hot cocoa love

In the James house, we've been having a lot of this
and my boys are all about the marshmallows (or "marsh-marsh-moes" as Caleb says)

Speaking of Caleb, Wednesday night was his Hot Cocoa Date with Mommy.

We went to the most quaint place, right around the corner, known as McDonalds.

Hey--it was his choice.

This is my most precious pic from our outing. He wanted to rest his head on my lap while we waited for our hot cocoa (fast food?! whatevs. this was GOUR.MET) Somehow he talked me into getting a chocolate chip cookie, too. Can't resist those big blues.

And he s-low-ly, spoonful by spoonful, drank his cocoa.

After we both blew on it to make it cool.

Because every little boy knows that their mommy is the ultimate food cooler.

It was a special time talking about all things 4K, favorite colors, Diego, and an upcoming 5th birthday.....which is what prompted this big grin.

Because he really believes that I can make a Candy Land cake that's as big as he is.

Maybe he'll settle for a 9 x 13 with some Skittles and Snickers arranged nicely?!

What a fun time with my middle boy.

GIVEAWAY WEDNESDAY Winner: Sandy

Yay for you! Be expecting your iced latte and peanut butter bar soon...

Thanks to everyone who threw a comment in this week--what fun!

You guys are the best.

Have a super Friday, All!

(taking a 5 day rest from 500 mile running goal due to strained calf muscles. huge bummer)

baby of the fam

Sweet Charity is 9 months today

Love you, Baby!

if you haven't already, don't forget the GIVEAWAY. Click here to enter!

+2 = 14 down, 486 to go

GIVEAWAY Wednesday

Is this the view out your window today?!
Then have some fun with me, huh?
Come on...my goal every GIVEAWAY WEDNESDAY is to have ONE new commenter.
Are you the one?!
Loyal GIVEAWAY WEDNESDAY commenters, I have great love for you--
You make this so much fun for me. REALLY!
When I asked Justin what I should giveaway this week, he said, "make it one of your favs." Blogger Buddies, this is one of my favs:I love my iced latte and crunchy peanut butter bar breakfast on the way to church every Sunday morn.

You simply mix the magical packet with 8oz of milk and LET ME TELL YOU.....it'll keep you going all morning at church. You may be tempted to jive a little going down the side aisle you'll be so pumped.

And the crunchy peanut butter bars are yummy--not to mention they keep you from being the one whose stomach is making those rumbling noises during the closing prayer. Ever been there?! Yeah. You know what I'm talking about.

So that's my GIVEAWAY WEDNESDAY this week. My fav Sunday morning breakfast, sent to you, just in time for......well, next Sunday.

Because you know you want to humor me and participate this week. Just leave a comment telling me what you nosh on for breakfast. How easy is that?!

And now, just to make it easier, my comment section is set up for ALL YOU ALL and you don't have to be a blogger to comment. Just enter under "Name/URL" and only enter your name.

I'll pick a winner this FRIDAY.....yes, 2 days to comment.

So have a super GIVEAWAY Wednesday, All!

TT Chicken Parmigiana

Hey Blogger Buddies,
Happy Tutorial Tuesday!
Let's celebrate and Rock the Crock, shall we? (crockpot, that is.....)
Trust me-- this is EASY, QUICK, and uses SIMPLE ingredients

You know you're going to want to Rock the Crock when you see this tut:

Chicken Parmigiana

Beat 1 egg, 1 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper in bowl
Pour 1 cup breadcrumbs in another bowl
Take chicken breasts and dip first in egg and then in breadcrumbs

Transfer to pan sprayed with cooking spray and saute on either side over medium heat.
(read notes below, I think this step is totally unneccessary...)
When both sides are light brown, place in the crock
Pour a jar of spaghetti sauce on top
Set your crock on low for 4-6 hours
Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese before serving

Fix it and Forget it p180

adapted by Laurie J

IMPORTANT NOTES:

I have made this before and not sauteed the chicken--I could not tell a difference.

All you really need to do is dip the chicken in butter, breadcrumbs, and place in crock.

The original recipe says cook on low for 6-8 hours but my crock rocked it quicker--(4-6 hrs)

When you put this over noodles, it becomes a wonderful meal.

When you serve this with salad, it becomes a magical meal.

My kids were not paid to eat it without complaints and they did anyway.

Whoa, right?!

Rock the Crock, Blogger B's. You won't regret it!

My lunch

A moment to myself during kiddos naptime

In an attempt to be real...

3 pics of the kitchen that surrounded my ambience:

(yes, some Christmas decor remains. Don't be judging!)

Here's to being real.

Have a super Tuesday, All!
+2 = 12 down, 488 to go

Be Still

linking up here

Playoff Packers Pizza

Packers in the Playoffs = Excitement in Wisconsin
Packers in the Playoffs = Excitement in the James house!
Sorry Charity, we need to buy you some Packer clothes
(As if your closet isn't overflowing.....!)

Course, I don't have anything Packerish to wear either.

Thanks, Hon, for the shirt.

The boys were stoked for the game

so they could play in front of the tv

There were some tense moments where the guys had to stand close to the tv.

I think it intimidates the refs into making the right calls or something.

Papa John's Pizza delivered? A playoff tradition! Jon was eager to try "John's Favorite" pizza.

The verdict? It was good pizza.

But anyone who's anyone knows that Papa John's Pizza is really all about the garlic butter.

It was worth every 22 of the minutes they were late in delivering the pizza.

And the 22 times I had to explain to my 4 year old why we didn't have our pizza yet.

Charity was a little upset by the end of the game. It's okay, Sweetie. They WON.

Oh. It was just time for bottle and bed.

I'm going to miss these snuggly days when they pass (sniff, sniff)

Let's just put this day on REPEAT. It was a good one!

A good day to be a Packer fan.....GO PACK GO

+2 = 10 down, 490 to go

not always hatin' on winter

Because I'm such a winter-hater you'll understand why these pics are so prec.
It means I was out with the boys... in the cold.
For longer than it takes to go from the house to the car and the car to Target and Target back to the car and the car back to the house.
I actually threw some snowballs.
Watch out, World.
Jon asked me, "are you SURE you want to come out, Mom?!"
So like......how many Mom Points is this worth, anyway?!
Awww.....come on. I love these guys.
I did it for love.

Caleb might look like he's smiling but he's actually squirming and squinting with the cold of the snow and the flakes falling in his face. He hates winter almost as much as I do--but tries really hard to like it.
Bless his heart.

These two, on the other hand, embrace winter and all it has to offer.

Matthias' new prayer every day is that he can have some hot cocoa.

Hey--it's good stuff (especially the way I make it)

You want some hot with your cocoa?!

Jon asked if I'd take a pic of his snow angel.

Yeah.....I'm not exactly sure what he thought it would look like.

WINNER, WINNER!

Onesmallhappyfamily--you are the winner of the bookmark giveaway. YAY!

Let me know which one you'd like and I'll send it your way...

A big, happy hot dog friday to you all!

+2= 8 down, 492 to go

Flower. Power

If it can be done with a glue gun, people.....I can do it.

Craft, that is.
When I saw these (ok.....don't really look at the original and see that mine is just the ghetto version....)
Just kidding. You should totally check out the original that mine's based off. Her's is super super cool and sewn and everything. I'm pretty sure she rocks the crafting world with Martha and Ashley Ann and all those other cool crafties.
But here's my version.
Made with some felt I had leftover from this flowery project.
Remember these?

So, anyways, here's the tut (toot) :

Cut out a rectangular shape for the base of your bookmark.
Then I used an applesauce lid to trace for my larger petals (you'll need 2 of these circles)

A milk cap traced was the perfect size for my smaller petals. You'll need 2 of these as well.

To make the petals you cut the circles in half.

Beginning with the larger petals, arrange them on your bookmark like so...

Layer with your smaller petals. Over under, over under....

Then I added a super small piece of felt for the middle and put a coffee bean on top.

Because I like coffee. But you know what? If you are a lima bean person, you go right on ahead and put a lima bean on your flower. That would be awesome.

Did I mention you glue everything together with your trusty glue gun? No sewing involved, people. Just the magic of hot, sticky glue......careful, it burns.

Have a wonderful day..... Sun's shining here--YAY!
p.s. click here to still have a chance for my GIVEAWAY WEDNESDAY....one of these bookmarks (or 55 Hershey Kiss wrappers if you'd rather!)

+2 = 6 down, 494 to go

                                                                     linking up here

CharBear and da boyz

To put between the pages of all the 300+ page novels I read weekly (L to the O to the L)
In all my spare time (insert chuckle)
I just couldn't resist making a couple of these fun bookmarks.

(Tune in tomorrow for a little tutorial and a little credit where credit is due...)

So anyways.....I really thought I took more pics of ringing in the new year at the James house. But I guess the theme of new years 2011 was quite obvs--it was about taking pics of Charity and the guys in (somewhat) cheesy (but still so precious) pics....

Charity & Daddy
(her fav guy and mine)
Charity and Uncle Kyle
(newest member of the fam, married my little sis this summer)

Charity and Mr. Dan (James fam friend)

Charity and her Bro's

(no more Christmas miracles of all 4 looking at the camera at the same time)

To ring in the New Year, we played the game, Would you Rather?...
At first we played with the cards that were given and were forced to make life-altering decisions like,

"Would you rather lick a public library keyboard or a bus stop bench?" and

"Would you rather wake up covered in snails or with slime coming out of your ears and nose?"

Total. Ewww.

But then.....then we went off-script.

The boys and their cousins came up with such original questions like,

"Would you rather put your ear on Mr. Dan or go to a Brewers game?" and

"Would you rather eat pizza for 1,000 days or wear purple pajamas?"

And one of the cousins was a little preoccupied with including "wearing a bikini" in any and every

"Would you rather" question.....

Ahhh--entertainment from elementary minds.

But here's one question from the night I'm still wrestling with:

"Would you rather not eat any sweets for the rest of your life or be able to eat sweets but also have to eat 5 servings of brussel sprouts each day?"

I can't say I've ever had brussel sprouts but that's just one of those things I know I don't like....you know?

And 5 servings?!

But seriously.....like giving up sweets is even possible.

So I'm undecided on this. I just don't know which way I'd go... and as a rule I'm generally pretty decisive in life.

So here's your would you rather ...

Would you rather have me GIVEAWAY one of the bookmarks I made or would you rather have me send the GIVEAWAY winner 55 Hershey Kiss wrappers?

(making sure I have that many wrappers available would be no prob....)

Leave an answer and you'll be entered in the GIVEAWAY that will have a winner announced FRIDAY.

Holla! I changed the GIVEAWAY WEDNESDAY rules. 2 days to comment, Blogger B's.

Have a super, GIVEAWAY WEDNESDAY....first one of 2011!

+2 miles = 4 down, 496 to go

and I would run 500 miles

New Years Resolutions drive me crazy. For 2 reasons, mainly.
#1 I think they're dumb
#2 I can't help but make one

Justin and I are both going to run 500 miles in 2011. How's that for a challenge?

I like the balance of keeping on track with about 10 miles a week (reasonable amount)
and the flexibility of fitting exercise into the ebb and flow of our busy lives.

In these winter months, our tready is going to help us get the job done.
So I started today.

2 miles--bring it.

The first mile I was going strong at my fav pace (10 min mile) but then the second mile caught up with me.

Whew. So I slowed down to a 12 min pace and symbolically patted myself on the back for the baby steps to my New Years Res.

I'll get there...

I have to say, for being totally inconsistent with exercise...
I love, love, LOVE owning a treadmill.

If I'm in a season where I'm not using it, it's a constant reminder that--I prob should be!
If I'm in a season where I am using it, it's so convenient. No excuses, you know?!

My absolute fav exercise...
Dancing to tunes on youtube with the kiddos. Currently we're rocking out to Dynamite.
Such a blessing that there's an Alvin and the Chipmunks version they prefer....
(any other songs those rodents want to ruin?)

Anyone else have a new years challenge?
Happy Tuesday, All!

info to go

You want random facts? I'm your girl. Seriously, Blogger B's, I'm one of the most random of facts people I know.

Probably because I read the most random of stuff now that I'm a mom of 4 little ones.....and by that I mean......I have about 5 minutes at a time to read. If I'm lucky.

So I read Real Simple and get all these real simple ideas. And I have the urge to share them all with Justin....who, like a very good husband, graciously listens to things I've learned.
(right, Babe?)
Like if you stick a straw in a glass ketchup bottle, the ketchup comes pouring out a whole lot easier. Does anyone have a glass ketchup bottle in their fridge? Hello plastic.....I'm pretty sure the last time I used a glass one was at Johnny Rockets in Chicago (cause, like, they're supposed to have ancient things like that) and ketchup went flying across the restaurant when we smacked the bottle. If only they had read this helpful info....
But see, now you read that totally random fact on this here page of the world wide web don't you just feel smarter? Are you antsy to share it with the next person you run into? I've actually considered putting "glass ketchup bottle" on my grocery list just so I can stick a straw inside and watch the magic.
I know, People. I need to get out more.
May I leave you with one more random fact?
Your taste buds change every 7 years. What's up with that?! But it's obvs true because I read it once and now I share it with almost everyone I know and now aren't you glad you can now share in this knowledge, too.
So give those green olives one more try, why don't you.....
I've got a couple more years before my taste buds change but I think I'm going to give mushrooms another try. Maybe at 35 I'll be a little more mature and be able to handle the fact that they are fleshy fungus. hmmmm.
Send any random facts my way......I've never met one I didn't like.
Linking up to Blessed Little Nest today. She's got a fun, new look on her blog--check it out!

Alright, Blogger B's....have a super day this first Monday in 2011!

farewell 2010

I can hardly allow 2010 to go into the past without giving it a little farewell speech.

So here goes:

Good-bye, 2010.

You were a year like no other.

We raise our glasses and toast the end of you with great joy.

Thanks for--a year.

Today I heard a wonderful sermon given by my absolute fav preacher (hi Honey)

about perseverence.

Well, actually, it was about more than that.

It was about God. His mercy. His love.

And about the lessons in life that God must know

can really only be taught through

Living them out

Cause if there was one thing that was obvious to us throughout last year

If there was one thing that Justin and I pulled from 2010 as we lived it out

It is this:

Life is so not (NOT) about us.

But when things happen in our lives, because we're human-- we want answers, and we want all things to make sense...

RIGHT?!

But I love, love, LOVE the thought that God sees our whole life and it all makes sense to Him.

He has a plan

And, like, HELLO......He's not surprised by anything.

AMEN?!

Because.....sometimes I'm totally surprised.

Like "never saw that one coming" kinda shocked.

And God is so good.

When we trust Him, REALLY trust Him....

We can stand amazed at the awesome things He does.
Because, Blogger Buddies,

He does some pretty radical stuff (if you'll allow me to use that 90s word)

And to think that God uses imperfect people like us

To glorify Himself

Whoa.

So here's to a new year, 2011.

A year about Jesus shining in us.

May the lessons of 2010 never be forgotten.

But seriously?! Let's bring on a good year, k?

Who's with me...

Our (best)Gift of Love from 2010