Mexican Stuffed Shells

Last night I tried out a new recipe from 'Zaar called Mexican Stuffed Shells. I have to say, they were very, very good! I made it in a 9x13 pan and at the end of the meal, the pan was empty. Hubby said "I think this is definitely in my top 10."  The boys loved them and they were super easy to make.  It is a OAMC recipe so you can make it and freeze it if you like. You could also make the filling a day or two ahead of time and then just boil your shells, stuff, and bake and have dinner on the table in about 30 minutes.  I highly recommend this recipe!!

Free Chico bag!

I love my Chico bags and use them all of the time.  They are great because they fold up super small and they all attach to one another. They are very convenient to stick in your purse, the basket of the stroller, or just leave in the car for when you go to the store.  We use ours for when we go to the farmer' market, pick up our veggies from the co-op, pack clothing in for a short trip, pack our groceries in at the store, etc.  They have so many uses and they are machine washable. We have had ours for a couple of years and they still look brand new, no fading, ripping, or tearing. 

I was looking at their website (www.chicobag.com) and found some bags that I wanted.  I searched retailmenot and found a coupon code for a free bag. Simply add the Gorgeously Green Reusable bag to your cart and then use the code GIRL.  All you have to pay is the $1.39 shipping. Pretty cheap if you ask me!! Plus, their original bags are only $4.99 each and a great deal.  I would eventually like to get some of their produce bags to try out.

Vegas Baby!

Hubby and I booked an "adult only" vacation for just the two of us a couple of months ago for this past week. We were very excited to have some time to ourselves and reconnect after being apart for over a year during the deployment.  The boys were well taken care of by their Nana and Nay Nay who graciously split the time between the two of them.  We went for a total of 4 days with travel days included.  The last time we were in Vegas was for our wedding over 3 years ago and I was 14 weeks pregnant with Peytonn at the time and really couldn't partake in some of the typical Vegas stuff (ie, drinking!).  We have talked about going back ever since then.

We left our house Sunday and drove the hour to the airport where we met my sister who was flying out with us. (Her husband is a professional poker player and was playing in the World Series out in Vegas)  No sooner am I attempting to get our suitcase up on the shuttle does it rip my big toe nail straight up in the air on my right foot.  Awesome, awesome way to start off your vacation!! It was pretty painful and bled dark red blood, but luckily my sister has some tissue and another girl on the shuttle had some band aids.  So we doctored it up and went on our way, except it was hard for me to walk on it.  We get on our flight and all is well, we make it there and get settled into our room.  We had a great dinner with my sister and her husband and then did some gambling. (add in some drinking as well to help take my mind off my throbbing toe) 

*My sister Lindsay and her husband Matt*

On Monday, Dennis and I decided to start walking down the strip and check stuff out.  We walked for about 5-6 hours all the way down the strip and stopped along the way to do some shopping and check out the other casinos.  By the time we get back around 3pm to meet up for lunch, my right ankle is double the size it normally is.  I think it swelled up from walking just a bit different so I didn't put too much pressure on my toe.  It is still just a tad swollen now and its been 6 days. 

Vegas was a good time (minus the toe and ankle). We did some shopping, gambling, drinking, and ate some really good food.  It was hot and I wish we would have taken our bathing suits and lounged by the pool one day.  Oh well, maybe next time.  We did see A LOT of families with small children. I'm not quite sure why you would want to make your family vacation destination Vegas with small children?! It just seems odd, but I guess there are other things to do besides gamble and drink. We also saw a show while we were there this time. It was Zumanity by Cirque du Soleil and it was good, a lot of boobs though.

We left Wednesday afternoon to fly out of Vegas but got delayed about 5 hours.  We finally made it home Thursday morning at 5am, only for the boys to wake up at 7:15am.  That was a loooong day!! But now we are well rested and enjoying some family time at home.  Get-a-ways are wonderful, but boy do they wear you out!

Sweet relief

Sorry I have been M.I.A. lately, but things have been kind of crazy around here lately. We got word that Hubby was on his way home and we were then at the mercy of the military from that point forward.  We got word that his unit would be landing in the middle of the night.  The time then proceeded to change 3 times in a matter of 6 hours.  I put the kids to bed around 8pm but was nervous to go to sleep myself in case the time changed again. 

I woke the boys up around 1:50am and we headed to the meeting spot.  We then proceeded to wait until 4:30am for the unit to arrive.  At 5:00am we got to spend an hour with our solider before they were bused off for debriefing.  After driving the hour home and finally getting an hour worth of sleep, I got a call from the hubby that they were being granted an 8 hour pass to spend time with family.  So, after being up from Friday at 5:30am until Saturday at 7:30am, I now had to load the kids back up and drive another 2 hours south to spend the day with hubby.  We had a great day of shopping and eating and just spending some quality time together.  We spent the night at my sister's that night because it was closer than driving the 2 hours home.  Hubby spent another 5 days at camp and then we finally got to pick him up on Thursday.  The boys were very excited to have daddy home and so was I. 

Friday we headed out to Tennessee to spend the weekend at my sister-in-laws for our nieces 4th birthday.  We stayed in a hotel and the boys really enjoyed swimming with daddy and playing with their cousin. The 6 hour drive with two kids was a bit of a different story. :) The kids had a blast though.

We made it safely home on Sunday.  We all needed to catch up on some sleep and I had to return to work on Monday.  The boys have enjoyed having daddy home all day with them and I must admit that I LOVED coming home to dinner on the table yesterday. :)  Its great to have some help with the daily household chores again and just getting the kids taken care of. Its also nice to have some adult company again after the kids go to bed. We are all glad that daddy is home for good now. It truly is a sweet relief for all of us.

Green smoothies

We've been making these green smoothies that I found at Mommy's Kitchen. The ingredients are minimal and the results are very delicious. The ingredients include spinach, almond milk, honey, ice, and bananas.  That's it, plain and simple. 

We have made this several times so far and the kids absolutely adore them! Which is great because I know they are getting good vitamins and minerals and they think they are having a "shake." 

And my little guy enjoying his "shake."

Mr. B

My little guy isn't so little anymore. He is rapidly changing into this big time personality that has a very big opinion on just about everything! For example, he has now learned the word "no" and anytime that he has to do anything he doesn't want to do he yells "no, no, no!" over and over again and shakes his head and kicks his arms and legs. 

In the past week he has learned the words:
-go
-help
-up
-no
-boo boo
-ow
-truck
-tractor

He is so very independent now and wants to try everything, even riding big brothers scooter. He can now climb on the couch and is a crazy man on it. I have pretty much banned him from the couch until he learns that he has to sit on it and not run laps and throw himself down and laugh hysterically about it. (would totally be fine had he not flung himself OFF the couch a few times doing this)  He now knows what it means when I say "go get your shoes on."  He goes and finds his shoes, brings them to me, and then sits down to have me put them on.  Speaking of shoes, I got both boys Keen sandals for this summer and let me just tell you, they LOVE them! I got Peytonn the green and blue pair and Bennett got the orange ones. I just love the bright, vibrant colors. My boys are true boys to the core so these shoes are great at protecting their feet and toes during all of their adventures. Plus, Peytonn can put his on all by himself. 

This week has been super hot for May. Every day this week has been in the upper 80's/low 90's. We have spent every afternoon/evening outside in the baby pool or sprinkler.  Thankfully, the part of our backyard closest to the house where the sandbox is located is shaded. It makes it very nice for the kids to play outside and still be somewhat cool and not have to worry about slathering on the sun screen. The kids very much enjoy playing outside and I usually get a lot of resistance when its time to come inside. I can't wait to take them camping for the first time. I am hoping we can do that this summer, but hubby still thinks they are too young.  We shall see.

Ahhh, Sunday...

Today has been a nice relaxing day so far.  We played outside this morning and then took a bike ride around the neighborhood.  Its supposed to get into the upper 80's outside today so I'm glad we got outside early.  Peytonn has an appointment on Monday at Riley Children's Hospital with an allergist.  They told us no anti-histamines for 7 days prior to his appointment. His eyes already are swollen and he is complaining that they itch and hurt.  I sure hope we find out what is bothering him so badly. 

The boys have been quite the handful the past week or so. Hubby is due to come home in the next couple of weeks and Peytonn is quite aware that Dad will be home soon.  Each time he gets into trouble and has to sit in time out, he yells "my dada!!" at me over and over again.  We're all just so ready to Daddy to be back home again and for life to get back to the old normal.  We have a lot of plans for this summer and I can't wait for all the fun (or chaos) we are going to have.

We are also planning for a garage sale in June. We have a lot of stuff that needs to go find a new home, or just plain move out of ours! We lack storage space so much and what little we do have is completely jam packed with toys, baby clothes, etc.  Not to mention the garage needs cleaned out and reorganized again.  The boys are just growing and changing so much in a short amount of time that we are going to need more space soon.  We've talked about eventually getting bunk beds and having them share a room, but I think that is still at least 6 months to a year away.  Bennett is still in his crib and I'm not quite sure that I trust Peytonn on the top bunk.  Maybe once we get pregnant with number 3 we can start transitioning them over to that plan. Plus I think it may be party central in there with the two of them.

As for now, I need to get back to the laundry and trying to get this place organized before hubby comes home.