It's A Work Weekend

so there's not much to write about. I cooked one of Savy's favorite dishes for dinner tonight. I'll share the recipe since it's really easy and healthy too.

Start with MorningStar Farms Meal Starters Grillers Recipe Veggie Crumbles


I rarely eat ground beef anymore...this is a great substitute.

I put the veggie grillers with some chopped green peppers and chopped onions (I usually buy those frozen too) in a skillet and cook on high heat until thawed. Then I add a can of fat-free refried beans, a can of black beans, and a packet or two of Taco Bell taco seasoning. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Toast some taco shells (you could also use tortilla chips) and crumble them into the mixture. Top with shredded cheese (I used Mexican blend) and sour cream, and you're done.





It may not look that great in the pics, but it's really good.

Texas De Brazil

Last night, Savy insisted on cooking for Rose and Ruth in her kitchen. She made ice cream sundaes and her famous "mouse cake." She is so proud of her playroom.





In this pic, Savy is telling Rose to stay out of her kitchen...Rose was pretending to cook, and Savy didn't like it.


Krista and I saw the movie Twilight last night, then we went to Buffalo Wild Wings after the movie for a bite to eat. I wish she lived closer...we don't get to see each other nearly enough!


Lindsey drove in last night, but everyone was already in bed when I got home. Savy just ate up all the attention they gave her and actually posed for some pics this morning.


Lunch was excellent...we were all so stuffed we could barely move. Savy's favorite part of the meal was dessert.


I asked Lesa to take some pictures of Jon, Savy and me when we got home. Savy was very uncooperative. I don't know if we'll ever get a decent photo of the three of us together....if she's looking at the camera, then Jon or I have some goofy look or our eyes closed or something like that. I would like to post every pic in order (it's actually really funny), but I know Jon would censor the ones where he thinks he looks goofy. Here's one that pretty much sums up the whole experience...me looking frustrated, Jon looking at Savy, and Savy playing dead.



This is actually a good one of Jon, but I look goofy and Savy's hiding in her vest.



And those were the best ones out of the whole bunch!

Oh well, I'm off to watch a movie with Lesa, Ruth, and Jon.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Lesa, Rose, and Ruth got here yesterday afternoon and Lindsey got here later last night. I had a date with Krista to see Twilight last night....good movie, even if it is geared toward the younger crowd. I'll have pictures later. I'm trying to get all my work done this morning since we're leaving for Texas de Brazil at noon.

Playing Around

I took some pics of Savy today (no pre-school this week). I planned to experiment more with the different manual settings on my camera, but she is just too active. I thought an all-day sucker might slow her down some....not so much. And the grass color is funky because our lawn service sprayed it yesterday.


This next one is my favorite.






Savy's laughing at Kallie, who is just dying to get a lick of that lollipop...she's whining because I made her leave Savy alone.





Vita was very well-behaved and did not try to steal a lick.



It is so frustrating....when she is actually still for a moment, there is no time to even think about changing a setting. I'm getting really good at adjusting the shutter speed though!

Sorry For Not Posting

but I've been busy cleaning house all day. We're having guests for Thanksgiving....no, I'm not cooking Thanksgiving dinner. We have reservations for Thanksgiving dinner at Texas de Brazil, which is one of my all time favorite restaurants. If you've never eaten at Texas de Brazil, you should really try it at least once...unless you're a vegetarian. I'm really looking forward to it!

Miscellaneous

If anyone has a little-bitty one, Marshalls in Cordova has size 6-12 month Robeeze infant shoes for $19.99 right now! They only have a girls style brown with pink hearts...if I knew we would have another girl sometime, I would've bought a pair. Robeeze shoes were my favorite for Savy until she started walking a lot....they are so comfy and stay on better than any others I tried.

Also......SAVY USED THE POTTY FOR ME TODAY!!!!! After her bath, she asked to sit on the potty, and she actually pee-peed in the potty. I was so excited, I was jumping up and down! YAY!!!!

My Surprise

I woke up to beautiful roses this morning....thank you, Jon!





I'm starting a new tradition. In case you didn't know, I'm great at copying other people's good ideas...yeah, I know, it's a real talent. Anyway, I heard about this mom who had a great idea for a photo project using an old fashioned bathing suit that had belonged to one of her older family members. I think she started this when her daughter was a newborn. Every year, on her daughter's birthday, she photographed her daughter in the bathing suit....up until her fifteenth birthday, when the suit actually fit her. Then she took all the photos and mounted them together in a collage. I tried to find the site where I read about this so you guys could see the finished product, but it's been awhile. But is that a great idea or what?
I came across my wedding dress in the back of the closet while I was cleaning out the old guest room for Savy. So I decided to do the same thing...only with my wedding dress instead of a bathing suit. I really wish I'd started this when she was a newborn, and I'm actually starting a week and a half after her third birthday....but it's still a really cute idea. Here are the first photos of her in Mommy's wedding dress at 3 years old.






She thought the dress was beautiful and kept telling me "I'm a princess" while I took her pictures. And here's how her mommy looked in it 4 1/2 years ago.




I still love this dress. Krista went with me to pick out my dress...it was the huge bi-annual sale at Lows Bridal (in Arkansas) where there is often only one of a particular dress to be had. I had tried on several dresses and just couldn't find "the one." I was starting to get discouraged when I saw this other girl wearing the most beautiful dress....unfortunately it was the only one of it's kind. I was sooooo disappointed. Well, Krista followed that girl around (she was still trying on other dresses), and when she put that dress down, Krista snatched it! That's how I got the perfect dress! That is a real friend...I love ya, Krista!

The Unveiling

This was Savy's reaction when she saw her new playroom for the first time.



We went to Toys R Us after preschool to kill some time until Jon came home, and I bought her that ice cream set as a "room-warming" present....she couldn't wait to serve us ice cream in her room. Later, she settled down in her reading corner with a book.



Here are pics of the guest bedroom upstairs.




And the upstairs guest bath.



I've got to get to work on the big bonus room tomorrow. There's a queen bed in there along with the two twin beds/window seats for sleeping. I'll post pics of it when I'm done.

Savy's New Playroom

Jon and I recently decided to make our downstairs guest bedroom into a playroom for Savy. Jon actually suggested this some time ago, but I wanted to keep it as a bedroom....Mom, and Nanny and Lee Ottis came to spend the night with us pretty frequently back then. A couple of days ago, I decided it was time to give up the downstairs guest room. Now, don't worry, we still have plenty of room for overnight guests....the upstairs is almost like a separate house (just with a wet bar instead of a kitchen).
We worked our butts off last night moving all the furniture in that room upstairs into the empty bedroom. I dropped Savy off at preschool this morning, went to the gym, then came straight home and started on the playroom. I've spent all day, but it's finally finished.







I'm not going to show it to her until Jon gets home. I want him to be here to see the look on her face...she's going to be so surprised!

Sick Again

Not only are Savy and I both sick with this respiratory crud again, but now she has an eye infection. Her doctor called in a prescription for eye drops last night so we wouldn't have to make another office visit. I tried to take pics yesterday, but she wasn't in the mood to pose...this is the best I could do.





Putting drops in her eye is not easy. She squinches her eyes shut as tight as she can, then Jon holds her down (looking at the ceiling). I put the drops on her closed eye, and we hold her still until she finally opens her eyes and the drops run in. While we are doing this, Jon tells me how I need to warm the drops to make it more comfortable for her. It's so funny how his views have changed. Whenever we used to talk about having kids (before we actually did have one), Jon told me how we weren't going to spoil our kids. Among some of his "rules":

1. No chicken nuggets...they'll learn to eat what we give them or go hungry
2. We're not buying our kids a car...they'll save up for it themselves or do without
3. No coddling or running to the doctor for every little thing...I got hit by a car and my dad didn't take me to a doctor...he just bought me a six-pack of Dr. Peppers (yes, that actually did happen)

I'm sure you guys can tell that he changed his opinions when Savy came along....she has him wrapped around her little finger.

Kid-Friendly Website

I want to share a website that Savy loves. Lesa told us about it, and Savy has already learned how to navigate it. I can't believe she can actually use a computer.

Starfall.com

Doctor Visit

Last night Jon organized all his gear that was in the garage, and Savy had to try on his helmet.



This morning she had her 3 year checkup. She has always hated her pediatrician and starts crying as soon as he comes into the exam room. It seems she's forgiven him now, because she was all smiles for him today. She also got a flu shot...that didn't make her so happy.



As a reward for being such a big girl, we went to a playground on the way home. This is a great play area....it has lots of stuff to do, and the ground is covered in that spongy cork-like stuff so that it's soft in case of falls. There are even covered benches for the adults.





It was pretty deserted, just this little guy with his mom. He took quite a liking to us and followed us all over....even wanted to be in a few pictures.





There's a lot of educational things, like this fire safety area, complete with a fire truck and instructions on what to do in a fire.




Here is the alphabet in sign language.



And all kinds of other fun stuff.







This really makes sounds.



There's a separate play area surrounded by sand for those kids who like to get a little dirty. I love these little excavators...so fun!




I believe we'll be visiting this one again soon.