It piled up on the ground and looked just like snow until you tried to shovel it--HEAVY!! It gradually turned to snow, so we have a layer of sleet and ice with snow on top. Very dangerous. All schools are closed today, and likely will be tomorrow, too. It definitely makes for some beautiful pictures, though!!

One of our bushes encased in ice:

From Ice Storm

Our mailbox--the maillady had to break the seal to open it, so you can see how thick the ice is at the edge:

From Ice Storm

Here is a piece of ice from Scott's car. He was breaking it up and then sweeping it away. It's at least a quarter inch thick:

From Ice Storm

Our rhododendron:

From Ice Storm

My three munchkins all dressed up to play in the snow. Even Colin had a great time this time!! Previous excursions into the snow haven't been very successful with him!

From Ice Storm

Two biggest boys trying to stay warm:

From Ice Storm

William helping with the shoveling:

From Ice Storm

Check out the lack of footprints in the snow! The "snow" is really packed down sleet and ice. Very difficult to break up and get rid of--our neighbor used an ice pick! The snow plow only made some headway where the pipes run under the street and it was warmer so it could be broken up. The street in this picture has already been plowed:

From Ice Storm

I honestly thought I'd never say this, but after this winter, I'm about done with the cold weather and snow! Thank goodness we're on to warmer pastures for the next winter (although I'm sure when it's 80 outside in JANUARY I'll be wishing for a little ice and snow ;-) )!!

Updates.....

Big updates (again!) Start with the first November post & I promise not to be too wordy ;-) To be honest, I don't remember enough about that long ago to BE too wordy!

Seinfeld!

It was my friend Stacey's birthday & her husband got Seinfeld tickets. They invited Scott & me to go, so after William's party, we rushed home, pulled a few gifts out of their packages, changed clothes, and hurried off to dinner and then Seinfeld.

What a great night! Seinfeld was as funny as ever and we had a great time. Thanks so much, Petes for inviting us along :-)

From Seinfeld

The party!!

William's present was a bit delayed (translation: Mommy and Daddy didn't get it ordered quickly enough for it to be here ON his birthday, darn those close-to-Christmas birthdays!!), so it showed up earlier this week. Look at that HUUUUUGE smile:

From William party

He's been whipping around the block and cannot wait until the snow melts and it's a little warmer so he can ride it all the time!

Today was his party at Oro Partyland. It's basically a smaller, cleaner version of Chuck E. Cheese. He'd been talking about having a party there since September when we went to a party there for one of the boys in his class. Another mom and I teamed up since her little girl and William have very close BDs and they both wanted to have their party there. Thank goodness we got on the schedule when we did because today was the last day it was open. I guess their space has gotten a little small, so they're moving farther away and this location that is pretty close to us will be closed :-(

William wanted a train theme, but I couldn't find any generic trains, so back to Thomas it was! Ava had a My Little Pony theme:

From William party

From William party

There were lots of things to ride:

From William party

From William party

From William party

From William party

CHEESE!!!

From William party

From William party

Including bumper cars, which are William's absolute favorite!!

From William party

Party guests:

Luke Simmons:

From William party

Luke Bautz:

From William party

Will Bautz:

From William party

The Birthday Girl and Boy:

From William party

The Birthday boy and his cake:

From William party

He truly got some fabulous presents and couldn't wait to get home and open them all up. Thanks to everyone who was able to make it to his party!!

Playdates

William has a new best friend from school. He's been begging for Luke to come over for a playdate, so after the holidays, his mom and I finally got it all configured. Luke rode home from school with us, the boys had a snack, and then played Wii for an hour until his mom came to get him. Doesn't sound super-exciting, I know, but for two little kindergardeners, it was quite the afternoon!! They even made a foray into the backyard, but since there is still snow all over the ground and the temps are around 20 today, that didn't last long AT ALL! It took me more time to get them into snow gear than they spent outside :-)

From January 2011

Now, the begging has started for a sleepover......sigh!

My Baby is 6!!

I'm not sure what happened--he's six today?!?!?! And, what a grown-up 6 he's turned out to be! He's such a little mix of sweet on-my-way to grown-up and impish little boy. As headstrong as can be, but as sweet as can be, too!! He's halfway through his kindergarden year and doing very well in school--reading like a champ and starting to have spelling tests once a week now that he's finished all of his sight word tests. Recently, he's gotten very interested in all things anatomical, so I guess I'm going to have to pull out all of my old Anatomy and Physiology texts and give myself a little refresher. In true William fashion, every question leads to another until I find myself trying to explain exactly HOW your intestines take all of those vitamins and nutrients out of the food!! Most days now, I thank the good Lord for my PT background so at least I have SOME knowledge of how these things work. Otherwise, I'd be spending a lot of time on google.com!!

Keeping our newly-founded tradition alive, the kiddos got to have cupcakes for breakfast this morning. Apparently William took great note of Daniel's "party" back in July--we drug out blowers and hats since Scott was deployed and he'd decided to delay his party for a few months until his daddy and two best friends came home. I'd never considered pulling all of that out this morning since William's party is going to be next weekend, but he looked at me all excitedly as I went into his room to tell him to get dressed and said, "Mommy, I can't wait to see all of the party stuff downstairs!" OOPS!!! Mommy had to make a mad run down to the basement to grab a bunch of stuff & thankfully, the day was saved. PHEW! Here are the snaps:

From William BD

From William BD

From William BD

And, since Maddie and Allie ride to school with us, they even got in on the action!

From William BD

Happy 6th Birthday to the William-man!!!!

DC, kid-free

The Tuesday after Christmas, Scott & I left the boys at Nana and Grandpa Sam's and flew off to DC for the wedding of one of our good friends. We met Jay when he and Scott were stationed together in Columbus, MS, and have kept in close contact for all these years. Jay is stationed at the Pentagon right now & his fiancee Kristen is a nurse who has a pretty high position there, too. They are both Majors and have both been married before (Kristen has a couple of very sweet pre-teens!), so the Washington Post even did a write-up of the wedding!!! Apparently, they were featuring military "blended" marriages and Kristen and Jay fit the bill to a T. The article was fabulous & I know they were so excited to be featured.

The wedding was amazing--very small with only 50 or so guests. Kristen and Jay personalized the ceremony right down to their pup bringing the rings up in a Crown Royal bag, LOL!! Lots of touching moments (and darn the pregnant woman for forgetting Kleenex!!) including their vows they wrote themselves, passing around the rings to be prayed over by every guest, Kristen's children saying a special prayer over the rings, Jay giving his new stepson a pair of wings to symbolize his new "wingman", and all four of the new family members pouring colored sand into a glass vase to symbolize their new blended life together! Since it was New Year's Eve, the reception was quite the party. Great time seeing old friends and meeting new ones!!

Here are the four "boys" who hung out all the time back in the day--Jay, Corey, Scott, and Ryan (otherwise known as "Landmann" or "Uncle Ryan" to my kiddos):

From Jay & Kristen wedding

Me and Dawn before our ghost tour of Old Towne:

From Jay & Kristen wedding

Me & Scott at the wedding--New Year's Eve!!

From Jay & Kristen wedding

Dawn and me:

From Jay & Kristen wedding

Scott, Corey, and Ryan:

From Jay & Kristen wedding

The "boys" again:

From Jay & Kristen wedding

Me and Dawn with the beautiful bride:

From Jay & Kristen wedding

And, the four Muskateers:

From Jay & Kristen wedding

It was an awesome time and a nice little mid-winter getaway! Thanks, Mom & Dad for making it possible :-)

Our news

So, in mid-November this year, Scott & I received some very exciting news--we're expecting again! We didn't say anything to anyone because we wanted to be able to tell our families face-to-face. Needless to say, everyone was a little surprised. Hopefully, happily surprised, but surprised nontheless!! The estimated due date is July 29, so she/he will likely make an appearance sometime around the 22 of July since I have scheduled C-sections. Since we'll be moving around that time, it will definitely make things complicated, but what would a military move be without a few complications?????

We are kind of hoping for a girl this time, but really only want a healthy one with 10 fingers and 10 toes. We'll be finding out the sex as soon as feasibly possibly, so stay tuned for updates :-)

Louisiana Trip--part II

On the 23rd, we drove the almost 3 hours to Nana and Grandpa Sam's, also known as my mom and dad's. The boys were excited about a change of venue and very excited to see my mom and dad's dogs!

On Christmas Eve every year, my mom hosts a gathering for all of my dad's family and their kids and their kids' kids. As it sounds, it gets "extended" and crazy!! But, it's a ton of fun and we always miss it when we don't get to head that way for the holidays. The boys got to run around with some older cousins and the weather was beautiful and really cooperated this year. With Louisiana Christmas weather, you never really know what you're going to get! After the get-together, it's our Christmas tradition to head over to our church for 6 PM vigil Mass. The boys were really good this year, and only Colin ended up in the cryroom. Daniel was fascinated with the Christmas trees IN CHURCH! Our church hadn't put them up yet before we left for down south.

After Mass, it was back to Mom and Dad's for some present-opening. If only some of these pictures had audio!!!

I'd told my sister that William really wanted a sled for Christmas. Now, I'm thinking about one of the little one person ones that are about 2 feet in diameter. But, in true Auntie style, she bought the biggest one she could find! In case you were wondering, it seats THREE! You should've seen William's face when he pulled it out of the box!

From Nana's

And, of course, little brother immediately had to try it out:

From Nana's

My mom bought animal hats for all the boys this year. Daniel is in love with all things "penguin", and not knowing that, she bought him a penguin hat!! We got a stuffed penguin in a Happy Meal a couple of years ago and his tag said his name was Chill. From that point on, all penguins have been "chills". So, here is my smiley boy in his Chill hat.

From Nana's

William's was a tiger:

From Nana's

After all the presents were open, it was off to bed with the kiddos so Santa could come. William decided Santa wanted Oreos this year, so Oreos and a big glass of milk it was. Santa must really like Oreos because he ate them all! But, he was probably in a big hurry, they decided the next morning, because he left a lot of crumbs ;-)

From Nana's

The next morning, Colin's favorite presents were the talking Thomas and the talking Percy Santa put in his stocking.

From Nana's

William's didn't even come from Santa--it was a toss up between that enormous sled and the Lincoln Logs my mom and dad gave him. Apparently, Grandpa Sam really liked Lincoln Logs when he was a little boy, so he wanted William to have some. As far as I knew, William had never seen them before--none of our friends have ever pulled them out when we've been over. But, the minute he unwrapped them, he started screeching, "Look, Mom!! LINCOLN LOGS!!" Apparently, when he tells me they build stuff in his PM centers at school, they use Lincoln Logs. Who knew? I never asked--just assumed he was building with blocks. Here is a snap of our two construction men going after it with the Lincoln Logs:

From Nana's

And, the finished log cabin:

From Nana's

Later on Christmas Day, my mom's sister and her husband (Aunt Sarah and Uncle Jim) came over to have lunch with us. My boys just adore her, so that was a huge highlight! Overall, it was a Christmas filled with family, so what more could one want????

Louisiana trip--part I

On December 18, we got up bright and early, finished loading up the van and hit the road for a 10+ hour drive down to Scott's parents' house. I couldn't believe how good our 3 boys were!! There was NO fighting from the back of the van and even Colin did better than expected. He didn't really understand why he couldn't get out and run around, so when we stopped, he ran around like a MADMAN until we forced him back into his seat. But, overall, things went pretty smoothly, thank goodness.

The boys were very concerned that Trix wouldn't know where to find us, but William quickly decided that he must be flying over our van and following us. This quickly led to lots of warnings to Trix when we went under overpasses--"Watch out, Trix, there's a bridge coming up! Don't hit your head!" Scott & I were in stitches in the front seat. And, imagine the excitement when they woke up on day 2 and this is what they found:

From Maw Maw Lin's

On Monday night, we finally got to head over to NOLA for Christmas in the Oaks. (It's been closed due to weather the last 3 times we've tried!) The boys had a blast taking pictures and riding rides. Here are the 3 of them posing with a huge alligator statue--it's wearing a Santa costume!

From Maw Maw Lin's

And on the carousel:

From Maw Maw Lin's

From Maw Maw Lin's

From Maw Maw Lin's

William's favorite part was a roller coaster with a roaring dinosaur that lit up and scared you as the coaster car raced by in front of it! Daniel's favorite part was the ferris wheel--William's response to that was, "Daniel, I can't BELIEVE you picked that!" Not, as you might think, because it's not exciting, but rather because he seems to have inherited his daddy's fear of all heights!! And, poor Scott had to go on it with them because it was not advised that you ride pregnant. What do you mean??? Of COURSE I wasn't milking that........

On the Wednesday, Scott's brother Brian and his wife Kristy came over with their 3 kids to exchange presents and hang out. My boys were very excited to see their older cousins! We even managed to get them all (remotely) still for a group pic. Scott had to get down on the floor with Colin because he kept wanting to run up to the camera and yell "Cheese!"--imagine that!

Jay Douglas (12), Meredith and Madelaine (8), William (5), Colin (19 months), and Daniel (4)

From Maw Maw Lin's

And, we got a very rare shot of Scott's entire family--Chad (younger brother), Maw-Maw Lin (AKA Ms. Linda), Paw-Paw Bip (AKA Mr. Bill), Scott, and Brian (oldest brother).

From Maw Maw Lin's