Four OH!!

Oh my, can ya'll believe Tripp is 40? If the birthday thing comes up I've been telling people that I am 20 and he's 30. At least he'll be having a big birthday each time I do. Plus it will always be worse for him. ha ha!!

He's lived with this gal longer than he did his Mama. Maybe I should say he's been spoiled by this lovely lady longer than his Mama spoiled him.

Showing his "skills".

Tripp & Red have been friends since they were teenagers.

Tate & Laura



My Mama even beat me on the first game!!



The girls are outnumbered, but I'm pretty sure they still rule.

Tandy & Mom

Pake & Scout
This had to have been the only time she sat sort-of still in a chair all night.

Lovin' her Hopey!



Reno sat with Papa...



with Dad....



with Mimi. Poor guy just got passed around all night.



The cutest tiny bowling shoes!!

Daddy helping Scout.

They even knocked a few pins down. Overall she thought it was more fun to dance or do belly flops off the stairs onto the slick floor.

Happy Birthday!! I wonder if any of us will still be able to bowl on your 50th??

Whatever Tuesday

Truly I should've known I would have trouble sticking with this recipe thing. Summer, little Miss up at 4 am to have beautiful hair each day or to make brownies for friends, is my inspiration to keep something going. I'd like to get back on a good schedule and we'll try to mix it up a little. So tell us about.....

something yummy you ate out somewhere.....



or even at a ball game concession stand.....



something your Mama makes (made).

Share something that is so delicious that you feel like saving the last bite and sucking on it for 30 minutes....

...or it could be something you made for your Valentine!!

Chocolate Pie by my Mama

1 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. milk
3 T. butter
2 T. cocoa
1 egg (well beaten)
1/4 c. flour
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix dry ingredients in sauce pan. Gradually add milk, then egg. Cut butter up into smaller pieces so it will melt faster. Add vanilla last. Cook until thick. Poor into pie crust. (Only makes 1 pie.)

Reno - 4 months

The difference between 3 and 4 months is amazing. This guy has really become such a little person. We didn't meet up with Andy this month, but I'm sure you can imagine how tiny he is compared to Mr. Reno.

Bathroom floor kick time!!

Wearing a rodeo onesie and

surrounded by his little soft horses.

A little "cribber" already. I'd better get that bumper pad up!

Wearin' stripes and behind bars!!

He looks like he's in jail and I guess he kind of is. His bed is the safest place for him.

4 Month Stats
Weight - 13#6 oz (20th percentile)
Height - 25 in (54th percentile)
Head - 16 in (13th percentile)

Reno you are learning so many things. This month you've really found your voice and love to talk and squeal. You will talk to most anyone, but especially sister. I wonder what you are telling her? Oh well, I guess we'll know soon enough. You've also started to laugh. Like I mean really "he-haw". You are very ticklish and that will usually really get a laugh out of you. I used to call Scout's laugh like this her "fat-girl laugh".

You started spitting and drooling big time this month. You're hands are working much better for you and you even grab my hand and try to get it in your mouth. Uh-oh, we'll need to go through Scout's tiny toys soon. You are taking a pacifier fairly well, but also suck your thumb, two fingers, or whatever you can get in your mouth. I wish you'd make your mind up and I hope it isn't the thumb.

Kicking has been your thing for awhile now, but you can almost roll over. I don't think you realize you can or know what you're doing. Each time you roll over, you roll right back to your back as soon as you hit your tummy. A few days ago Scout says, "Mama, I'm teaching Reno to roll over." She had you on the floor pretty much rolling you like a ball. You've started rolling to your side to sleep.

Reno you are becoming such a people person. You are happiest if you are being held. You also have a pretty hot temper. Not surprising of course since the Smiths and Creamers are so hot headed. Ha ha....We know who really has a hot temper! At your 4 month well check yesterday you got your feelings hurt when the PA looked down your throat. That upset you more than the four shots you got.

It's funny to me how a 4 month old can seem so manly. You wouldn't think baby boys and girls would be that different. Reno you are all BOY. Your little legs are scrawny but already look like boy legs. Funny!!

You are a joy!! We love you.

I was RIGHT!

Very dorky, I know!! Scout received window crayons and I just had to test them out. Some people think I'm so dorky that they wouldn't even participate, not naming names. lol

Before we get any rumors started, we'd better clarify who is expecting. Riley's brother Brook & his wifey Kaitlyn are due on July 4th.

I knew it!! Not sure how, maybe I'll be a baby predictor. I considered calling Kait this morning and telling her we would love him too if it so happened to be a him. My confidence kept me from calling.

It's going to be soo fun to spoil this little lady. It'll be kind of hard considering the distance between Earth and Converse, but I'm confident in myself once again.

Meatloaf Monday

Beef, It's What's for Dinner!! This site is full of useful info about beef as well as some great sounding recipes.

I'm telling you it would have been a lot less work to just link to another site or type out the recipe instead of preparing and photographing myself. Seriously, I'm saying there is no way PW does her own house cleaning, homeschooling, and dish-washing along with cooking, photographing, blogging, and challenging Bobby Flay. There just isn't any way one woman, no matter how wondrous she might be, could do all that. I'm saying this because by taking the pics it took me six times as long to get this dish prepared. That's not to mention that I didn't even make anything to go with it and the pics aren't that great. (I'll take help on that too!) I took all these pics and now I think they are stupid. I'm not even posting most of them. Whatever...maybe I'll get better someday.

You all realized that I'm not requesting some fancy recipe that you concocted yourself, just something you like and is tasty. Easy is always a good thing too. I snatched this recipe for meatloaf muffins by Rachel Ray off of Food Network.

The sauce!
I use Head Country BBQ sauce, which is pretty sweet and spicy.

The onion before its death!!
I sometimes do the celery and pepper, just do whatever you have.

Eggie!!



Starting to mix.
Like my cool new bowl? You can see the rest of the set later.

Use an ice cream scoop to divide it. I also mash 'em with it to make a little hole for the sauce.

Wa-La!!

Meatloaf Muffins

1 - 2 lbs. gound BEEF
1 medium onion
2 ribs celery
1 green bell pepper
1 large egg + splash of milk, beaten
1 cup plain bread crumbs
2 T. grill seasoning (Montreal Steak Seasoning)
1 cup BBQ sauce
1/2 cup salsa
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
PAM olive oil spray

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Put ground beef into large mixing bowl. Pulse onion, celery, and bell pepper in food processor until fine. Add to beef. Add egg, beaten with milk, bread crumbs and grill seasoning. Make the sauce (Really you can do it anytime.) Add a little more than half the sauce to beef mixture. Mix well (with your hands.) Spray muffin tin. Divide meat using ice cream scoop. Top with remaining sauce. Bake about 20 minutes or until cooked through.

Oh...by the way, I was so worried about my linky tool working that I even dreamed about it last night. Retarded if you start blogging in your sleep, right?

Next Monday

The idea of Meatless Mondays (or any other day) pretty much makes me ill. I'd like to know in dollars what sort of damage Oprah and her friends have caused to the beef industry. I will be the first to say that I'm not super knowledgeable in the specifics of this stuff, but I do know the bottom line. These people need to get a clue (nicely put, huh?).

Here's my idea. Let's share beef recipes on Mondays. Oprah has the right to suggest everyone not eat meat, so I'd like to encourage my friends who eat meat (better be everyone) to share some of their yummy recipes on Mondays. I know that it's reality that we eat fish and chicken also, but I'd really like to start out with BEEF recipes. Maybe if it goes well we will declare a certain Monday fish or chicken.

I can't decide what we should call it. Lots of you are so clever, so help me out here. Here goes with my ideas. Instead of having a Beautiful Monday we could have a "BEEF-it-full Monday". Of course there is also the option of "MeatFULL Mondays". Please comment and give me ideas.

I'm going to try to rig up one of those Linky things for those of you who have blogs. Not sure I can figure that out, so may need your help there too. If you don't have a blog I guess you can leave your recipe under comments (not now, on Monday).

Like how I used blood red just like red meat? I'm such a conscious eater, I know!

I think these pics of Scout and Riley on the feed truck at the FEEDYARD are pretty fitting.

So don't forget your homework.

a) Help me come up with the perfect name.
b) Help me with the linky stuff if you can.
c) Ask all your friends to participate (hopefully you have some....lol).
d) Be thinking of your favorite BEEF recipe and post it on Monday or link to a recipe you have posted sometime in the past.

Please participate, if Oprah can start some kind of movement surely we can too!

It's cold

so we've just been snuggling

in our jammies all day



for about 3 days now and

we're all starting to get a little bossy!

Autumn's 15th Birthday

went like this.....



A whole passel of kids

tore into this delicious, chocolate, caramel, white, strawberry filled goodness then



tried and possibly nearly killed themselves skating ("skaping" according to Scout) .



My little family mostly posed for pics,

played in the corner,



and just tried to stay out of the way.

Tandy, what happened here? Am I really that much shorter than you? I'm buying heels next time I go to town, seriously!!!

For the full, much livelier, detailed, comical version of Autumn's birthday see what Sweet T says about it.