Fifteen Tidbits

I'm playing along with Little Prairie Baby and will share a few facts about myself.  I feel kind of silly because I feel like most of my readers are family, but here goes.  Pretend you didn't know!!

1.  I'm the baby!  Tripp is ten years older and Tandy seven.

My sister "telling me something"!  lol

2.  My Dad was killed in a horse accident when I was thirteen.  I also have the most wonderful step-dad in the world!!  I would say I have two dads.

My family is so silly!!

3.  My mom and I are twins, at least Riley and Preston swear to it.  She and I are very close.  I don't even have to say that I want to be like her......I am!!

This is what my family did to me at our wedding!!
The photographer was offended.  lol

4.  Riley is 3+ years younger than me.  

5.  I thought he was soooo stuck up and we fought like cats and dog until we started dating!

6.  I've never had an epidural.  TMI??  Sorry, but I'm pretty proud of it.  

7.  I'm pretty much convinced that caffeine makes me sick, but I still have it sometimes.

8.  I have a degree in finance and am certified to teach EC-4 and 4-8 Math.  I hope to never use these again.  lol

9.  We are a part of a non-denominational church that meets in homes.  It's even here on 2nd and 4th Sundays and every Wednesday night!

10.  Almost everything in my house is a sentimental hand-me-down, a garage/estate sale find, or a trade from my mom.

11.  I am becoming less and less of a "real-go-out-and-get-er-done" cowgirl by the moment.  I am becoming more and more of a "mama-cook-it-clean-it-raise-babies-support-hubby" cowgirl by the moment.  

12.  I love basketball!  Just ask Summer and Autumn...I get so excited at their ball games.

13.  My left elbow comes out of socket very, very easily.  Like I might reach out to open a door and there it goes.  This has been happening since 6th grade.

14.  I most likely have ADD.  I can work all day, but there is nothing finished.

15.  I have the best hubby and most wonderful children a girl could ever ask for!

Phone Dump - Recipe

 The funny thing is that I've been titling my pics for this week as "rest week".  Ha ha....that's a funny joke.  There is no such thing as rest around here.  I should have said "recovery week", but even so we aren't doing much of that either.

This is actually from last week, but I just had to include it.  Reno got a burr or a buzz, I don't really know what the difference is.  Isn't the look on his face so funny.  Mama is really enjoying the cut and no crazy hair all the time.  

We came home to this.  Our cups, bowls, basket, runneth over with yummy garden food.  We have to get better at picking okra, it seems like I look at it and think it's too small, but then it's too big by the next day.  Loving it!  

 Here's a little conversation Riley and I had. Corny, of course but don't all parents hope their babies want to be cowboys when they grow up?

Monday afternoon we received a little bitty shower.  When I say little bitty, I mean it.  I'm not even sure this sprinkle settled the dust.  Either way, we are glad for it and the kiddos had fun playing with the umbrella.

More beater licking for my kiddos.  We made Nutella Cheesecake.  It is quite possibly the easiest thing ever.  I didn't do it exactly as the recipe called for.  I made one and it calls for individual dishes.  It worked and  is no longer with us.  I'm calling it success!

No Bake Nutella Cheesecake

Crust:  

12 oreo cookies, crushed into crumbs

(I used a pre-made oreo crust)

3 T. unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

1 - 8 oz. pkg cream cheese, softened

2/3 c. Nutella

1 tsp. vanilla

1 - 8 oz. tub Cool Whip, thawed

Garnish:

Cool Whip, optional

chocolate shavings, optional

toasted, chopped hazelnuts, optional

1.  In a medium bowl, stir together the Oreo cookie crumbs and melted butter.  Evenly divide the crumbs between your individual serving dished and press into the bottoms of the dishes to form a crust layer.  

2.  In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and Nutella until smooth.  add vanilla and mix to combine.  Using a rubber spatula, fold in the whipped topping until well blended and no streaks remain.  

3.  Evenly pipe or spoon the filling into individual serving dishes.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

4.  If desired, garnish!

Happy Convention 2012

 So, the story is short, but there are quite a few pics.  Thank goodness my SIL, Kaitlyn was present.  If it wasn't for her I would have exactly 3 pictures.   lol


This past week, we traveled to Happy, TX for our annual church convention.  We camp out in our trailer for 4 days.  I borrowed Mimi's shower for my babies and Riley and I used the facilities provided.


Luckily we were about to share this special time with lots of family and friends.

Lemon Meringue Pie

 My friend, Jennifer hosted a recipe swap on her blog awhile back.  I signed up which meant being paired with the lovely Elaine.  She first e-mailed me many, many different choices of her favorite recipes.  I chose a few and.....wa-la, they arrived in my mailbox very promptly.

I love all things lemon, so of course I requested lemon meringue pie.  Love, love it!!  And this recipe of course.  If you need a better copy than this just let me know and I'd be happy to help you out.

I think it's an absolutely fabulous recipe!

It looks sort of intimidating on the card, but really isn't too complicated. 

I made the pie crust and just popped it in the fridge for a couple of days.  Even though you can't tell it, I think I had better luck with it this way.  This pie crust is almost identical to my Nanny's.  Soo....yummy!

Miss Scoutie was my main helper.  Luckily, brother was interested in something else at the moment.  For once she was actually happy using her little, vintage rolling pan and tin pans.  We even baked her little crusts cakes.  Don't worry, I ate them.  It is quite possible that I love dough and crust more than any human being.

Rolled & Ready for Crimping!

All set for baking!

I have to confess that I didn't really have time to photograph the different stages of cooking the lemon filling.  It took both hands and my mind to keep if from overcooking and my kiddos out of it. 

Baked and filled with lemon-yumminess!

I love, love meringue!  My family has always called it "calf-slobbers".  Maybe everyone does......well, probably not.  

Just keep on whipping, whipping!!

Ready for a few more minutes in the oven!

Finished product!

 I was happy with how this pie turned out.  Of course I won't be so lucky when I decide to make it to take somewhere.  Such is life, right?

 I also made chocolate pie while I was at it.  The boy devoured his piece quickly.  


I'm throwing in a few random pics.  The kids and I needed a gift and did a little shopping this afternoon.  These bouncy creatures were great entertainment.  I may have to look into getting one for the kids.

 Reno thought he'd try his hand (or hips....lol) at hula hooping at a birthday party yesterday evening.  Love that boy's smile!

 Happy Friday the 13th!  Hope everyone has a perfect weekend!

Summer Chili

 So we've had a few rainy days this week.  Thank goodness!!  It's sort of a nice break in the summer.  Riley must of thought it was wintertime because he came home craving chili.

I think chili is a hard thing to make just right.  I'd love some new recipes, so please share yours or post it on your blog.

Summer Chili

2 lb. ground beef

1 onion 

1 bell pepper

1 can ranch style beans

1 can pinto beans

1 can tomato sauce

1 can Mild Ro-tel 

1 yellow squash

1 zucchini

1 stem of cilantro (chopped fine)

2 cans of water (tomato cans)

salt 

pepper

garlic powder

season salt

First I start with browning hamburger with onions and bell pepper.  

I love this little trick......which maybe everyone already does this.  I take on old tin pie plate and put a piece of foil in it.  Then put a colander inside that.  It is just so easy to let the grease sit for a bit until it hardens a little.  Wad up the foil and trash it.  The little pie plate goes straight back into the cabinet.

After the meat is cooked and drained I pretty much dump everything else in.  Here's what the final product looks like.  Let it simmer for about 30 minutes or until the squash is tender but not mushy.

It is so fun to grow your own produce.  We are having an overflow of zucchini and yellow squash.  I'm hoping to harvest some okra today.  The cilantro also came from my herb garden pallet.

One last little fun thing.  Can you see the little silver, turquoise, and green canisters attached to the side of my microwave?  Those are the little magnetic seasoning canisters from World Market.  My sister-in-law, Hope gave them to me for my birthday and I just love them.  (Please don't look at everything else.)

Here's to hoping you all have rainy days that call for chili makin'.

4th of July Week

This 4th of July week has been sort of busy.  I have pics some pics and of course, some has slipped by without a single snapshot.  Such is life!

We have roped, and rodeo-ed, baked, and paraded.  In our spare time in between we have watered the garden and hoed weeds (goat-heads to be exact).  


The chicken are the greatest entertainment EVER.  I'd swear I could put them in the chicken pen, go to the grocery store, and they'd never miss me.  Reno is getting pretty brave with the chicken catching and has been "pulling their hair" according to Scout.  She makes sure he doesn't mistreat her "beloveds".   


The story is that back in the day, my sister Tandy claimed the chickens were her friends.  So far my baby girl is so much like my sister was that it's a little scary.  Many say she even looks just like her.  

Whew!  Finally crashed out.

Trying, trying, trying to get these boogers to sleep at the team roping!

Next we went to Sawyer's 2nd birthday party in Canyon.  This little guy belongs to my BFF from college (and today).  He is very busy and wasn't too interested in anything a Mama tries to accomplish at a birthday party.  Our pics aren't too great, but at least we have something.

I quite possibly have the beater-lickingest kids in the world.  I'll pull a LaVerne and tell on myself.  Scout and I made banana  bread.  I sure thought the dough looked weird as I was putting it in the pan.  Oh well, surely it'll turn out, right?  A few minutes later Scout says "Mama here are the bananas!".  You got it.....banana bread minus the bananas.  FYI, it isn't eatable.    We were successful on our 2nd try.  lol

I'll have a bite.....

you have a bite!

Because of a little change in plans, we were able to spare a minute to see Riley's grandparents in Amarillo.  They have recently moved there and we were able to see their new place for the first time.  

Springlake has a pretty big 4th celebration including a parade, meal, band, and fireworks.  I think this year was the biggest I've ever seen it.  We had a fun time catching candy and running wild.  

Riley ran off with Jason to set up fireworks and then again to light them.  I will admit, I was having quite a time keeping up with the children by myself.  Reno doesn't give a rip about us or where we are at, so he heads of where ever he cares to.  Scout just loves to run and chase, so she was running over little ones left and right and tackling anyone who deserved it. 

Last year it was a little boy with a ball, this year it was a little boy with her flag.  We were doing so good sharing the flag until Mr. Cooper Clayton got it.  He says, "if you want it you'll have to catch me".  Scout tackled him three times, but he still had the flag.  She looked at me a little puzzled and I told her that he must be tougher than she is.  When she went for him a 4th time, he turned and gave the flag over.  lol  

It's sort of funny, but sort of not.  She sure isn't one to just sit and look dainty!

Scout, Tanner, & Miss Braylee