Not suitable for children...

I'm linking up to The RHOK again and now everyone will call me a liar because this time it isn't all about my kids...oops! Please forgive me!

I had a bachelorette party to attend! So no kids allowed for obvious reasons. I kinda got dressed up which means I wore heels and applied lipstick!

Loving Instagram!

I met the girls at TeKei's. I ordered the Tiger Roll and some Edamame! It was delicious!

This had tempura shrimp, ahi tuna,
avocado, spicy and sweet soy sauce

Leslie (Alan's sister) opened her gifts and got her clues for the Scavenger Hunt! After dinner, all of us piled in to a huge white van and started our journey. The van was decorated with signs about it being the last night out, etc. And there may or may not have been alcohol involved and private man part straws to drink out of. Our first stop was Woodland Hills Mall at 8:20pm. We had 3 stores to go to in less than 40 minutes. This is the part where I curse myself for wearing heels! We went to Victoria's Secret, Frederick's of Hollywood, and Spencer's. *I forgot to mention that we got stopped by a rent-a-cop inside the mall for taking pictures inside of the stores, he compared us to 12 year old girls. How rude!*  After she found the items on her list, we headed across the street to Barnes & Noble. Our next and last stop was Priscilla's. Let me remind you that I was with Alan's sisters, his mom, his aunt, and his cousins inside Priscilla's....it was rather interesting. And just use your imagination when you think of the items on her list! I'm trying to keep it Rated R here! 

Leslie with her husband!

We loaded back up and went to SoCo's for a little while! I was having a good time but midnight was approaching and it was time for me to go to bed! So I left and they headed to another bar (one I will NEVER go to!).

It was so nice getting out to celebrate Leslie's upcoming wedding, but I was ready to cuddle with this little boy:

"Hello! Can you hear me now?"
This is the new FootPhone! LOL!

In MY Neck of the Woods...

Linking up with The RHOK to show them what is going on in my neck of the woods...

My kiddos got a trampoline for all of their birthdays from their nana (my mom), and mama and papa (my grandparents). They were able to enjoy it all weekend long since the weather was so nice!

I love the way big sister and big brother are with baby boy. They love him so much and he is equally smitten with them. 

It is always about my kids in my neck of the woods...

FAILING! haha :-)

I am already failing at my weekly menu. I just want to be WINNING like Charlie Sheen.

We had a busy weekend!  My daughter turned 12 and she forced me to take her, 2 of her friends, and my niece to the mall on Saturday. I was tortured for 4 hours!! No joke! Did I mention how much I hate the mall? Well I do! Being pleasantly plump (muffin top galore), short (not even 5'2"), and large in the chest area makes trying on what I think would look cute majorly depressing.

Anyways...on to the menu. Food: the main reason why I'm a fatty!

Tuesday - Breakfast for dinner! Breakfast burritos with hashbrowns.
Wednesday - Crockpot Lasagna (I'll do a step-by-step post in the next few days), salad, bread.
Thursday - Beef Taco Burgers, Tortilla Chips with Guacamole (yum!)
Friday - I get to eat at TeKei's for Leslie's Bachelorette Party so Alan and the kids are on their own!
Saturday - Crockpot Lemon Chicken, rice, veggies. (Have you tried the Steam Fresh kinds in the frozen aisle? I just tried one the other day, it was Asparagus, Carrots, & Corn. I could have eaten the whole bag by myself! They were yummy.)

Menu and OCD'ness!

I am going to try really hard to start making a weekly menu and posting it to my blog. I will also try to include recipes on most things.

Monday: Chick-Fil-A to support Destiny Church
Tuesday: Island Jerk Chicken, rice pilaf, carrots
Wednesday: Cheesy Beef Tostadas, corn, fruit salad yummy yummy
Thursday: Butter Chicken over egg noodles, green beans, french bread
Friday: Pizza and salad (my little girl is 12 today!)
Saturday: Spicy Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork on buns, homeade french fries and coleslaw

I try to stick to a weekly menu and I try to stay on budget while grocery shopping. I'm pretty OCD when it comes to my shopping list. I even categorize it by the aisles. I have a slight problem!

Anyways, I already had Frozen Chicken (tenderloins and breasts) and Ground Beef in the deep freeze, so all I had to do was lay that out to thaw. I didn't have to buy any spices (which can cost a lot! Hello Ground Coriander was like $11 and I only needed 1/4 tsp for the Butter Chicken). But since I have become friends (ok obsessed, stalking, whatever) with Ree, aka The Pioneer Woman, I have bought more spices then I know what to do with. So I just had to buy a few things...like a Pork Butt, chipolte peppers, dr. pepper, peppercorn ranch, egg noodles, and some fresh veggies and herbs. I only spent about $60 on the items I needed to buy!

I just wanted to give you a little peek into my fridge and pantry once I unloaded the groceries. Some call me crazy...I call myself organized. Haha!

I recently have heard of something called E-Mealz and it is $5 a month and the website says this:

"E-Mealz has been created to provide a kid-friendly and family-uniting meal planning resource for busy Moms and frugal family cooks. E-Mealz will help you to save time, money and make time for family with delicious weekly dinner menu plans everyone will love."

I think I will be hooked. I am going to try this out for 3 months to see if it helps my family. Dave Ramsey also endorses it. So that should give you an idea that this helps to save money!!

I hope that the 1 person reading this blog finds my menu helpful. And that maybe I can encourage you to cook more also!

P.S. This menu idea came from Amanda over at Torres Tidbits. I don't know her in real life but from reading her blog I have come to the conclusion that she is an awesome girl, momma, and wife.

SUYL - Happy 1st Birthday!

Photo by Sherri Scarpa Photography

I am linking up with Kelly's Korner to show you Colton's 1st birthday party!! We had a big party planned for Saturday, February 5th at a Community Center, which would have given us lots of space for the 80+ people that we love (and invited). Unfortunately the blizzard came and we had to cancel his party. They wouldn't have another opening until March 14th so we decided to go ahead and do a family-only party on the 19th (2 days after his first birthday).

We did a "Monster" theme and I think it turned out wonderfully!

**I'm getting really mad at blogger in regards to uploading pictures...so this is all I am posting for now. Any ideas where I can create collages?***

I may not be the best party planner, but I absolutely love coming up with ideas for my kid's birthdays. My daughter has had a bowling party, American Idol party, an updo/nails and fancy restaurant party, and a swimming party at a hotel. My other son has had a bike party (I should have given bandaids as the favors), a campout party (so much fun, they even slept in tents), and his most recent was a paintball party. Now I have to go search for pictures from Em and Z's first birthdays.

I cried...

Today when I took my baby to daycare he kissed and hugged me bye, then turned around and reached for his teacher. He shed no tears today. Usually he will cry for about 10-20 seconds and then stop. I know because I stand (where he can't see me) and listen for him to stop crying. This is his 10th day at this daycare. The one he will most likely attend until he starts Kindergarten (the day I will cry again). It did make me feel good that he didn't cry and that he reached for his teacher. But it also was a little sad for this momma. This momma who will have no more babies. He is my last baby.

It is so hard having a BABY after your other kids are practically grown and hanging on with one foot out the door. Some of you blog readers may or may not know this about me...but I'm a young mom! Bless the Lord that Teen Mom wasn't a show when I was knocked up! Lock your kids up people! Some kids make bad choices and I was one of them. I like to think that now I am a little smarter, more mature and better off then I was at the age. But that's just my opinion :-)

I had my sweet girl just 19 days shy of my 17th birthday. Followed by my son just 18 months and 3 days later. E is almost 12 (in 27 days...eek) and Z is 10.5. I finally get these kids to an age where they wipe their own bottoms, they have started mastering using a stove, they go to friends houses, and they don't depend on me for EVERYTHING. I was finally starting to feel a little bit of freedom. And then the line appeared. I was pregnant! ALL of our lives were going to change.

My baby is now one and this last year has been crazy, but amazing, to say the least. I have learned again how to manage on a little bit of sleep, I have remembered why it was so nice to finally have kids out of diapers and off the boob/formula. I had forgotten ALL the items you need for a baby when you leave the house. Haha! But I was also blessed to be able to hold a sweet baby and rock one to sleep again, I was able to nurse him and comfort him. I was doing this ALL on my own and I enjoyed it. Sure, I had the help of his daddy. But it wasn't the same as my first two babies.

When I had E & Z I was still in High School. Then eventually I went to College and got a job. I had so much help from my mom with the 2 of them. She helped me raise them. I was their mom and I was there for them. But she was like a mom (or I guess dad) to them too. With C things have been so much different. To him she is just "Nana". And I am his MOM! He still hasn't stayed the night with anyone besides his daddy and myself.

So today when I left him at daycare and he didn't cry for me, I felt a sharp pain in my chest. My baby is growing up and even though he will always be my baby, he will eventually not depend on me for everything just like his big sister and big brother.

Being a mom is so rewarding. But it is so hard to cut the cord.

P.W. is my idol, really!

This is my first time to link up to the RHOK!

I enjoy cooking. I do not enjoy grocery shopping and cleaning up a dirty kitchen. I am a recipe junkie! I think I get this from my grandma, she is a wonderful cook and she also loves recipes. I stumbled across http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/ and I have never looked back. I love Ree, I feel like we are the bestest of friends even though she doesn't even know me. Stalker much, yes I'd say so. Anyways, this is one of her very first recipes I ever made. It is her Italian Drip Beef Sandwiches and it is to die for!! She doesn't cook hers in the crock pot, but I do. I cook it on low for 8 hours, or high for 4 hours. I like it falling apart when I start tearing it up with the fork.

















ITALIAN DRIP BEEF


Prep time: 5 minutes / Cook time: 6 hours / Servings: 10

Ingredients:

• 1 whole beef chuck roast, 2.5 to 4 lbs
  
• 1 can beef consomme or beef broth


• 3 tablespoons (heaping) Italian Seasoning


• 1 teaspoon salt


• 1/4 cups water


• 1/2 jars (16 oz) Pepperoncini Peppers, with juice


• Buttered, Toasted Deli Rolls


• Cheese (I usually do Monterey Jack or Cheddar, or both)

Preparation Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in a heavy pot or dutch oven (this is where I use crock pot instead and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours!). Stir lightly to combine seasoning with the liquid.

Cover and bake in a 275 degree oven for 5-6 hours, or until meat is fork-tender and falling apart. **If meat is not yet tender, return to oven for 30 minute intervals till it's tender!**

Remove from oven (or crock pot). With two forks, completely shred all meat, leaving no large chunks behind. Serve immediately on buttered, toasted rolls. Top with cheese and melt under the broiler if desired. Serve with juices from the pot.

YUMMY!!