My husband is going to KILL me!!!!

Today was very funny and crazy as usual.  It started off normal with me going to work.  I got off work early so I wanted to go and work out.  The problem was that I didn't have any workout clothes.  Corrin was exhausted and intended to work out but decided to go straight home.  She loaned me her workout clothes.  It was 1:00 and I had to pick Paige up from school at 2:30 so I had a lot of time to kill.  My intentions were to go to the park across the street from Paige's school and run for an hour.  I then realized that I had no pony tail holder for my hair.  I decided I would run to the Dollar Tree by Paige's school to get the rubber band and a few other items.  Here is where the problem started.  I pulled up to the Dollar Tree but my FAVORITE store is RIGHT next to the Dollar Tree.  That favorite store is the Goodwill Select.  I know that I have NO room for any more stuff but I love going in there to see if they have any cool things.  I thought to myself "I will just go into the Goodwill Select for just a second and then go to the Dollar Tree to get shampoo and stuff.  BIG MISTAKE!!! Ha Ha!  As soon as I walked into the Goodwilll Select, I saw the most beautiful sofa, right in the front.  I sat on the sofa and thought "I love this sofa."  My next thought was "If I buy this sofa, where would I put it?"  The ladies that worked there did not help any.  They said "oohhhh you look so good on that couch!"  I said "I love this couch but my husband will KILL me if I buy it."  One store clerk said " your husband can't kill you because that is illegal."  All I could think about is that we are in a tiny apartment, our TWO storage buildings are packed to the max.  I wasn't going to get it.  We told the kids that we were not doing the media room that will be in the house that we are building.  It is prewired for surround sound and all set up to be a media room.  Brad and I don't care about a media room.  However, we just visited our friends house that they just built.  Their media room is AWESOME.  I began to think how cool it would be for the kids to have a room to watch movies and stuff.  When you have four kids, you are always thinking of ways for the kids to be entertained.  I then started to think, "we wont do the media room right away."  We will wait and see.  When I saw this beautiful couch and it was only $129.00, I thought "this would be cool in a media room with a Hollywood Glamour Movie theme.  I do everything on the cheap so I could do a cool room for cheap.  This sofa would be perfect.  The sofa is literally in new condition.  I told the ladies, "I am going to get it."  I then thought "how am I going to get this thing out of here?"  Tom no longer has a truck and our friend Lance lives pretty far away.  I asked the ladies "do you think it would fit in my car?"  They said "car"?? ha ha.  I then pointed to my SUV and they said "maybe."  They told me to pull it up and we would see.  The couch fit perfectly in my new SUV and even had two extra seats for my kids to safely be buckled in for the ride home.  Once in my car, I asked myself "what in the heck do I do with this thing?"  I thought about my options.  I could drive it to Katy and drop it off at Corrin's house but then I would have to deal with Dave complaining about it in his garage until October and the cost analysis, etc of it being there.  Nope, this was not an option. I called Brad and braced for his reaction to me buying another item that we currently have no room for and that I bought another item from Goodwill.  I said "please don't kill me over and over about ten times."  He thought it was something serious.  I did this on purpose so he would be prepared for something worse and be more accepting of the new couch.  His first words were "where are we going to put it?"  I assured him that I would figure it out.  Too bad he married a girl who will just figure things out....LOL.   I looked at one of the storage sheds and there was enough room.  In the end, though, it was just easier to bring it back to the apartment.  Once Brad saw how great of a condition the couch is in, he was excited.  I picked the kids up from school.  The crazy part of it is that they did not seem the bit shocked that there was a huge couch in their mom's car without any forewarning.  I guess my kids are just used to this.  The kids and I decided to continue to stalk our land to see what was going on in our little section.  We were THRILLED to see that they started to landscape around the lake that is right by our house.  I took some pictures but they still were planting flowers and trees.  Brad and I both agree that the developers of Towne Lake are not cheesing out on making the development look beautiful.  I can't wait for them to build the pavilion right by the lake near our house.  It will be cool for the kids to fish and us to bbq by the lake.

If you are still reading up to this point, I plan on sharing recipes that I make and try that are really good.  Tonight I made an AWESOME recipe.  It is Trisha Yearwoods' Spaghetti Casserole.  It was really easy and fantastic.  I didn't include the bacon part of the recipe because I didn't feel like messing with bacon and it still was fantastic.  I will definitely do this recipe again.
Ingredients

Baked Spaghetti Casserole by Trisha Yearwood

• 1 pound of lean ground beef
• 3/4 pound of spaghetti noodles, cooked and drained
• 6 slices bacon
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped bell pepper
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans Italian style diced tomatoes, with liquid
• 2 (10 ounce) cans Rotel tomatoes, with liquid
• 1/2 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 2 cups grated Cheddar or Mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1 (10-3/4 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 × 13 x 2 inch baking dish with non stick spray.

Break the spaghetti noodles in half one or twice to make them more bite sized and drop them into a large stockpot filled with boiling, well salted water.  Brown the ground beef in a large skillet; remove, drain and set aside.  Cut the bacon in half lengthwise, stack a few slices together and cut into small pieces, dropping it directly into that same skillet. Cook until only slightly crispy; remove and let drain on a paper towel, reserving the bacon fat in the skillet.

Add the onion and green bell pepper to the bacon fat and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook another 2 minutes. To that, add the tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and the cooked beef and bacon.  Bring up to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Layer half of the spaghetti noodles into the prepared baking dish. Spoon over half of the meat sauce. Add half of the cheddar and then repeat all three layers.  Combine the cream of mushroom soup with the water and blend well. Drop over the top layer of cheese and carefully spread across the top. Sprinkle the top with the Parmesan cheese and bake at 350 degrees, uncovered, for 30 to 35 minutes, or until heated through and bubbly around the edges.

The casserole came right up to the very top of my baking dish by the time that I got through the layering, so for insurance, I placed a pan on the lower rack and the casserole on the top rack to bake, just in case there was any spillover. There wasn't, thankfully, but you may want to take that precaution also, just in case!

~Cook's Notes~

Can substitute all plain diced tomatoes; can also drain the Rotel to tone it down and just loosen the sauce a bit with some beef broth.

Summer Is Here!!!

Summer is here!

 Today is Paige and Will's last day of school. They both are thrilled. Allison and Abbey's last day is Thursday and then they will be with us for the next few weeks! Brad and I are VERY VERY VERY proud of Allison. She and a few other girls all planned to try out for their school talent show together. When it was all said and done, the other girls changed their mind. Allison auditioned by herself and made it. The talent show was yesterday and Allison played a solo on her violin. I couldn't go but saw it on video. It was awesome. Brad said that there were about 200 parents there. She is so brave to do that. I told Brad to take a picture so I could post it on the blog but he forgot (Bad husband...just joking). Brad, if you are reading this, make sure you get a still shot next time. Corrin and I love having no students this week. We were able to go and have sushi for lunch. The place is called Sushi Pop and is really good. Last night, Paige had her award ceremony. She received an award for best student in her shop class (I think it was called industrial technology)? She also received an award for having honor roll for three years. I am very proud of her. I cannot believe that she will be in High School next year! This will be a new chapter of our lives where we will be going to football games cheering on her school. I will be extra on top of her academics because GPA is very important in high school, especially for scholarships. I have been spending time trying to prepare for this summer. I plan on taking the kids on lots of day trips, makings lots of crafts and recipies from pintrest, and just having fun. Here are a few tid bits about each child.

 Paige: Almost 14 and about to start high school. Paige is really into being a teenager (ha). She spends a super long time every morning in the bathroom preparing herself to look perfect for school. She gets up at 5:30 AM and at 6:30 AM I am always screaming for her to hurry up so I won't be late for work. Paige is into fashion and music. She is also into borrowing her mother's clothes.  Paige loves her itouch and begs for a better phone. Kids don't need nice cell phones. They need cell phones that work and you can call 911 from. Paige is super sweet and is very reliable. I can ask her to do anything and know that she will do it and it will be done well. Paige is beautiful, on the inside and outside.

 Allison: Will be 12 this October and will start Middle School! Allison is a very sweet girl who is constantly being noticed for her beautiful red hair. She is very creative and has a fun personality. She loves to participate in dressing up and pretending to be fake characters. She plays the violin and is excited to try new things. She can sometimes be very serious and quiet. She is also our day dreamer. Allison has a sweetness to her that is just very nice. Allison also loves anything dealing with detective stuff and pondered being a detective when she grows up. This along with opening her own restaurant and playing the violin for her patrons. Allison has a very laid back personality which I think she gets from her father. 

 William: Will be 10 this summer and start the 5th grade in the fall. William is our child that if his head was not screwed on, it would most definitely not be attached. He is obsessed with Legos and loves playing computer and Wii games. He doesn' mind reading, especially if it is a Lego book. He is vey social at school and sometimes has too much of a hard time not being social (as reflected in the weekly conduct card sent home by the teacher). William has a kind spirit about him. He is also a day dreamer and sometimes it takes a few moments to get him out of his day dreaming. William wants to be a Lego engineer when he grows up. He is also very spiritual. William will talk about God a lot. 

 Abbey: Will be 10 in October and start the 4th grade. Abbey is our go getter child. She is very beautiful and very sweet. She is also our bull dog and can be as stubborn as they come. Abbey is a hard worker and will go above and beyond when helping out with chores. Abbey loves to play soccer and scored a goal a few games ago. She loves to read and enjoys fashion. She likes to wear scarves. She also likes to pick out her own clothing and will battle with you if she doesn't want to wear something. Abbey is kind to others and will help whenever needed. Abbey has a type A personality like her step mom. She really enjoys baking and doing crafts. Abbey has a beautiful and sweet smile.

 Lucy: Lucy is our old lady dog. She is currently punishing us for moving into an apartmentment. She refuses to poop when we take her outside but instead goes at night on the carpet. She also refuses to be contained to a non-carpet area at night and will howl and bark until she gets her way. She is currently holding us hostage in the apartment. Lucy is funny when we go to the dog park. Usually she will find an old person to sit next to and bond with.

 Lilly: Lilly is the complete opposite of Lucy. She is a puppy so it is really not fair to make that statement. She is very social and loves going to the dog park where she could spend hours socializing and playing with all of the dogs. Lilly dosn't mind being in her crate which is nice. We are trying to break her from the habit of chewing on walls. We currently have about three holes in our drywall. We are also trying to work with her peeing when she gets excited. Every day when I get home from work, she is so excited and pees everywhere. Thank goodness it is on the kitchen floor. Lilly is very loving and will cuddle on the couch with us for hours. She tries to play with Lucy but is not successful in that.

A new day

This weekend has been lots of fun and VERY busy. On Friday, we met Tom and his girlfriend Jen for his birthday. We ended up meeting up with Jen's friends later on during the night. On Saturday, Brad worked on putting together Isabella and Sophia's new swing set. I went to graduation for my seniors and then we bbq'd after Isabella's dance recital. This morning I woke up and told Brad "we are getting to mass EARLY." For the past two weeks, we have had to stand up the entire time at our new church. We don't think that the church is big enough for all of the members. After mass, we did our weekly ritual and drove by our land to see what work has been done in our section. We were excited to see that the put letters on the entrance of our section that will be gated. So apparently we live in Towne Lake community, our section is called "South Shore at Towne Lake" and our street name is Dove Creek Springs Trail. Tonight we are going to a 40th birthday party of one of Brad's clients. It is being held at a Wine Bar in a fancy part of town (River Oaks). It should be fun.

The End of the Year with my Seniors

Today was the senior picnic. Corrin and I met at Academy this morning and spent the rest of the Senior Women money buying games for the picnic. We bought lots of fun things (volley ball net, croquet, soccer balls, etc). It was really bittersweet. I am going to miss some of these kids because some were just amazing. I couldn't stop laughing when Corrin told me the following story. One of the girls that was not nice to her came up to Corrin to check in. Corrin told her "I know that you were not a huge fan of me at the beginning of the year but did you end up changing your mind?" The girl looked at Corrin and said "nope." Wow. Kids are sometimes amazing. I can honestly say that my four kids would never say that to a teacher, even if that is the way they felt.

It's A Great Day to Be Alive

I can't get the Travis Tritt song "It's A Great Day to Be Alive" out of my head! If you haven't heard it, youtube it. It is really good. I am very excited that it is almost the weekend. Brad and I actually have a lot planned. All of our kids are with our ex's. On Friday, we are meeting Tom and Jen for dinner to celebrate Tom's birthday. On Saturday, I have graduation for my seniors and then Isabella's dance recital. On Sunday, we are going to a 40th birthday party of one of Brad's clients at a wine bar. On Monday, we will probably just relax. Towne Lake is having a celebration with bands by the water. This post is going to revolve around how wonderful my husband is. I included a picture because not only is he wonderful, he is really cute. Last Saturday, Brad spent the entire day in the woodlands coaching Abbey's team and taking them to a dance thing. William had baseball to we stayed in town. I took Paige and Will out to eat Mexican. A few days later, Allison had a violin recital. The other day, she and Will said that they plan on opening a restaurant one day and Allison said that she plans on plyaing the violin for her customers. It was too cute! Brad is the best father ever. He does everything for his kids and mine. Yesterday he got off of work early and took Will to baseball practice and worked with him. We figured out that we (mostly him) spends over 30 hours a month in the car and drive over 1000 miles a month to see the girls. While he coaches his girl's soccer, he drives to the Woodlands on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Monday). It is over an hour each way. It is about 42 miles each way. I am lucky to have him. Thank GOD I have him.

silly kids...more pictures

I am going to keep a blog this summer so that in the end, I can have a book printed up for the kids as a memory of this summer. We are a the end of the homestretch and summer is almost here. Paige and William will be going to Florida with their dad for the first week of June and I signed the girls up for a summer camp close to our house that is four hours a day. Allison will be doing a desing your dream home and Abbey will be designing a city. The camp is at the community college that close to our apartments. We have Brad's girls for the first two weeks in June and the last two weeks in July. Speaking of apartments, living in one is not fun. Lucy is punishing us and will not stop pooping on our carpet. Our house was suppose to be started but the developer is behind. It looks like it will start at the end of June. We drive by our street every few days to see the progress. They just finished the sidewalks by the lake that is near our home and our street just got street lamps and electricity. You can see them making progress on our section. The picture of the house is the one that we chose our brick and trim from.

Mothers Day Weekend 2012

This weekend is Mother's Day. I am not too bothered about it and don't want the kids or Brad to make a big deal about it because my birhtday just happened and they went overboard and made it really special. This weekend the kids are with their other parents so it is just Brad and I. I will get my kids back on Sunday afternoon to celebrate Mother's Day. This year is going to be the best Mothers Day yet. I have the best kids (all four) and the best husband. I couuld not ask for anything else. On Friday, Brad and I found a cajun restaurant by our house called the French Quarter. We had the best cajun food. After, we went and did my favorite thing, listened to live music. I bought a new yellow dress a few weeks ago. I got a million compliments on it! When Brad turns 40, I want to have the biggest party and hire a live band. Today Brad coached Abbey's soccer team and I went to Will's baseball game. After, Brad and I went and had margaritas. We then drove by our land and just looked at it.