Random Thursday - My Grammy Nomination

1) A few evenings ago, I was giving the performance of my life while showering and singing a few of my favorite tunes from "Frozen". After a few minutes I hear Sophie crying in the bedroom as Jeff drys her hair. Apparently, my singing was "hurting" her ears. I kid you not - she was all out crying....real tears and all! I was shocked because I thought I was most certainly on the verge of receiving a Grammy nomination.

 

2) So incredibly blessed and thankful for God's little interventions. I was having some "moments" this morning on my way to work and through a series of events God intervened and dropped a dear friend right in my path exactly when I needed her. As we started chatting, I soon realized that she needed me too. He was dropping us both in each others paths this morning and as we realized it - we started praising Jesus and basking in his infiniate glory. To quote my precious friend - "we went to church this morning" without even realizing we were headed that way! Praise God for his goodness and constant reminders of the many ways he loves and takes care of us!

 

3) My new style "icon" (yeah, that is not something I normall have) is Lupita Nyong'o. Every single thing that she has worn during awards season this year has been beyond amazing!! She looks simply stunning and just oozes class which so refreshing!

 

 

4) Yes, please! He still has my heart! When he quoted his lines from one my most favorite movies ever ("Dazed and Confused") while accepting his award at the Oscars AND with that Texas twang.....I about melted right off my seat. Alright, alright, alright - just keep livin!

 

 

4) I would say someone is aging well. Ya still got it Uncle Jesse! Sophie is now obsessed with "Full House" and while watching an episode a few evenings ago Sophie told me that Uncle Jesse was one of her favorite people on the show. She said that she loved his face, his clothes, his hair....you get the picture. I thought it was the cutest thing ever but you should have seen the look on Jeff's face. His eyes were as big as saucers and he looked kinda pale. And so it begins.......

 

 



Tummy Tuesday - Baked Spaghetti Pie

We have not made this Baked Spaghetti Pie recipe in quite awhile and had forgotten how amazing it is! I am so used to now finding all of my recipes off of Pinterest that I forget about my old school cook books.

 

 

 

Baked Spaghetti Pie

4 ounces uncooked spaghetti

half pound lean ground beef (we used a full pound)

1 small green bell pepper, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

1 jar (14 oz) spaghetti sauce

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 large eggs

1 cup small curd creamed cottage cheese

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

 

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees and grease pie plate, 10x 1 1/2 and cook spaghetti.
2. While spaghetti is cooking, cook meat, bell pepper, and onion together.
3. Stir in spaghetti sauce, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Cook 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened.
4. Drain spaghetti noodles and place in pie plate. Gently press on bottom and 1 inch up side of pie plate.
5. Mix eggs and cottage cheese and spread evenly over spaghetti. Spoon meat mixture over cottage cheese and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
6. Bake 35-45 minutes or until center is set. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting.

Enoy!!

 



Mommy Monday - Class of 2027

It's official!

 

Saturday afternoon we received our acceptance letter from Silverdale Baptist Academy telling us the good news that Sophie had been accepted!!! We feel so incredibly excited and blessed and praise God for this opportunity to provide Sophie with a faith-based eduction.

 

While I do believe that the vast majority of students are accepted - you just never know until you receive that official sheet of paper. Of course in my mind, I had created all sorts of scenerios for why she would not get accepted so needless to say, mommy is breathing alot easier now!!

 

Along with Sophie's acceptance letter, they also included this little jewel -

 

 

Sophie's Class of 2027 t-shirt!!! Could you not just die?!

 

What a wonderful and creative way to share the good news when people are accepted! Jeff actually walked in the house holding the shirt up as a surprise (apparently he had already dove into the packet of information before even making it inside the house). I must admit that it took me a few seconds to even figure out what the heck he was doing but once I did, it was time to celebrate!

 

Wouldn't it have been ideal to now post a picture of Sophie in her shirt? Well, apparently that is going to take some coaxing and bribing because as she told me - "That's a boys shirt mommy and boy colors. Why did they send me a boy's shirt?" Yeah, I may have to work on this issue quickly otherwise the next 13 years are going to be a tough road.

 

Class of 2027 - that will blow your mind right?! Oh my girl is growing up so fast and I have yet to find a way to slow it all down! I guess that means there is now only one option left - bring on the heavy meds!

 

 

 



Fabulous Friday - Good Reads

I am oh so ready for the weekend! Oh.so.ready!

Can I get an "Amen"?!

 

A few super fabulous things that I am loving right now -

 

The Antelope in the Living Room

 

Melanie Shankle is AMAZING! Like, I want her to be my BFF - perhaps borderline restraining order. I got to her meet her while at a conference in September and litterly did the fast mall walk across rows of empty chairs while trying not to trip over myself and be cool and casual as I introduced myself to her. My poor friend that was with me was left in my dust as I am sure she tried to pretend as though she did not know who I was. Can't say I blame her at that moment in time. Melanie (bc we are apparently on a first name basis now...at least in my mind) was of course amazing and I kept waiting after our 1 minute conversation for her to tell me that we were sole mates and totally needed to become facebook friends and start chatting and planning road trips for our hubbys to meet so we can all hang out together. My point is that her writing is so good - you feel like you know her. You feel as though she is one of your girlfriends.....so much so that maybe, you might possibly confuse it with the reality that she has no clue who you really actually are.    

 

Melanie Shankle is a hilarious Christian author who also writes the Big Mama blog. When I say hilarious, I mean tears streaming down your face funny! Her newest book that I referenced above consists of her sharing stories from her life and her personal marriage journey with her hubby. It is just always nice to know you are not alone.

 

Her first book, if you have not already read it -

 

Sparkly Green Earrings



is about the hilarious journey of motherhood. Again, another FANTASTIC and easy read!

 

Just envision this - kiddos are in bed, a bathtub full of warm water, candles, a glass of wine, and one of these books! BAM!

 

Have a great weekend!!

 

 

 

 

 

 



Random Thursday - Just Had to Share

1) I know that I should not laugh at this video. As my mom reminded/scolded me - "Nicole, she could have been seriously hurt." But, my mom also taught me to share, so here you go. It would not have been so funny had she not have just been interviewed. Either way, I do feel for her.....I promise! Goodness knows I have done it plenty of times and I am sure plenty more in the future! 

 

Click here for the Snow Jogger video

 

2) The irony about this is that she was wanting to show me her bathtub babies which she had just found (sidenote - they were not anywhere near the bathtub)....not necessarily the lips. I think that her bathtub baby search somehow led her to my lipstick as well?!

 

 

3) As I left for work one morning a few weeks ago, there was a beautiful double rainbow!!! It litterly looked as though it was coming up and out of the back of our house. At this point, it could actually be possible after all of the hay and grass seed we spread in our backyard this past fall.

 

 

 

4) This is what a mama finds sexy! And he does it every night!

 

Bedtime is a tag team effort at our house!! 

 

 



Wifey Wednesday - Hands Free

In the continuing saga that is our bible study fasting experiement, this week we are fasting from Media. This was one from the very beginning that I knew would be challeging for me. After learning our lesson from week one with food fasting, we decided to sit down and take a more strategic approach. What would be challenging for our family while still allowing us to function day to day? Ultimately, we decided that we would do the following -

 

 

1) No recreational screen time. However, I did allow myself a quick 5 minutes every evening to only check facebook and make sure I have not received any messages or comments that I need to respond too. Something of actual importance is allowed a response. By important - I am not referring to someones response as to the location of where they purchased a cute handbag. No facebook "browsing" allowed.

 

What I have already learned is that I am on facebook waaaaay tooooo much!! Way to much! Now, just because I don't post, doesn't mean I am not on there surfing away. Really? Like so many earth shattering things have happened in the past 15 minutes since I checked it last that I need get on there again and check for "new" updates?? From who?! Someone telling me that their child has ball practice tonight or what they are cooking for dinner?! Seriously, is this really going to impact my life so much that I need to know about it?! Don't get me wrong, I am just as bad as everyone else. I totally feed in to it but there is nothing like realizing the extent of your addiction! We are out of control people!! Instead of actually living our lives, we are reading about everyone else's or missing major moments because we need to post our facebook update.

 

I do realize that now a days facebook is a necessary evil. There are also alot of great and redeeming qualities of facebook. However, the obsession with it is beyond!

 

2) No iphone apps (only music), which basically means no Pinterest and Us Magazine. As you can imagine, Jeff was beyond distraught by this as he is always pinning new things onto his Home Decor board. He just cannot wait to start yet another new home project!!

 

No pinterest has been wonderful because it has meant less guilt this week. I have not had to worry with feeling like a failure because my child's room does not have a handmade headboard in the shape of a princess castle. Feeling like a failure because I have not done 6 of the 10 things that post said that I should do with my child by the time they turn 5. Envy because my house will never be decorated like those that I just pinned to my board. Jealousy because if I just had one more bathroom like that picture does, then I could totally decorate it for guests.

 

Again, Pinterest is a wonderful thing. But, we have taken it to the extreme!

 

3) Since we are not home during the day, we banned TV from 5:00 - 8:00 in the evenings. Yes, I know this may not seem like alot to you but it is for us. Not so much because we are plastered in front of it every evening but mainly because it is always on at least serving as background noise. I feel as though this makes me sounds like a horrible wife and mother who is always plopping her family down in front of the TV. While this not the case, we do most certainly enjoy our TV time cuddling on the couch. We have instead been feeling the void with more playing and talking. More creative time together. During this summer time this would not be a difficult challenge as we spend all of our free time outside. However, the cold winter months are a different story. We also may or may not be using the free time to spy on our new neighbors as they slowly move in. Hey, you have to improvise! 

 

 

We read articles every day reminding us, especially as mamas, how we need to "put down the screen" and focus on what is right in front of us. Truthfully though, it is hard to do....disturbingly difficult. This week has forced me to finally take action as I strive to become more "hands free". I am excited to take it back to the old school days and embrace more of the "hands free" lifestyle as I become more "hands on" with my family.  

 

Tummy Tuesday - Taco Pasta Bake

Jeff made the most delicious Taco Pasta Bake recipe for dinner last week.

 

Taco Pasta Bake

 

Enjoy!