Haven Meets the Easter Bunny

And his face is worth the $25 it cost me...

Dennis the Menace

He is really cute... But God help us, he is also very ornery.

5 Languages of Love

Sorry I haven't posted.... we've been in and out of town because Chris' grandpa passed away unexpectedly last week. It was a tough weekend and my first "real" funeral, meaning no one I've ever loved has passed away (geez, I sound mean so I'll stop). But one day I will tell you about Norma Fouts and we'll all have a good laugh.

So back to my post...

The Five Languages of Love

Have you heard of this before??

Here is the quiz to find out which language you are.

And here is one for your husband to take.

Here was my 30 question breakdown:

9/30: Words of Affirmation
5/30: Quality Time
1/30: Gifts (I hate when Chris buys me stuff... How crazy am I?!)
12/30: Acts of Service
3/30: Personal Touch

I am "Acts of Service." It was a no-brainer. I LOVE LOVE LOVE when Chris cleans, cooks, lets me sleep in, etc.

This is Chris' 30 question breakdown:
10/30: Words of Affirmation
5/30: Quality Time
1/30: Gifts (We're not gift people I guess)
3/30: Acts of Service
11/30: Personal Touch


I want to get the book this weekend.

Let me know your breakdown! Were you surprised?!



One of our new family photos, courtesy of [m]photography

"Sweet & Mesquite" Southern Style Pork Chop Roast

Like all of my recipes, just use what you have in your fridge/pantry. Any of these can be modified to your liking.

3 pork chops
1/4 c of brown sugar
1/4 c of ketchup
1/4 c of worcestershire sauce (Soy sauce would also work)
6-8 carrots
4 potatoes
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 package of onion soup mix



The night before, in a small bowl, mix the brown sugar, ketchup, and worcestershire sauce. One at a time, coat the porchop on both sides. Put any remaining sauce on top and let it marinate over night.

The next morning, put the marinated pork chops in the bottom of the crockpot. On top of the pork chops, add your peeled and cut vegetables. Also add your chopped onion.

In a large cup, add 1 1/2 cups of water with the onion soup mix. Add the minced garlic.

Pour mixture over pork chops and vegetables.

Cook on low for 8 hours or cook on high for 5 hours.

One Thing I've Learned Staying At Home...

1. Silence is golden...



I hope you all had a great weekend! =)

Stay At Home Mom... Until Tuesday...

I don't know how you SAHM's do it. Only four hours into the day and I'm ready to be put down for a nap!

My sister takes care of Haven while I cram 40 hours into 4 days of work. But this week she is in Arizona visiting her boyfriend who is in spring training for the minor leagues (lucky, lucky girl).

I've obviously become co-dependent on my sister and Chris helping me with odds and ends. I had to wake up at 4:30am (on my vacation day) to get a workout and shower in before my day started with bambi. I'm sure I could have squeezed these activities in while he was napping, but I'm too big of a chicken to take a shower while I'm home alone.

Here is a snap shot into our morning...




Happy Thursday!

Fresh Air

Ahh... The weather is so nice....




Everyone seems to be a little more cheerful....




And life tastes sweeter....

The Last Lecture

I saw a segment on Oprah a few years ago about this Professor named Randy... and for some reason his story has just stuck with me ever since.

I don't want to ruin the great speech for you but I will give you a little background.

His name is Randy.
He is really really smart.... and he has the BEST stories about achieving his childhood dreams.

Sadly, he finds out that he has liver cancer and only 3-6 months to live.

This is his "Last Lecture."

It was also turned into a book.

To watch the lecture click here.

To read the transcripts (which is just as moving), click here.

I'll warn you now that that is is over an hour long to watch...

But you will be so deeply moved. You will be more grateful for your life afterwards. And you'll be inspired to achieve those silly childhood dreams you had.

Here is one of mine:



Be prepared to have a good-ugly cry.

If you've already seen it, pass it on =)

DIE-T

I started my diet on Monday. And by diet I mean, I am trying to ween out sugar and processed foods so that I feel better and healthier. And....... fitting into my summer clothes is a good incentive, too. I have the whole family on board. And by family, I mean myself, Chris, and my sister who lives with us and takes care of Haven. Haven needs to eat like a king, so he isn't included.

I was inspired by a few of my favorite bloggers Sarah and Meg.

I'm about a year too late trying to shed this "baby" weight... aka buffet weight/value meal weight/cupcake weight.

So Monday, I packed my workout bag (because if I don't go right after work, I don't go at all) and I headed to work.

Upon arrival were the three boxes of girl scout cookies I ordered during a "fat moment" last month.

Being strong (and being a suck-up) I gave a box of Tag-Alongs to my boss. I took my two boxes of Thin Mints home and put them in the freezer (however, one box is already missing.... shame on that person).

I had a terrible migraine by the end of the day and ended up going to sleep by 7pm.

Yesterday, I get to work and it was a co-workers birthday... So TWO people brought in donuts.

I stayed strong... and hungry with my banana, cottage cheese, and blueberries. I ended the day with LOST and another headache.

Then today, everyone orders Chinese take-out for lunch. I prepared myself for this and left my debit card at home on purpose so that I wouldn't be tempted. However..... I already feel better!

I am feeling very motivated and encouraged. I think my body needed the couple days to detox everything out. I'm hoping that this is the end of the headaches.

So what's for dinner tonight?? Grilled chicken, organic brown rice, and steamed broccoli.

I wish I was eating something that April is making! =)

If you have any satisfying, healthy meals... Send them my way!

Chicken Fettuccine

I rarely make dinner on Friday nights... and I rarely wait until Tuesday to tell you about it... But guess what? I lost my camera cord again. I must be losing my mind.

Ingredients:
Box of fettuccine... I only used 1/2 a box
1 bar of cream cheese
Cream of chicken soup (but I would assume that cream of mushroom would taste better)
Packet of Italian dressing

Optional:

Mushrooms

Diced tomatoes

A dash of crushed red pepper flakes

I throw the chicken (I only used 2 chicken breasts for 4 people) in the crock pot with 1 cup of water and the packet of Italian dressing. I cooked it on high for 90 minutes.

On the stove, I heated the cream of chicken soup, bar of cream cheese, mushrooms, and diced tomatoes until all melted. When the chicken was done, I mixed the soup-cheese mixture in with the chicken. I turned the crock pot down to low.

It was done an hour later.

I boiled the noodles on the stove and everyone served themselves.

It was fantastic!