New House Before and After

Here are the pictures as promised. I didn't take pictures of the play room or office because they are a mess. The office if the room off of the dining room. That was a big formal dining/living that we put a wall up to add the office. I couldn't find a picture of the actual master bath before but it was tiny. It had the tub, toilet and one small vanity. Anyway, I am glad it is all done. Now for the decorating.

Easter 2008

Easter Egg Hunt #1

Alyssa caught on really quick!

Mallory's teacher helped her while I helped Alyssa. She caught on too!

The girls had their first Easter egg hunt this morning at MDO. It was fun. It lasted about 10 minutes but it was fun. I had really cute Easter outfits for the girls to wear but it was 40 degrees when we woke up this morning so I changed my plan. The looked really cute in the dresses Uncle Bryan gave them for Christmas. That is the great thing about girls. A spring dress can be worn with sandals or tights and dress shoes. I just threw a sweater on them and they were ready to go. We have 2 more egg hunts this weekend. They should definitely get the hang of it by Sunday! Oh, and big news......

MALLORY IS FINALLY 20 POUNDS!!!!!!!!!!!! Now she can face forward instead of turning her head around the whole time we are driving!

Menu Plan Monday

Here is my menu for this week:

Monday - We were in Shreveport

Tuesday - Shrimp Gumbo Casserole (Paula Deen)

Wednesday - Grilled Tilapia w/ lemon butter sauce and baked rice

Thursday - BUNCO! Which means leftovers or cereal for Trey

Friday - No cooking

Saturday - We will be in Carthage

Sunday - I am sure we will be so stuffed from Easter lunch there will be no dinner.

You can check out other recipes at I'm am Organizing Junkie.

Alyssa is 2!

Let's eat some cake!

She had a Mickey Mouse theme party so it was only appropriate that she got a Mickey Mouse DVD from Mimi. She was so excited!

Papaw got her this cool fire truck!

We got Alyssa a big girl table. She ate breakfast on it this morning.

Mallory loves the fire truck too!

We had a great day! Alyssa had lots of friends and family come and play. Uncle Andy & Aunt Kelly even got to watch it on the computer! The only disappointment was the cake. Chris was out of own this weekend so we had to buy a cake from Super 1. It tasted okay but looked HORRIBLE! I was so embarassed! Oh well, it will soon be forgotten. We got to debut our new house. We were working on it up until last minute. I will post pictures sometime this week. My baby is 2! I can't believe it. She is getting soooo big! So that was our weekend. Today will be a day of rest and relaxation. This will be the first day we have been able to do that.

Menu Plan Monday

So my friend Elaine has started doing this Menu Plan Monday on her blog so I decided to give it a try. I actually have a full kitchen now so I can cook for the first time in weeks. I promise I will post pictures of the house soon. There are still boxes everywhere. I know I should be unpacking instead of blogging but I am doing it anyway! Here is my menu:

Monday - We ate Cane's because Trey didn't get a chance to hook up the cook top but he is doing it right now!

Tuesday - Taco Stuffed Pasta Shells (see below)

Wednesday - BBQ Chicken Packets (see below), Mashed Potatoes & Green Beans

Thursday - Fabulous Fajita Pizza (Pampered Chef)

Friday & Saturday- I don't cook on the weekends (that is a house rule!)

Sunday - Spaghetti w/meat sauce, Strawberry Spinach Salad & Garlic Bread

Taco Stuffed Pasta Shells

16 dried jumbo pasta shells, prepared according to package rinsed & drained

1 lb ground beef

1 16oz can refried beans

1 C shredded cheddar cheese

2 T taco seasoning

1 1/2 C salsa

Heat oven to 350. Cook beef & drain. Add beans, 3/4 C cheese & taco seasoning; mix well. Spread 1/4 C salsa over bottom of 13x9 baking dish. Fill pasta shells w/ beef mixture; place shells filled side up. Spoon remaining salsa over shells. Cover baking dish w/ foil. Bake 40-45 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle w/ remaining cheese.

BBQ chicken packets

foil

chicken breasts

BBQ sauce

Tony's

Tear off a piece of foil big enough to wrap the chicken. Place raw (I use frozen) chicken breast on foil and sprinkle with Tony's then cover with BBQ sauce. Wrap chicken up in foil and place on baking sheet. Wrap as many pieces of chicken as you want. Bake at 350 for about an hour or until done.

To view additional MPM's go to I'm am Organizing Junkie.

Where am I?

It's a blizzard here! Well, the closest thing to a blizzard I have ever seen! It is really snowing. I don't mean ice - snow! It is very hard to unpack boxes when all I want to do is curl up on the couch and watch the snow fall in the backyard! Our counter tops were installed yesterday and look FABULOUS! The plumber will be here today to connect my sink and dishwasher. Our backsplash is being installed Monday & Tuesday so hopefully by the end of next week I can post before and after pictures. Alyssa's birthday party is next Saturday so we are determined to have everything completely finished by then. Well, inside anyway. The yard is another story!!!

A Day in the Park

Moved

Well, we are mostly moved. We are tired. Every time I look around I want to cry because there is SO much to do! I will not have kitchen counters, a kitchen sink, or a dishwasher until the end of next week or beginning of the next. I have about 10 different people in my house right now. Oh well, it will be great when it is finished! Our camera accidentally went to DeRidder with Mr. Bubba so I will post pictures when we get it back.

Ashley tagged me

Ashley tagged me. Check out her quirks at www.ashleytsears.blogspot.com

6 Quirks about you Rules:
1. Link to the person that tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share six non-important/habits/quirks about yourself.
4. Tag at least 3 people at the end of your post and link to their blogs.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
6. Let the fun begin!

1. I was a pageant girl in high school. I was in a pageant at least 1 weekend a month my entire junior year in high school.

2. I love chocolate candy but hate chocolate cake.

3. I wear the same pajama's every night to bed and have almost the entire time I have been married. I just can't find another pair that are as comfortable as those!

4. I am an accountant and can't add numbers in my head. I am totally dependent on my calculator!

5. I can't go to sleep at night without reading. I can be completely tired and not be able to go to sleep if I haven't read.

6. I LOVE to play games. I love board games, card games, domino games - anything! I am extremely competitive but love to play!

I am tagging these people:

Jenifer: www.ladybelize.blogspot.com
Megan: www.alittlelagniappe.blogspot.com
Kelly: www.xanga.com/kelbelle810

Busy

If you look closely you can see her bottom eye teeth coming in!

Just chillin'!

We have had a very busy week. Last week we closed on our house and immediately started working on it. We have carpenters, painters, plumbers, electricians....you name it we have them working on our house. It looks like we might be able to pull everything together to move in next weekend. We are very pleased with the progress. Trey is working on it every night and we have gotten a sitter a few nights after the girls go to bed so I can help out a little.

Last Thursday I took Mallory in for her 12 month check up and discovered she had a double ear infection. She is also cutting about 5 or 6 teeth! Needless to say she has not been too happy over the last week. She has her moments but is REALLY fussy! I feel so bad because there is not much I can do for her. Going to sleep is the worst! She just wants me to hold her. I am reminded of when she was born. I could get her to sleep with no problem but the minute I put her in her bed she started screaming. She has been sleeping until 8:30 the last couple of days which is WONDERFUL!!!!! We took Alyssa in yesterday for her follow up visit with the ENT and the doctor said she looked the best she has ever seen her. We were thrilled to hear that!

We are starting to settle in here. Last weekend was our last weekend to go back to Shreveport and stay in our house. We packed everything up and will be moving it all to our new house in Ruston next weekend. I have been going to a women's bible study here and even joined a bunco group! My Broadmoor girls know how much I LOVE bunco! Now if we could only sell our house so Trey wouldn't have to work a weekend a month in Shreveport!!!

Mallory's 1st Birthday

We had a great time at Mallory's birthday party. She had so much fun! She loved all of her presents (liked the paper more)! She enjoyed the birthday song and blowing out her candle. Her favorite part was the cake. She started out not knowing what to think but after a little taste she LOVED it! She ate just about the whole cake we had for her. She partied hard and sleep all afternoon.

In other news, we officially own 2 homes! Wow - that is scary! Our contractor started today and got a lot done! Our painter starts tomorrow.

There she blows!

MALLORY CAN BLOW HER NOSE!!!!

Those of you without kids are going to read this blog and think I can't believe she is blogging about this. For those of you with kids know how wonderful it is not to have to pull out the nose sucker on your child. The minute she sees the thing she starts screaming so loud her lips turn blue because she is not breathing! We have been trying to teach the kids to do this (since everyone has had a runny nose for months). We were eating dinner last night and without even asking her she blew! Now when we put the tissue to her nose she blows. She will only do it once each time but I will take that!!!

Supporter of her political party

I could not resist these pj's when I saw them. The pants have the elephants all over them. They are too cute!

Trey took this picture of Mallory. I thought it was too cute!

We are set to close next Monday on our house in Ruston. We can't wait! There is a lot of work to be done but it will be worth it. We have ordered counter tops, hired a contractor and are looking for a painter (for the cabinets and sheet rocking). Trey is the primary painter! We have a busy month ahead of us. We are taking a Smith & Schieffer family vacation to Destin this summer. It will be the girls first trip to the beach. I am SO Excited! I haven't been to the beach since Hawaii! A whole week with Trey! The girls and I can't wait!

Pictures

Here are a few pictures of the girls playing. We got this amazing camera for Christmas. I actually feel kinda silly using it because it has this HUGE lens on it! It takes wonderful pictures! Mallory's 1st birthday is next weekend. I can't believe my baby is going to be ONE!!!! Where has the year gone? Alyssa will be 2 next month! We are staying busy trying to find good deals on materials for the new house. We are set to close on the 4th. Well, I better go get Mallory before she climbs up the fireplace. That girl can climb up anything!!!!

We found a house!

We finally found a house in Ruston! We have not sold our house in Shreveport yet. We did just switch realtors so maybe that will help! We found an older house in a great neighboorhood. It needs some updating but we are excited to make it our own! It has plenty of room. I can't wait for the girls to have a playroom. My living room will actually be a living room. We are set to close on February 4th. We are going to try to get all of the work done before we move in. We can stay in our rent house until the end of February. Pray for Alyssa. We have some health issues going on but I am not going in detail here. I have a ton of pictures of the girls to post but we got a new camera and I am not sure how to get the pictures on here. I will post them when I figure it out!

Christmas 2007

Nap Time???

How can you get upset when this is what is looking at you when you walk in the room?

If you can't tell she has crawled under her bumper.

My child is a chipmunk!

I went in to check on Mallory this morning because I could hear she was not asleep and she was under her bumper. Normally if she is awake she is standing up give me the biggest grin when I walk in the room which is what she did after I took her picture under the bumper. She is so funny! Well, we are going to the doctor AGAIN today with Alyssa. She got a runny nose Tuesday so I started giving her breathing treatments but she is still wheezing really bad. She was up all night crying because she couldn't breathe. On a better note our house is showing today. After 2 months of not showing we are excited! Please pray that it will sell!!!! While you are praying please pray for my sanity with sick kids. I am not sure how much more I can take!!!

Merry Christmas!

Here are the pictures from our Christmas card. I couldn't get a descent one of them together. I love the expression on Mallory's face! I am so ready for everyone to be well. Alyssa still can't get rid of her ear infection. It goes from one ear to the next. Mallory finally got over her ear infection but caught a stomach bug this weekend. Alyssa had it last week. The problem with Mallory is that she will not drink pedialyte so we have to give it to her through a syringe. Poor Trey got up every hour last night to give it to her.

We are looking forward to Christmas. Bryan graduates from LSU Friday so Trey and I will be heading to Baton Rouge for the day. My mom is keeping the girls (that would be a pretty miserable trip to make in a day). Andy and Kelly will be coming in from Indiana so we are so excited to get to see them! Trey took a few days off of work next week. He has been working the past 20 days straight so we will be glad to have him home all day for several days in a row! Trey bought me a king size bed for Christmas. It is WONDERFUL! I have been begging for one for several years and he had a few sleepless nights so he decided we needed one. I have to say it is the best present I have had so far!!!! I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!

Is this normal?

Alyssa REALLY enjoys the TV. I only let her watch a few shows but she really likes them. This was her watching the Baby Einsteins sign language video. She is in her high chair because she had just finished lunch. Do any of your kids get this excited over TV? Sorry it is sideways - it took WAY too long to download to fix it!!!!