Easy (and I mean EASY) Chicken Bake

Tonight seemed to get away from me after going non-stop ALL day. I had grand plans to get a ton of stuff done, but not much of it happened. What I DID accomplish was getting the house decorated for Christmas and another sweep through the kids' room organizing, recycling and purging with the promise of a surprise for them when they wake up in the morning if we got it done. We did, and they will wake to a Christmas tree in their room tomorrow morning.

When we finished their room it was well after 5:00pm and I didn't have time to make the dinner I'd planned on making (of course I'd PLANNED on making it between picking up Little A and going to get Big A) so I was frantically searching the cupboards (which I managed to clean and organize while dinner was cooking! I guess I actually I DID accomplish a few things today!) looking for something to make. I found a box of Stove Top Stuffing and started reading the back where I found a recipe for Easy Chicken Bake. It said it took 10 minutes to prep and 30 minutes to bake so what the heck!?

* 1 pkg (6 oz) Stove Top Stuffing
* 1-1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
* 1 can (10-3/4 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup (I used cream of mushroom)
* 1/3 cup Sour Cream
* 1 bag (16 oz) frozen mixed vegetables, thawed, drained

Preheat oven to 400°F. Prepare stuffing mix as directed on package; set aside. Mix chicken, soup, sour cream and vegetables in 13x9-inch baking dish; top with the stuffing. Bake 30 min or until chicken is cooked through. VIOLA! DINNER!

(This picture is from the Kraft website)

And it was pretty tasty! Big A didn't like it because he has a thing about stuffing (which I'd forgotten about) but Little A, who is the one I THOUGHT would throw a fit, actually ate most of hers. You never can tell with kids!

Black Friday

Black Friday... Does anyone ever wonder why it's called Black Friday? I did, but during a conversation at dinner tonight, with a husband who spent many years working in retail, I now have that answer. Yes, I suppose I could have googled it, but letting someone else do the work for me is MUCH easier... Especially after spending fourteen hours shopping today!

Yes, I got up at 3:30am and hit the sales. My original plan was to hit Kohl's at 3am, Target at 4am and finally Best Buy at 5am but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that what I needed at Kohl's could wait until later as long as I was there before 1pm, and that in reality, Target was my most important stop. So... At 4:30am, armed with my lists and my coupons, I headed out into the freezing darkness.

I arrived at Target around 4:40am and began my search for a parking place followed by my search for a cart. Actually, the parking lot was pretty full and there were NO carts available, but I saw someone pulling out in the row right in front of the door, pulled into that spot and approached a family unloading their cart which they happily allowed me to take away and then began my search for my $67 Wii Fit. As luck would have it there were THREE left and I was able to get one. WHEW! That was the only thing I really cared about this fine Black Friday.

While at Target I picked up a scooters for the kids, some presents for Grandma and Grandpa to give all of the grandkids, and a birthday present for B then waited in line for an hour to check-out. I was awarded $60 in Target gift cards for my troubles! Not bad!

After a trip to Starbucks I headed to Kohl's where I picked up a few more gifts for the kids, some things that mom needed for other people, and a few odds and ends of shirts and jammies for cold weather. By then I felt that I'd accomplished MOST of what I'd set out to do today but I hadn't gotten to Best Buy and I didn't' really feel like going there, I felt like meeting up with my mom and my aunt and shopping with them... MUCH. MORE. FUN. I really can't stand Best Buy.

Call me a slacker, but when B called I told him what I was getting him for Christmas, and told him to go to Best Buy and get it. Bad wife, I know! But he was so happy with the gift that he didn't mind doing it himself.... Except that they were out. Lucky for me, they had a similar one available online and we ordered it. Again... WHEW!

I spent the remainder of today shopping with my mom and my aunt and we had a GREAT time and accomplished SO much! It was a day full of fun and laughter and we were all EXHAUSTED by the time we got home.

"Does this purse make my neck look long?"

"Here comes Amy Clause!"

Good night!

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving... First and foremost, a time to be thankful for all of the blessings God has given me, and also a time for family, and a time to stuff your face with turkey and all of the fixins. YUM! Apparently Thanksgiving is a time to dress up as Mary and Joseph and stargaze in broad daylight, too!



The kids and I spend Thanksgiving with Grandma, Grandpa, Big Rabbit and Uncle Alligator. Unfortunately, as usual, B had to work. Luckily, dinner was ready JUST IN TIME for him to take a plate of hot food.



The table was beautiful and in my mad dash to delete pictures after dinner to make room on my full memory card, I deleted my best table shot. BOO!

After dinner we sat around and chatted while eating pie and drinking coffee before cleaning up the kitchen and lazing in front of the TV. It was a wonderful, relaxing, family day.

OOOPS! Caught ya!

Boys will be boys!

And even little girls need snuggles from Uncle Alligator!

Happy Thanksgiving, from our family to yours!

Now it's off to bed so I can be up at 4am for Black Friday shopping... Let the holiday madness begin!

Sometimes Life's Not Fair

Today B and I did something extremely difficult. Today we attended a memorial service for the 20 year old son of a friend of ours. Let me just put it to you simply... KIDS. SHOULDN'T. DIE. There, I said it.

Memorials are never easy, but come on... Let's face it... It's much 'easier' to accept the passing of an eighty or ninety year old grandfather who lived a full, happy life, is it not? But a kid? I know God has a plan for this young man, but it's still not easy.

There's one thing that keeps running through my mind... While this family should have been deciding who would bring the yams to Thanksgiving dinner, they were deciding which pictures to display at their son's/nephew's/friend's memorial service. There's something just not right about that.

And I know... I KNOW that people die every day, every hour, every minute...

And I know that life isn't always fair...

But I just needed to vent...

So thank you...

Happy 6th Birthday, Big A!!!

*SIGH* I can't believe my 'baby' boy is turned six today... What's a mom to do?

Big A started his day with cinnamon rolls and chocolate milk followed by donuts and juice at our Sunday School party. What a way to start the day!

After church we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa's where we had Big A's party parties. Yes, you read that correctly, I said PARTIES (plural). You see, Big A has TONS of friends. He wanted to invite his ENTIRE class (20 kids) as well as 6 other friends and five families. That was just a TAD BIT overwhelming for me, so I suggested that we do a friend party with cupcakes and games and a family party with pizza and cake, and he went for it.

The weekend forecast had promised rain and I was bummed that it would be the first time it had rained the day of Big A's birthday party, but God did not disappoint! The weather was BEAUTIFUL! It was cold, but sunny and the ground had dried enough from the night before that the kids had a blast running in the field, playing on the swing set, playing in the barn and just being kids!

I'd learned in years past, that the kids much prefer running and playing to stopping for organized games, so we limited it to one organized game, Musical Carpet Squares (Big A's new favorite game) which was a perfect transition from outside play to cupcakes and gifts.

Molly made these AWESOME cupcakes (THANKS, MOLLY!) for the party and they were a HUGE hit. She made something like 72 cupcakes and when all was said and done, there were THREE left! People wanted to take them home to dads and siblings and I was fine with it. I'm glad they enjoyed them so much! (As a side note, Molly even dressed as Jessie for the party. TOO CUTE! We heart Molly!)

After cupcakes we opened gifts... And gifts... And gifts! We went from having no Toy Story stuff to having a plethora (there's my big word for the day) of Toy Story stuff and we love it all and play with it all... Thanks, Everyone!

And at that point it was time to bid farewell to the school friends and open the doors for the family party... We finished the evening with two sets of grandparents, five families, six pizzas, two cakes (our friend, Michelle, shares Big A's birthday!), a few more presents and a TON of fun!

Molly made this awesome Etch-A-Sketch cake for the family party and I made Michelle the lemon cake (twice). I've been having oven issues lately!

Talk about a LONaG day! And I still have muffins to make for Big A's class party! YIKES! Oh well... My boy is worth it!

Happy Birthday, Big A! We love you so much and look forward every day to watching you grow and become the young man you're becoming.

Children's Youth Group Harvest Party

Today we had our monthly Children's Youth Group activity, an Autumn Harvest Party! We published the event as rain or shine, and it's good thing we did!

It was supposed to rain today but when I woke up to blue skies I had a glimmer of hope that we'd not get wet while harvesting. Although it was cloudy at noon, the rain was still holding off. If we could just make it two more rain-free hours... Yeah, not so much.

The harvest party started at 1pm, and coincidentally, so did the rain! But you know what? Neither wind nor rain not THICK MUD could stop this group from picking veggies and having fun!

Carla made this great sign welcoming everyone to the party. Thanks, Carla!

We picked bell peppers...

Yellow tomatoes...

Chives...

Lemon balm...

Arugula...

Tomatillos...

Red tomatoes...

Flowers...

And yes, STRAWBERRIES IN NOVEMBER!

We had a wonderful time in the garden and then headed inside the church to wash and separate veggies, make Indian head pieces, and have a snack. While we TRIED to wash the mud off of our boots outside, we figured it was safer to take our boots off before going in. I LOVE this picture!

And I love all of these guys in their sock feet (because those of you who know me know that I HATE wearing shoes!)!

Thank you to Beverly for all of your work in the garden and for helping us have a wonderful Harvest Party! We had a GREAT time on Saturday!

Play Time!

Today Molly took the kids to the park for one last hurrah before the long, COLD, rainy weekend (Just in time for the Children's Youth Group Harvest Party and Big A's birthday party! BOO!). There may not be many more opportunities to play at the park this year, for the rainy season is upon us and from what I hear, this winter will be cold and wet!

I LOVE the pictures she took! They obviously enjoyed themselves!

Go M A D!!

I was perusing K-LOVE's website this morning looking for information on Operation Christmas Child (which will be another post) and I ran across this Go M A D 'challenge' (The information in green below is taken DIRECTLY from K-LOVE's website. Thank you, K-LOVE!). I wanted to share it, because I think it's a GREAT idea! I've done random acts of kindness before, and I've also had random acts of kindness done to me. Whether you're the doer or the receiver, it just makes you feel SO good!

There is nothing that warms your heart quite like someone lifting you up when you need it. When you Go Make A Difference (M.A.D.), you have the chance to share Jesus' love with others and encourage them. Your simple act of kindness extended to a friend, a co-worker or even a perfect stranger may be the very thing that God uses to remind them that you care about them, and more importantly that God cares about them.

If you know someone who has done something to Make A Difference for you, or if you have done something to Make A Difference for someone else share your story by calling 1-800-525-LOVE (5683) or email us at makeadifference@klove.com. Send us a picture of your story, and if it is selected for our website, we'll send you a copy of Bruce Wilkinson's book You Were Born For This!

Jesus asked all of us who believe to, "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven" (Matt. 5:16).

Little ways that you can Make a Difference could be:

* Buying someone a cup of coffee in line behind you at Starbucks
* Buying someone lunch in line behind you at the drive thru
* Writing someone an encouraging note
* Shoveling your neighbor's driveway
* Buying someone some groceries
* Sending a friend a card
* Picking up the tab for someone in a restaurant
* Watching your neighbor's kids while they go out
* Baking some cookies and taking them to work


The possibilities are endless! And remember… "Little things don't mean a lot, they mean EVERYTHING!"


So I challenge you right now... GO M A D!!! And I'll take it one step further... Leave me a comment telling me your story about random acts of kindness you've done or received!

I Need A Vacation From My Life...

*SIGH* I'm tired... Sick and tired... And I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired...

Yes, I need a vacation... A trip to a place where there is no vomit, no coughing, no sneezing, no runny noses, no crusty eyes, no bright red, itchy rashes, nothing... Just warm air, a tropical beach and a drink in my hand... Ah, yes... I can already feel myself relaxing...

And then... SNAP! It's back to reality.

Back to a place where B has slept downstairs for the past three nights because he's so sick... Back to a place where Little A pees every 10 minutes and has a distinct slap cheek rash on her face and body.... Back to a place where I'm teetering on the edge of being taken down by a stomach bug...

Ah, yes... That is my reality... And although I'd like that vacation very much, once I was there I'd want to be home with my kids.

So... Now that I've vented and am feeling just the SLIGHTEST BIT better, I'll go back to disinfecting my house with Clorox wipes, washing my eczema ridden hands continuously and rubbing cortisone on my girl.

Until next time...

Tea For Two Ten

Yesterday Little A attended a tea party birthday party... It was TOO CUTE! There were only four girls invited which made for a pleasant group of four year olds. The mom had set up a kid size table in the play room with EVERYTHING one needs for a tea party including scones and jam, bite-size sandwiches, mini muffins, nut and craisin cups, and or course... TEA!

In the dining room she set up an adult version of the same thing so the moms had their own tea party with adult conversation while the little girls enjoyed their tea party.

When everyone finished lunch we cleared the kids' table and the girls were able to paint their tea cup and saucer to bring home. Each girl also received a cute hat and a goody bag full of girly stuff (rings, bracelets, hair clips). It was every little girl's dream...

Again... TOO CUTE!

Thanks for inviting us, Ava, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!