Dear Kroger Floral Lady...

Not sure to say thank you or not for the balloons you gave to my 3 girls this afternoon on our quick trip to pick up a few things. They kept them quite entertained as we walked the aisles and so for that, thank you! I'm sure you could hear the screaming though when we got to the check out line. Maddie had managed to get Delaney's balloon as well as her own and was having a blast playing with 2 balloons in the basket. Everything was fine and dandy till big sister tried to take her balloon back and the SCREAMING (extremely high pitched, I might add) started. All while I was trying to scan my groceries and "keep the line moving" in the self-checkout area. And then the car ride home was a whole other ordeal...balloons filling the rear-view mirror making it hard to see, etc., etc. (Thankfully, my 5 year old was the only good one holding her's nicely in her lap). And now, it sounds like a CIRCUS around here...3 little girls running around hitting and karate chopping their balloons like WILD ANIMALS!!!!! Not so sure we will be taking you up on the "free balloons" next time we come to Kroger...or maybe we will avoid you all together.

P.S. And by the way, when I got home and took the bags out of the car, I realized that I forgot to pick up the bag with the eggs in it...so you pretty much owe me $1.67 cause the last thing I have time to do is go back to get them.

Tasty Tuesday...

I came across this recipe in a magazine last week and wanted to make it that day. I ended up making it last Friday night an boy were they yummy! I chose to bake the flautas, but you can fry them (will put both options below). Enjoy.....

FLAUTAS

6 10-inch flour tortillas

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon cooking oil

2 cups shredded cooked chicken

1 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained (I used the whole can)

1/2 cup bottled salsa

1/2 cup Mexican cheese blend

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro or oregano

Cooking oil for frying or brushing

Shredded lettuce

Guacamole

Salsa

Sour Cream

Cilantro

Queso (we poured some on top, but you don't need it)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wrap tortillas tightly in foil. Heat in oven about 10 minutes or until heated through.

Meanwhile, for filling, in a large saucepan, cook onion and garlic in the 1 teaspoon hot oil until tender. Stir in chicken, black beans, salsa, cheese and cilantro.

For each flauta, spoon about 1/2 cup filling across each warm tortilla about 1&1/2 inches from one edge. Roll up tortillas as tightly as possible. Secure with wooden toothpicks.

FOR FRYING: In a large, deep skillet, heat 1 &1/2 inches of cooking oil to 365 degrees. Fry flautas, two at a time, for 2 to 3 minutes or until crisp and golden brown, turning once. Drain on paper towels. Keep fried flautas warm in a 300 degree oven while frying remaining flautas.

FOR BAKING: Prepare filling and shape flautas as directed. Place flautas on a large baking sheet and brush with 1 tablespoon cooking oil. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown and heated through.

Remove toothpicks before serving. Cut flautas crosswise, if desired. Serve with guacamole, salsa, sour cream, cilantro or queso, if desired.

"Tasty Tuesdays"...

I've decided that Tuesdays shall be declared as "Tasty Tuesday" on the good ole' blog. I enjoy cooking and as a wife and mom of 3 with another on the way, I always love when I get recipes from people that are "tested/approved". Sometimes I just feel like I get in a rut and make the same things over and over and while no one complains it's just nice to get new recipes. So this is for all of you out in blogging-land who enjoy a good recipe from time to time. Hope you enjoy and check back on each Tuesday to find something new!

TACO MEATLOAF

(serves 6)

1 & 1/2 pounds ground beef (you can use turkey, but it stays pretty moist)

1 cup crushed corn chips (usually use corn tortilla chips since we always have those)

1/3 cup taco sauce (I've found that the Kroger brand is the best, but you can use any kind)

1 TBSP. taco seasoning mix

1 egg, beaten

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Mix all ingredients (I usually use my hands...so much easier). Bake in a loaf pan which has been lined with foil, if desired. Cook at 350 degrees for about 1 hour. Take out, drain off fat and put in oven for a minute or two longer.

**I am not a meatloaf fan and I LOVE this...it's so yummy. We also like to heat up a little additional taco sauce and pour it over the meat before we eat it. And it's a hit with the girls as well...which is always a good thing.**

Merengue...

Every year Sloan and I celebrate Valentine's Day with some of our closest friends. Not sure how it all started, but the first year was in 2003 (when Delaney was about 6 weeks old) and we've just continued the tradition every year. We always take turns planning what we're doing....this year was the girls turn to plan it. So we chose to take a dance lesson at Arthur Murray's Dance Studio. This is something I would have never thought to do, so kudos to Jessamy for thinking of it! We had a blast and of course, the guys cracked jokes pretty much the whole time. I would definitely suggest getting a good group of friends together and then taking a lesson...way less pressure with a group of friends and was also less intimidating than a private lesson. The only awkward part was not dancing with your hubby the whole time...which is why I said get a GOOD group of friends together...there were 5 couples total and I literally danced with Sloan about a 1/5 of the time. After our lesson we enjoyed a yummy dinner at Cantina Laredo and were just able to sit and visit, which we never get to do since there are 13 (almost 14) kids between us....all 7 and under. So whenever we get together it's usually a madhouse, but not Saturday night. Hope everyone enjoyed their Valentine's Day...we sure did.

So much has happened since my last post...

We sold our house and moved into an apartment right before Thanksgiving (crazy time to do it). We are now settled (as settled as you can be in a "temporary" home) and actually enjoying apartment life...except for the kids who literally run laps above us at about 10 or so every night. It sounds like a herd of elephants/the ceiling is about to collapse on us. Sloan and I have definitely gotten some good laughs late at night.

Baby #4 is on the way as well. And it's another girl...we are 4 for 4!!! We are thrilled. And we are asked all the time if we are ok with it being another girl and we are seriously ok with it. Having had 2 miscarriages before you realize that is doesn't matter what the outcome is gender-wise, you are just happy at the end result...a baby that has grown for 40 weeks inside your body and is now apart of your family. Sorry, I could go on and on but will spare everyone the soapbox.

We are in the process of building a house with the help of Sloan's brother, Bruce. We are the builders and since Bruce has some house building experience he has offered to help give us guidance along the way. He has been a huge help already and hopefully we will be breaking ground within the next few weeks. The nailing down the house plan has taken a lot longer than we had anticipated and are starting to feel the time crunch, but know that it's all in the Lord's hands and His timing is perfect. I probably feel it the most as the wife/mom, especially since our little #4 princess is supposed to arrive the end of May and the house probably won't be done till the end of June. But the Lord has given me a peace about it and again, I know rest in knowing it will be done in His perfect time.

We've had holidays, birthdays, snow days, and now we are entering tax season for Sloan. Every tax season is different and so we will see what this one holds for us. So far, it's off to a quick start since they are somewhat behind already due to the snow/ice we had the end of last month and now from the beginning of this week. I'm sure I will blog about tax season before it is over on April 15, so just get ready.

And I'm going to be better about blogging. I've been inspired by so many other bloggers this past week and I can do this. I need to do it...I love the memories it can be for our family and I love the idea of making your blog into a scrapbook every year or so to capture all that your family has done/been through. When I was homeschooled my mom used to make us journal every day and for some reason that keeps coming back to me in regards to blogging...I can do this! Stay tuned.............

Make-up Game

Delaney had a make-up soccer game last Thursday night. What a great game it was, too. They ended up losing by 1 point, but our girls played hard and we were all so proud of them considering the team they played were a year older than them. Anyway, our funny of the day was when I was telling both girls (while driving home from Target) that Delaney had a make-up game and when we got home we had to start getting ready to go. Isabelle piped right up and said, "MAKE-UP!!! I LOVE make-up!!! Is there going to be make-up at the soccer game?" I kind of chuckled and then tried to explain to them that there would not be make-up at the game but that we were making up a game that Delaney hadn't played earlier due to the rain. Isabelle still didn't get it and just said, "I wish there was going to be make-up at the soccer field...I sure LOVE it!" Oh, Isabelle, what are your daddy and I going to do with you in about 8 years??!!

Fun at the AR State Fair

Mommy and Madeline at the Fair!

Isabelle being her sassy self!

Delaney and Wilson on the Kite Flyer ride. This was her FAVE of the night!

Sweet Maddie!

The annual picture of all the cousins at the Fair!

Every year we go to the AR state fair with Sloan's side of the family (or whoever can go that year). We have made this an annual tradition since I think Delaney was almost 2 and Sloan's sister's oldest, Wilson, was almost 3. This year was the first year that we really felt the "change/shift" in our fair outing. We literally had two different age groups this year...and as a mom, talk about feeling torn. Which kid do I hang out with? I wish I could've had a clone that night...so I could watch both of my kids (Delaney and Isabelle) ride the rides, see the animals and just plain, have fun! But that is not the case, as many moms know. So, I tried to split time, which sort of worked, but not really. Thankfully, having family there helped...Isabelle wanted to stay with "her cousin Avery" and thankfully my sis and bro-in-law were ok watching her along with their two...truthfully, Gdad and Gamma were there to help as well. So, I stayed with Delaney and Madeline tagged along...like she has a choice, she was confined to her stroller pretty much the whole time. Delaney had fun with her boy cousins...they rode some rides that pretty much shocked us...we couldn't believe they wanted to ride the adult rides and let me tell you, they enjoyed every minute of them.